It's that time again to be thankful. Thankful for people who do their jobs well. Thankful for the abundance we have in the way of products, food, fuels, protection from harm, medical resources and medications, natural beauty, entertainment......and so many choices. I realize that there are many people who have needs, illnesses, shortages, financial problems, addictions or other problems, but there is help available and programs aplenty to assist those who find little reason to be thankful for their situation.
As Karen and I spent a few hours yesterday shopping and looking for some items we needed, it struck me again how many businesses there are, how much product there is in those businesses and how many businesses there are in the same business, selling similar, if not identical, products. How do they effectively compete, how do they turn so much inventory, how do they make a living for themselves and their employees? We part-owned a business once and I hated the pressure of not having a steady paycheck, being nice to everyone who came in the door, dealing with stolen products, break-ins, dissatisfied customers and seasonal swings. But in all this, I still am thankful for the experience, thankful for those people who love the challenge of owning their own business, being their own boss and doing their job, whether it be sales, repair, special ordering or customer service, and doing it well and with pride.
And most of all, I'm thankful for the freedom we have as Americans and as Christians. There are some who envy us, do not like us, even wish us harm, but thank God, this is not all there is. We have a future more glorious than anything we may have now. And, whether we have little or much, whether we rejoice or look for the worst in things, whether we are at peace or have turmoil and hatred, we have the opportunity to change our lot or improve our lot by looking beyond the material and the temporal to a future, and a present for which we can always be thankful, always grateful and always joyful. The answer is Jesus, and His only requirement is acknowledging who He is, realizing what He did, and accepting what He promises to those who follow Him obediently and thankfully. I say again and continuously, THANK YOU, JESUS.
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Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
February 23, 2015. Mayport Naval Station, FL. To blog or to nap...........
It's 73 degrees, with a warm breeze coming from the northwest and I have been for a walk on the beach already. But, for some reason I don't have a lot of energy and feel like a nap might be in the offing. I am blogging, but have my CPAP machine on in case the nap urge overpowers the writing urge and I will have the benefit of some extra air to the brain should I nod off in mid-sentence.
I have a number of locations in my Accu-Weather list to be able to commiserate or be comforted by friends, in places we have plans to travel to in the next few months. Right now it's 49 in Madison, GA, 18 in Eureka Springs, AR and 12 in Fort Collins, CO. I won't repeat the temperature here at Mayport, but it does feel like 77 and I am still blogging. We are not supposed to compare our lives, our walk with The Lord, wish for what others have which we do not, or judge how others spend their time or money. We are supposed to be obedient to God's call on our life, be alert to the worldly distractions which seek to divert us from the path God wants us and those around us to follow, and to do all we can to be ambassadors for Christ and the Good News He preached and the life He modeled for us.
As we have documented over the past 14+ months on the road, we have tried to be good ambassadors, to serve where needed and to give our lives to the advancement of God's Kingdom on earth. We have worked hard. We have tried to rest when our physical or emotional load has burdened us, and we have tried to be good stewards of the resources provided for our use. We know that we are blessed and give all the credit and glory to The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I think I've blogged enough for today, and I still feel a nap is in order. Thank you, all who follow us or may read this later on, for being our friends. Our journey goes on as long as it is in the will of God for us to do so. He gives us the strength we need, but for now I think it is going to be a call to nap. Our prayers are for each of you to find the joy, peace, contentment and purpose which He has ordained for all who seek Him and find Him. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
I have a number of locations in my Accu-Weather list to be able to commiserate or be comforted by friends, in places we have plans to travel to in the next few months. Right now it's 49 in Madison, GA, 18 in Eureka Springs, AR and 12 in Fort Collins, CO. I won't repeat the temperature here at Mayport, but it does feel like 77 and I am still blogging. We are not supposed to compare our lives, our walk with The Lord, wish for what others have which we do not, or judge how others spend their time or money. We are supposed to be obedient to God's call on our life, be alert to the worldly distractions which seek to divert us from the path God wants us and those around us to follow, and to do all we can to be ambassadors for Christ and the Good News He preached and the life He modeled for us.
As we have documented over the past 14+ months on the road, we have tried to be good ambassadors, to serve where needed and to give our lives to the advancement of God's Kingdom on earth. We have worked hard. We have tried to rest when our physical or emotional load has burdened us, and we have tried to be good stewards of the resources provided for our use. We know that we are blessed and give all the credit and glory to The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I think I've blogged enough for today, and I still feel a nap is in order. Thank you, all who follow us or may read this later on, for being our friends. Our journey goes on as long as it is in the will of God for us to do so. He gives us the strength we need, but for now I think it is going to be a call to nap. Our prayers are for each of you to find the joy, peace, contentment and purpose which He has ordained for all who seek Him and find Him. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Friday, February 20, 2015
February 20, 2015. Mayport Naval Station, FL. It takes a lot of people
The past few days Karen and I have been pretty inactive. Karen has been fighting a bug she might have brought from Georgia and with the wind howling and temperature dropping, she has been pretty much home-bound, intent on sighting dolphins (she just saw one) in the St. John's River, out our front window. But, while we are doing (I just saw him) little, a lot of people are doing jobs which keep our immediate area, our country and our world "going".
I've thought a lot the past few days about all it takes to keep our lives as they are, the people who provide our food, make the products we use, keep us safe or serve us in so many ways. The list is endless, but I think of what they might be thinking, and thank, them all for what they do and what they may have to endure to do it. We are the recipient of so much, and hopefully we contribute to the mix by the things we do, the words we speak and the attitude we convey. Even if we are not working in the dollars and cents mode, or presently in a volunteer ministry activity, we should be working to make the world we live in a better, happier, more peaceful, nicer place. A kind word, a smile, a thank you for what others do can do a lot to brighten our day and theirs. And, thank You, Lord for allowing us another day, a day to be salt and light, a day to appreciate and be grateful for our life and what lies ahead in your plan for each of us. By Your grace we have been abundantly blessed, to be a blessing back at You and Your creation.
Sent from my iPad
I've thought a lot the past few days about all it takes to keep our lives as they are, the people who provide our food, make the products we use, keep us safe or serve us in so many ways. The list is endless, but I think of what they might be thinking, and thank, them all for what they do and what they may have to endure to do it. We are the recipient of so much, and hopefully we contribute to the mix by the things we do, the words we speak and the attitude we convey. Even if we are not working in the dollars and cents mode, or presently in a volunteer ministry activity, we should be working to make the world we live in a better, happier, more peaceful, nicer place. A kind word, a smile, a thank you for what others do can do a lot to brighten our day and theirs. And, thank You, Lord for allowing us another day, a day to be salt and light, a day to appreciate and be grateful for our life and what lies ahead in your plan for each of us. By Your grace we have been abundantly blessed, to be a blessing back at You and Your creation.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
February 17, 2015. Mayport Naval Station, FL. On Level Ground
As we sit in our motor home, we are roughly 10 feet above sea level and the Atlantic Ocean is visible, less than a mile out our front window. We are more level than anyplace we have ever been (including the space we were in here at Mayport a year ago) and our set-up did not include any wood under our jacks or under our wheels. Our refrigerator doors stay where we open them, and our bathroom door and medicine cabinet doors also stay in place when opened. We are on level ground and the steepest incline is on the treadmill at the Fitness Center.
I have begun substituting "working out" the past few days for working as we have been doing for the past 9+ volunteer ministry months. With the prospect of the physical demands of The Great Passion Play coming in May, it's important to have some physical activity to replace the lack of it we will have before we get back to Arkansas with a possible stop back in Madison. Karen and I both shed some pounds at TGPP and felt physically better than we did when we were first starting out on the road.
> Spiritually, it's also important to be on level ground with an upward focus and at Source of Light we felt that we were being fed, helping advance the Gospel as we assisted those who were "in the field" by providing literature for teaching and discipling as well as prayer and financial support for their programs. We have both maintained our daily Bible reading with our quiet times being late PM for Karen and early AM for me. Amazing that after 41 years of marriage (in 11 days), our body clocks have stayed as they were when we first met and while Karen gets more awake as the day goes on, I seem to lose oomph as late afternoon and evening approach. Hard to be on level ground when one of us is a "winder" and the other is an "unwinder". As with most couples and other relationships, it takes effort to stay on the level, and just like the physical work out, so we continue to work out in all the other areas of life as well.
In all our efforts to find physical, spiritual, emotional and relational balance, we continue to look to The Lord, resting in His unconditional and unchanging love, grace and forgiveness. Thank You, Lord for Who You are and all You have done for us. The best is yet to come. PTL.
Sent from my iPad
I have begun substituting "working out" the past few days for working as we have been doing for the past 9+ volunteer ministry months. With the prospect of the physical demands of The Great Passion Play coming in May, it's important to have some physical activity to replace the lack of it we will have before we get back to Arkansas with a possible stop back in Madison. Karen and I both shed some pounds at TGPP and felt physically better than we did when we were first starting out on the road.
> Spiritually, it's also important to be on level ground with an upward focus and at Source of Light we felt that we were being fed, helping advance the Gospel as we assisted those who were "in the field" by providing literature for teaching and discipling as well as prayer and financial support for their programs. We have both maintained our daily Bible reading with our quiet times being late PM for Karen and early AM for me. Amazing that after 41 years of marriage (in 11 days), our body clocks have stayed as they were when we first met and while Karen gets more awake as the day goes on, I seem to lose oomph as late afternoon and evening approach. Hard to be on level ground when one of us is a "winder" and the other is an "unwinder". As with most couples and other relationships, it takes effort to stay on the level, and just like the physical work out, so we continue to work out in all the other areas of life as well.
In all our efforts to find physical, spiritual, emotional and relational balance, we continue to look to The Lord, resting in His unconditional and unchanging love, grace and forgiveness. Thank You, Lord for Who You are and all You have done for us. The best is yet to come. PTL.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, February 14, 2015
February 14, 2015. Waycross, GA. On our own......
For the first time since April 27, 2014, Karen and I are on our own, not part of a ministry for which we are volunteering. We are also in a new location, a city of about 15,000 parked for the night in front of a not-yet-opened Hobby Lobby store. The HL manager gave his permission for our stay and we are grateful for the free "rent" after the expense of filling up with diesel, gas for the car and propane for our heat and cooking needs. Tomorrow night we will start paying for our space at Mayport Naval Station and then NAS Jax, so we will be paying our own way for the next month and not giving our services to a ministry other than our Ministry of Miles and whatever God puts in our path.
Our "boss" - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our provider - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On our own? Not really. We have been given all we need and His grace is more than sufficient for what we have set out to do and what He calls us to do. We are on our own with more prayer support than we can imagine, and while we will miss the fellowship of The Source of Light family, we are grateful to still be part of the family of Believers and heirs with our Lord and Savior to all the promises of God and the hope of eternity with Him. God is Good and we are blessed beyond measure to be on our own.......with Him.
Appropriate, isn't it, that our first night "on our own" is in Waycross.......The Way of The Cross.
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Our "boss" - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our provider - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On our own? Not really. We have been given all we need and His grace is more than sufficient for what we have set out to do and what He calls us to do. We are on our own with more prayer support than we can imagine, and while we will miss the fellowship of The Source of Light family, we are grateful to still be part of the family of Believers and heirs with our Lord and Savior to all the promises of God and the hope of eternity with Him. God is Good and we are blessed beyond measure to be on our own.......with Him.
Appropriate, isn't it, that our first night "on our own" is in Waycross.......The Way of The Cross.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
February 11, 2015. Madison, GA. No snow yet
A year ago this week, Karen and I were dodging snow flakes, outrunning a winter storm which had hit us in Charlotte, NC, threatened us in Greenville, SC and then pursued us from Hoschton and Augusta, GA until we were finally out of danger in Mayport, Florida. In a few days we will be heading to Mayport again and while two of our last three nights here in Madison will be sub-freezing, we will not be facing snow or other winter moisture. Today we are enjoying bright sunshine, temperature near 60, short sleeves and washing ministry vehicles. While much of the country has had literally tons of snow, we have not seen even a snowflake and we feel fortunate that winter has stayed away from us.
We will, of course, be watching the weather carefully for the next month and it will determine when we head out from Jacksonville and where we head to. We will need to be making plans for our return to Colorado in May and begin making doctor's appointments and other arrangements for vehicle registrations, inspections, etc within the next few months, but we hope snow is not going to be part of the equation. If it is, we trust God for the place to be and the time to be there. He has been a fantastic travel consultant so far. The cloud had been our guide and we follow it with confidence. Thank You, Lord.
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We will, of course, be watching the weather carefully for the next month and it will determine when we head out from Jacksonville and where we head to. We will need to be making plans for our return to Colorado in May and begin making doctor's appointments and other arrangements for vehicle registrations, inspections, etc within the next few months, but we hope snow is not going to be part of the equation. If it is, we trust God for the place to be and the time to be there. He has been a fantastic travel consultant so far. The cloud had been our guide and we follow it with confidence. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, February 8, 2015
February 8, 2015. Madison, GA. Food for Thought
Our time here has been a far different ministry experience than any we have been involved with over the past fifteen years as followers of Jesus Christ. We have been working with a group of people with long-time missionary service, people in their late 70's and 80's and even a 90 year old, people who have opened their homes to newcomers and short-term volunteers and shared their walk with The Lord and encouraged us in ours. We have attended seven churches, been privy to lives affected by serious illness, numerous medical procedures and the death of three of our co-workers and our Philippine field director. We have been included in Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, have been part of game nights, pot lucks, farewell celebrations for long-time employees and volunteers and have felt very much at home at Source of Light.
The message this morning in church was about how to keep our heart and home in order for the return of Jesus and the message at the funeral we attended this afternoon was very much the same: a testament to a life which embodied that readiness and desire to see that message spread to "Seattle and beyond". The ministry here, like every other, is not perfect, but all that matters is that we serve a perfect God and He calls us to serve to the best of our ability and as long as we have the willingness and strength to do so.
We move on to wherever and whatever the Lord has for us, trusting that what we have experienced here and all along the way will be our lasting testimony of God's grace freely given and willingly accepted. This has been a good day and a good journey. Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
The message this morning in church was about how to keep our heart and home in order for the return of Jesus and the message at the funeral we attended this afternoon was very much the same: a testament to a life which embodied that readiness and desire to see that message spread to "Seattle and beyond". The ministry here, like every other, is not perfect, but all that matters is that we serve a perfect God and He calls us to serve to the best of our ability and as long as we have the willingness and strength to do so.
We move on to wherever and whatever the Lord has for us, trusting that what we have experienced here and all along the way will be our lasting testimony of God's grace freely given and willingly accepted. This has been a good day and a good journey. Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Thursday, February 5, 2015
February 5, 2015. Madison, GA. Moving on
When we started our journey fourteen months ago, we seemed to move fairly often. Looking back, we did stay places for a few weeks or even a month, but we did a lot of one-or-two nighters and then moved on. We were into our Ministry of Miles regimen and not even thinking of volunteering in exchange for a free RV slot. In Arkansas, the whole emphasis changed and with only a few moves to have repairs done on our motor home, we stayed at The Great Passion Play for six-and-half months, spent one night in transit to Madison, GA and have been at Source of Light Ministries for the past three months. We don't have southern accents yet, but we do understand Arkansan and Georgian twangs and drawls and get a kick out of some of the expressions used to get a point across. But, our time at SLMI is winding down and in 9 days we will be moving on for a two week stay at Mayport Naval Station, Florida where we spent part of last winter and then on to NAS Jax where we spent three weeks in January, 2014. We are looking forward to visiting Phil, Sharon and Marcey, having a little more free time, being able to sleep in and take a short vacation from the volunteer mode of the past 9+ months.
Like many times in the past we have gotten involved in volunteer ministry only to find that we are so involved that we forget that sometimes we are supposed to be still, rest in the grace of our God and not be in constant motion, but move on to a quieter, more intimate place where we can be alone with Jesus, lean on Him for the burdens which weigh us down and cause us to lose some of the joy of being His follower and His disciple. While it's okay to be worn out in the service of our Lord, it's also okay to find rest, peace and contentment in all He has done for us and the hope we rely on for our future. The people here want to know when they can expect us back. God will reveal the answer to us and to them, in His time. We have had a great stay, been welcomed in people's homes, a number of churches and in the Mission where we have worked. It has been a great journey, God has blessed us with so much and such good experiences and relationships. God is Good, and we thank Him for the life He has called us to and the cloud He has moved or not moved, as He determines.
Sent from my iPad
Like many times in the past we have gotten involved in volunteer ministry only to find that we are so involved that we forget that sometimes we are supposed to be still, rest in the grace of our God and not be in constant motion, but move on to a quieter, more intimate place where we can be alone with Jesus, lean on Him for the burdens which weigh us down and cause us to lose some of the joy of being His follower and His disciple. While it's okay to be worn out in the service of our Lord, it's also okay to find rest, peace and contentment in all He has done for us and the hope we rely on for our future. The people here want to know when they can expect us back. God will reveal the answer to us and to them, in His time. We have had a great stay, been welcomed in people's homes, a number of churches and in the Mission where we have worked. It has been a great journey, God has blessed us with so much and such good experiences and relationships. God is Good, and we thank Him for the life He has called us to and the cloud He has moved or not moved, as He determines.
Sent from my iPad
Monday, February 2, 2015
February 2, 2015. Madison, GA. Why plumbers charge so much
Brian has a lot of trade skills and the past few work days he has taken me along as his helper. He refers to me as tonto. I don't have trade skills, but have definitely improved in the past year of volunteering, and will agree to do most any task where others need some "muscle", climbing ability or general grunt work.
Today's task was a non-functioning pump on a septic toilet. So off we went to find the problem and get the toilet back in operation. I haven't done a lot of toilet repair other than jiggling a handle, replacing the innards of a tank and tightening or replacing toilet seats. This one started out with dirty smelly water and a tank where the pump was located which needed to be drained, cleaned and the pump removed to find why it wasn't pumping. Without going into too many dirty details, we were able to find the problem (a handi-wipe tangled in the rotor), clean the system, put it back together, repair a pipe we needed to cut and be on our way. We had been ready with heavy duty pipe wrenches, a snake and multiple buckets, but the problem was a relatively easy one for the Lone Ranger and Tonto. From the jobs I have been involved with in Arkansas and here, as well as some Habitat for Humanity work, and some do-it-yourself projects, I have gained a greater appreciation for the tradesmen jobs and why the charges for their services are so high. Thank you, all for your willingness to do these jobs as a career and for as long as your body can endure the physical demands put on it. By the way, kemo sabe, from now on, tonto don't do toilets.
Sent from my iPad
Today's task was a non-functioning pump on a septic toilet. So off we went to find the problem and get the toilet back in operation. I haven't done a lot of toilet repair other than jiggling a handle, replacing the innards of a tank and tightening or replacing toilet seats. This one started out with dirty smelly water and a tank where the pump was located which needed to be drained, cleaned and the pump removed to find why it wasn't pumping. Without going into too many dirty details, we were able to find the problem (a handi-wipe tangled in the rotor), clean the system, put it back together, repair a pipe we needed to cut and be on our way. We had been ready with heavy duty pipe wrenches, a snake and multiple buckets, but the problem was a relatively easy one for the Lone Ranger and Tonto. From the jobs I have been involved with in Arkansas and here, as well as some Habitat for Humanity work, and some do-it-yourself projects, I have gained a greater appreciation for the tradesmen jobs and why the charges for their services are so high. Thank you, all for your willingness to do these jobs as a career and for as long as your body can endure the physical demands put on it. By the way, kemo sabe, from now on, tonto don't do toilets.
Sent from my iPad
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