A Surprising Love for Canada Geese

 As most of you know, we live on a small lake. We derive surprising joy from the lake. We love kingfishers, the hawk, the domestic geese, the great blue heron, the little green heron, and we really enjoy the Canada (not Canadian) geese who pass through here headed south now, or north in the spring. A few seem to over-winter on our lake, and I guess we are pretty far south.

We love to hear them honking as they circle and maneuver to land into the wind. We love to see them paddle leisurely across the lake. Our neighbor east of us has a couple of Geese decoys, and the geese will come to her back yard and dock. There were 4 there yesterday.

Yesterday (Nov 2) we saw a NEW record ~80 Canada geese all together.

Aren't they impressive? It was not possible to get them all in the frame, but we counted them, not estimated them.

That these beautiful big birds can fly south each fall, and then back home again each spring is a marvel. We are so grateful to G^d that we get to enjoy his creation.

"18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."  Rom 1

Blessings,

Wonderful Fall

 Fall is in the air. On 1 Nov we lit the first fire of fall in the woodstove.

There is a LOT of enjoyment in Fall. The weather has cooled, making running more enjoyable. Deer season is in, and the leaves are turning (today is 3 Nov). The lake this morning was covered with fog, as the warm moist air near the lake surface rises and cools causing fog to form. Yesterday was sunny with a high of 57-58 F. I could work outside without sweating.

Every season has it's differences and its pleasures. G^d brings the seasons. Time flies and G^d reminds us that life is short...but eternity is long.

Gratitude for the .PE.A.

 I led our congregation in Communion this AM. The assigned passage was Gal 1:3-5, which reads, "3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

As I meditated on this Scripture, the phrase, "...the present evil age..." really caught my mind. This was written 1970 years ago yet the Holy Spirit is telling Paul to write, that the Christ delivered us from "...the present evil age." WoW!

We Christians sometime get lulled into thinking that the present evil age (PEA), is the evilest of all. But, G^d is Sovereign over all, including ALL ages. I am NOT grateful for the PEA, but I am grateful to know that NOTHING escapes G^d's notice, all is within his control.  We need NOT fear.

We can indeed be grateful even for this PEA. It is just one more opportunity for G^d to show Himself strong. As the verse begins, "...peace to you from G^d our Father." We can enjoy His peace, if we recognize it and put our faith in Him, not in government, not in politics, not in "health and wealth", but in G^d.  Thank you L^rd that through the shed blood of the Christ, our biggest problem is already solved.

Tired, yep tired

 We got back from the beach in the late PM of 16 Oct. We had spent the last week recovering from the 13 talks of wellness week. The next day after our return, I had the opportunity to speak to a bunch of profs in WI, MN, IL, OH, and a few other places. I LOVE doing this, but it does take a toll.

The last 2 days at the beach, I was inspired to do two really hard runs. Well, put all of this together and I was bad tired Sat. PM. I taught Sunday School this AM, and really enjoyed doing it, but find myself pretty tired again today.

Go figure. I forget that I am 70.7 years old, and I have never been this old before. My recovery seems to take longer than it did at 30. Go figure.

Fortunately, I have some freedom in retirement. Tomorrow, Monday, I have a dental appointment and a few small things to do, but no big pressure. For that I am grateful to G^d.

"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest..." Prov 6:10.

Thank you L^rd that this is Shabbat, a time for rest!

A PERFECT Beach Day!

 I am writing this on 15 Oct 202, and who would have expectd a PERFECT beach day in mid-October?

Allow me to describe it:

Not too crowded.  Hey it's mid-Oct.

It's 81F- not too hot, but warm enough.

It's Sunny!

The wind is mild.

The sea is FLAT- in fact, about the flattest I can ever recall seeing!

There are HUGE swarms of minnows attracting shoals of ladyfish who break the surface and occasionally go airborne to feed on them.

There a pods of dolphins swimming by often--maybe feeding on ladyfish.

We made it to the beach a little after 0900, and stayed until about 1230 and then after a quick lunch it's back out again.  You can't let a day like this pass you by.

Why Me L^rd? Why am I so Blessed?

 One of the several GREAT things we heard said at our Wellness Week was shared by Pam A.

Why has G^d Blessed me so much?"

That reminded me of King David's prayer of gratitude, "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 2 Sam 7:18.

Indeed. We count our Blessings often. G^d has given us good health, a nice retirement income, a GREAT ministry opportunity working with some terrific people.

Why has G^d Blessed me so much?

Thanks be to G^d!

US Elections, 2020

 

On Nov 2, the day before the US national election, I posted this on FaceBook.

AFTER THE ELECTION IS OVER, WE CAN STILL GUARANTEE THESE RESULTS:

1 - God will still be on His throne

2 - Jesus will still be King of kings and Lord of lords

3 - The Bible will still have all the answers to our problems

4 - The tomb will still be empty

5 - Jesus will still be the only way to heaven

6 - Prayer will still work - it will still make a difference, and God will still answer prayer

7 - The cross, not the government, will still be our salvation

8 - There will still be room at the cross

9 - Jesus will still save anyone who puts their faith and trust in Him

10 - God will still be with us always, He will never leave us or forsake us!

We were astounded at the response. We had almost 200 responses in less than 24 hours. Right now, the tv news is showing long lines to vote before people go off to work. It is just after 0700 and the news is heavily promoting the Democratic candidates, and showing which states need to go "Blue" for them to win.

By the time you read this, we will know for CERTAIN who won. And, truth be told, 1000 years from now, it really won't matter. G^d will still be on HIS throne, and He will never leave us or forsake us.

Comforting, isn't it.

Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center

Sometime back in the late 1990's, Barry and Karen M told us about this place. We immediately visited and have been back 40-50 times. We walk through the grounds and Brenda recollects, "We stayed in that one, and in that one, and that one too!". Most of our time we have stayed down at the cottages which is close to two groceries and to some good running routes.

One of the virtues of this place is that they give me a "pastoral discount" since we work for Cru now. The cost is lower than market, but the facilities are pretty basic--perfect for us. We spend a LOT of time at the beach, so we don't need a fancy room.

We've been here so much that it is kinda a home-away-from-home for us. That makes us more comfortable. We know where to shop and where to eat, and where the best thrift stores are nearby. They have had some staff turn-over, but Jeremy has been here checking us in for many, many years.

Brenda was recalling things that have happened whilst we were here. I can only recall getting the job offer for Liberty U here. I do remember coming here after our son Daniel and Shannon's wedding.

All of our kids have spent a lot of time here. Brenda and I have spent a lot more time here.

And all of it has been happy, happy, happy.

Thank you L^rd!

Wellness Week Report

 The first week of March we completed our third time to lead the Laguna Beach Wellness Week. We had 12 participants plus me and Brenda. We had a great time, and hopefully everyone learned some useful things.

The week started on 2 Oct and it was cold, cold for the beach. The first couple of days we wore long sleeves and sometimes jackets and jeans. By Tues PM, it had warmed up and stayed warm the rest of the week. A hurricane formed in the Gulf, but it was far enough west of us that we didn't get weather out of it.

For the first time for us, we did a service project. We drove 90 min west to Navarre Beach where we repaired a privacy fence damaged in Hurricane Sally.

We enjoyed several GREAT meals together, along with some beautiful sunsets. The beach was very nice, as usual.

I enjoyed the 13 times I spoke in 7 days. G^d seemed to bring things together in terms of thoughts and Scriptures. I enjoyed seeing, feeling that happen and I attribute to the prayers offered on our behalf. Thank you L^rd!