PLATEAU PONDERINGS (October 21-November 10, 2018)

Our standby flights took us from St. Louis, Missouri, through New York City, and back to Knoxville, Tennessee.  The long way around, but when we fell into the king size bed at the Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade we knew that the next three weeks would be a great time of relaxing and enjoying the autumn beauty of the Cumberland Plateau.  We have been visiting this awesome location in Tennessee since 1982 and knew that the hospitality of the people and the spectacular scenery would make for a wonderful time.

The comfortable condo with the wood burning fireplace (firewood provided) was centrally located,
making it easy to access many of the varied walking trails that meander through the wooded landscape.  The fall foliage did not disappoint.  The valleys and hillsides were ablaze with bright reds, yellows, and oranges.  Streams and cascades provided sounds and sights that reminded one of the beauty of nature all around us.

Good friends, Mike and Elizabeth Adams, joined us for six of these and it was good to reconnect and share time together.  There really are few things as special as long time friends.


REFLECTIONS

Autumn is an amazing time of the year.  The stunning colors of fall on the Cumberland Plateau make for many moments of just standing still and allowing yourself to drink it all in.  It all comes together perfectly to cause one to catch their breath and pause to allow the images to be captured in their mind.  Captured, to be recalled from time to time, in memories of bright colors, crisp air, and the smells of the forest as it drops its decaying leaves to the moist ground.

Even the few rainy days that we experienced during our stay brought an additional beauty to the surroundings.  While the wind and rain caused the trees to shed their changing leaves in great numbers, it also filled the many rivers and streams to overflowing.  The increased water flow provided the resource to bring waterfalls and cascades to life.

Out of the rainy, windy, overcast days came a freshness in the air, the sound of flowing water, and the crunch of fallen leaves under your feet.  Out of what could be seen as wasted days came additional blessings.

It would be wonderful if all of life was filled with sunshine and blue skies; but it's not.  It has its rainy days. It has dreary days that seem to be wasted and long.  Always reflect on the memories of good days past and remember that even the dreary days can produce beauty and a resource for better days to come.

INDIANA AND MISSOURI BOOKENDS (September 17-30, 2018) (October 7 - 20, 2018)

Indiana Morning Woods

The bookends around our time with friends in Tennessee were times spent with family in Indiana and Missouri.  They were times of laughter and of enjoyment.  There is nothing more special than being able to spend time with family.  There are few things more important than making lasting memories with those who will remain when we have exited this temporal realm.  After being gone to Alaska for three months it was awesome to reconnect with those who are closest to us.

Watched the girls compete

Our front-end two weeks in Indiana were spent between Bloomington and Avon.  Sherry's mom, Lois, remains in an Alzheimer Facility in Bloomington and our daughter's family live in the Indianapolis area.  These days were spent visiting Lois, closing up the cabin, attending volleyball and soccer games, and running to the dentist and doctor.  Not very restful but good days in the Hoosier state.

Baptized Ethan

Our back-end two weeks, in Missouri, were spent in Republic where our son, Aaron, and his family reside.  They were days spent enjoying our four grandsons and doing nothing.  They were relaxing days.  I spent some time about every day at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (about 2 miles from Aaron's home) hiking and looking for wildlife.  I, also, was able to baptize my youngest grandson, Ethan.  I have now baptized all six of my grand children!  A trip to Lambert's (home of throwed rolls)was made, where fun was had by all and a lot of food was consumed.

Christian, Justin, Ethan, Austin at Lambert's (Home of Throwed Rolls)

REFLECTIONS

I want my "senior" years to be lived in such a way that I am challenged by new adventures and places.  I want my "senior" years to be years of wonder and wandering!  I want my "senior" years to be spent loving Jesus and others.  I want my "senior" years to be long enough to ensure that my grandchildren remember me with at least some degree of fondness and respect.  I remain excited to see what the Lord has in store for us and excited to watch my children and grandchildren explore His plans for their lives.

Missouri Red Barn Deer

TOGETHER AGAIN (October 1-6, 2018)

The Dicers, the Smiths, the Moores, the Halls, the Solomons, the Rosses

Nottingham Villa

The Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Glade, Tennessee was the site of this year's "Friends Retreat".  Six couples met for five days of coming together and enjoying our sameness and our differences.  Five days of sharing life.  Six guys met six gals in the late 1960s while attending Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois.  Twelve individuals became six couples.  Those six couples will all celebrate their 50th wedding anniversaries in the near future.

This was our second "Old Timers" get together and "the Glade" served as a great host.

They were days filled with lots of memories, golf, hikes, and lots of foods.  They were days of remembering and days of reflections.

REFLECTIONS

Fred Hall, Keith Ross, Alan Dicer, Bryan Solomon, Ken Moore, and Eugene Smith

A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the past 50 plus years but none of it has dampened our friendships and our relationships.  Six couples still married in a day when marriage has lost its "til death do us part" component.  Six couples who have refused to allow miles or differences to divide their connection.  We concluded that we were all extremely blessed.   

I am blessed to know that every day there are those upon whom I can count; those who will be praying for me.

There have been good times and tough times in those years passed and I am sure there will be more of both in the years to come.  We have scheduled a repeat visit to "The Glade" next October.  I am praying that the number will still be twelve.

I hope that you have these long standing friendships in your lives.  If you do, don't take them for granted.  Find a way to get together, to connect, to enjoy the memories and treasure the moment.

Even old folks can be silly!

ALASKA FINALE (August 27- September 16, 2018)

Lake Eklutna

                                                                 

Eagle River Nature Center

Our eighty eight days in the "Final Frontier" drew to a close as we boarded the Delta jet to wing our way back "outside" to Indiana.  The final three weeks were spent wrapping up ministry work and taking a final lingering look at all the beauty that is Alaska.  They were weeks of preparing the church for the days ahead, weeks of saying goodbye to so many new friends, and weeks of soaking in the wonder of our northern most state.

Day outings were made to Peter's Creek Park with its roaring river and winding trails, Reflection Lake with its scenic views and tall tower, Eagle River Nature Center, and Lake Eklutna with its panorama of jagged mountains and glaciers.

Peter's Creek Park

Now it will be two weeks in Indiana before starting our fall and winter schedule with time at Wyndham Fairfield Glade in Tennessee, Wyndham at the Falls in Branson, Missouri, Wyndham Reef on Grand Cayman Island, and Wyndham Cypress Palms in Kissimmee, Florida.


REFLECTIONS

Reflection Lake

It is always difficult to leave a favorite place; a place that has captured your heart.  Alaska is such a place for me.  I love her people and her landscape.  I love the freshness of her breezes and the dazzle of her northern lights.  I love the bright yellow Aspens that brighten the mountain sides as summer gives way to fall. 

However, as much as I love her, I have not seen all of her.  I have never experienced her crazy cold winter months with its 20 hours of darkness.  I have never experienced the separation that engulfs those who have chosen to live there.  I have never had to deal with the high cost of living there year around.

And while I shiver at the thought of those cold winter days, there are those who long for them; for the chance to dog sled or snow machine.  And while I worry about the cost of living, there are those who rise to the challenge of subsistence hunting and fishing.

We are all different and love different things.  We have discovered that even the things we love the most have their downsides, their disappointments.  It is as we learn to accept the good with the bad that really learn to live and love.  Learn to say with the apostle Paul: "I have learned whatsoever state I am in to be content."

So while I find it difficult to leave Alaska I am content in the knowledge that there will be memories and blessings to be had in the next place and the next and the next and the next.

FIRE WEED AND "FLAG STOPS" (August 4 - 26,2018)

Alaska has now been our stopping place for 66 days with 21 more to follow.  We have made so many new friends while serving as Interim Pastor at the Eagle River church of the Nazarene.  We have found them to be typical of the Alaskans that we have met in the past; industrious, strong, independent, kind, and generous.  We have been made to feel right at home.  They have loaned us vehicles so that we could see the beauty around us, they have invited us into their homes, and they have taken us out to meals.  We feel so very blessed that we have been given this opportunity to serve these wonderful folks as they go through the process of calling a full-time pastor.

The past three weeks, since our last blog, have been filled with church activities and adventures.  The adventures aren't very hard to find.  They are all around us.  The mountains, the water falls, the wildlife, and the grandeur of the land continue to cause us to stop and gasp our amazement.  This is truly a land of many faces.  In our over two months here, we have seen the bright fire weed blossom its' way to the top of the plant.  This is an Alaskan indicator that winter will soon be upon the state and that it is time to start getting ready for the harsh days ahead.  Daily highs have already dipped into the fifties and sixties.

Good friends, Terry and Janice Edwards from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, were our guests for several days.  Sherry and Janice were college room mates at Olivet Nazarene University in the mid 1960s.  They now pastor a church in the inner city of OKC.  We took day trips to the Girdwood area, the Portage Glacier, and, a full day train trip on the Alaskan Railroad to Hurricane Gulch.  Memories were made at the same time that memories were recalled.

This train, that runs daily from Talkeetna to Hurricane Gulch, is the last "flag" train in the United States.  Homesteaders, along this wilderness route, can flag the train down anywhere along its' journey.  The engine will throttle down to a stop and the train will even back up, if needed, to pick them up.

REFLECTIONS

As I have reflected on these past weeks weeks, I have been reminded once more, by the fire weed, about change and how along our life cycle there are indicators that our lives are changing.  Like the fire weed, it is, many times, the top of our plant (body) that let's us know that we are nearing the winter season where things will become much more difficult.  Our mind doesn't work the way it used to and the hair on our heads either disappears or changes color.  Remember "change happens"; embrace it and cherish each moment.

The "flag" train caused me to think about how quickly our lives tend to move.  Like the train, barreling along the clinking rails, they move rapidly from station to station.  What we must remember is that there are needy people alongside the tracks of our lives that may need to flag us down.  I am trusting that there are a few "flag" people remaining.  We must be willing to come to a grinding halt and even back up if needed in order to help someone along the way.  I serve a man who many times stopped to help someone along his track.  Let us be patient enough to do the same.

ENJOY THE EXPEDITION (July 14 - August 3, 2018)

After three weeks of learning the ins and outs of being an interim Pastor in Eagle River, Alaska, the next three weeks have been spent settling in to the routine of life and ministry.  Sherry and I have grown to love the special folks who call the Church of the Nazarene home.  We have also enjoyed being so blessed as to view God's creative goodness all around us.

The church seems to be on pretty solid ground with attendances and finances holding their own while they wait to welcome a new pastor (no news yet).  It never ceases to amaze me how the ties that bind us together as Christians extend well beyond geographical limits.  We feel as loved here as anywhere during our nearly 50 years of ministry.

The beauty of God's people is matched by the beauty of the area around us.  A short drive is all that is needed to be captivated by the Alaskan scenery.  It seems like every time we round a bend in the road that we comment on how breath taking the view.  We are about half way through our stay, have enjoyed it so much, and are anxious to see what the next six weeks hold.

Part of the routine, for me, includes a 12 miles drive up to the Eagle River Nature Center and back on days when I have a vehicle.  This drive provides spectacular mountain views and the opportunity to see some of the Alaskan wildlife.  I have learned the fine art of timing and observing.  I know that it is important to keep your eyes on the road but I confess it is difficult with so much going on along side of the road.  It is the tension of driving with an awareness of the surroundings as well as the road.

Such drives have yielded sightings of bear, beaver, moose, and eagles.  The sightings are the result of patience, perseverance, and alertness.



                          REFLECTIONS 

I am afraid that sometimes on the road of life we get so focused on the road ahead of us that we neglect to see the vistas and beautiful things that are all around us.  We drive by at such high speeds that there is no way we can spot what God might want us to see.

We drive, we push, we rush past some things or people that God might want us to pause and enjoy.  We brag about how fast we have "arrived" but have nothing to really show for the journey. 

I know that it is vitally important to keep our eyes on the road, the goal, but to what loss?  Someday we will all come to the end of our road.  I know that, for me, I want to reach that terminus and not just have completed my journey but have, also, spent time along the way alert to what the Lord had placed near my path.

The successful excursion is not the one that has reached its destination but the one that in so doing that has yielded moments of complete amazement and awe.

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS (June 22 - July 13, 2018)

Stand-By Flights from Indianapolis to Seattle and from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska went smoothly and we landed in the land of the midnight sun at 12:15 a.m. and, just as promised, it wasn't anywhere near dark!  The drive to Eagle River took only about a half hour and we were tucked in our bed at the apartment by 2:00 a.m.!  Problem was that the sun came up at 4 a.m.!  Welcome to Alaska in the summer.

Eagle River would be our home for the next three months as I would serve as interim pastor for the Church of the Nazarene there.  This fine, small church had just said goodbye to their pastor and was entering the process of calling a new one. 

My task was to faithfully preach the Word, love the folks, and help them prepare for their new parsonage family.

 I continue to be amazed at how the Lord opens the doors for such awesome assignments for an old preacher.  I was handed my first District Minister's Licence in 1968 and now, 50 years later, continue to pursue the "calling".  I am blessed.

                                                REFLECTIONS

These first three weeks have been spent getting to know the people, understanding the unique qualities of the church, and exploring the beautiful scenery that surrounds this "suburb" of Anchorage.

It really is the best of all worlds for me!  I am within walking distance from Safeway Grocery, McDonalds, Arbys, Subway, Cold Stone Creamery, and various other eateries. 

Not really "roughing" it in the last frontier!  Yet 5 miles out of town in the three other directions stand incredible mountain scenery and wilderness.

I can get my morning coffee and drive to a secluded mountain spot.  There I enjoy my coffee and the sounds and sights that surround me.  Eagles fly overhead, beaver busily build their dams, and Moose forage for moist grasses beneath the marshy water.  All of this with the backdrop of mountain vistas and the smells of the forest.

As I sat in such a place this morning, I thought about how blessed I am;  all of this and Heaven too!
I was reminded that our Lord promised us eternal life and life abundant right now.  I am thoroughly enjoying, as a Christian and an interim pastor in Alaska, the best of both worlds!