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.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone

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.




Sent from my iPad

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?


Sent from my iPad

7:37

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone

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.

Sent from my iPad