And It Has Begun

AND IT HAS BEGUN

As the cool autumn winds began to scatter the colorful leaves to the ground below, Sherry and I both brought to a close our "working" lives.  After all those years of serving others we said goodbye to that hectic life and started down the road to retirement.

Sherry had been a mom, a housewife, a professional counselor, a research specialist for Walt Disney World, and an Agent of Customer Service for Delta Airlines.  It was from the latter that she retired in mid September, 2016 after serving for 10 years.  Those ten years would provide us with "traveling rewards" for the remainder of her life.

I had pastored churches in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida for 40 years and then since 2010 had been traveling as an Evangelist across the country and speaking in different churches.  In early November, 2016 I held my final revival at the Church of the Nazarene in Spencer, Indiana.

Now the stage was set for the nomadic portion of our lives to begin.  Six years ago we had sold almost all our "stuff" and had been living in a "Time Share" condo in Kissimmee, Florida.  Now, with us both retired we are free to travel from place to place and enjoy each other and the world around us.

The plan is to travel for about 9 months out of the year and spend the other 3 months visiting family and friends.  It is to be a great adventure.  An adventure to which we do not know all the answers or workings.  2017 will find us feeling our way and testing our theories.

What we fully believe is that as good as we have had it, as blessed as we have become, that the best is yet to come.  Now come join us on the journey.

Paridise Almost Lost

The clock beside the bed read 4:45 a.m.! We wanted leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m.! We are already 45 minutes behind schedule to catch our 6:30 a.m. flight. Hurry to dress and finish packing. Out the door in 20 minutes! Left cell phone behind! 30 minute drive to the Orlando airport done in 25 minutes. Arrive at airport at 5:30 a.m.! Sherry runs in to to print boarding passes and check luggage. I do laps around airport....1....2....3...4. Sherry jumps in. I jump out with my carry on bags. Sherry hands me "my" boarding pass and leaves to park car in employee parking lot. In the dark and hurry she gives me her first leg boarding pass. I, without glasses on, do not notice. I head to the security check. Somehow (miracle?) the TSA guy does not catch the wrong boarding pass, checks my passport, and lets me through. I help lady with her bags on security conveyor. I leave my passport and wrong boarding pass somewhere in the process. I go to pat down (pace maker). I realize I do not have passport and boarding pass in my poscession. I am sure that I am not going to be able to fly. I have no way to contact Sherry (cell phone at home). A TSA agent says; "Are you Dicer, I found your (Sherry's) boarding pass and passport. (miracle?) Both look at passport (not boarding pass) and return them to me (miracle?). Time now 6:10 a.m.! Flight is finishing boarding when I arrive at gate (furthest one away it could have been). Time is 6:15 a.m.! Sherry arrives at gate and says; "How did you get through with the wrong boarding pass". I reply; "I had the wrong boarding pass?" She straightens everything out behind the gate counter. We board plane at 6:20 a.m.!

It never should have happened. No way to communicate with each other. Wrong info. Running late. Mistake after mistake. But somehow it did! And as I plopped into that seat in row 47 I took a deep breath, thanked God, and said to myself; "Surely THE BEST IS YET TO COME.

And it was! See photo!

Retirement Thanks To Timeshare 101

I am one of those "idiots" who got messed up in buying timeshare vacation housing. Back in 1984 Sherry and I purchased our first timeshare property in Tennessee. Throughout the next 26 years we picked up a little more here and there as we could afford it. With each purchase our "Annual Maintenance Fee" increased to be quite sizable but for the last ten years we have rented enough vacation weeks to pay 90% of that fee.

Now as we retire we have enough "points" accumulated to live at Wyndham Vacation Resorts year-round. While Sherry continues to work for Delta Airlines (6 more years) we will live here at Wyndham Cypress Palms in Kissimmee, Florida. After she retires, we will be free to travel anywhere there is a Wyndham and stay however long we like.

Here's the bottom line! We paid our monthly maintenence fee ($700) and that's it! No utility bills, no pool care expense, no lawn care expense, no cable TV expense, no upkeep expense (if anything breaks they replace it), no home insurance payments, etc. You get the idea! We'll never have to buy toilet paper, kleenex, dish washer soap, laundry soap, coffee, appliances, furniture, carpet, window treatments, newspaper, etc. You get the idea.

Here, at Cypress Palms, we will have 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, an exercise club, playgrounds, gas grills, twice weekly maid service, etc. You get the idea. The two bedroom condo we have is spacious and newly remodeled (last month) with all new furniture, floor coverings, appliances, etc. You get the idea.

We have sold or given away all our furniture and most of our clothes. We are going to live simply yet comfortably. So you can begin to see how I can continue to say: THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life

September 19, 2010 marked, perhaps, my "last" day in full time pastoral ministry. That would mean that today, September 20, 2010 marks the "first" day of the rest of my life. What a staggering thought that is! Sixty two years gone and ? years to go. Right now so many questions and so few answers. One thing I know for sure however is that THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

I went fishin' last week up in Indiana. I go every September and every year I am taken by the beauty of Sugar Creek as it tumbles along with clear, cool, and small mouth bass filled water. Some times running so rapidly that you can hardly walk in it, sometimes only ankle deep, and sometimes a quiet, deep pool. All very different but all holding fish if you know what you're doing. I think life is a little like that. Sometimes the river of life runs so fast you get worn out just trying to hold your own, sometimes it is so shallow and seemingly empty that the journey is easy, sometimes so deep and quiet that you can't even take it all in. But in every aspect it can be productive if you know what you're doing.

Like the picture above (taken somewhere in Indiana...don't ask where) life runs from one deep, peaceful spot to another. The issue is, in Sugar Creek or life, you have go through the rapids to get there. But the transition is worth it. I have always been one who loves to see what is just around the bend, to see what new water and deep hole might lie ahead.

That's where I am now; in the rapids, in the transition. Exactly what lies around the next bend in my life I don't know but I do know what I'm doing. I am trusting in Him who has called me to lead and guide me. I truly believe that THE BEST IS YET TO COME and I can't wait to see what's around the bend.

One Journey Draws To An End While Another Begins

On August 15, 2010, after a little over 40 years in pastoral ministry, I announced my resignation from the pulpit of the Metrowest International Church of the Nazarene. It was a bitter sweet day. You don't spend six years with people and not develop relationships and feelings. There were five other such moments of blended joy and pain across the years but this one was different.

There was not another church to become excited about, no new people to meet, no new shared vision of the future, just the wide open future of "retirement". So many questions, so few answers! But all the particulars will be the subject of a future blog. For now I just want to say a few words to any "laypersons" reading these words.

Let me tell you what it feels like to resign a pastorate. It is a wonderful, exciting time knowing that you are being to His plan for your life, it is a frightening and tense time not knowing exactly what the future holds, and it is a time of heartbreak and sadness knowing that you will be saying goodbye to so many you had helped along their spiritual journey.

It is the best of times and the worst of times.

If your pastor resigns remember all the emotions he is going through and support him with your prayers and affirmation. His mind is running a hundred miles an hour and he is trying his best to say and do the right things so that the one who follows him will be able to pick up where he left off and continue to build the Kingdom. He wants to leave with grace and dignity. Help him be able to do so.

The one thing that I would remind you is that, if the Lord is being honored, the BEST IS YET TO COME for both the congregation and the pastor. Remember that Paul said "all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose.

Walking with a King

I was blessed this past week to be given two passes to Arnold Palmer's PGA tournament at Bay Hill here in Orlando. I called a good friend and the two of us enjoyed four days of beautiful Florida weather, the vistas of a spectacular golf course, and the amazing way the pros play the game. Since the "free" passes were for the entire week we even took in the "Pro-Am" event on Wednesday. One tee time we made sure to see was the tee time of the King, 80 year old Arnie, himself. He played that day with hockey great, Bobby Orr, and Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge. After the grouping finished the first hole they proceeded to walk toward the 2nd tee and during that 100 yard or so walk guess who I ended up walking next to....The King, himself! I even managed to brush his shoulder with mine and offer a humble and polite greeting.

O.K., so you know where this is going. I'm goin' there anyway! I, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, have been given another "free pass". And with that one I will have the blessing of walking side by side with the "real" King, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lord's.....Jesus Christ, Himself! On that special day I suppose my response will be to get as close as I can and offer a humble and polite greeting. So once again, while I certainly enjoyed the moment, I know that the BEST IS YET TO COME!

Just One More Cast!!!

If you are any kind of fisherman I know that there have been times when, after a great full day of fishing, you have found yourself saying; "Just one more cast!" Why? Because you are just certain that "the big one" is right there underneath that log and although you've already got a "mess" to clean that one more cast might just bring you the best catch of the day.

I went fishing this past week and enjoyed every minute of the day. The weather was beautiful, the water was clear, a gentle breeze helped our drift, and the fish were hitting. I cherished each moment on the lake and soaked it all in the best I could but when the day was almost done I found myself asking my fishing buddy; "can't we make one more drift...just one more" (I said the same thing three separate times). Why? Not because i hadn't enjoyed the entire experience but because I was sure that the BEST WAS YET TO COME!

My youngest son, Drew, now 27, told me the other day he thought my blog "too dark" to much focus on "death". He said he understood that for the Christ follower the best is yet to come but that I didn't need to think about it so much. Then I read my daughter's facebook status that said she found herself looking forward to so many things but maybe missing the moment. And I thought about my fishing trip.

For my entire life I have enjoyed the moment. It is the moments that comprise the life. Discovering true love, watching your children being born, cheering for your favorite teams, seeing someone "come to Christ", experiencing childhood, youth, the young adult years, the middle adult years, and even the senior adult years. Moment after moment after moment to be enjoyed and savored, to be cherished and devoured.

On the fishing trip, with a live well full of fish, I still couldn't wait to make one more cast and see what might happen. In life, with so many wonderful memories filling my heart, I still can't wait to see what lies just around the corner. For me, THE BEST IS NOW and and yet I know that THE BEST IS YET TO COME.