"THIS IS NOT A DRILL....." (Hawaii, January 13, 2018)

I had just finished a pre-dawn walk where I had watched a wonderful sunrise over Diamond Head.  I was sitting on the edge of the bed, in our 23rd floor room at the Wyndham Royal Garden, watching the Michigan and Michigan State basketball game, when my cell phone pinged indicating a text.  I reached for it and sat in unbelief as I read and re-read the message on the screen.."THIS IS NOT A DRILL!  AN INCOMING BALLISTIC MISSILE WILL IMPACT HAWAII......".

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THIS IS NOT A DRILL" echoed through my numb mind.  Earlier in the week we had visited with Hawaii resident, Dennis Lynch, who had told us that Hawaii now was holding "Missile Alert Drills" once a month because of its' vulnerability to attack from North Korea.  Now this message shouted...NOT A DRILL".

I shared the message with Sherry as she finished her morning shower, returned to the living area, and read words like these as they scrolled across the television while a now unimportant basketball contest played in the background..."An incoming ballistic missile will impact Hawaii in 20 minutes, take shelter now".

Twenty minutes?  I now had a timeline for my possible earthly end.  Twenty minutes!  I stepped out unto our lanai and scanned a deep blue Waikiki sky from the river to the Pacific Ocean, thinking that perhaps I could catch a glimpse of something.  I can not fully explain my emotions, my feelings.  I don't even remember if I breathed a prayer.  There was a sense of resignation; a feeling that this was it.  I did think about the guy I saw on a street corner, by the beach, with his sign..."The end is near".

By this time Sherry had exited the bathroom, hair wet, and we made our way to the lobby.  In the lobby I saw no crying and fear, just people with confused looks on their faces, and many on their cell phones.  After about another 10 minutes we learned that there was no threat.

A COLD TENNESSEE SASQUATCH HUNT (December 2 - 30, 2017)

Spending December in Tennessee sounded like a good idea when we made reservations over a year ago, but no one told us that an Artic cold spell would plummet the thermometer 20 degrees colder

than usual.  Thus, our four weeks in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee proved to be an unexpected time of staying inside and just enjoying the warmth of the wood burning fire place and good friends.  The Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade provides free wood to its guests, and I took good advantage of the benefit.  I would estimate that during our month long stay we burned somewhere between 300 and 400 pieces of wood (I also didn't have it delivered but used the walk to the wood shed and back for exercise).

Some of that time in front of the flickering flames was spent with friends.  Tim and Vicky Gates drove us over from Nashville and spent a couple of nights, Mike and Elisabeth Adams stopped in for a couple of nights on their way to Florida, Bruce and Carol Hardesty drove up from southern Tennessee for a couple of nights, and Ray and Donna Couey drove over for the day (We hadn't spent any time with them for over 40 years).  These opportunities to share our life with others is exactly what we had hoped would happen when we began our retirement journeys a little over a year ago.  Hopefully, others will join us in the days to come.

Finally, our last visitors joined us for five days.  Our daughter Autumn, and our granddaughters, Abigail and Adelyn, slid their way the six hours from Indiana to stay with us.  While we didn't have the chance to do all the outdoor things we would have liked, we did manage to take some short hikes, eat some ice cream, play lots of table games, work on a jigsaw puzzle, watch some TV, and laugh often.

REFLECTIONS




One of the images that will remain with me for my remaining years will be of two young girls striding from tree to tree in the cold Tennessee woods, making grunting noises they imagined sounded like Sasquatch, and peeking out from behind those trees with quizzical looks at the human following them with a camera.

You see, we had sat and watched numerous episodes of a "Searching For Big Foot" marathon and now they were playing the part.  The part of the searched for, but never found creature.  What fun we had on that journey.

It seems to me like many folks spend their time running from tree to tree pretending to be something they are not.  And, as a matter of fact, many of them are on Facebook.  They hide behind this tree and that tree never really allowing themselves to be seen.  It, also, seems to me that there are many people who are constantly searching for something that is elusive, something that is mystical, something that no one else has ever seen.  They look and look and look.  They listen to others' stories and try to find a similar outcome.  Yet, in the end, all they find are sounds in the darkness that leave them unfulfilled and disappointed.


While running from tree to tree in 2018, be yourself.  Enjoy your uniqueness, your adventure.  I don't know what it may be that you are searching for in 2018, but might you find yourself.  Be real and understand that the true search must begin within.

WE ARE THANKFUL, ALWAYS! (November 25 - December 1, 2017)

To be totally honest, it wasn't easy to leave the white sand beaches and warm temperatures of Grand Cayman Island and fly north to Indiana and our cabin.  Well, we actually flew north to Cincinnati, Ohio.  Well, really we landed at the Cincinnati/Covington International Airport in Kentucky.

It wasn't that we couldn't have flown into Indianapolis but it was rather that, in order to have ground transportation during our one week stay in the Hoosier state, we had to fly to Cincinnati.  Let me explain.

Since we fly almost everywhere we go and because you can't take a car in your carry on, we simply sold our cars.  On the ground, in our various stops, we either use public transportation, Uber, rent a car, or find someone who will loan us some wheels.  That's where flying to Cincinnati comes in.

Back in 2012, while I was traveling and speaking, I held a revival in Plainfield, Indiana (near Indianapolis) where Darwin Pressler pastored.  Darwin and I know about each other but really had never had much contact across the years.  When he heard of my transportation need he, without hesitation, said; "I have an old truck that pretty much just sits around here.  Why not use it when you are here in Indiana?"   Thus, for the past 5 years, this wonderful Godly man has allowed me (us) to use a truck.

We are actually on the 2nd truck.  I named the first one "Gracie" to remind me of the unmerited favor this generous man had given me.  Now, it's "Gracie II" that joins us on many of our travels in Indiana.
The Presslers lived near the Indy airport until changing assignments last year.  Now they are close to the Cincinnati airport living in Rising Sun, Indiana on the Ohio River.

Why all this explanation?  Because Darwin and Jean represent so many kind and generous people that we have met throughout the years.  There are a lot of awesome folks out there;  folks who love Jesus and extend His grace to others.  I wish I had space and time to thank all the people who have helped Sherry and me enjoy our nomadic lifestyle this past year.  You know who you are.  "Thanks".  You are represented well by the Presslers.

What could you do to provide "grace" to someone in need in the year to come.  There is a blessing in being His servant.  A blessing to both you and those you serve.

Now, it's off to Tennessee for December.  Thanks, Tim and Vicky, for picking us up at the Nashville airport and delivering us to Crossville.  Man, are we blessed.

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.

SERMONS AND SILVER SALMON IN SOLDOTNA, ALASKA (September 4 - October 9, 2017)

The standby flight from Cordova to Anchorage went smoothly and the three hour drive from Anchorage to Soldotna wound its' way along Turnagain Arm and through mountain passes.  When we arrived, in the early evening, we met our hosts, Dennis and Denise Linnell.  We would be guests in their lovely home for five weeks!

During this time I would be serving as "Interim Pastor" while the Soldotna Church of the Nazarene awaited the arrival of their new pastor.  Basically it meant starting with a Sunday over Wednesday Revival, preaching for the next four Sundays, Wednesday night Prayer Meetings, and being available should there be any emergency situations.  This church, which runs around 110 on a Sunday morning, is filled with wonderful believers who are anxiously looking forward to a new parsonage family.  They treated us with an amazing hospitality that included; cook outs, camp fires, beach parties, and home visits for dinner.  Both Sherry and I felt loved and blessed to have had this chance to serve them.



Located on the Kenai Peninsula, this area of Alaska is filled with natural beauty and abundant wild life.  During our 35 day stay we watched fall arrive as the Aspens, Birch, Cottonwood, and Willow trees turned from green to various shades of yellow adding a contrast to the multitude of ever green Spruce trees.  Leaves began to carpet the ground and temperatures dropped at night into the 30s.

Sitting next to the 2,000,000 acre Kenai National Wildlife Refuse and with the beautiful Kenai River (#7 on CNN Travel's list of "The World's Best Rivers For Travelers") winding through the area, it is not a surprise that we saw Caribou, Moose, Mink, Beaver, Seals, Eagles, and a lot of other critters.  The Kenai River is acknowledged as the best river in Alaska for Salmon fishing and the Silver Salmon (Coho) were making their way up the river while we were there.

This was our longest continuous stay in one state during the past year and one of the most enjoyable.  It is, with a sense of sadness that we will leave the 49th state in a few days.

REFLECTIONS

I fell in love with Alaska and the Yukon as a boy.  Jack London's, "The Call Of The Wild", left images of a rough yet beautiful land.  As Alaska became the 49th state in 1959 (I was ten years old) it became a dream to someday visit the last frontier.  Now we are completing our fourth trip to the "Last Frontier" and it has not disappointed.  Sometimes we build things up so high that reality becomes a let down but Alaska has met every expectation.

The people are amazing and the scenery spectacular.  It has been, for me, a dream come true.

There is another place that became an anticipated destination when I was about the same age.  It was then that I gave my life over to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and set my feet on a journey to the Heavenly Kingdom.  What that place will be like cannot even be imagined.  I have built up pretty high expectations about what I'll find there.  I am certain that it will meet all expectations and go beyond my wildest dreams.  I will not be disappointed.  When I will make that journey is an unknown but when I do, just know this, that for me, "The Best Is Yet To Come".  Until then, I plan to continue to enjoy my journey here on planet Earth.  BLESSINGS.

                                                                   (Kenai River, Kalifornsky, Alaska)

SOMETIMES, EVEN IN ALASKA, "IT IS WHAT IT IS" (August 21 - September 3, 2017)

                                                                  (Eklutna Lake State Park)

After dropping the Bittenbenders off at the Anchorage airport, Sherry and I returned to the Langley Lodge at the Nazarene Camp Grounds in Big Lake.  We had thoroughly enjoyed our few days with these long time friends but I now found myself struggling with a nasty head and chest cold.

After a day long outing to Thunderbird Falls and Lake Eklutna State Park, where we hiked and
enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, I returned to the lodge to pretty much spend the next week inside looking out.  Oh yes, I was looking out on the awesome view of Alaska but didn't dare venture into what became cool and rainy weather.  Sleepless nights filled with heavy coughing and labored breathing and day after day of just plain being miserable followed.  I continually reminded myself (and the Lord) that I was soon to head to Cordova, Alaska to begin a Revival and that I needed to get better.  There were other guests in the Lodge who joined with me in prayer, giving me comfort, medicines, and encouragement.  They included a retired pastor and wife from Ohio, a lay couple from Pennsylvania, and a wife of a pastor from Hawaii.

Even with being sick, the time at the Alaska Nazarene Camp Grounds was just what we needed and as we boarded the Alaskan Airline flight to Cordova I was feeling some better and excited to return to the off the roads fishing village had I had grown to love.

Cordova, Alaska is a wonderful place, hemmed in by the ocean   on one side and the mountains on the other three.  It really is like being on an island.  Rev. Steve Leppert met us at the airport and we headed into town.  In our prior visits to Cordova we had had wonderful weather with sunny skies and warm days.  Now, as we exited the truck, we were greeted by rain and cold.  The lovely apartment that the church has was warm and inviting but the weather....not so much!  It rained every day and the sun took a vacation while we were there.  No great fishing on the river because it was too fast, too high, and murky.

The week end services were times of renewal and fellowship and my symptoms eased so that I could get two straight nights of solid sleep.  When we left, in the rain, on Monday morning I was feeling much better and ready for the next stage of our Alaskan adventure.

Reflections

Sometimes our plans, our dreams, don't turn out the way we had envisioned them.  When planning our two and a half week stay in Big Lake we had planned to use it as a base to take some day long excursions into the Alaskan wilderness. They were to be days of exploration and rest.  That was the plan.  However a "bug" got in the way.  Was I happy to be "laid up" and somewhat miserable during this time?  No!  But what I came to realize was that not only "it is what it is" but that the Lord's timing is always right.

Had the weather been even a little better in Big Lake or Cordova I would have been tempted to be out running around or fishing (even in a light rain) but I was forced to stay in and get better.  I could have been sick during the Revival but the Lord provided a place of restoration and healing that enabled me to be ready to serve.  Even the timing of our exit from Cordova was perfect for the next day it was not only raining heavily but the wind was roaring off the ocean at 100 M.P.H. (someone said: "When the wind blows 100 m.p.h. in the lower 48 it is a big deal, here in Cordova it's Tuesday.)

And if I had to be laid up for awhile, I guess this isn't a bad view to have out the window.  Now it's on to Soldotna, Alaska for about a month.

                                                 (Big Lake, Alaska)