September 28, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. Past, Present, Future

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement for Jews. I grew up as a Jew and Yom Kippur was the day when all of us went to Temple to repent of our sins for the prior year. It was a serious day and we began by not eating anything for 24 hours, spent most of our waking hours in Temple reciting prayers (mostly in Hebrew) and trying to understand the traditions and rituals of Judaism a little better than we had in prior years.
Tomorrow marks the 12th anniversary of my heart attack and "lights and siren" ambulance ride to the hospital in Fort Collins to have two stents put in my arteries to relieve 99 and 95 percent blockages.
Today, a I led a group of visitors on a tour of the Passion Play's Holy Land, I blew the Shofar as part of my presentation, remembering my past as a Jew, the gratitude I have for the medical care I have been receiving from the VA as a result of my Agent Orange disability from VietNam and the praise I give to God for brining me to faith in Jesus Christ in June, 1999, just over 21 years ago.
And with all that has gone before, all we are experiencing now, I look forward and thank God for the freedom we have in Christ to serve as we do through our words, our actions and our thoughts. Thank You, Lord for everything we have been through, for being our strength in the tough times, the joy in the good times and for Your promise of great times yet to come. All praise and honor to You.

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September 25, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. Rain (continued)

The Play went on as scheduled, without any more rain. The temperature stayed mild and though the crowd was small......the show went on. Today, as we prepare for our weekend performances, the temperature is in the high 70's, there is no rain forecast until early next week and the temperatures will be heading toward the 40's. Arkansas weather is very fickle and we have to be prepared for whatever comes our way from any direction.
It is nice to have lower humidity, since humidity here makes the hot hotter and the cold colder. With it now being officially Autumn, I guess we can start looking for the Fall colors, the leaves starting to drop from the trees and the anticipation of the first frost and maybe even snow. It certainly has been a fast moving year. Karen's dad used to say that as you get older, the time seems to go by quicker. We kind of poo-pooed it, but, he was right. Enjoy it while we can......."the times they are a-changin'"

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September 22, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. Rain

We have been without rain for quite a long time. Most of September has been dry and the past day we have had cool and moist conditions. It didn't come down in buckets as it has in parts of the Gulf Coast, it was gentle and much appreciated. In a few minutes I will head to the set for the 7:30 Play performance and while most of the rain is to our East, there is still the possibility of rain during the Play. It would be our first Play-in-the-rain situation this year, and with the temperature at 66 degrees now and heading to 57 degrees overnight, it will be one of the cooler temperatures we will have faced.
But, as of now the Play is "on" and we will do what has to be done to present the Gospel message to those who have come to hear it. We have less than 20 performance days left for the season. It has been a different year, with the same message as we always present, and we are thankful to have been given the opportunity to present Jesus to our guests. Thank You, Lord, for that opportunity, and all You have done for us.

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September 19, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. At The Table

I don't usually take my iPad with me when I am a presenter in The Holy Land. But, since I have been more time-crunched with the earlier starting time for the Play, and not wanting to do a late night blog, I am going to write between presentations at The Upper Room. I'm sitting behind the table, not reclining at it, so the "mood" is not as it would have been at The Last Supper, but I feel the impact of what Jesus did at the final Passover He spent with His disciples.
There is something about being at The Great Passion Play, being a Holy Land presenter, a Tabernacle teacher, and a member of the Play cast which is different from anything I have ever done before, and there is definitely a mood here which is not to be found anywhere else. After seven years volunteering here, it's hard to imagine doing something else or being in a different ministry. But........if God does have a new purpose for us, wants us to be elsewhere, I guess we will have some praying to do. I don't mean to anticipate what might be up the road, just hope we have a chance to enjoy our new/old cabin and the table which has been set for us by the events of the past few months. In His Service.

September 16, 2020. Holiday Island, AR. Time

Time is such an uncompromising part of our life. Most everything we experience in life is unique. Think of all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes we encounter and in almost every situation......it is different from anything we have experienced before. How then is time so consistent. A second is "one Mississippi ", it is always the same. An hour is an hour, no matter whether it is during the morning, afternoon, when we are awake or asleep. Time marches on, it flies, and it stands still.......but it is a constant over which we have no power or control.
We wish our bad days would get over quicker, while we want our good days to last forever. And yet, we have no ability to speed up the clock or slow it down. Time is in God's hand and when our time is up, hopefully we will be eternally in His Hands.
Why this topic? I have tried to be consistent with my blogging, keeping to an every-third-day schedule, but sometimes, like today, time gets away from me and I don't sit down to blog until just before bed time. Karen and I took a day away, and while we just ended up in different stores in different places, we enjoyed our time out of the usual routine and the work "needing" to be done in the cabin. Tomorrow is a good time to do what we didn't do today and it was fun to have a Steak 'n Shake Garlic Double Steakburger. It's been a long time.

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September 13, 2020. Holiday Island, AR. And Then There Were Two....

When Joan brought us three kittens and their momma (Miss Hissy), we were instant pet "parents" and we took to the feeding schedule even though the family didn't get very close to us and either dashed off when we came close or ate and ran when we interrupted their eating time. Pretty soon after they arrived one of the little ones was "lost" and we had no indication of what had happened to it.
Last week one of the kittens was by the water dish when I came outside. It had a paw in the water dish. I talked to her and actually got fairly close, but it didn't run off. It walked slowly under a nearby bench and laid down there and again I got close, but it did not respond or seem to hear me or see me. Later that evening, I found it sprawled out on the back lawn, barely moving, breathing very slowly. No indication of an injury or having had a run-in with another animal. It was Labor Day and we couldn't get hold of any of the vets in the area. Miss Hissy was about 30 feet away watching, but there was nothing she or I could do. The next morning the kitten was in the same place, it's paws tucked in toward its tummy and it was dead. I took it away from the cabin, dug a hole and gave it a "proper" burial. It was very sad to lose our second little one, unnamed and not knowing if either was a boy or girl.
The remaining kitten sleeps by our "bird-side" door on a mat which says "Wipe Your Paws", but we still can't get close to it and we see Miss Hissy and the last little one only occasionally. It is sad, but part of the life process with animals, and sometimes with people as well. We hope we will have the opportunity to get closer to Miss Hissy and Paws, but we will continue to give them food and water, and as it gets cooler, a place where they can be warm at night and safe from the perils of being outdoor cats. Maybe, one day, they will become members of our indoor family. Be safe.......and as for #1 and #2...........rest in peace.

September 10, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. Early To Bed......

Tonight the sun set at 7:29 in Eureka Springs. It seems that when we started the Passion Play at 8:30 it was just barely getting dark, and now it has suddenly gotten dark a lot earlier. I guess that's why we will be starting the Play at 7:30 for the remainder of the season, 23 more performances. It also means we will be finished at 9:15 instead of 10:15 and we can get to bed an hour earlier. I enjoy the new time set up, but have to remember to get on the set with less time to rest after my Holy Land presentations.
Because of Covid restrictions, it has been a strange year, with masking, distancing and screening elements added to the normal system of doing more with less people and adding to that my splitting time between the RV at the Passion Play and our cabin in the "suburbs". We are still deciding how to handle our living arrangements over the winter, but we won't think that one through for a few months, unless the weather takes a decided turn for the colder. And then........
For now, I just want to see us finish the season well, healthy and committed to the mission of the Passion Play. God has certainly blessed us and we are grateful. With it being dark already, I may just get a head start on the early to bed regimen.

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September 7, 2020. Holiday Island, AR Labor Day Labor

There is always something which needs to be done. The Bible commands us to labor six days and rest on the seventh. But all too often we ignore that command and labor when we should be resting. If the pipe bursts, there is snow which piles up, the boss calls with an urgent request, or waiting a full day to fix the problem would turn the problem into a disaster, we have no choice but to make our rest day into a work day.
And what about the holiday of Labor Day itself when we are to rest and honor the efforts of American workers throughout our history. While many people are relaxing at the lake, or beach or just enjoying a paid day away from their job, most people are laboring around the house and needing Tuesday to recover from their day of rest. I had to repair a screen door closer, make a temporary fix to a muffler extension pipe, get a door to latch more effectively, hang a large picture, and do two loads of laundry. It was work, but it was all to help make our coming days of rest more enjoyable and comfortable.
Happy Labor Day, but most of all thanks to all those who work when we are resting, to those who are the "first responders", disaster relief, health professionals, public safety workers, defend us from those who wish us ill, and all who contribute to making our lives a little more comfortable. In fact, thank you to everyone who helps someone else, who does the right thing and tries to brighten up the darkness which has become so much a part of our life. And.......Thank You to The One Who is always at work, or on call. Thank You, Lord.




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September 4, 2020. Eureka Springs, AR. IceCream-Less

Most of my life I have been addicted to ice cream. There was no such thing as one bowl of ice cream or one scoop or moderation of any kind. It was all-out-unlimited ice cream and there was no alternative plan. After my heart attack, when I started getting medical care at the VA in Cheyenne, Wyoming, my doctor told me to eliminate ice cream from my diet. I was shocked and asked him for a second option. He said to eliminate yogurt, cheese and all dairy products as well. I told him that was an impossibility and that I better look for a new doctor.
I didn't look for a different doctor because I really liked Dr. T, but I didn't follow his advice either. That was 2009. After my less-than-satisfactory bloodwork numbers last month, the current VA doctor in Arkansas told me I had to watch my glucose and A1C or risk being labeled a diabetic. I took the advice seriously this time and have decided to do away with the ice cream, read the labels more closely for sugars, added sugars and the other "naughties" and as I have done with other "addictions"........go cold turkey, bite the bullet and get this situation under control......and do it NOW.
Karen has been a real asset in this battle. More vegetables, more fruits, giving me bags of food to bring with me to the RV when I don't go back to the cabin because of the Friday-Saturday schedule. With a Sunday performance day this weekend, she gave me extra to keep me on course. It's going to work. I can feel it. GET BEHIND ME ICE CREAM. You aren't welcome here.......at least not until the next round of blood tests.......

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September 1, 2020. Holiday Island, AR. Rain

The hurricane didn't come this far north, so the rain we were expecting, and desperately needed didn't come........until a front from the west arrived and brought good, steady rain overnight last night. The rain gauge read just over an inch, but I think we might have received more. In any event, it was nice not to have to drag hoses and see the dirt roads tamped down after the plows did their grading last week.
With the rain came some cooler weather and that too is welcome after the hot and humid month of August. The Play enters its final two months and with the earlier 7:30 start time after this coming weekend, it makes our performance day end at 9:15 and allows us to get to sleep earlier. This has been an unusual year and one full of new adventures, challenges and opportunities. I'll close for now. Thanks for tuning in. Not much in the writing mood, I guess.

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