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Significant Encounters

 So there was a pastor and a bus driver who stood at the Pearly Gates. After a few moments of discussion, the Powers-That-Be stepped aside and let the bus driver in. The pastor protested as the gate swung shut, but then the answer came. “Well, pastor, when you preached, people went to sleep, whereas when the bus driver drove, people prayed!” We did a lot of praying on this last trip. We recently watched from the back of a pickup truck (which had been converted to tourist seating) as a young girl careened us all over a mountain road while texting on her phone, vaping and managing to drive using her last two available fingers. When you get down to it, travelling of most any method is not for the timid, that’s for sure.  For Tony, at least, it was all worth it since he had plenty of opportunities to peach and teach along the way. Arriving back home the other day, we were reminded of something we’ve always said, sometimes in jest but sometimes deadly serious: we need to consider a...
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Investing in the Kingdom

A good friend turned 95 this last week (you know who you are), and it startled me to realize just how fast the time is flying.  I remember this particular birthday because we had been commissioned to send a comment on his 70th that day.  But that was the day the world stood still, 9/11. I’m guessing there wasn’t much celebration that day.   Do you realise that was 25 years ago already? So, we heard a good sermon while we were on the ship recently.  It was delivered by a very humble and straightforward layman passenger, not a great orator or decorated scholar.  When I commented to him afterwords, I said, “I’ve heard a lot of great preachers, and I’m married to one as well, but that was absolutely a great sermon and I won’t forget it soon.”  He almost cried to feel that God would use him in such a way. We weren’t the only ones blessed to hear him speak that day. People were lined up with comments and questions so that it looked like backstage after a Tay...
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Mourning Into Dancing

 A long time ago, in a Bible study we attended, Tony & I met a remarkable man by the name of Marcus Uzielvsky.  He was quiet.  Usually sat at the edge or just outside the circle. We knew he had a story, but this group took seriously the decision that we would protect each other’s privacy. We did know that he was an artist and rumour had it that he'd once been a part of the popular "New Christy Minstrels". If you think you’re getting old, I’ll just affirm that by adding that when he left that group, his replacement was none other than Barry McQuire, known for his hit song, “Eve of Destruction”.  Google it. You’ll be blessed. There was an aura about Markus I can't really explain, but it was obvious to all that here was a man who walked with the Lord. He will never know this side of Heaven what an amazing impact he made on our lives, one that would carry us through years of mountaintops and valleys. The first collision came one night at Bible study. We had just shar...
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God Bless You

 Lately I've been really enjoying the Old Testament.  Maybe that’s because I'm getting “old” myself; who knows?  Anyway, the other day I came across Isaiah 2:3, “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,     to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways,     so that we may walk in his paths.’” Suddenly an old song that I knew popped into my head.  It's in Japanese, but so beautiful. And the reason it was dually beautiful was that I remembered Tony singing that scripture to me about 40 years ago as we were walking up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This song was written by a dear friend of ours, Makoto Iwabuchi. Over the years, he’s been a real inspiration in our lives, in addition to a lifelong friend. It was the early 80’s. Tony and I were settling into life in Sendai when Makoto and another fellow by the name of Chu Kosaka came and held a concert in the city auditorium. We fell in love with...
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"Full On" Christian?

 We were talking the other day in Bible Study about how to be ‘full on’ Christians in the world we live in now. History shows us dramatic examples all over of men and women who keep their faith razor sharp, and often pay the ultimate price for it. But what about us, in the world in which we find ourselves today? Of course, all the obvious things were mentioned, like reading our Bibles faithfully, or praying like Miss Clara in the 2015 classic, “War Room”. That raised lots of related questions, and someone asked, “What about praying in restaurants?” Wow, that opened the kettle. Some thought that prayer is a personal thing and so praying in public might not be appropriate. Others brought up the “Pray without ceasing” quote from Paul in I Thessalonians 5:16, and that reminded me of my son’s father-in-law, who has taken that verse quite literally.  We all agreed that this was a subject that bore deeper inspection. The group was split over whether or not praying in public is a mark...
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Washy Washy

 Surprise! I mentioned last time that we were having trouble finding enough WiFi to send out the weekly blog. Yesterday we managed (I Think!) to get one on its way. In the meantime, here’s another one that’s been sitting in my outbox for over a week. I’m going to send it now while I have a chance. Please be patient for the next 3 weeks; connections will be iffy at best. Good Morning Friends, Well first of all, my face is red because I believe the blog did not go out as scheduled.  We’ve been in a very dead zone of the Caribbean, and I guess the signal just didn’t go thru.  So here’s a word on the 3rd of August. First of all, shout out to my sister for her 30th anniversary.  Like most marriages, it’s been a journey but they’re hanging in there. Speaking of anniversaries, we had a lovely anniversary on the ship at sea.  Not much we could do extra to celebrate, but Tony took me to dinner (as usual). We have gotten involved at the participation end of an on-board Bi...
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Trekking the Track

 Recently I was reading a dime store novel about some settlers in the Rockies who got caught in a sudden snowstorm.   I grew up in the Rockies, so that got my attention. Even though my birthday's in June (early summer in Colorado), I'd had snow interrupt a few of my party plans. But as I continued to read thru the novel, I realized I was relating because I COULD relate, if somewhat painfully. We were in Australia, maybe in our early to mid 50's when a particularly interesting 'trek' as they're called here, captured our imagination.  It's called the "6-foot track" and it's 42 KM (about 27 miles) right thru the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.   The reason it’s called the Six-foot track is because it was built in the 1800’s originally as a wagon trail leading to some famous caves.  They’re still famous, by the way. Anyway, the terrain is rough, so no one wanted to spend time breaking rock unnecessarily. Therefore, the trail is no more than six fee...
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