Miles -what it means

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Hand of GOD
"Hand of GOD"                                                                                                                                                  

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

December 31, 2014 Madison, GA. God Will Provide

I usually don't reread my blogs after they are sent, but the last one tugged on me a little the past few days, so here are additional thoughts:
My email has been full of requests for monetary support the past month, but when I thought about it, my email has been full of requests for monetary support every month. And these are requests from non-profit organizations, relief agencies, individual missionaries, Christian charities, para-church ministries.......... Some of them even come from organizations we already support and are asking us to "up the ante" and give more. In addition, there are a number of requests for us to consider giving our time to these organizations here or abroad. The possibilities are endless and it is incumbent on us to sift, investigate and pray. God wants us to be good shepherds of what He has given us, share with those who are in need and give our service in areas where He is at work and calls us to join Him. Ultimately what we do, where we spend our time and resources are choices we need to make prayerfully and with the guidance of The Holy Spirit. We all tend to be impacted by the needs we observe and we must realize that while our time and resources are limited, God's time and resources are limitless. He is the supreme and infinite provider and if the cause is in His Will.........HE WILL PROVIDE.
Karen and I took a large leap of faith in setting out with The Ministry of Miles last December, and in every area we have been blessed. We end 2014 with fond memories and look forward to 2015 with the expectation that if we "follow the cloud", listen to God's call, heed the prompting of The Holy Spirit and set Jesus as our model, we'll be okay. Our prayers are with all of our friends and family for a Happy and Joyous New Year.

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Monday, December 29, 2014

December 29, 2014. Madison, GA. Winning the Hearts and Minds

During my school years, I remember reading a book entitled "The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard. It was about the efforts of advertisers to get the consumer to buy the product they were "pushing" and to make us believe we just could not live a full productive life without that product. The situation has not changed very much since that book was written in 1957. Manufacturers still want us to buy their product, advertising has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry and the barrage of things wanting our money and our loyalty is staggering. Everywhere we look we are overwhelmed by "things" which want us to claim them as our own.
Advertising is so pervasive that we cannot go anywhere without it assaulting us and demanding that we pay attention to it. If it is not blatantly "in our face" it is a brief subliminal message which flashes an image, word or idea into our subconscious. We can't escape the assault whether we are on the street, at the movies, watching tv, surfing the Internet, shopping for food or just plain trying to do nothing. Everything and everyone is trying to win us over to their product, point of view or supporting them or their cause.
Within my sight at this moment, as I write this blog, are probably hundreds of "brand names" which are trying to win my heart and mind to them. If they are in our motor home, they have already achieved the goal of getting my money. If they are outside the window, they have gotten someone else's money and are trying to get mine next. If I think too much about it, it makes me wonder how we are able to overcome the professionals who are so intent on selling us their wares. Now that the elections are over and the "Holiday Season" is over, we can wait for the next great attack, the Super Bowl ads. I could go on and on, but I think I'll let the blog just wind down and let us all pause a little to think about what we allow to influence us ........... to occupy our attention............ and where we spend our resources and our time.......................

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Friday, December 26, 2014

December 26, 2014. Madison, GA. God is in Control

This week has been a busy one, not so much with work, but with getting together for a number of Christmas activities. Karen has been making salads, tomato/cucumber trays, cheese and cracker platters, a calzone-type dinner and it has been non-stop gatherings and get-togethers with church services, Christmas Contatas, a Christmas-eve candlelight service, a birthday trip with a friend to Milledgeville, GA today, Christmas dinner at Don and Sonja's yesterday where I was asked to give my testimony, and a planned trip to Stone Mountain for tomorrow. We had a retirement ceremony Tuesday for a couple who had volunteered here for 12 years and a farewell luncheon for them that same day, staff chapel on Wednesday, the weekly bread/dessert delivery from Publix Market. It rained almost four inches early in the week and today it was time for laundry, helping finishing Hugh and LaVon's deck and for me to read most of the book "Zvi" which was given to me yesterday.
We were able to talk with family in Colorado and Florida and Karen texted a bunch of our friends and had many return messages. We wrote to our home church (Shiloh Christian Church) in Fort Collins and the note was sent out in their weekly letter to the fellowship. I even had a call from Larry checking on us because the every-three-day blog was absent and an e-mail from Noah explaining why our blog was accidently taken off the Shiloh website. Saxton even called and we received a couple of e-cards one from Mack and Arleene and another from our window defoggers in Arkansas.
It's strange that my last blog talked about our kind of "flying alone" in our journey, and since then it has been a beehive of activity, church and social activities and being as connected as we have ever been. As we have been finding out; make plans and God will have a different one for us; write what you are feeling and pretty soon you're feeling different. I get the distinct impression that God is letting us know that He is guiding the ship and we just need to enjoy the ride and leave the driving to Him. With all that is going on in our life and in the world, it's good to know and accept that GOD IS IN CONTROL and ALL IS WELL.


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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Fwd: December 21, 2014. Madison, GA. Alone.........with........

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> The night I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, June 27, 1999 at a Praise in The Park celebration in Fort Collins, CO I was in a crowd of more than 4,000....... alone.......with.......
> At the time I didn't understand how I could be surrounded by so many people and yet feel so alone, except for .........who was with me. I now know that it was The Holy Spirit with me and that the feeling of being alone was my abandoning all the baggage and burdens which I had been carrying for the past 53 years, and beginning a journey which over the next 15+ years would be ordained by God, modeled by Jesus and guided by The Holy Spirit.
> Yesterday I read the December 20th, Streams In The Desert devotional with the subtitle "I am not alone, for my Father is with me (John16:32)". It spoke so personally to me about our current journey and the way we have left our Colorado connections to minister where and how God has directed us. I hope you read the SITD devotional if you have a hard copy, or check it out on the Internet, because it may speak to you as it spoke to me to explain why we are led to follow God's calling on our life or sometimes back off from obeying, because we don't want to "step out of our comfort zone" or take that "leap of faith" required to serve God on HIS terms. The devotional impacted me greatly, because it was so personal. We went to a different church this morning, will be going to a Christmas program this evening at a church we have never attended. In both cases we are going by ourselves, as we have done so many times in the past year. In the world, but not feeling part of it. Alone.........but we are not alone, for Our Father is with us. Thank You, Lord.
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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Leaf me alone



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December 18, 2014. Madison, GA. Half Full or Half Empty

December in Colorado, shoveling snow and scraping ice off the windshield, or December in Georgia, raking leaves and scraping a thin layer of frost off the windshield. Right now, I'm grateful for the aching arms and the Georgia situation. We are collecting leaves on a 25 acre property, and it could have been collecting leaves on 660+ acres at The Great Passion Play In Arkansas. If it seems bad, things could always be worse. Ron and I are tired from two days of leaf gathering, and there is still some work left for tomorrow to complete the task and have the Source of Light property "lookin' good".
We all bring our life experiences to the mix of personalities here at SLMI and it is interesting to see how they blend into a work force which can face the "opportunities" or "problems" and bring them to resolution. It fascinates me to see God bring the right person for the right task and in the process teach a city boy how to operate farm equipment and do tasks which we were accustomed to hiring someone else to do. And, it really isn't rocket science. Funny that a few weeks ago at church we met a man who is an actual rocket scientist with NASA. God does have a sense of humor.
The work day is winding down. I took off a little early to rest my half empty arms and let my half full fingers get some exercise on this blog. It has been a good day, our efforts here are appreciated and we feel that we are helping to do the work God has ordained for us at this ministry. We're learning that we are where we are for a reason, we are called to minister in a variety of ways and that we need to see challenges as opportunities, each day as a chance to learn something new, meet a new friend or turn over a new leaf, even if there are 25 acres of them.

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Monday, December 15, 2014

Colorado-1 year ago




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December 15, 2014. Madison, GA. Happy Anniversary

One year ago, the Ministry of Miles set out from Fort Collins on what would turn out to be 6,800 miles in a house on wheels, through 12 states and a host of unique and challenging experiences. We had no idea, then, what would lie before us, but we " took the bait" and never imagined that we would be "hooked" by the challenge and still be on the road and loving it. Karen was back in Colorado in mid-summer for 5 weeks and as we have blogged, she was able to accomplish amazing feats while attending to medical appointments and tests. She added a thirteenth State and another 1200+ miles to the year's tally.
We never imagined we would spend over 6 months in Arkansas, be ministering here in Georgia the past 5 weeks, be adopted by a dog named Gus, a cat named Earl and cross-back donkeys in both States, as well as a host of new friends who don't think we talk strange, even if we think they do. We have laughed, and cried, seen people we have just met go to be with The Lord and experienced a wide-range of churches, worship and preaching styles and been able to minister to Veterans, be ministered to by any number of seasoned Christians and young children. It has been a good year, one we would not trade for anything. We have grown in our faith, our love for others and our realization that after 41 years of marriage we still have a ways to go to "get it together", but have a new resolve to keep trying for as long as it takes.
We have made plans to spend time in Jacksonville, FL, at the Navy bases we stayed at earlier this year and after that we are waiting on what God has for us and where He moves the cloud. As of now we hope those plans include a return to the Passion Play. Our friends from there are scattered from central Florida to Georgia to Texas to panhandle Florida to Oklahoma to northeastern Florida to Nevada and possibly other places as well. Some will be back at TGPP while others are making other plans for spring and summer. We all are called to different places and different endeavors and we need to be obedient to that call. But, for the moment.........
Happy 1st Anniversary. Thank You, Lord for letting us travel with You. It's been a JOY.

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Friday, December 12, 2014

December 12, 2014. Madison, GA. WOW

A group of us here at Source of Light got together yesterday evening to watch two videos, Privileged Planet and Unlocking the Mystery of Life. They are videos which have been around for ten or more years and speak about the vastness of our universe, the complexity of life and the ongoing debate about creationism, intelligent design and evolution. Without getting into too much detail, and so as not to expose my lack of sophistication in such matters, all I can say is that I cannot understand why people have clung to the theories of Charles Darwin when there is so much more that would lead us to cling to God and the Biblical account of creation. Yes, it is a matter of faith and trust to believe the Bible, but it would take even more faith and trust to believe in a theory which defies even the basics of common sense.
The videos were riveting, and it was refreshing to hear a number of scientists present their views on the immensity of our universe and the tiny-ness of the building blocks of our human components and their belief that there had to be an intelligent designer of it all and not just a Big Bang or a cell which divided by itself in a swamp and eventually became a living, breathing being. I don't want to get into a debate with a Harvard professor or a nuclear scientist or any other "advocate" for their point of view, but I'm very comfortable with my belief that there was a grand plan, a grand planner and a purpose intended for it, and all of it begins, continues and ends.......with God. And as we travel, see various natural and man-made wonders, meet people who span the gamut of abilities, talents and potential, all I can say is Wow, what a glorious accumulation of things to boggle the mind and excite the senses. It behooves us all to not get too fixed in our ideas, our sense of having to be right all the time, too rigid in our demands; to have our eyes and ears open to the world around us and do what we can to ease the pain of others, meet the needs where we can and rest in the promises of God and the hope that our best days are still ahead, here.....there.....or in the air.


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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

December 9, 2014. Madison, GA. That'll be extra

A few blogs ago, I wrote something about there not being any free lunches anymore. Everything comes with a cost. Karen and I stopped for a late breakfast on our way back to Madison yesterday. I won't mention the name of the restaurant, so as not to embarrass them or invite the extra expense of an attorney for us.
Here's some of what inspires this blog. When we read the menu, we noticed that the prices seemed a little high for breakfast and there were a number of meals which had a basic price and then had a price for extra items added on. Examples: ham added to any meal-add $5.00; $1.95 extra for "loaded" hash browns; $.30 extra for raisin toast; milk shakes $2.99, but add Oreo cookies and it is $3.49; breakfast special $7.39, add two eggs for an additional $2.10. I know there were other extra's, but these examples will suffice to show the point I'm trying to make.
Life has a basic cost and then there are the extras. Lunch and dinner at the same restaurant may be the same meal, but it costs more at dinner. ??? the window seat costs more than the aisle seat. ??? If you happen to wear an XL or larger size, there is a higher price. ??? A hot dog at a sporting event will probably cost you $6.00 and at the market you can buy a whole package of the same dogs for half that. ??? And what about the difference in gasoline prices from state to state, brand to brand and even station to station in the same town. ??? Enough already. You get the point, and I'm getting aggravated.
Ron, here at Source of Light told us that he has an app on his phone which gives him a rebate on items he buys at a certain store if another store sells that same item for less than he pays. He just scans his receipt and the app does the rest. If I heard him correctly he just found out he saved $.69 on an item he bought yesterday and that will be credited to him on the next item he buys. Or............he could get 2 pieces of raisin toast at the "........." Restaurant for the price of white or wheat and still have $.09 left over. And, the great thing, he didn't have to pay extra for the app. Ain't technology great. I sure hope this blog posts. It would be a shame to lose such profound and life-changing thoughts to the ether. See you in a few days, God willing.

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Saturday, December 6, 2014

December 6, 2014. Hoschton, GA. On vacation

Karen and I enjoy going places we haven't been before. Whenever we travel a new road, go to a new destination or have a unique experience, we say to each other, "we're on vacation". When we left Madison on Thursday, we were soon on vacation, and for about 40 miles we were in that mode. When we reached our friends in Hoschton, we were in familiar territory. Karen and Kathy are reviving an activity they enjoyed in Fort Collins, putting up the Christmas Village. Russ, who had a busy work week is putting up outdoor decorations and I am acting like I'm on vacation, by just reading, eating and blogging and not really volunteering to help, but jumping in when asked to. It's nice to just relax, and I hope everyone will complete their tasks, and be able to just rest and relax with me.
I've been re-reading a book by Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God, and although I read the book when we were in Jacksonville earlier this year, I don' remember absorbing anything it said. It is really speaking to me this time and making me think about Luke 15 and the parables Jesus presents there. I have one chapter to go and am looking forward to finishing it later today or tomorrow. Kind of like being on vacation. I would definitely recommend this short book to everyone.
The last time I did not spend a night in our motor home was when we were here in Hoschton in February. It seems strange to be traveling as we are, be in so many different places, and yet go to sleep in the same bed every night for the past 10 months. It's nice to be here, on vacation, but not on vacation. God has been so good to us. I say it often, and as I wrote a few blogs ago, so thankful for the journey God has set out for us. I never tire of saying, THANK YOU LORD. I never take a vacation from that.


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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

December 3, 2014. Madison, GA. Happy Birthday

Today is my birthday. I was born on 12-3-45 so there is no excuse for anyone forgetting it, except my law school friend Harv who got the numbers right but spaced them 1-23 so I could always expect a belated greeting from him.
I have had a great day so far with a lot of unusual activities to mark the day. I went to the scrap yard with Brian, in a 1967 (the year I graduated college) Chevy dump truck. Brought back memories of some of the 50's and 60's cars we grew up with. We rigged a Kuboda ZTR mower to tow a leaf rake so we will be able to start picking up the 20+ acres of leaves which are covering the ground. Marvin, a genius machinist in his 80's, who has fabricated a boatload of labor-saving and money-saving "things" here at SLMI oversaw the project, and promptly jumped on the mower to test out his creation. It works, and Ron will have a field day as he mulches and picks up all the leaves he can handle over the next days and weeks. Three of us were sung to at chapel, and Karen gave me some peanut butter-chocolate brownies as a gift. I spoke with my friend Saxton from Fort Collins and my brother sent an email and a "looking forward" to our Jacksonville visit in mid-January. The weather was perfect for the morning's inside duties and being outdoors in the afternoon. It was a good day and a Happy Birthday and Earl even came by to visit.
Tomorrow we will take the car and head off for a weekend in Hoschton, GA to visit Russ, Kathy and Emily, our friends from Fort Collins who moved to Georgia a few years ago. We visited them earlier this year and it will be good to see them again. We have a back-roads route planned so we can see some of the scenery and small towns between here and there.
Yes, it was a good day and a good birthday and we are glad we could spend it in service to The Lord and His ministry here and be part of its impact around the world. Thank You, Lord for correcting our hotspot issue from the last blog without having to do anything more than restart the I-Pad and hotspot Monday morning, for watching over us as we seek to do what You have called us to do with the people You have put in our life. We are blessed and grateful.

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