SAND AND SOLITUDE: A CAYMAN RETREAT (November 11 - 24, 2017)

After a brief two day trip to Indiana we, once again, flew standby without a problem.  As we stepped off the Delta jet in Georgetown, Grand Cayman, we felt the moist ocean air and the heat of the tropical sun.  For two weeks, cold weather would be left behind, and we would again enjoy the warmth of the tropics and the the warmth of people we have grown to love.

We have been traveling to the Cayman Islands for the last 23 years now, yet every time it seems like we see, or experience, something new.  This time it was a couple of new restaurants and sightings of starfish, Iguana, and Boobies (birds).  Now, it's back to Indiana for a week and then off to Tennessee for the month of December.  We are refreshed and spoiled.  Trust your Thanksgiving will remind you how blessed we all are, and how thankful we should be for all we have.










REFLECTIONS   

  In her book, "By the Seashore of Cayman", Jackie Bodden pens these words:

"Hammocks tied beneath fruit trees
Move at a gentle pace
Little children swinging in them 
Have a smile upon each face
High up in the banana trees
Birds sing their merry songs
How could this Island Time Forgot not be viewed by heavenly throngs?

The sparkling Caribbean, beaches beyond compare,
Coconut trees that sway in the breeze,
Familiar faces everywhere.
Heaven wouldn't seem like Heaven
If Cayman isn't there."

Sherry and I have traveled to many different wonderful places, each with its own beauty and value, but Cayman continues to hold a special place in our hearts.  We have been coming to this beautiful isle for twenty three years now and each time it seems like we're coming home.  Indeed, there are familiar faces, and familiar places that we always want to see.  The sound of the sea breezes blowing through the Coconut Palms outside our condo while the sun dances on the gentle Caribbean waves is as good as it gets.  But as good as it is, and as much as we love it, we know that it will in no way be as perfect as Heaven.  And while our time in Cayman always comes to an end, not so in Heavenly realms.  Heaven will be Heaven without Cayman but, until then, Cayman provides just a touch of Heaven for those who visit, and those who call it home.

MIDWEST MEANDERINGS (October 9-November 10, 2017)

We left Alaska after an eight-week, awesome adventure and headed back "outside" to the lower 48 and eventually found ourselves pillowing our heads in a lovely guest apartment in the home of Janice Kirkpatrick Edwards and her husband, Terry. They now live in Bethany, Oklahoma, where Terry pastors the Providence Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City and Janice is a Realtor.  While there we had dinner with other college friends; Don Neal and Dr. and Mrs. Don Dunnington.  Our ten day stay was perfect.

We left Bethany, Oklahoma with the Dunningtons (Don served much of his ministry as the Dean at Bethany Nazarene University) and wound our way on the back roads through Arkansas and Missouri until we arrived in Branson.  There we spent a couple of days visiting and planning some future times together before we were deposited in Republic, Missouri at my son, Aaron's, home.


There we enjoyed our grandsons, trips to football games, band competitions, and Wilson's Creek Battlefield.  We are blessed to have the wonderful family that the Lord has given us, and these two weeks just proved how very special they are.  The boys are growing so fast, with the oldest, Austin, already off to college.

We headed north to Eldon, Missouri, where I held what may be my final Revival.  The church there is pastored by another college friend, Jerry Frye.  We had wonderful services, and Sherry and I enjoyed being housed in the "Dry Creek Cabin".  Owned by a couple in the church, it sits in the middle of 500 acres of forest and fields.  Deer, cattle, and turkeys make daily visits and, at night, the stars shine brightly in the darkened skies.  It was one place that I had hoped to take Sherry, as I had stayed there twice before.

A quick flight to Indiana, a drive to the "Point", switching from Alaska clothes to Cayman clothes, and a visit to Monical's Pizza in Avon, Indiana with our grandaughters, and it was off to the airport for the next leg of our retirement adventures.

Overall, it was a busy month but one with many treasured times.

REFLECTIONS

While in Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, I saw this white tail deer standing in a flowing creek.  She was just cooling off and standing perfectly still.  Sometimes, we should do the same.  Just find a place, a time, when we can get away and simply reflect.