Thank you for your service

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March 29, 2014. Pickwick Landing State Park, TN. Thank you for your service

After rain in every state we have been in the past three-and-half months, it's only fitting that it should rain on our first day in Tennessee. Except for one leaky window frame, which we are scheduled to have fixed in Arkansas in mid-April, we are staying afloat and dry.
I've made reference to this before. As we travel and visit with people, some will notice my Vietnam Veteran hat and thank me for my service. My reply has generally been a short "thank you" and little more. I have decided that a more appropriate response may be "thank you for YOUR service" and an invitation for them to tell us something about their service to others, their family, their background, their travel and then ultimately let them know that our Ministry of Miles is an attempt to continue serving our MILitary and extol the Eternal Salvation of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are meeting a lot of Believers, hearing numerous testimonies of changed lives and seeing people serve Jesus and give Him the glory for the life they are living. Yesterday in Corinth, MS we spent time with Tessa and Miss Brittany from Life Changers Outreach and were able to thank them for THEIR service. Over and over again, as we break through the human tendency to go it alone, put up a wall of isolation, or a fence which separates us from our neighbor, we find that there are caring people out there (Christ-followers or not), people who want to help and make a difference, to be of service. All we need to do, is break the mold, say hello and smile; and if they do happen to beat us to the punch and say "thank you for your service", graciously thank them for theirs. And most of all, Jesus, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

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A special place.....

A special place

March 26, 2014. J.P. Coleman State Park, Iuka, MS. A special place.......

One of my devotionals this morning read: "God is with me and I am with God. God's blessings of life, light and love flow through me. I have a special place in God's world." I've read this devotional every March 26th for a lot of years and probably have never really thought too deeply about it or considered that not just on March 26th, but every day, I occupy not only a physical place in God's creation, but also a spiritual place in His Kingdom and the world we live in. And not only do I have a place and purpose, but everyone has a place and purpose in God's world. How awesome it is to think that all of it is special and of importance to God and His plan for His creation. What we do matters and how we do it matters. How blessed we are, no matter what our situation. We are special because God is with us and if we are surrendered to Him, life, light and love are ours and ours to share. I pray this day is full of the abundance of God's peace, joy and love and the special place we find ourself will advance His Kingdom and bring us closer to Him and to one another.

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Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama

March 22, 2014. Lake Guntersville State Park, AL. Same place, different time

Karen and I travel the back roads. We avoid the Interstates, because they all tend to look the same and on this journey we're not really in any 75 mile per hour hurry to get where we are going. God has blessed us with the freedom to go at a slower pace, a mission of seeing more of His Creation, His creatures and trying to be the first to say hello and flash the first smile. It may sound easy, but old habits and years of rush-rush living are hard to change.
As we travel through small towns and rural country, we see a lot of old, falling-down buildings, abandoned businesses, peaceful cemetaries, and many reminders of a different time. We wonder what memories these places hold and the people who lived "in the day", the legacies passed on to future generations and where those people are today. Names of cities, street signs, historical markers, a host of things evoke questions of "what happened here" or stir memories from our past and what ever happened to "old so and so" and wishing we had stayed in closer touch with them. Travel has a way of feeding our curiosity, making our Google searches more focused and making us more awestruck by our God, Who holds all this together and makes sense of it. We are in a State Park in northern Alabama which for many years was one of the most beautiful parks, according to our neighbor across the way, until April, 2011 when two tornadoes came through from two directions and decimated the area, destroying thousands of mature trees and personal property, and changing lives in an instant. Yet the area was cleaned up, new trees were planted and people have returned to enjoy the "new" park once again. How similar the story is to so many others in the places we travel through and only see the vestiges in the falling-down buildings, abandoned businesses and peaceful cemetaries. What it must have been like when these places were brand new, the future was still ahead and the cemetaries weren't occupied yet. But "new" life goes on. Each day holds a host of experiences to be lived and be thankful for. Soak it in, enjoy it, thank God for each moment and remember to give Him the glory for all we have, all He did for us, the place we are now, and the time He gives us. This journey and this ministry is humbling me more than my pride cares to admit, but admit it I do, awaiting the next "on-my knees" moment, which is right now. THANK YOU, LORD. I look forward to the next hello. I'm smiling already.


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RE: March 18, 2014. Ft. Benning, GA. The Ark

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-------- Original message --------
From: Hal Schatz
Date:03/18/2014 8:33 AM (GMT-05:00)
To:
Subject: March 18, 2014. Ft. Benning, GA. The Ark

     When we last blogged, we were at the beach preparing to move a short distance to a new site.  Plans changed, as the weather changed.  Saturday morning the tide was up, the weather forecast called for heavy rain and ominous stuff later in the day from the northwest, so we headed southwest out of South Carolina.  What we encountered was pleasant travel to Reidsville, GA, hunkering down in rain for a day and a half, threats of a rising Ohoopee Creek and a day of travel in heavy rain yesterday to our present location at Uchee Creek by the Chattahoochee River.  The Ark (with only one stuffed dog as our cargo) has seemed to weather the storms, gotten us to a soggy resting spot with only a minor window leak, and the prospect is for dry and pleasant weather ahead.  Our neighbor here told us we will have deer in the field behind us, so looking forward to sunrise and seeing our first deer of this trip. 
     We have met some wonderful people during the past three months on the road.  I keep a notepad with me and write down names, places, tidbits of conversations, helpful rv hints, diary-type stuff, etc.   I've privately journaled during my quiet time since 2003, been publicly blogging on this trip and writing in my notepad, so I've written a lot of words, but know I haven't captured everything.  There's just too much to know, too much to see and too many people to meet and visit with.  And yet sometimes we just are in our own world on our own Ark with a stuffed dog for companionship.  In 1968, an Australian quartet, The Seekers, performed a song, A World of Our Own, a favorite of mine then and a renewed favorite of mine now.  Google it, listen to the words and the peaceful melody from a turbulent time in our history and a very eventful year in my life.  I pray we can all find a personal peace as we navigate the storms and trials of life on our personal Arks.  Another song by the Seekers, Another You, may give us the answer, if that Other You is the person of Jesus Christ and the Promised Land in that song is our Eternal Home.  I realize this blog has become an interactive one, but I pray your effort will be of comfort to you.  I'm going to listen to both songs and watch the deer.  Hopefully there will be a picture to follow.  Thank You, Lord.
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Dolphins and Dollars

Here's evidence of dolphins and a dollar we kept.  Take our word for the multitude of dogs.  Just think of how devoted you are to yours and your neighbors and friends are to theirs. You know the drill.

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March 14, 2014. Hunting Island, SC. Dolphins, Dollars and Dogs

We moved a distance of about 150 yards from site 31 to site 18 this morning at Hunting Island State Park. Tomorrow we move about 50 yards to site 21 and Sunday we will move about 75 yards to site 17. This is a popular state park right on the Atlantic and people reserve their favorite campsites in advance. We were fortunate to get reservations so close to our arrival. Tonight we are getting together with Scott and Susan to catch up on the last 25 years since we last were together here in Beaufort, SC, and 20 years before that in Washington, DC when Scott, Susan and I were students at George Washington University. Looking forward to reminiscing.
Karen and I took a walk on the beach this morning, talking with people as we walked to and from the Hunting Island lighthouse. Along the way we watched the dolphins frolicking in the shallow water close to the shore. We also were collecting sand dollars washed up on the shore, but were told we had actually collected ones which were still alive, so I returned them to the ocean hoping they might have a few more hours, or days, or years to do what sand dollars do when they are pardoned from the bleach bucket. In many ways this trip has been very educational. How can one know everything about everything, since most of our education was pre-google? Some people really do know a lot.
In addition to people, we minister to a lot of pets; cats, parrots but mostly dogs. It's amazing how many people travel with as many as three dogs. All shapes, sizes, ages, denominations and temperaments. Like us humans, they love to meet others, get acquainted in a variety of styles, mostly of the sniffing-type and like people in this life style there isn't a lot of open hostility. This is quite a journey for all of us; as one man riding a one-speed clunker on the beach said, "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven". At that moment and so many more in our travels, I had to agree. God has blessed us; He has blessed us all, and called us to live this life with joy, gratitude and the hope of eternity now and forever. I pray we all embrace His message and preach it by our words and actions no matter what season of life we find ourselves. Do all to the Glory of God. Thank you, Lord.




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March 11, 2014. Hunting Island, SC. How can you not believe?

The sunrise chart said sunrise would be at 7:37, and at 7:37, as if on cue, the sun began to creep slowly out of the Atlantic Ocean and rise above the water into a cloudless sky. As I watched, all I could think of was the vastness and abundance of what was within my very limited field of vision and all of the infinite vastness and abundance beyond my immediate vicinity. Think for a moment of all the components which combine to make up what is our world. Think for a moment of all the grains of sand, the blades of grass, the leaves on the trees, ants, sea shells, people from different places, mosquitos, opinions, items in the grocery store, no-see-ums. The list is endless, and yet there is an order of some kind to it all. How can you not believe that there is an order to it all and without that order our world would be even more out of control than it seems to be? As much as we think we're on top of it all, we aren't and I am so glad and grateful that we believe in and serve The One who does order and control everything we see and don't see and what we may only know from a sunrise chart on our cell phone.
So many elements make up our world. So many parts need to be played in the drama of life. Some of us have slowed the pace of our life while others are still hard at the grind. Some work, some retire, some walk, some run and some sit. But, we are all called to serve in some way and make a difference in our world. Some of us are sunrises at 7:37 and some of are sand flees. But in whatever role we find ourself, how can we not believe? The Ministry of Miles rolls on, blessed by the abundance of God's creation and the infinite grace and love He is showering on us every day. Praise You Lord for the vision You have given us and the freedom we have to pursue it. How can we not believe?


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7:37

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March 8, 2014. King's Bay, GA, Spring has sprung.........the years have flown

39 degrees, blue skies, light breeze, bright sun. Break out the shorts, it's springtime in Georgia. After four days of gray we are going to be sun-drenched and warming over the next few days to near 80. The moods will brighten, travel plans will again be discussed and when the snow stops falling in Pennsylvania and the rest of the northeast, people will be heading home and thoughts will turn to planting flowers and preparing the garden. Karen and I will be heading one state north on Monday to Beaufort, SC and a reunion with a law school classmate, Scottie, and his wife, Susan. We saw them last in 1988 when we were on a trip to my 25th high school reunion. The years have flown by and so much has happened not only in the 25 years since we last saw them, but in the 45 years since we started school together in 1968. We can't be that old.....can we? This journey, the three month one we are on now, and the longer one of our lifetime, is one we can approach in any number of ways. We can look back with a host of regrets or satisfaction, look forward with a host of fears or dreams, or live today with worry or joy. The choice is ours and the attitude we choose will color the result when we put our head on the pillow tonight and await the new day tomorrow. But until then, we have only this day and only this moment. Beyond right now, we have only what God has ordained for us, and other than His promises and our hope in them, we can only seize the moment. Listen to your own words, Hal, look in the mirror, and live as God calls you to live. Love God, love people, love life. It's 45 degrees, the sky is still blue, the breeze is gentle from the south. I'm putting on shorts and going for a wog (walk/jog) in the sun. Life is good. Thank You, Lord.

March 6, 2014. King's Bay, GA. Cabin Fever

This has been a tough winter for much of the country. It seems that global warming has gone on vacation, the Great Lakes where we enjoyed such a pleasant time last August are frozen solid, Niagara Falls where we took the picture at the top of our website is frozen solid and much of the upper Midwest and the east coast are cold and snow-bound. And the south is bundled up and crowded with people fleeing the north or unable to return to their homes in the north or northeast. Maybe the extra weight of all the people and motor homes in Florida has altered the axis of the world and affected the weather adversely as well as the situation in Ukraine. There's a theory for everything. The day we left Florida and arrived here in southeast Georgia it was 79 degrees and since then it has not gotten out of the 50's and the sun has taken a trip somewhere else. The cloud has settled upon us and people have been less visible. Motor homes come in all sizes, but even the largest of them become smaller in weather like this. Cabin fever is a reality. If it seems like I'm complaining, I'm really not. God has given us an unusual opportunity to do something we have talked about for 30 years and only now are undertaking. He has blessed us with the resources and the health to answer the call to minister as we are and to serve needs we encounter along the way. If we fail to be obedient, it's no one's fault but ours. Karen has been a real trooper in this adventure and is making the best of the opportunities to be part of the social activities here. I've been more of a prisoner to my reading, writing, and craft project( sewing the crosses we give to people we meet), listening to the Shiloh sermons online and working on my Eeyore impersonation. As I often say to others, but often don't take heed of myself, "GET OVER IT" We are so blessed to be where we are, doing what we are doing and being loved and cared for by such an awesome and faithful Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we have cabin fever, we are blessed with a wonderful cabin and we pray that as we follow the cloud or stay under the cloud, our light will continue to shine through, and the life of Jesus will live in and through us to those who are facing a cabin which is a real prison and can only be escaped with the help of Jesus and His power. We thank you for your prayers, your encouragement and your love. In like fashion, we pray for you, encourage you in your journey and love you. GOD IS GOOD.

March 3, 2014. King's Bay Sub Base, GA. Georgia Peaches from Chile

This morning the USS New York left Mayport Naval Station and soon afterward this New Yorker left Mayport with Captain Karen at the helm. We're back at the sub base in Georgia for a week and then we will see how the weather determines whether we creep north or scurry south. We're hoping to meet up with Fort Collins friends for a tour of some Civil War battlefields in Tennessee and Mississippi in early April.
On our last day in Georgia, before heading to Florida, we bought some peaches, but soon discovered that peaches in Georgia are no different than Western slope Colorado peaches. They don't become "local" until late summer, so what you think you're getting, you're not. Like many things in life, we need to look carefully at the contents, read the labels, and make sure there' s water in the pool before we dive in. Our trip has made us very aware of what color the fuel handle is before we pump fuel, how much amperage each appliance uses when we only have 30 amps of power coming in, the tunnel has only 12 feet of clearance and we're 12'6", and the bridge to the rv park has a 10 ton weight limit and we weigh just over 15. So far we've done okay, but we did have to toss the peaches and apologize to both Georgia and Chile for the unkind words we muttered about the quality of the product. We'll be more observant next time.
God has guided us, protected us and provided for us in so many ways on this journey. We have met a lot of wonderful people, and are crossing paths with people we have already met "up" or "down" the road. We are in contact with a number of them and between our new friends and our old friends we feel very blessed. God is so Good and we thank Him often for this ministry and for His love and faithfulness. Praise God from Whom ALL BLESSINGS flow. Talk to you again soon.

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