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A few thoughts before heading north...500+ miles going in circles...critical communication

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  Our days at Betmar are coming to a close.  On my daily morning walk I looked across the pond to see my 90 year old father walking his dog.  You will need to zoom in to see him under the live oaks of the park which are draped with Spanish moss.  I added the second picture but it is a little blurry.  I was calculating how many miles I have walked during this 3 month furlough when I spotted his neon hat bought by him at a truck stop on our trip last August from California to Maine.  Even though I have logged over 500 miles (in circles around this park) I pray I am able to be walking like dad at 90+. Another development is the decision to study and preach through the book of James when we arrive at the Weymouth Community Church.  I have been using these Scripture Journals for the last couple of books of the Bible to assist as I preach through chapter by chapter and verse by verse.  It allows each person to have the same version and also a place to make notes on the opposite page which is
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A weekend at WCC...blessed again to see more of God's wonderful family!!!

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  It has almost been a month since my last post.  (Sorry about that 😞)  My life has been very busy with my online classes and also preparing for this weekend trip to WCC (Weymouth Community Church) just outside of Medina, Ohio.  I will add a few more poorly taken photos throughout this post and finish with a video from the sermon given on Sunday morning. It was a great weekend and what is left before a move there to serve with them is some paperwork and the securing of our housing.  WCC is a historical church in Medina County that has been given a new opportunity to reach into the community it has been placed by God.  The church is made up of the attenders of WCC but I am always thankful for the facilities (the church building) that God provides through His children to use for ministry opportunities.  WCC has many physical attributes that are ready to house discipleship and evangelistic type of events. The blessing for Stephanie and I was the opportunity to witness another part of God
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A time to physically get some things in order and an important phone call

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  The screenshot is my typical morning walk around Betmar Acres mobile home park.  It is 4.63 miles long and usually takes me about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete.  For those mph people out there, it is a pace of 3.7 mph.  It offers me some physical exercise that I need but also a time to think and pray and meet other walkers of the park.  Scroll down to the bottom if you want to see the satellite view and get an idea of how many mobile homes are in this park.  On Sunday mornings I shorten it up a bit so that I am ready for Sunday School and Morning Worship but I'm trying to create a habit I will take with me again.  I was so thankful for the 2 mile walks from our provided home in Marshfield, Maine to the Machias Valley Baptist Church and especially on Sunday mornings.   Another thing in order are the sheds.  At one point in my life, I possessed a 40x60 pole barn!  Now I have a couple little sheds that store our "downsizing" possessions.  It is amazing what you can pu
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Furlough Fragments

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Yesterday, February 14th, Valentine's Day marked the 10th year of when I walked into a cancer infusion center clinic to receive my first dose of chemo.  I was there over 8 hours that day and that would become my new routine over the next 5 months returning every 3rd week.  It does seem like a life time ago but my colostomy bag reminds me of the year 2011 every day.  Many view 2020 as a bad or challenging year.  Mine was 2011 but as I said to Stephanie yesterday after saying, "Happy Valentine's Day" was "I'm still here and thankful to be productive for my God."    I am not a sermon preparer right now but now a sermon listener.  As I have said before, I am thankful for the church we attend here when back at "home base."   It is so important to search out a church that preaches the Word of God and is filled with people who are there because it is holding to the Word of God.  I held off sharing this post because the pastor's sermon was a two p
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Some great Sunday night Colorado family fun...another Sunday in the pew

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  We had to break out the "mallows."  I am looking for all the good things about furlough and this is definitely one of them, seeing family.  We are onlookers as we remember bringing up four of our own and the craziness at times.  We are watching ourselves as our children take up the mantle of raising children and providing for them a stable home environment to experience.  We have much to pray for and these times add fuel to our urgency to find our knees before our God for our children and grandchildren. Another Sunday in the pew and as I am looking for all the good things about this furlough, this is also one of them.  Preaching every Sunday doesn't give you the opportunity to experience what those who are sitting in the pew are taking in.  You would think it would be everything you are saying but really it might be just one thing that is said that sticks or commences into more thought later.  This was my experience this Sunday as we attended church with our family in C
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2 weeks into furlough and some thoughts about Acts 8, theology proper, and aseity

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  I'm calling this a furlough and not a vacation because the definition of a furlough is, "A furlough is a mandatory temporary leave of absence from which the employee is expected to return to work or to be restored from a reduced work schedule."  I don't know about the "reduced work schedule" with my online masters class and all the "honey do" projects but I am not complaining because this time has a purpose for me in many ways.  The change of pace is allowing me to set up some habits I will hopefully carry over into the next assignment.   One of those habits will be the bi-monthly coaching calls to the newly installed pastor at my last assignment.  It was the highlight of my week to give encouragement to him; ask and listen to his new challenges; and pray for his ministry.  I am now in my 35th year of ministry and I think of all the experiences the Lord has given me to live through to now share with others.  I am humbled to be asked to do this
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A week out and a 10 year blog accounting

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  A week out and I am adjusting to my new schedule.  Part of my routine is a morning walk, about 5 miles around the perimeter of the park in the early hours.  The picture above is a memorial pond which gave me a pause this morning with its reflection of the sunrise and landscape.  The walks help me in so many ways.  Not only do I need them physically but mentally.   I have an old walkman type cassette player with a radio that I tune to Moody Radio and listen to the Kurt and Kate morning show.  News, weather, chit-chat and music fill my ears but what I key in on is the music.  I multi-task so much that music just becomes background noise to help me focus on the task before me.  It has been awhile since I have listened to a song solely to hear it for its own worth.   I pull out an ear bud when a fellow walker approaches so I can say "good morning" and some of the faces are becoming familiar to me.  It is a good way to start these days of waiting.  Praying for a future assignme
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