We receive three television stations here in Madison; NBC, Weather Central and the Justice Network. If the weather is bad between here and Atlanta, we get no tv reception and sometimes even if the weather is good, the stations don't come in very well. When one station goes, they all go. The Weather Central station is good for getting the overall national picture, but when you've seen it more than once, you've seen it enough and The Justice Station is a lot of cops and robbers stuff which gets pretty tough to watch when you see all the nasty things going on in the country.
NBC is okay, but it can get tedious to see their line-up of shows. They have a lot of police-type shows, Dateline stories about crimes, three shows about fire, police and medical disasters in Chicago, soccer, The Voice, Lester Holt (who we like), Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, a host of off-beat and offensive ethnic-oriented comedies and infomercials on a host of medical issues and "buy my brand diamond" or vacuum cleaner or other product. It's hard to find real wholesome entertainment on our tv selections. Even the specials were questionable; The Wiz and it's second showing, "How Murray Saved Christmas" and it's second showing were kid oriented with a lot of adult "humor" thrown in. We did enjoy It's a Wonderful Life a few weeks ago. Always enjoy Jimmy Stewart.
With only a weekly newspaper, the on and off tv and no desire to read the news on a small cell phone screen, it's hard to stay informed on the events in the world, but I've becoming accustomed to being uninformed. When we hear people talk about something, we Google-it and that seems to be enough. We're pretty well settled on who we don't want to be President, so we can do without all the debates, the soon-to-come negative ads and the wild boasts, claims and accusations of the political process.
Our work here in Madison and at the Passion Play give us a good idea of what God has called us to do, the importance of an eternal perspective over the temporal one and our desire to live as holy, righteous and non-hypocritical a life as we can. As always, we seek God's will for our life and press on toward the "prize". If we stay informed with God and keep close to Him...........that will be enough.........that will be sufficient.
Sent from my iPad
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Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Saturday, December 19, 2015
December 19, 2015. Madison, GA. Thank You
Every morning, like clockwork, and usually without the benefit of a clock, I wake up around 5:30, turn off my CPAP machine, take out my earplugs, check to make sure the parts of my body which need to function are still functioning and begin the new day in a fairly similar way to what I have done every other day, I mostly take for granted that I have things to do and the ability to do them. I mostly take for granted that I have clothes to wear, food to eat, senses to sense with, money to buy the things we need and the health and strength to do what I want to do each day.
And yet, as I look around me, listen to the news, spend quiet time with God, or pray with a group of fellow workers, I realize more and more that I have a lot to be thankful for and that my life, while not always easy, is made easier and more joyful by the grace of God and His many blessings. While I may not always act like I'm thankful, I AM THANKFUL. My selfish streak often becomes a burden for others to bear and it amazes me sometimes that anyone wants anything to do with me or my moods, attitude or curmudgeon-i-ness. I'm convinced that because people love Karen so much, they put up with me as part of the baggage she has to carry. I am thankful for her and all she has endured the past 40 plus years we have been together. I'm glad she won the five hour dominoes game last night, was able to sleep in a little longer this morning, that I came in sixth in the game, was up at 5:30, able to look at life on a beautiful Saturday morning and say thank You to God who gave so much for us and continues to give us all we need and much of what we want, as well. Yes, I am thankful. THANK YOU, LORD.
Sent from my iPad
And yet, as I look around me, listen to the news, spend quiet time with God, or pray with a group of fellow workers, I realize more and more that I have a lot to be thankful for and that my life, while not always easy, is made easier and more joyful by the grace of God and His many blessings. While I may not always act like I'm thankful, I AM THANKFUL. My selfish streak often becomes a burden for others to bear and it amazes me sometimes that anyone wants anything to do with me or my moods, attitude or curmudgeon-i-ness. I'm convinced that because people love Karen so much, they put up with me as part of the baggage she has to carry. I am thankful for her and all she has endured the past 40 plus years we have been together. I'm glad she won the five hour dominoes game last night, was able to sleep in a little longer this morning, that I came in sixth in the game, was up at 5:30, able to look at life on a beautiful Saturday morning and say thank You to God who gave so much for us and continues to give us all we need and much of what we want, as well. Yes, I am thankful. THANK YOU, LORD.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
December 16, 2015. Madison, GA. The Best Laid Plans..........
Two years ago yesterday, Karen and I set out from Fort Collins on what we thought would be a three or four month journey and then back to Colorado for the Spring and early Summer to decide where to go and what to do next. It didn't work out that way. We have been back to Colorado only to take care of medical issues and our plans which never had a definite destination when we started has now revolved around Eureka Springs, AR and Madison, GA for two stays in both locations. Colorado has become our temporary permanent address and Arkansas and Georgia our permanent temporary address.
We still minister to Vietnam Veterans with our Ministry of Miles, but The Great Passion Play and Source of Light Ministries are where we give our "time and talents" and join God where He is at work, helping to advance His Kingdom by being part of a community which is devoted to preaching The Good News in different ways to different "audiences". We enjoy both and also enjoy the life style which we did not plan, but was part of a larger plan which we accepted. For now, we are planning to stay on a similar "schedule" for the coming year, but only He knows what lies ahead, and our plans will yield to His should they not be the same.
We watch the weather pretty closely, and right now even though we have rain in the immediate forecast tonight, we are thankful we are not in Colorado where it is much colder and snowier and has been so for a few weeks now. When we left there in December, 2013 it had been below zero for quite a spell and we were "fortunate" to have a warm day in the mid-30's to de-winterize and start heading south. The motor home has only traveled 11,000 miles in the two years, but it has served us well and we are grateful for the plans we didn't follow and the Plan we did. God is Good and we are abundantly blessed.
Sent from my iPad
We still minister to Vietnam Veterans with our Ministry of Miles, but The Great Passion Play and Source of Light Ministries are where we give our "time and talents" and join God where He is at work, helping to advance His Kingdom by being part of a community which is devoted to preaching The Good News in different ways to different "audiences". We enjoy both and also enjoy the life style which we did not plan, but was part of a larger plan which we accepted. For now, we are planning to stay on a similar "schedule" for the coming year, but only He knows what lies ahead, and our plans will yield to His should they not be the same.
We watch the weather pretty closely, and right now even though we have rain in the immediate forecast tonight, we are thankful we are not in Colorado where it is much colder and snowier and has been so for a few weeks now. When we left there in December, 2013 it had been below zero for quite a spell and we were "fortunate" to have a warm day in the mid-30's to de-winterize and start heading south. The motor home has only traveled 11,000 miles in the two years, but it has served us well and we are grateful for the plans we didn't follow and the Plan we did. God is Good and we are abundantly blessed.
Sent from my iPad
Monday, December 14, 2015
December 14, 2015. Madison, GA. Taking Inventory, part 2
Leaves and lady bugs; exempt from Inventory. Whew!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone
Sunday, December 13, 2015
December 13, 2015. Madison, GA. Taking Inventory
This week we will begin the year-end process here at Source of Light of counting all the physical items on the premises. The major items are the publications stored in the. Madison Discipleship School and in the many cages and racks in the warehouse. There are thousands and tens of thousands of various publications and the system for keeping track of them is in transition at the moment, so it will be a challenge for those of us involved to determine an accurate count of what we have in stock and report it to whomever it is supposed to be reported.
As we get to the end of another physical year and fiscal year, the accounting people are hard at work getting their figures together for reporting to whomever they have to report it to and they too are working with a new system and a new accounting director, so they are hard at it as well. Sally has been working exceptionally long hours to be finished by her deadline.
There are also many individuals taking inventory of their own personal life, the year that has passed by so quickly, what was planned for the year, what was accomplished during the year and how it is being reported to whomever or Whom we are responsible for reporting it to. Our boss or manager or supervisor will rate us and determine what we will be doing next year or if we even will be doing it for them again. But ultimately, for us Christians, our inventory is already reported and our Boss, Manager and Supervisor are in the process of determining how we did and what He will be assigning us to do next. Some of us will be disciplined, some will be asked to do the same thing again, some will be given greater responsibilities and some may even be called to an ultimate reward. Our inventory of ourself may be accurate or not, but God's inventory of our past year and past years is totally accurate and already in the books. We don't know the count now, but we will eventually and the only way to assure a good report is to be obedient, be intentional, be a good steward and do the right things for the proper motive.
It's not always easy, but it is what we are called to and what will answer the prayer we pray so often; Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done. What we count is important, but what counts more is God's plan and purpose for us, and our adherence to it. And so we press on.
Sent from my iPad
As we get to the end of another physical year and fiscal year, the accounting people are hard at work getting their figures together for reporting to whomever they have to report it to and they too are working with a new system and a new accounting director, so they are hard at it as well. Sally has been working exceptionally long hours to be finished by her deadline.
There are also many individuals taking inventory of their own personal life, the year that has passed by so quickly, what was planned for the year, what was accomplished during the year and how it is being reported to whomever or Whom we are responsible for reporting it to. Our boss or manager or supervisor will rate us and determine what we will be doing next year or if we even will be doing it for them again. But ultimately, for us Christians, our inventory is already reported and our Boss, Manager and Supervisor are in the process of determining how we did and what He will be assigning us to do next. Some of us will be disciplined, some will be asked to do the same thing again, some will be given greater responsibilities and some may even be called to an ultimate reward. Our inventory of ourself may be accurate or not, but God's inventory of our past year and past years is totally accurate and already in the books. We don't know the count now, but we will eventually and the only way to assure a good report is to be obedient, be intentional, be a good steward and do the right things for the proper motive.
It's not always easy, but it is what we are called to and what will answer the prayer we pray so often; Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done. What we count is important, but what counts more is God's plan and purpose for us, and our adherence to it. And so we press on.
Sent from my iPad
Thursday, December 10, 2015
December 10, 2015. Madison, GA. Irma
Irma is our GPS. She's been with us about four years and has been pretty reliable. We've been from coast to coast and almost border to across the border and she has only had one hissy-fit when she came close to being replaced. At the last minute, she decided to come to her senses and we reinstated her into our menagerie of electronic gadgets and Irma stayed in the family. She does insist that we get to the city center of every via point we enter in our routes, and since we travel almost totally on back roads, and not the Interstates, she does want us to get the full scenic tour down "Main Street". Most times she has a "recalculating " tantrum until we can get past the last possible dirt road back to the via point and she realizes we are going ahead and not back. We talk to her like she understands, and on we go.
Our new phones have a talking map feature, so on our recent trip to Augusta, we had Irma and the Google Maps lady ( we haven't given her a legal name yet) both giving directions to Hobby Lobby at the same time and I couldn't figure out how to silence Google Lady, so it was quite a battle for a while. We arrived without incident and we're grateful for the assistance. For over 35 years Karen and I had travelled without a cell phone, without a GPS, with only a paper map and my firm belief that I knew where we were, where we were going and how to get there. How did we ever manage that?
Karen and I have done a lot of driving around this country. I can't estimate how many miles, but it's been a lot. We started our married life with a car trip from Colorado to Washington, DC the morning after our wedding and we have been driving ever since. We have been to every state but Alaska, have been to the four corners of the United States and the Four Corners Monument where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet and we continue to explore as we seek to answer God's call on our lives. Karen has done most of the actual driving. I have done most of the travel planning and navigating and we are both content to fill those roles. The technical advances have certainly made travel easier and far less stressful than it was for those early "adventures".
We are grateful for Irma and her unnamed assistant. But most of all we thank our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit for the ultimate plan, the ultimate destination and the freedom we have to serve where we are led. How blessed, grateful and thankful we are.
Sent from my iPad
Our new phones have a talking map feature, so on our recent trip to Augusta, we had Irma and the Google Maps lady ( we haven't given her a legal name yet) both giving directions to Hobby Lobby at the same time and I couldn't figure out how to silence Google Lady, so it was quite a battle for a while. We arrived without incident and we're grateful for the assistance. For over 35 years Karen and I had travelled without a cell phone, without a GPS, with only a paper map and my firm belief that I knew where we were, where we were going and how to get there. How did we ever manage that?
Karen and I have done a lot of driving around this country. I can't estimate how many miles, but it's been a lot. We started our married life with a car trip from Colorado to Washington, DC the morning after our wedding and we have been driving ever since. We have been to every state but Alaska, have been to the four corners of the United States and the Four Corners Monument where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet and we continue to explore as we seek to answer God's call on our lives. Karen has done most of the actual driving. I have done most of the travel planning and navigating and we are both content to fill those roles. The technical advances have certainly made travel easier and far less stressful than it was for those early "adventures".
We are grateful for Irma and her unnamed assistant. But most of all we thank our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit for the ultimate plan, the ultimate destination and the freedom we have to serve where we are led. How blessed, grateful and thankful we are.
Sent from my iPad
Monday, December 7, 2015
December 7, 2015. Madison, GA. Turn Over a New Leaf
I spent another full day gathering leaves on the Source of Light grounds. I can't believe how much effort it takes to keep up with the uncountable number of leaves which are falling from the uncountable number of trees on the Mission property. I miss Ron, my leaf gathering partner from last year and unfortunately, no one has stepped forward to take his place and be my leaf buddy.
But, fortunately, Marvin has made repairs to the mower-leaf rake combo machine and it has allowed me to mow, mulch and pick up more leaves quicker and deposit them in the area we have for them, and do so more efficiently than last year. But, the leaves just seem to keep coming......down. Most of the trees are almost bare, so I think I am finally getting the upper hand. Tomorrow we are leaving (pun intended) for the day and will run some errands in Augusta and then return for print shop and leaf duties the end of the week.
It has been good to be able to work outside. The weather has been good, no snow, and only one night close to freezing, so I can't really complain; other than trying to understand why trees which are so gorgeous in the spring and summer when the leaves are green and full, turn to multiple colors in the early fall and then fall down for us to rake and collect. Someday, we'll understand the reason, but for now, just get 'er done.
Sent from my iPad
But, fortunately, Marvin has made repairs to the mower-leaf rake combo machine and it has allowed me to mow, mulch and pick up more leaves quicker and deposit them in the area we have for them, and do so more efficiently than last year. But, the leaves just seem to keep coming......down. Most of the trees are almost bare, so I think I am finally getting the upper hand. Tomorrow we are leaving (pun intended) for the day and will run some errands in Augusta and then return for print shop and leaf duties the end of the week.
It has been good to be able to work outside. The weather has been good, no snow, and only one night close to freezing, so I can't really complain; other than trying to understand why trees which are so gorgeous in the spring and summer when the leaves are green and full, turn to multiple colors in the early fall and then fall down for us to rake and collect. Someday, we'll understand the reason, but for now, just get 'er done.
Sent from my iPad
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