The blog for today failed to send from our I-Pad

My technical prowess, or lack thereof, finally caught up with me and the blog I prepared is stuck in the I-Pad Outbox, to be delivered at a later date.  (The hotspot isn't so hot at the moment).  For now we will send a picture of Earl (our house guest the past week) and me for your enjoyment.  The blog was a serious one, so maybe it wasn't ready to be posted yet.

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November 30, 2014. Madison, GA. Live each day........

In Vietnam I learned a lot about what was a topic for lighthearted kidding, and what was not. One of our men was about to leave the unit by helicopter and as he was preparing, a number of those remaining kidded about what each would like of his personal belongings, if he didn't come back. I don't remember if I was in on the "dibs" discussion, but I know for a fact, I have never been part of one since, because he didn't come back to our unit, but was med-evac'ed to Japan and then back to The States because of an injury he received while boarding the chopper. One never knows.......
Last week, here at Source of Light, Bob was off to Augusta for surgery and Wanda, his wife was accompanying him. The surgery went well, but Wanda began to have problems, was taken to the Emergency Room Friday night and died Saturday morning. When we heard the news yesterday we were shocked, to say the least, and thought back to seeing her and being with her before they went to Augusta. Who could have imagined such a scenario. One never knows......
Many of the people we work with here at SLMI are in their late 70' and 80's. Most have been in the mission field or ministry of some kind for most of their life and are here to help missionaries still in the field or assist in the other discipling activities which we support. In the three weeks we have been here, two people on staff have passed away, the prayer list is replete with upcoming procedures, surgeries, health issues of various kinds as well as those for family members and friends.
As we partook of Communion this morning at church, the meditation message was to take seriously the reason Jesus commanded us to "eat His body, and drink His blood" as His words are recorded in John 6: 35, 48-59, and to treat each communion as if we might die before we have the chance to partake of it again. My brothers and sisters, live each day as if it might be our last. Only God knows. Our eternity is in the balance.

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November 27, 2014. Madison, GA. Thanks

Every morning I start my day with quiet time, devotional readings, Scripture and writing my thoughts and prayers in a journal. I've started every day in this routine since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior on June 27, 1999, with the journaling beginning in 2003. I am in my ninth notebook journal and while I do not have all the journals with us in the motor home, the entry for each day for the two I have with us, going back to July 21, 2013, with the exception of two entries, begins with the words "Thank You, Lord......" The two exceptions begin, "Lord, Thank You" and "Thank You....." My first written words each day for at least the past 16 months and, I would hope well before that, have been words of thanks.
And, why should I not begin every day being thankful for the life I have In Christ? How could I not be grateful for all that Jesus did for us and all He has blessed us with? While today is the official Thanksgiving Day as mandated by our government, it is interesting to note that most of proclamations establishing or solemnizing this holiday make reference to God or to some other title for our Heavenly Father. And yet, like many practices and traditions in our current culture, God has been taken out of the picture and in more and more ways, there are some who would have God removed from every element of our daily life.
But, it is vital that we as Christians, in our words and our deeds, do everything we can to reverse this trend and make God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit not only a part of our life of thanks, but THE foundation of our life of thanks. And in that vein, I boldly and emphatically say today and every day, THANK YOU, LORD.


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New Day

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November 24, 2014. Madison, GA. What a difference a day makes

I think we experienced all four seasons in the past week. While western New York was being hammered with Lake Effect snows of record proportions, we were trying to adapt to a wide range of morning temperatures, from 22 to 54, wind, a full day of rain culminating last evening with a tornado warning, the sirens sounding, and a call to gather in the Source of Light "storm shelter". A tornado was sighted about 15 miles to the west (near the church we attended yesterday morning), and as suddenly as it appeared it disappeared and we were free to return to our houses. This morning we woke up to 54 degrees, fog, and a current temperature of 77.
I've written often about the wide variety of weather we have encountered in our travels and also the storms we have experienced over the years and how they have affected us emotionally, financially and spiritually. We know how little control we have over the daily weather, violent storms and extreme conditions. With the increasing availability of information at our disposal, we are doing what we can to plan around potential dangers, be prepared for the wide swings in temperature, possible rising waters in certain areas and praying for protection and direction where to go and not go. Right now, I'm enjoying the pleasant weather, last night we met a few more people from SLM, heard a little more about the weather history of the area, and trusted that we were being protected and watched over. Again, we are grateful for where we are, what we are doing, and for the freedom we have to live as we do and serve where called. As we start this Thanksgiving week we are sincerely thankful. We anticipate the seasons changing again this week, but we will face what comes in the assurance that God is with us and He is in control.

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Popcorn's Revenge

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November 21, 2014. Madison, GA. Popcorn's Revenge

Last Saturday while eating a piece of Mike and Ike candy, my First Upper Left molar (tooth number 14) decided it was time to crack and break. Fortunately there was no pain involved and after a few inquiries here at Source of Light we were referred to a dentist in Madison. As I sat in the "chair" Monday afternoon, I was asked two questions about my eating habits: do I chew ice and do I eat popcorn? Yes and yes. The Great Passion Play lives and breathes popcorn. The whole six months we were there was saturated with popcorn during the day and before every evening performance. I'm convinced that a few "old maids" impacted that tooth and led eventually to its demise and the present hefty repair bill. In Christianity we talk a lot about crowns, but we're not referring to the expensive ones which go into our mouth.
Things break. People with talent to fix broken things are a blessing to those of us with broken things, and where things can't be fixed there are people who will sell us new things. All of this comes at a price and in my case it will be more care in what I eat and how I eat it. Many of my favorite foods are hard and while I enjoy ice cream and milk shakes, I'm not going to forsake some of the hard foods I like and go on a full liquid diet. Right now I'm sucking on an ice cube, not chewing it, and in a while we will be eating steaks to celebrate Hugh and LaVon's 27th, or is it 28th, anniversary. No popcorn now, but when we go back to Eureka Springs and TGPP next year, there will be a decision I'll have to make about if, and how much of it I partake. As for Mike and Ike, I think I've eaten my last one. The rest of the box went into the trash.
There's an old expression about "no such thing as a free lunch", there is always a price to pay. Right now I understand that expression full well, but thankful that all is well and that God provided the person to fix the problem and provides the resources to pay for it. "Crown Him with many crowns.......and hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity......,". Thank You. Lord.


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