Vacations!

In the days of my childhood, our vacations were spent visiting family in other states. My dad’s folks lived on a farm in northeastern Arkansas. I got to hunt and fish and have all sorts of adventures that a city boy did not get try the rest of the year. Mom’s parents lived in New Jersey, near Trenton. There we got to see lots of historical sites and tourist attractions. I have wonderful memories of trips to both places.
When my wife and I had little girls, we did not have a lot of extra money, so we had to make decisions about how we spent it. Vacation trips seemed like a bit of extravagance we could not afford. But as the girls got older things were a bit better financially and we decided to make some family trips.

In 1976 we made a trip to see my grandparents in New Jersey, stopping along the way to visit historical sites during the Bicentennial. We visited Vicksburg, Montgomery and Richmond, all with Civil War ties. We went to Monticello, Washington D.C., as well as Trenton.


In 1980 we went to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and to Yellowstone. We have many stories about car troubles and a skunk in a tent and rock climbing and such.

In 1984 we took our best trip, to see the Olympics in Los Angeles. On the way out we saw the Grand Canyon, the London Bridge, which is now in Lake Havisu City, Arizona, and the Joshua Tree National Park. In LA, not only did we see Olympic competitions, including the Gold Medal baseball game between Japan and the US. We also went to Disney Land, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studio, Malibu Beach, and baseball games in Anaheim and San Diego.

We have so many fond memories of those trips with the girls. We have bee blessed to take a few trips with our grandkids too (We were in DC on 9/11 when the attacks took place). We spent some money that was hard to come by, but we firmly believe it was a special investment in our family!

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Oh, What A Moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got home from a two-week mission trip to the Caribbean Island of Dominica last night. One of the first things I did this morning was call my two grandchildren, who live across town from me, to see if they wanted to have lunch with me. My daughter told me that her son was going to go to the Department of Public Safety office to take his written test for the Learner’s permit to drive.

I told her I needed to go to the credit union anyway, that I would drop them off at the DPS office, go do my business and come back to get them for a pizza buffet. She thought that sounded like a good plan.

When I returned from the credit union, my grandson was just finishing up his test. He passed, of course, and was granted his license to drive with a licensed driver over 21 in the front seat with him. He had a bit of a smug look on his face, but did not act giddy or uncool. I shook his hand, and as we walked out the door, I handed him the keys to my car. He looked at me in disbelief, and then jumped about four feet off the ground. He ran over to the car and got in the driver’s seat. I got in front with him.

When he got situated, he started the car and proceeded out of the parking lot. We were across the street from a community college. The parking lot was mostly empty, with classes out for the summer. His mother asked him to pull in there and drive around for a few minutes to familiarize himself with the car and its handling. He did that, but after a few minutes, he was ready to take us to lunch. He left the parking lot and headed toward the feeder road of the State Highway we would be taking for a couple of miles.

As we moved, another car came toward the road we were on, using another exit from the college parking lot. That driver came up to the stop sign at a pretty rapid pace, not braking till the very last second. As we passed that car, my grandson said, “GrandDad, that is scary, I didn’t know if she was going to stop.” I told him driving is dangerous!
When we got to the intersection with the feeder road, the light there was red. He stopped in the right lane, and as he waited, an SUV pulled up on our left and blocked my grandson’s view. He eased forward to see past the SUV and saw the way clear. He made the right turn onto the feeder road and moved to the left lane, so he could enter the highway.

As he made his way up the ramp, accelerating to merge with traffic, an eighteen-wheeler was passing the entrance. Though he was a bit intimidated, the boy merged in to the lane behind the truck, then moved to the center lane of the three-lane road. He accelerated up to the speed limit, 65, and was so excited, nervous, rapturous at his new power!

We had to make two turns to get to the pizza joint. All in all, my grandson drove about three miles. I wonder if he will ever have a more awesome driving experience in his entire life!

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Off To Dominica!!!!!!!!!

I leave for Dominica tomorrow. For the twenty fifth year in a row, I will be part of a team doing mission work on the island. I love the place, it is unsurpassed in natural beauty. The mountains and waterfalls are spectacular. And the people are warm and friendly and receptive to the message of God’s love and mercy.

This year will be a bit different for me. I will be going to a new village, after having worked the past 19 years in one place. We will be on the opposite side of the island this time, the Caribbean coast rather than the Atlantic. It is the “dry” side or the island, a bit hotter, and fewer breezes. We will be working with a different missionary, so there will likely be a few mix ups and snags. But I know we will meet some great new people and come home with some wonderful stories to tell. And probably a few pictures to share as well.


See you in two weeks!

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Overcoming!

The diagnosis was breast cancer. We all began to pray for Mom. My specific prayer was that she would overcome the cancer. I prayed it for three and a half years, everyday, many times a day. Then when I returned from a trip to Jamaica, the first of Mom’s children to leave the States and Mom did not recognize me, I knew she would not live much longer. I wept bitterly and wondered before God why He had not answered my fervent prayers.

But He had. She overcame cancer with dignity and faithfulness and courage. And I thank Him!
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The story above is posted in response to Jellen’s Writing Challenge

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The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom

I am a few days early with my report on this month's selection for the Book Club Discussion started by Marathon Bird. But that is okay, because I was a little late last month!

I don’t know why I had never read The Hiding Place, but maybe it was partly because I did not want to visit the things that went on at the hands of the Germans in WWll. When I was a kid I went with my dad to see Mein Kampf, the documentary that showed the depravity of the Holocaust. Those pictures were deeply etched in my mind. I think that is why I did not want to see Schindler’s List.

As I read of the heroism of the Ten Boom family, I was horrified again at the treatment of those considered by the Nazis as inferior. But I was buoyed by the faith of the family, especially Corrie and Betsie as they were incarcerated and mistreated. I could identify with Corrie, as she wanted to honor God but who constantly had to deal with the emotions of anger and hate for her captors. I was truly inspired by Betsie, who was more Christ-like in her dealing with the deprivation and the persecution.

I am glad I read this book, because its message was not really about creating a hiding place for Jewish refugees and an underground network to get them to safety. Its message, at least to me was that all of us need a Hiding Place as described in Psalm 32:7, “Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve from trouble…”

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After A Week At Church Camp!

Teaching at church camp is one of my favorite things in life, and it is always a learning experience for me as well as the kids. Last week I again had the tenth graders, thirty eight of them. They were great! And I was tickled to have a young minister work with me this year who not so long ago he sat in my class at the same camp!



Usually at camp I am a pretty creative and active teacher. I use a lot of teaching techniques to keep the class thinking and discovering for themselves. This year our study was in the Minor Prophets, with the aim of seeing "How Great Is Our God." We have a morning class of an hour and fifteen minutes and an afternoon class of forty five minutes. I made a decision that the sophomores would read, or hear read, as much of the texts of those books as possible. Paul set the scene for each reading and then one of the guys would read the message of God through the prophet. The kids were then asked to create a MySpace bulletin that might be sent to the rest of the campers to transmit the message they had just heard.




I went to camp thinking that at least half the kids would fall asleep during the readings. I mean, it is hot and the kids are tired and the messages are, in some cases, long and a bit repetitive! I figured that for the first time in my camp experience they would find my class boring. But I wanted them to hear the Word of God so much that I was willing to take the chance.





We did have a three or four that could not keep their eyes open, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many read along with the "prophet" in their own Bibles. I was even more pleased at how much they understood the main message of the various texts, especially the traits of our great God!




It made me wonder how I could have doubted that the Bible itself would not suffice to teach those precious kids. And it reinforced my idea that we all need to actually read it more than we do!

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Why Me?

Temptations and trials are difficult to deal with rationally. When tragedy strikes we automatically think of self. If a hurricane comes and destroys the home in which I live, my first thought is, “Why me?” If someone near and dear to me is struck with a serious illness, my first question is, “How much must I bear?”

I fail o remember that Go has ordained that the sun will shine on the just and the unjust. He does not discriminate! The best answer to the question, “Why me?”, is, “Why not.”

Matthew 5:45 “For He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness.”

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