A NEW Adventure

I am... newly retired. I think, hope, pray... the timing is correct.  G^d certainly seems to have orchestrated this change.  This will be my first Fall, since 1991, when I worked at NASA, that I have not taught students in Higher Ed. somewhere.

I think I will do fine... we shall see.  Since I was about 7 years old, I have lived a pretty hurried, pretty scheduled life.  The summers, the last few years, have been more relaxed and less scheduled, but they always ended with a full, busy highly-scheduled life.  I have typically risen early and worked hard.

Fortunately, Brenda and I retired TO Campus Crusade, now simply  known as Cru. We are excited about the possibilities and have already invested a good bit of time in people!  This Monday we are helping with a student Retreat nearby.  We think it will be a great time... not to mention the big solar eclipse in the middle.

It certainly will be a new adventure.  Only the L^rd knows how this one will work out.  Stay tuned!

Ahhhh, coolness, how I have missed thee!

This AM I went to the 21-days of Prayer at Church of the Highlands.  During the individual prayer time, I decided to step out of the cold, cold air conditioning.  To my surprise, it was NICE and quite cool.  In my shorts and tee shirt, I was chilly!  Oh joy of joy!  Somehow I had traveled from home to the building without appreciating the nice coolness of the early, early AM.

And, I note that we take so much for granted.  So many blessings go largely unnoticed.  I had missed what should have stood out.  But, thanks be to G^d, I finally recognized the Blessing of the cool.

When I got home I mentioned to Brenda that we ought to step outside for our morning coffee.  We have a lovely side porch that sees nothing but trees, but the summer has been so hot that we have scarcely used it.  But, this morning I cut off the ceiling fan out there; otherwise it was too cold!  And, this is August 24th!

The summers here are hot, hot, hot, and I should mention also they are humid, humid, humid. Ah yes, but the springs and falls are long and extremely pleasant. Couple those with a short and mild winter, and you have a climate which is quite appealing to us old folk.

In another 4 weeks the fall season will come and the heat will flee.  The leaves will turn and the geese will head north (at least most of them).  Praise the L^rd for the seasons, and for His faithfulness. I hope I don't take it for granted.

How about you?  What Blessings are you missing?

An Eclipse... Double

On Monday evening while eating supper with our friends, Bob and Ester G., in Gaborone, Botswana, we looked up from our braai  to see this great eclipse (picture by Ester G):

We were totally unprepared for this beautiful site!  There had been no announcements or news coverage to our knowledge-- just there it was!  What a treat!

Now, we contrast that with the solar eclipse today.  Who hadn't heard, over and over and over, about the eclipse traversing the USA.  I made 5 pinhole viewing boxes.  We started viewing early in the 3-hour eclipse, and looked off and on to the end.  here is a photo courtesy of D Asmussen.

These "natural" events point us to the G^d of the Universe.  We are created in His image, and I think that is WHY we see these things as beautiful!

All praise to Him!

Univ BW- Reprise

As I mentioned last post, I got to visit my old Dept. at Univ. of Botswana.  When I was last there in Dec., 2013, the NEW Indoor Arena which was to house the Dept.

Now, in 2017, the Dept is in the process of moving into the new digs.  It is truly a VERY NICE facility.

By all estimates, the Dept has tremendous potential.  Several Botswana Institutions want to partner with the Dept and external funding for research and service is a real possibility.

Ahhhh, potential.  G^d created each of us with enormous potential- potential for different things, but great potential.  Will this UB dept live up to it's potential?

Will you?

Another visit to ... Africa!

I just this week got back from a short visit to Botswana.  It was a 39-hour trip over, and a bit over 35 hours to get back. I flew from BHM to DFW, then to London and then to Johannesburg, before missing my flight to Gaborone, Botswana.

When I got to Planet Lodge, my accommodations when we moved to BW in Jan., 2013, and I was one room closer to the www server this trip.  I recalled that first week in BW, and how scared I was of being robbed and how scared I was to be bringing my sweet wife into such a situation.

As usual my fears were totally unfounded, and this time I had no fear of note. Even more happy was meeting up with a new Christian friend from U of Western Mich, Steve C.  There aren't many Christians in public Higher ed, so it was especially nice to share a week with Dr. Steve.

Both of us worked extremely hard in reviewing the different programs of the Univ. of Botswana.  We both had numerous suggestions as to how the respective programs might be improved.  We shall see what comes of all of this.

My greatest pleasure from this trip, was visiting with many of our friends from Gabs.  The second greatest was going back "home" to Gabs Game Reserve.  Brenda and I made so many visits that, 4 years later, I still recalled the roads and what animals we were likely to spot where.

It struck me a bit odd, that I found the Game Reserve to be the most comfortable and familiar spot in Gabs.  What a Blessing it is, and yet so few locals ever go there.  We only saw ONE other vehicle all Saturday AM!  

Just goes to show... we take SO MUCH, SO Many BLESSINGS, for granted.  What are you taking for granted right now?

Zion Park Desert Bighorn Sheep

We LOVE seeing wildlife.  We particularly enjoy seeing bigger animals NOT inhabiting our normal environments.  We LOVED seeing the African game, and we LOVE seeing the Elk, antelope, and mule deer of the US West.  As we were coming out of Zion National Park, Andrew shouted, “Sheep” and there they were, a small herd clearly exposed on a huge grey rock.  We had NO trouble deciding to pull off and see if we could get some pictures.

After only a very short hike, here is what we saw these Desert Bighorn sheep-

Later, Brenda and I in Rocky Mountain National Park, saw another smaller herd, this time of Rocky Mountain bighorn.

The beauty and wonder of these creations of G^d add so much to life.  Go out and enjoy some nature this week.

A good deal- for a change

When Brenda and I lived within 30 min or so of the Appomattox Court House, we each bought a “senior Pass” which grants our car, and all occupants, admission to any National Park.  Before we left VA, the Appomattox Court House National Park was changed from fee to “no fee”.  Oh well.

But we are just returning from a “Western Tour” of 5 different National Parks, to which we got free admission because of our passes.  The first 4 were $30 each, and the last one was $20.  Plus, we got $9 off our night of camping in the Grand Canyon.

So, we exempted a grand total of $149 for the price of two passes at $10 each plus $10 each shipping and handling.

And… we ain’t dead yet.

Arches National Park

Arches NP was the northern-most of the Utah parks.  It was a considerable drive from Bryce up to Arches, but for us Easterners, every vista was new and delightful.  The scenery is indeed something to behold.  We had a hotel reservation near the park entrance in Moab- or so we thought.  When we got to the hotel, for the only time the whole trip, we found that the reservation we had made…was NOT to be found by the hotel.  Out of 7 nights in hotels and one night of camping, that is really pretty good.  It turned out that the messed-up reservation worked to our benefit, as it allowed us to leave the park on go straight to Grand Junction, saving some time and money.  Thank you, L^rd for a failed reservation.

Arches is a very interesting place.  The composition of the rocks there,  combined with the wind, rain, and ice results in many beautiful rock arches, hence the name.

It was amazing to us the beauty and variety resulting from weather and rocks.  The colors varied from red, to almost white to brown.  The rock formations were likewise different, and with a little imagination, you could see all sorts of animals and even people in the rock shapes.

Andrew and I made a pretty long, hot, dusty hike to the Landscape Arch, then on to the Perspective Arch with its huge “window”.  We visited another arch, up near there, which was smaller, but till with its own beauty.

So, what did we learn in Arches NP?  Well those things that eat away at us, those things which wear us down, may well be producing in us a beauty that we do NOT see right away. The arches didn’t come into being overnight, and neither do we.  Those things bugging you, tiring you, trying your patience, can be destroying you or making you beautiful.

Think about it.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Of all the parks we visited, Bryce probably offered the least variety.  But, that is NOT to say that we found it boring, not in the least! The chief entry into Bryce is a long road winding upward from maybe 5000 feet up to 9000+ feet.  Along the way, you can see different views of the long winding Bryce Canyon, there are plenty of places to pull off, and take in, G^d’s creation.

At the far end of the park is a very gentle trail, unlike those of Zion NP, and we enjoyed a very pleasant walk.  The trail was lined not only with Douglass Fir and White Fir, but also with ground squirrels.

Bryce Canyon itself is beautiful… but it doesn’t change all that much from the start to the finish. And life is a lot that way. We have the initial thrill of a new wife (I don’t mean changing wives…), a new job, a new child, a new home. But, after that, things aren’t nearly so exciting.

But we made the long climb to the top, and it was nice to get there and feel the cool air and see the Alpine vegetation and air clarity. Perseverance pays off, in Bryce Canyon Park, and in many aspects of live.

“Let us NOT grow weary in well doing, for we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up.”  Gal 6:9.