The easiest way to make a long story short is to use short sentences. In September, 2008 I unexpectedly had a heart attack. I had no insurance. We had no place to turn for the means to pay the large hospital bill. We had no place to turn for affordable health care. Medicare was still two years in my future. A friend at our church, Harvey Schmidt, told me that as a Veteran, I was entitled to VA health benefits. I checked it out. I found out I was eligible and applied. Six months later, I was receiving health care and medication from the VA. I think Harvey also told me about Debbie at the Larimer County Veteran Service Office. Debbie filed an Agent Orange claim for me with the VA, based on my service in Vietnam and my Ischemic Heart Disease. Seven months later, I was awarded an Agent Orange Disability rating and a monthly disability payment.
Life has not been the same since. I had gone to Cardiac Rehab at Poudre Valley Hospital after my heart attack. After my rehab, I volunteered at that same facility for five years. I told my story to many Vietnam Vets with heart issues and directed them to Debbie for claims to be filed. Then, God led us to our Ministry of Miles and a life of being on the road. God led us to the Passion Play and Source of Light Ministries. God brought us back to Fort Collins last year and this for my VA medical tests and appointments. Yesterday I attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the Edora Park Veterans memorial. I have attended that ceremony ever since we moved to FC in 1990. Yesterday Harvey and Judy Schmidt were at the ceremony. I haven't seen them since 2009. I have thanked Harv countless times over the past eight years, but never in person. Yesterday I thanked him in person for the advice he gave me. One sentence can change a life. One piece of advice can change a life. God is the Master of putting the right people in the right place at the right time. God is the Master of good advice. God is the Master healer and provider. God is THE MASTER. Thank You, God. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit, from one HS (Hal Schatz) to another (Harvey Schmidt).
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Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
May 28, 2016. Craig, CO. Road trip......To The Mountains
We are about 18 miles west of Hayden, Colorado where Karen and her sister grew up and went to school. Since Hayden doesn't have a motel, we are in Craig so we can attend their high school reunion this weekend. If they both had stayed in Hayden, it would have been Karen's 55th reunion and Jinny's 50th, but they both ended up completing their high school in Morgan, Utah. It's a long story. In any event they are renewing some old friendships and the event last night at the school and the American Legion was fun. There are events planned for today and tomorrow and then it will be back to Wellington, CO where we left our motor home with friends from our Fort Collins home church. It is strange to not be sleeping in our home on wheels.
Yesterday we drove from Wellington to Laramie, Wyoming, south to Walden, CO, over Rabbit Ears Pass through Steamboat Springs, CO and on to Craig (to avoid the Memorial Day weekend traffic up the Poudre Canyon). It spit snow on Rabbit Ears and there was still plenty of snow along the roadside, and it brought back memories of our 40 years living in Colorado, in snow and cold and low humidity. It doesn't seem like that many years, but then again looking back it doesn't feel like 50 or more years since high school graduation. Life has a way of slipping by and at our age it seems the downhill ride is a lot faster moving. How grateful we are for the experiences we have had, the life we now have in Christ and the call He has made on our life. Time does go on, but we really need to take full advantage of the time we are given, appreciate what we have, not look too far up the road to what might be and know that God has it all figured out, and just asks us to trust Him and be obedient to Him. We press on in faith and thank You, Lord.
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Yesterday we drove from Wellington to Laramie, Wyoming, south to Walden, CO, over Rabbit Ears Pass through Steamboat Springs, CO and on to Craig (to avoid the Memorial Day weekend traffic up the Poudre Canyon). It spit snow on Rabbit Ears and there was still plenty of snow along the roadside, and it brought back memories of our 40 years living in Colorado, in snow and cold and low humidity. It doesn't seem like that many years, but then again looking back it doesn't feel like 50 or more years since high school graduation. Life has a way of slipping by and at our age it seems the downhill ride is a lot faster moving. How grateful we are for the experiences we have had, the life we now have in Christ and the call He has made on our life. Time does go on, but we really need to take full advantage of the time we are given, appreciate what we have, not look too far up the road to what might be and know that God has it all figured out, and just asks us to trust Him and be obedient to Him. We press on in faith and thank You, Lord.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016
May 25, 2016. Cheyenne, WY. Solving the World's Problems
Karen and I just finished a long and very diverse conversation on a host of subjects and a wide range of topics of the day, history, our ministry, and we have come to the conclusion that time is moving too quickly, too many things are out of our control, and we can't figure out why the sun is shining brightly, there is a steady rumble of thunder and another storm is forming in our vicinity and will move out to the east and possibly do damage to property and hopefully not people. It was quite a discussion and resulted in a very long opening sentence to this blog.
The conclusion of our discussion led to me sit down to blog, because tomorrow will be a busy day with a stress test and then visiting with some of our church friends from Fort Collins. Blogging may not fit in the schedule. Karen is busy cleaning out the refrigerator and we are both listening to the thunder get louder and closer with the sun still shining. Our day was a good one, but one that elicited a string of emotions as we talked with a number of vets at the VA, heard about their ailments, their military service, their hope for our country with the upcoming election "mess" and the President's current visit to Vietnam and our new alliance with a former adversary.
It's beyond our ability to not only understand the condition of our world, but think of how to resolve the issues to everyone's satisfaction. All I can say, as I said to a Vietnam Vet who has faced multiple health issues and faces even more.........I hope you know Jesus. With all the world's problems, it's good to rest on the promises of God, the hope we have in Jesus, and the certainty that it will be okay because.........the best is yet to come. Thank You, Lord. And thank You Lord for silencing the thunder.
Sent from my iPad
The conclusion of our discussion led to me sit down to blog, because tomorrow will be a busy day with a stress test and then visiting with some of our church friends from Fort Collins. Blogging may not fit in the schedule. Karen is busy cleaning out the refrigerator and we are both listening to the thunder get louder and closer with the sun still shining. Our day was a good one, but one that elicited a string of emotions as we talked with a number of vets at the VA, heard about their ailments, their military service, their hope for our country with the upcoming election "mess" and the President's current visit to Vietnam and our new alliance with a former adversary.
It's beyond our ability to not only understand the condition of our world, but think of how to resolve the issues to everyone's satisfaction. All I can say, as I said to a Vietnam Vet who has faced multiple health issues and faces even more.........I hope you know Jesus. With all the world's problems, it's good to rest on the promises of God, the hope we have in Jesus, and the certainty that it will be okay because.........the best is yet to come. Thank You, Lord. And thank You Lord for silencing the thunder.
Sent from my iPad
Monday, May 23, 2016
May 23, 2016. Oakley, KS. We're not in AR-kansas Anymore
No Dorothy, we are still in Kansas after two days on the road. With the prospect of some nasty weather predicted for today, we stopped in Wellington, KS last night. We did have a minor thunderstorm around midnight and woke to some rain, but the weather maps told us we would probably avoid the real bad stuff if we were on the road before 9am, and we were. The storms seemed to generate from Wellington and really pelted Wichita most of the day and hit Coldwater KS with heavy rain a few hours after we went through there. Our afternoon was sunny and very pleasant and we reached Oakley with only a dead car battery to recharge and have checked.
Your prayers worked and God was definitely on the road with us, in and through the weather and other details.
We met a nice couple who helped us with the battery issue, and we are now enjoying the bright sunshine and air conditioning as we rest up for the final leg of the trip to our house in Fort Collins and then on to Cheyenne, Wyoming where we will start the VA medical appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. Karen has done really well behind the wheel. The meds and vitamins seem to be working and I have been saved from having to do any driving, so far. There's nothing like driving a 31,000 pound motor home with a 4500 pound car in tow, to cure what has ailed Karen the past few weeks. Hopefully this latest round of "drugs" has helped her "turn the corner" and will keep me from having to turn any corners.
West of Medicine Lodge, KS (home of temperance advocate Carrie Nation from 1889 to 1902) we drove through some non-Kansas-like countryside. While most of Kansas is very flat and non-descript, this area (the Gypsum Hills) is almost like parts of Arizona or Utah, with mesas, deep gullies, fir trees, rolling hills and lots of sage brush-looking vegetation. Unfortunately, there was a major grass fire in March of this year which ravaged over 400,000 acres of this area and parts of northern Oklahoma. It was sad to see the results of the fire, smell the burned grass and trees, but encouraging to see that there is new growth and a beginning of the rebirth of a large, and unique area.
Thank you, all, for your prayers as we travel, for your friendship and concern for our health and well-being. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. You are in our prayers, as well, as we all serve where and as we are called. God is Good and we trust Him for our present and our future and thank Him for our past. To Him be all honor, glory and praise.
Sent from my iPad
Your prayers worked and God was definitely on the road with us, in and through the weather and other details.
We met a nice couple who helped us with the battery issue, and we are now enjoying the bright sunshine and air conditioning as we rest up for the final leg of the trip to our house in Fort Collins and then on to Cheyenne, Wyoming where we will start the VA medical appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. Karen has done really well behind the wheel. The meds and vitamins seem to be working and I have been saved from having to do any driving, so far. There's nothing like driving a 31,000 pound motor home with a 4500 pound car in tow, to cure what has ailed Karen the past few weeks. Hopefully this latest round of "drugs" has helped her "turn the corner" and will keep me from having to turn any corners.
West of Medicine Lodge, KS (home of temperance advocate Carrie Nation from 1889 to 1902) we drove through some non-Kansas-like countryside. While most of Kansas is very flat and non-descript, this area (the Gypsum Hills) is almost like parts of Arizona or Utah, with mesas, deep gullies, fir trees, rolling hills and lots of sage brush-looking vegetation. Unfortunately, there was a major grass fire in March of this year which ravaged over 400,000 acres of this area and parts of northern Oklahoma. It was sad to see the results of the fire, smell the burned grass and trees, but encouraging to see that there is new growth and a beginning of the rebirth of a large, and unique area.
Thank you, all, for your prayers as we travel, for your friendship and concern for our health and well-being. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. You are in our prayers, as well, as we all serve where and as we are called. God is Good and we trust Him for our present and our future and thank Him for our past. To Him be all honor, glory and praise.
Sent from my iPad
Friday, May 20, 2016
May 20, 2016. Eureka Springs, AR. When the Grass Doesn't Grow
The past week has been grey, overcast, drizzley and cooler with less work than we have seen since we came back to Arkansas. Sunshine has been a scarce commodity. And the grass didn't need to be cut. I still had to pick a lot of weeds, but all in all it was a relaxing work week. Karen still was not able to get back to her work and may need to see the doctor again before we leave on Sunday for Colorado/Wyoming.
Today and tomorrow are performance days and the weather is supposed to cooperate with sunshine and warmer temperatures. It will be good to have people on the grounds, be back in our "costumes" and also see the sun again. Next week, after we leave, the performance schedule becomes more intense with four performance days per week and a special Sunday performance day on Memorial Day weekend. That changes the whole atmosphere here as the work load increases, the warmer weather makes for physical demands and the grass grows far more quickly each week. We will also be getting some teen and college age volunteers (Team Effort) throughout June and July who really help a great deal, doing many of the time consuming chores essential to keeping the place running. We will miss being here, but we hope to be back by June 15th to get back into the routine.
Our travel route has been mapped out for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the work day is about to kick off, and it just started raining...........oh well.........smile and trust God.
Sent from my iPad
Today and tomorrow are performance days and the weather is supposed to cooperate with sunshine and warmer temperatures. It will be good to have people on the grounds, be back in our "costumes" and also see the sun again. Next week, after we leave, the performance schedule becomes more intense with four performance days per week and a special Sunday performance day on Memorial Day weekend. That changes the whole atmosphere here as the work load increases, the warmer weather makes for physical demands and the grass grows far more quickly each week. We will also be getting some teen and college age volunteers (Team Effort) throughout June and July who really help a great deal, doing many of the time consuming chores essential to keeping the place running. We will miss being here, but we hope to be back by June 15th to get back into the routine.
Our travel route has been mapped out for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the work day is about to kick off, and it just started raining...........oh well.........smile and trust God.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
May 17, 2016. Eureka Springs, AR. Mountain to Mountain
Here at The Great Passion Play we sit on top of Magnetic Mountain. There are supposedly large deposits of iron which create a magnetic field which affects compasses and attracts lightening. In the Bible there are frequent references to Jesus going up a mountain to pray and Moses certainly had his share of mountain-top experiences in the Old Testament. We have definitely had a host of experiences on this mountain and feel very much attracted to it.
This coming Sunday we will pack up, pull in the slides, raise the jacks and set out from this 1500' mountain and head across the flats of Kansas to the Rocky Mountain mountains for our annual medical cacophony of appointments and tests. We will also head up into the Rockies for Karen's Hayden Union High School all-class reunion. Karen graduated from high school in Morgan, Utah and that reunion (55th) will take place later this year, but this reunion will be in Hayden, Colorado where she spent the first 15 years of her life and did most of her "schooling".
Hayden's elevation is just over 6400' and is in a pretty valley along the Yampa River. We will then head back here, to Magnetic Mountain and the Great Passion Play.
There's something special about the mountains, whether they are 1500' or 6400' or 14000' like many of the Colorado peaks. The stars seem to shine brighter, the air seems cleaner and there is a feeling of freedom and exhilaration whether you drive up the mountain or hike/climb to the summit as I did on Long's Peak (14,259') about 12 years ago. But there is always the reality, that we can't stay on the mountain forever. There is always a return to the lowland, to the routine, and the "flats" of everyday life. We need to relish both the mountaintop and the flats, find contentment and joy in both and live as God calls us to live with hope and expectancy of all He has promised us beyond the present moment. It sure is wonderful to serve and worship such an awesome and faithful God. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
This coming Sunday we will pack up, pull in the slides, raise the jacks and set out from this 1500' mountain and head across the flats of Kansas to the Rocky Mountain mountains for our annual medical cacophony of appointments and tests. We will also head up into the Rockies for Karen's Hayden Union High School all-class reunion. Karen graduated from high school in Morgan, Utah and that reunion (55th) will take place later this year, but this reunion will be in Hayden, Colorado where she spent the first 15 years of her life and did most of her "schooling".
Hayden's elevation is just over 6400' and is in a pretty valley along the Yampa River. We will then head back here, to Magnetic Mountain and the Great Passion Play.
There's something special about the mountains, whether they are 1500' or 6400' or 14000' like many of the Colorado peaks. The stars seem to shine brighter, the air seems cleaner and there is a feeling of freedom and exhilaration whether you drive up the mountain or hike/climb to the summit as I did on Long's Peak (14,259') about 12 years ago. But there is always the reality, that we can't stay on the mountain forever. There is always a return to the lowland, to the routine, and the "flats" of everyday life. We need to relish both the mountaintop and the flats, find contentment and joy in both and live as God calls us to live with hope and expectancy of all He has promised us beyond the present moment. It sure is wonderful to serve and worship such an awesome and faithful God. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad
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