Miles -what it means

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Hand of GOD
"Hand of GOD"                                                                                                                                                  

Saturday, November 28, 2015

November 28, 2015. Madison, GA. Old Friends




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November 28, 2015. Madison, GA. Old Friends

I'm not a country boy. I grew up in mid-sized cities, went to college and law school in big cities, never had a pet other than a paranoid cat for about three months, and was never around animals. But for the past two years at the Passion Play we have been close to animals and I have developed a fondness for them, especially donkeys. The Passion Play donkeys are a hoot. I made a point of visiting them in the barn area whenever I had some free time and was able to have closer contact with them during the Play when I had the role of either Thomas or Philip, who fetched the donkey for Jesus before the Triumphal Entry scene.
Here in Madison, we are adjacent to a large field which "feeds" a herd of cattle and four donkeys. A year ago, I befriended the donkeys here and when we came back earlier this month I was able to renew that friendship. A few days ago we met at the fence, had a petting and sniffing session and I was able to get some pictures. It's been wonderful to catch up with our human friends here and get back to the work of the ministry, but it gives me such a peaceful, contented feeling to be with friends who expect nothing more than having their nose and forehead rubbed, their back scratched and maybe some freshly mown grass to eat. All part of God's glorious creation for us to enjoy.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

November 25, 2015. Madison, GA. Bob

We met Bob and Wanda Hearing a few days after we arrived in Madison, just over a year ago. They lived just up the hill from our RV site. They were a couple in their mid-80's and had been with Source of Light Ministries for about 7 years, after a long career in the mission and various ministry fields. They were purchasing agents for SLMI. Bob had been Director of the Madison Discipleship School (MDS) for a number of years.
Bob had surgery for a cancer condition the week before Thanksgiving last year, and while he was in surgery, Wanda began to unexpectedly bleed internally and before her condition could be addressed, she died right there in the hospital the day after Thanksgiving. Bob awoke from surgery to be told that Wanda had passed away.
But Bob was a fighter, recovered from that surgery, returned to work and was determined to continue on at SLMI and was doing very well. When Karen and I came back to Madison three weeks ago, we were glad to see Bob doing so well, working in MDS again, and deeply committed to guiding prison inmates through the Bible Correspondence Courses. He became emotional whenever one of his "students" accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and he was moved by the letters he received and the exchange of communication with them. Last Friday, Bob worked his normal hours, went shopping for groceries on Saturday morning and when he returned home, he carried one load of bags into the house, and while taking the second load in, suffered a massive stroke and fell while going up the outside stairs. He was found a short time later, taken by ambulance to the hospital in Athens and never regained consciousness. Bob went to be with his Lord and Savior this morning at 5:55. The man he trained to take his place as Director of MDS was with him when he went to Glory. Brian had been reading some of the Correspondence Course answers to Bob through the night and while Bob was not conscious, he was "working" until the end.
Bob was a fighter for The Lord. Like the apostle Paul, Bob was prepared to do whatever was needed here to serve the Lord, but he was also prepared to be with the Lord, and his beloved Wanda in Heaven. Wanda, with The Lord the day after Thanksgiving, 2014; Bob with the Lord the day before Thanksgiving, 2015. Bob's children were delayed by weather from seeing him before he passed on, but they did arrive just a short while ago. We grieve for their loss, but we are glad for Bob and the new life he now enjoys in Heaven. We are thankful that we got to be with the Hearings, if only for a brief time. Their lives, and their new lives, are an inspiration to us and the many others they touched over the years. Thank you, Wanda. Thank you Bob.......and, Thank You, Lord.
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Sunday, November 22, 2015

November 22, 2015. Madison, GA. November 22, 1963

It was 52 years ago, this date. As I was on my way to class at New York University a report came over a car radio near the main classroom building. President John F. Kennedy had been shot and was being rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. No further news at that time. I was only 17 years old, a freshman in college, and not yet eligible to vote. I had attended a Kennedy rally in Schenectady, New York when he was running for President in 1960 and was close enough to him at that time that I felt like I knew him personally.
But that Friday in 1963, I felt like I was reading a novel and not experiencing a piece of history which would change many things in our country and alter my ideas of what was important and where I might end up after college. The events of the next few days, the capture and then death of Lee Harvey Oswald, the investigations, speculation, suspicions, the Warren Commission Report, conspiracy theories, documentaries and Hollywood renditions of the events all fueled a growing distrust and uncertainty. Were we being told the truth about the events of that day and were other events open to question as well? The uncertainty seems to go on even to this day.
That day, so many years ago left a lasting impression on me. Many history-making events have occurred since then, far too numerous to list here, but something changed on that Friday afternoon and I still remember the empty feeling, the fear, the loneliness and the reality of a loss of innocence and the security I had felt when I left home to attend college in the Big City. I gave a little thought to this date in history as I looked at the calendar a few days ago, not thinking it would be a blog topic, but it grabbed me as I wrote the date on the subject line just now.
Life holds no certainties for us, no guarantees of success, no promise beyond the present moment. God knows, but He doesn't put it down in writing for us other than the Words of Scripture and in that we do have certainty, guarantees and promises to rest on. And for this, I gratefully say.......Thank You, Lord.
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Thursday, November 19, 2015

November 19, 2015. Source of Light Ministries International, Madison, GA. Go and Make Disciples

Source of Light Ministries' main mission is to create and print Bible Correspondence Courses, disseminate them to missionaries around the world who then use the lessons to disciple people and bring them to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In one way or another, everyone here at SLMI is in the "business" of making disciples. Many of the workers here, whether paid or volunteer, have been in the Mission Field, have been preachers, evangelists, involved in outreach, prison ministry, church planting or any number of other Matthew 28:19-type endeavors.
Since we have been in Madison, there has been a big push to prepare the "Reaper", a quarterly review of SLMI activities and a means of securing funds needed to operate the ministry. We printed, collated and ink-jetted labels on over 30,000 copies which were bulk-mailed to donors and others on the SLM mailing list. Quite a task, completed this afternoon, and then back to the normal activity of printing, collating, packaging and inventorying lessons for the many courses to be sent out by the Madison Discipleship School to people wanting to learn more about Jesus Christ, His purpose for their life and the need to dedicate that life fully to Him.
How desperately this world needs Jesus, the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Go and Make Disciples. We can all do our part, by praying, giving our time and resources where we see God at work, and "going" where God calls us; to a foreign country, another city or state, our own neighborhood or around the corner and take the message of Jesus Christ with us. Yes, go and make disciples.

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Monday, November 16, 2015

November 16, 2015 Madison, GA. It Makes Me Sad

There have been times in my almost 70 years of life when I have been sad about things I did or failed to do; sad about events out of my immediate control which changed the direction of my life; sad about things which happened to others which changed their planned course of action and hurt them tremendously.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, the almost daily news of violence against innocent people, the state of our political and judicial system, the radicalism we are seeing in "religion", the decline of the moral fiber of our country and world and the things we call entertainment and for which we pay an ever-increasing price; these things make me sad. We claim to be united in our abhorrence of violence and hate, yet we are becoming a more fractured country and world, with more people determined to hold on to their material goods, with an "over my dead body" attitude, and it makes me sad. There is so much sickness and disease, the cost of some medicine is outrageous and many people are giving up on the good programs and people who are committed to helping and being compassionate and many of them are walking away from their profession or volunteer activity.
I don't profess to have an answer or solution other than trusting God, depending on a strong faith, and trying to be around people who are optimistic and eternally directed, but that too can sadden me when they, or I, yield to worldly forces and temptations.
Let's all resolve to start anew, right now, to fight the spiritual fight, stand up for what we believe and Who we believe in and live with a resolve that "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world." God is faithful and He can, and will, turn sadness into joy and mourning into gladness. Thank You, Lord for the Hope we have in You.

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Friday, November 13, 2015

November 13, 2015. Madison, GA. Old Stuff

In the grand scheme of God's creation we are not very old, but in the smaller scheme of our immediate sphere of influence and the things we use in our daily life, we are pretty old. The Passion Play has been around for less than 50 years and Source of Light Ministries has been here for just over 60. Some of the stuff we use and some of the people we work with are getting on in years, have been with these ministries most of their life, and after many repairs, replaced parts, operations and body parts no longer functioning as they were originally designed to, we are more and more realizing that old stuff needs old, experienced people to keep functioning properly.
Today I was going to start the leaf gathering operation using a rebuilt tractor-style mower with a gas-operated leaf-rake attached. The mower needed to be jump started, the leaf rake with a pull-cord needed a few shots of starter fluid and on the first pass of the area, a pulley holding a belt broke and the mower ground to a quick halt. Upon further investigation, Marvin, a 40+ year maintenance man here at SOL discovered a host of problems which will need to be addressed before the leaf gathering can proceed. But Marvin, nearly 80 years old and a machinist and "fixer" most of his life is confident he will be able to fix the pulley, replace the worn belt, repair the mower blade shaft, key way and spindle, repair the leaky fuel filter, reattach the mower deck and be up and running early next week.
Marvin, like many of the "old timers" we worked with at the Passion Play and here in Madison, have "been there and done that" before and in his quiet way keeps the old stuff, and himself, running to do the work The Lord has put before him. I did not grow up in an environment where we fixed what broke. We found someone else to do that and paid them for their expertise and willingness to help. It's eye opening to me as we travel and volunteer our non-technical skills, to see how people have lived off the land, raised the animals or hunted for what they will eat, are able to fix things which break, build their own houses and barns and keep the old stuff, and themselves, running. We have been blessed to know such people and hear about the lives they have led and The Lord they give all the glory to. We hope to be able to continue to serve as we have, acquire new skills and hopefully pass on our experience and experiences to those who come after us. Discipled, so we can disciple others. Thank You, Lord.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

November 10, 2015. Madison, GA. Sunshine and more

About noon today the sun snuck through the clouds, the clouds disappeared and it has been rainless for the first time in over two weeks. The forecast for tomorrow is another sunny, dry day. The local residents are ecstatic that the rain has stopped and it will be an opportunity to get outside and start the task of raking up all the leaves the rain knocked off the trees. The ground here at Source of Light is covered, but the trees still have a lot left on them, so the leaf-gathering will not be completed quickly. I will be part of the crew which is assigned to leaf duty over the next month or so. A chance to get back on the mowers and tractors. Thursday it looks like we will be back in the print shop for collating some Bible Lessons to be sent out to SOL students.
Karen has already boxed up all the 2013 accounting paperwork, making room in the cabinets for the 2016 files and doing something with the 2014 and 2015 papers so they can be available for tax time and other needs. We are both back into the "routine" and it is good to be here. We have been to church, had a get-together for lunch Sunday, dinner with another group last night and will be going to Veterans' Day activities tonight and tomorrow at the High School and here at the Mission. We've already been to the Verizon store with questions on our new phones and the Walmart is only two miles away instead of ten, so we have been there a few times in our first five days. Don and Sonja (my book suppliers from last year) have already given me a book to read (The Price of Freedom) and I look forward to it and the others yet to come.
Yes, we have settled back into our "winter" home. The bins are all cleaned out and reorganized, the lady bugs seem to be on the wane, the mice hopefully are gone and life is good. The sun is behind the trees out our front window and it is not a "rainy night in Georgia". And, we rest on God's assurance that the best is yet to come. Thank You, Lord.

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Saturday, November 7, 2015

November 7, 2015. Madison, GA. Rain (and more)

As we approached the western suburbs of Atlanta it started to rain, sometimes heavily, and it has been raining, on and off ever since. Back in Eureka Springs they had heavy rain and threats of severe weather just after we left and we have been told here in Madison, that it has been raining on and off for something like 40 days and 40 nights. We parked the "ark" where we were parked last winter, and will wait on the ground to dry before we move to the "to be completed" RV site up the hill near the Mission building. I'm sure I will be involved in the work to complete the two sites there.
In the meantime, we are renewing friendships, resting up from our 750 mile jaunt, and getting back into the atmosphere of Source of Light Ministries. A different atmosphere from The Great Passion Play, hard to .........hold on.........(interruption for another mouse capture. There seems to be a pattern developing: Eureka Springs(11/2)-evict mouse family from bin, blog that day, Tupelo(11/4)-catch mouse while blogging, Madison(today)-catch mouse while blogging).
This blog will be posted, but the thought interrupted will have to wait while Karen and I tgo on mouse patrol while the rain has stopped. I guess God didn't want me to blog on the "different atmosphere" theme just now, or maybe at all...........so........see you later............

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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

November 4, 2015. Tupelo, MS. In Transit

Last night we arrived in Searcy, AR for a scheduled RV repair, were able to hear some bluegrass music at a BBQ joint with one of our repairmen in the group, have the repair finished this morning and were on the road before noon. Tonight we are in Tupelo and settled in for our first Walmart stay in many months. We are not surrounded by semis and other RV'ers and are down to only a few lady bug encounters. The most hearty of the bugs did manage to cling to the windshield, some rode sidesaddle and a few stayed with us indoors. But it seems that the worst is over and we can only anticipate what the next critter assault will be.
We have been able to speak with a number of Vietnam vets in the past few days about VA benefits and give them encouragement that there are benefits available to those who served and have health issues as a result of Agent Orange exposure. We have been so blessed by the VA benefits, the change it has made in our lives and we feel the need to share what we have been through with those who have served and now suffer. 2 Corinthians 1, speaking of God's compassion and comfort to us is what we strive to pass on to others so they may be blessed too with that same compassion and comfort.
Either tomorrow or Friday we will be back in our winter "home" in Madison, Georgia, reunited with Hugh and LaVon and so many others we worked with before at Source of Light Ministries. Karen has been contacting many of our friends and letting them know our whereabouts and whatabouts and it feels very natural for us to be between assignments and back in a "Walmart RV Park". Thank you, Lord for blessing us so abundantly and giving us an enduring peace we have not experienced before. I say it again.........GOD IS SO GOOD.



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Monday, November 2, 2015

Noah Only Had Two

November 2, 2015. Eureka Springs, AR. Take A Break

Karen is known here as the "energizer bunny" for her always-in-motion style of work and the pace at which she gets her short legs moving. Most of the young people she works with are amazed at her stamina and work ethic. The only way I can get her to sit in one place for any amount of time is to let her know it's time to drive somewhere and then she gets behind the wheel of the motor home or car and for the next number of hours she can "take a break" and stay in one place while the vehicle becomes the bunny.
Today is our final day in Eureka Springs. Karen is busy moving inventory and "winterizing" the gift shops while I am readying the motor home for the road and trying to keep the lady bugs from coming with us. The pill bottle and vacuum cleaner are working hard and I am taking a semi-break to write and have a few moments of relief from the frazzling I feel when the bugs seem to be getting the upper hand. I did manage to dislodge a family of mice from one of our storage bins and prevent them from moving to Georgia with us, but the lady bugs are a major nuisance and a smelly one to boot. I used to think lady bugs were cute, but not so mush any more.
It has been a blessing to be part of the Passion Play again, and we will be back next Spring, God willing. We are ready for a break and a change of scenery. I've made a preliminary itinerary, Karen will get behind the RV wheel for the first time since June 16th and we'll soon be on the road again. Thank You, Lord for traveling with us and allowing us to travel with You. It' great to travel together. We trust You for the ultimate itinerary and destination.


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