March 31, 2019 Eureka Springs, AR. It Won't Be Long Now

Tomorrow is April 1st and we'll be on the same page as our first performance of the 2019 Passion Play season. Dress rehearsal (we only have one) is Tuesday April 16 with the first actual for-real performances on Good Friday and Saturday, the 19th and 20th. We will have our Holy Land ready to go with costumed presenters, our Marketplace presentations and buffet up and running as well.
It seems like only yesterday that we ended the 2018 season, but since we never left Arkansas for the off-season, I guess the seasons have just melded together into one long one. There is much still to be done. our volunteers groups are starting to come and as I sit here writing, two more motor homes have come over the hill into the RV area and will be ready to join those already here to get to work tomorrow morning. Our good friends, Jerry and Renee, should be arriving later this evening and it will be good to see them since Jerry's stroke in Branson last August and his recovery time in Missouri and Florida. What a time they have been through the past seven months.
The time really zips by. The older we get the quicker it seems to go. Karen's dad was right when he told us that, and we are now witnesses to it ourselves. Enjoy what we have because it will change or disappear before long. All we can be sure of is the moment we are now experiencing and we will never have it to "do over", so live it to the fullest.........each day we are one day closer......... to God's ultimate call...........Thank You, Lord.


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March 28, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Here We Go Again

Last year we didn't have Spring. We went directly from Winter to Summer. Cold and humid to hot and humid. We had some decent rain at the end of April and the trees went from bare to fully leafed out in a flash. This year we had some pretty cold weather, including a bomb cyclone, but the past two weeks have been just like Springtime. Trees are showing some white blossoms, bulbs are starting to pop through the surface, and we are staring to have the critters in evidence.
We have had tiny ants, regular ants and large carpenter ants. Bug spray is at the ready. I have a number of chigger bites. All my remedies are at the ready, too.. Ladybugs are starting to invade us and there have been quite a few attracted to The Christ of the Ozarks Statue. We've had wasps on our Holy Land Tour bus, and Karen was tormented yesterday by a dive-bombing fly. The tree pollen count is high, thus the watery eyes. I've been wearing short pants and in two days I have ripped one pair in the back end, and got roof mastic all over the back end of a second pair while replacing a roof at the kiosk behind the COTO Statue.
Spring has sprung and it is great to know that we can have Spring in Arkansas. I'm sure we'll have some cold weather ahead but, for now, it's great to sit with the windows open with no space heaters needed, but I do wish those pesky chiggers would leave me alone............

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March 25, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Too Little Time

The sun hasn't come up yet. The work day has really not begun; and yet, it seems like I have been "at it" for a while, working on new plans for today, stuffed into a day I've already fully planned out, but trying to see if I can do more than I already am going to do. I don't think that makes much sense, other than to say, there aren't enough hours in the day to do "everything". So.........I started earlier and have done some things I would have done later in my original plan for the day. It still doesn't make sense.
Sometimes we try to do too much at the expense of taking our time and making sure we don't goof something up by not thinking it all through before we act. The Bible has many examples of individuals who went too quickly, got ahead of God and paid the price for their impatience. Think of Moses and the taskmaster, King Saul acting as a Priest when he wasn't one, David and Bathsheba, Peter and his "know it all" tirades, the children of Israel in their 40 year "death sentence"in the wilderness, Ananias and Sapphira, Lot's wife.............
We still act on impulse far too often, measure once and cut instead of checking ourself, dig before we check for water lines or underground cables, say something before we think of the proper words, spend money before we actually have it........but there is a remedy. God has a Plan B, Plan C, even a Plan Z for our impetuousness.. He has control of the time and can remedy everything we do wrong, or do too quickly. He has it all figured out........hurry up and wait on HIM, And in everything, God can work it out for our good and His glory and still have the time to anticipate and fix our next blunder. What a gracious and merciful God we serve.
And, look at this......it's only 7am and my blog is already written and posted............Thank You, Lord.

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March 22, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Richard Ludig (1927-2019)

Pastor Dick, the Tabernacle Priest at The Great Passion Play Holy Land, my friend and fellow-Jew-turned Christian has gone to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Tomorrow we will honor him at the Lone Star Bible Church in Eureka Springs.
Karen and I visited Dick, Joan and their daughter Sandy on Monday night. He passed away Wednesday morning at about 11am. On Tuesday morning I journaled the following:
"Thank You, Lord, for being our hope, our peace and our comfort in this journey and transition to the eternal journey. I pray for Sandy and David and Joan as they watch Dick take his final breaths of this life and begins his new life with You. I pray that we all are touched by the experiences we shared with Dick and that his example of gentle courage in trying situations will brighten our desire to serve and praise You in the calling You have placed on us. Let Your will for each of us be our path, let Your path be one we relish and rejoice in, no matter the difficulty; and let us trust that the best is still before us as we live, love, endure, persevere and finish this race to rejoice in our eternal reward. Go with God, Dick, my brother and my friend........Shalom."

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March 19, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Sorry😪

My three day blogging schedule has been pretty consistent over the years I have posted to our website. Yesterday was day three and a day which was chock full of activity and little time to just sit down, gather my thoughts, and write. No details now, since today is again a busy day.
Spring break has brought more visitors, and spring weather has made it more comfortable to do outside work. For now, I just want to apologize for not having some words for the "faithful" yesterday and will look to getting back on schedule with a blog on Friday. See you then............Thank you for your support.

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March 15, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Heavy News

The barrage of bad news continues. Bomb cyclone, a term I don't ever recall hearing before, was the description of the storm which crossed the country this week. It spawned blizzard conditions in Colorado, extremely high winds virtually everywhere, tornados, floods, severe cold and unusually warm temperatures in close proximity to each other.
There was a mass shooting in New Zealand, a mob shooting in New York, allegations of bribery in college admissions of celebrity children, another air tragedy involving a new model Boeing plane, congressional conflicts within each party and across party lines, etc, etc etc.
I wish we didn't have to listen to such news reports. I wish we could be less critical of those who think differently than we do, and I wish there wasn't so much finger-pointing over who or what is to blame for all this tragedy, doom and gloom and downright hate for those "different" than us. I am not without my opinions. I admit that I have my prejudices and predilections and I have opinions which may not be politically correct, and I do speak my mind more than I probably should; but I am trying to accept that I can't really do much to solve the problems, except to do my best to temper my reaction and response to them............chill...........mellow out.........and trust Him for the ultimate resolution of everything. And.........can we all do our utmost to just........GET ALONG.


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March 12, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Growing The Garden

Last year the Garden of Gethsemane on our Passion Play set became a "project" for me. I wanted to create a green patch of ground to make the scenes which take place in the Garden more visually appealing. I tried to propagate moss, planted grass, covered it with a mixture of hay and horse manure, and did manage to have moderate success for about a two month period. Because of the extreme heat for most of the season, the grass and moss did not survive and we had only brown in the Garden over the winter. I have taken on the task again for this season.
I have tilled up the 500 square foot Garden, treated the area with lime, and have seeded the area twice in the past three weeks. With the rain and additional watering by hand, I am hoping that the coming warmer weather will produce grass before the first performance on April 19. So far I see a few blades popping through, but from the audience the ground still looks brown.
We prepare the soil, scatter the seed, water the ground and.......wait. We leave the outcome to the One who has created the process by which our efforts bear "fruit". We rest on the promise of God to hear our prayers, answer them for our good and His glory. If it be His plan for Gethsemane to be green, we will praise Him, but if it not be so, we may pray for the funds to lay sod and trust that that will be done by opening night. But, In everything.......Thank You , Lord.


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March 9, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Casting Call Tomorrow

Tomorrow we will get an idea of what our "cast" will look like for the 2019 season. The cast at the Passion Play is not just the actors in the Play or the presenters in The Holy Land, but everyone on the payroll and volunteers, anyone who has any job on the premises. We are all part of TGPP ministry and what we do and how we witness for Jesus is crucial to our success here.
Many things need to be done before we can start our season on April 19. While there has been a skeleton staff here over the winter, it will soon take on a different look as we expand into all the areas to be de-winterized and activated; buffet, snack shops, gift shops, Art Gallery, ticketing staff, landscaping, set cleanup, laundry facility, costumers and prop organization, plumbing and electrical check-up, HVAC, vehicle and golf cart and bus maintenance, Holy Land clean-up and expansion, security, amphitheater, sound and lighting check. Youth dormitory prep. I've probably forgotten something, but it will be part of the cast duties and tomorrow we get a glimpse of what that cast will look like as sign-ups take place for veterans and rookies.
The main cast member..........you guessed it..........Jesus. With Him ALL things are possible. THANK YOU, LORD.


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March 6, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Contentment

Over the last few days, we have endured some very cold weather, with the past three nights having lows of 5, 11 and 15. We didn't have heat issues in the motor home, but did have problems with our water. The hot water couldn't get from the water heater to any of our faucets, the toilet had no water reaching it on the coldest night, and our refrigerator water dispenser wouldn't dispense. Everything has been resolved and things are back to normal as the daytime temperatures have risen.
While we were "suffering", a lot,of the country was having far more serious issues with the weather. Frigid temperatures, huge amounts of snow, travel problems, tornadoes with severe damage and loss of life and rain in record amounts. While there were many people inconvenienced, it was comforting to hear some of the interviews with the victims of these tragic events express their faith in God, their positive attitude in such negative situations and in one case the thankfulness of parents for the years they had with their young daughter who died in the Alabama tornado which demolished their town.
I know we're not supposed to compare our lives with others, to look at others who seem to be more "blessed" than we are and envy their situation. Life is different for each of us and things happen to all of us and there isn't always a logical explanation. We are called to be content with what we have, to trust God and His plan for us and the life he calls us to live. It doesn't always make sense, but then to many who don't have faith in Jesus, our faith is beyond their comprehension. Yet we are to live that faith, share that faith and rest in that faith as God's promise to us of a future where there won't be any of the suffering we endure in this life. To be content with little or with much and thank God in everything.
Knowing............the best is yet to come...........Thank You, Lord.

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March 3, 2019. 11:30am. Eureka Springs, AR. Gone Today

March 3, 2019 7:30am. Eureka Springs, AR. Here Today