GO. BE.

Jesus said it, and it's in red - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And, behold I will be with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus said it. It's not an option. 

GO. Just go.

October seems to be Missions Month around here. Some girlfriends are going to Guatemala, Amazing Daughter and her girlfriends are heading to Uganda and 21 of my girlfriends and I are packing for Ohio. It's been a month of fundraisers, garage sales, and bake sales. We've made and adjusted travel plans. We've sent hundreds of emails and texts and emoji's with instructions. Jesus said, "go" and we are going.

All three groups will be going to work alongside other ministries in those places. We, collectively, as in all 35 of us short term missionaries, are gathering gifts and stuffing suitcases. We are packing socks, gloves, hats, and scarves for the homeless winter in Ohio, Bible study materials for rescued women in Uganda, gifts for weary servants in Guatemala, and shoes for missionary children living in remote places.  Retreat and conference attendee packets, books and bags are tagging along too. Oh, yeah, throw in some school supplies. Stacks of projects are in various stages of travel readiness all over our houses. My house has something for each team. And no, my friend, it is not a vacation.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus tells us disciples that we are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world".  He said, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Yes. We are to GO into all the world and BE salt and light.

We, these three teams, will be highly visible as we GO north, east, and south. We'll each have matching shirts emblazoned with our group name and our mission, mostly so we can stay together in airports. Amazing daughter's team shirt says, "If Not Us, Then Who?"

Another girlfriend, who has spent some years in a missions unfriendly country, says, "Oh, they recognize the light". She was in a place that did not allow church, or missionaries, or Bible studies, or teachings about Jesus.  But she and others Christians in that country were recognized as salt and light. She had many people approach her and ask her to explain the light.

May we be ever mindful and sensitive to encounters with other travelers.

 Let's GO BE salt and light, but let's not rub salt in their wounds or blind them with our light.

I believe they will recognize the salt and light in us, without us putting it on display.

We've packed and prayed and studied and prepared.

Now, let's just GO and BE.

GO. BE.

Almost There

This wagon train has been on the road for two days heading for Montana. As we listen and sing to Alan Jackson's Mama's favorite hymns, I keep my trusty iPad close to research campgrounds, places to eat, AND occasionally sneak a few pages of my digital book. We wonder about the buffalo and the Indians and the pioneers. The Wagon master has never in 45 years stopped at one of those brown historical markers, a National Historic Site, or a National Monument. Well, maybe twice. I read them all but never get to see them. But now I have this magical little device that tells me what happened at all those places. I read them to the wagon master and we are both happy.

My book was a freebie on Amazon.  The author is Lauraine Snelling,  a Christian historical ficton writer and a native daughter of North Dakota.  And, yes, thank you very much for asking, (drumroll), I have met her. Her books are full of Scripture and faith, which I love.

Today her characters are on their way to Oregon in covered wagons, amid all kinds of challenges and hardships. They have just left Fort Laramie, where they picked up supplies for the long trek over the mountains. You'll have to read it yourself for the rest of the story! 
Driving through rain clouds and green grassy prairies today, I looked up from my device just in time to see one of those sweet little brown signs announcing 

"Fort Laramie National Historical Site" 

and then another about

 "The Oregon Trail "

What?

WHAT?

"Surely Wagon Master will take his eyes off the goal for these important pieces of history", I thought. I think too much, because while I was thinking and being amazed , I missed the exit.

But just to think, I was there.

Almost.

In the mid 1800's, 400,000 people traveled this route in the greatest migration our country has every experienced. They came until the railroad from the west joined the railroad from the east - somewhere in Utah - where there is another brown sign. I am sure.

An incredible piece of history and we are right there.  Almost.

I borrowed a few pictures from Mr. Google and wrote this entire post on my little magic device, which doesn't always spell or format correctly. But isn't it a fun story?. 

Travel Update and Wait

We sit and wait at an Alabama tire store, because there's a flat on the trailer.  My phone is full of pictures of the south. I have time and a blogger app. The pictures will not be formatted exactly right, but I'm sharing anyway. And the fantastic video doesn't want to be here on this blog post.

Our destination with a purpose was north of Savannah, Georgia to finalize someone's Ebay purchase of a vintage car like the one he drove in high school. Guess who? More on that later.

Then we heard that the Concourse d'Elegance (a classy motoring festival of vintage cars) was happening on Hilton Head Island,  and of course, decided to stay a few days. We found off season rates at a lovely beach side resort. The car show was great, but the ocean was therapy for the soul.

Here's some therapy for your day too. Pull up a chair, a rocker, or a porch swing and sit awhile, my friend.

Everywhere

At a convenience store somewhere in the south, an old woman (about my age) stopped to ask the time, the time zone, and what state we were in. I wasn't much help because I wasn't sure myself . I think we were both mostly in the state of confusion from too much travel!

This summer (May, June, July, and August) we have logged 12,000 miles on the truck and passed through as least some part of twenty-two states - North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

We have crossed the continental divide. We have crossed time zones. We have crossed rivers, We have crossed the continent and we have crossed our eyes.

Here are some highlights from a few of the states we visited:

 

The Yellowstone River

Montana

More Montana

Pacific Ocean (through a rain forest)

Washington

Salmon River

Idaho

Pendleton Woolen Mills

Oregon

Hunting Ancestors 

South Dakota 

Duck Dynasty

Louisiana

Gulf of Mexico

Florida

Atlantic Ocean

Florida

Lunch with Paula Deen in Savannah

Georgia

 

Ohio River between

Kentucky and Illinois 

St. Louis, Bar-B-Q of course

Missouri

and
The Geographic Center of North America

Rugby,  North Dakota

Now I can sing with Johnny Cash,

I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Travel I've had my share, man
I've been
E V E R Y W H E R E

but there's
No Place Like Home!

Standing in the Promises

The big open sky prairie ranch land of Montana was our camping spot for a week.
 We were told that the complaint box was at the top of "that hill over there"
and that complaints were diligently checked annually.

 Every evening, complainers hiked to the top of the hill and stayed awhile to enjoy the view.

Evenings also brought rainstorms, lighting shows, amazing sunsets

 and beautiful rainbows.

RAINBOWS.

 The rainbows brought out the campers and the cameras.
 Isn't it amazing how we never tire of rainbows? 
Rainbows  bring Noah (who found favor with God) to mind 
and how he must have felt seeing the first rainbow. 
That rainbow was God's promise to Noah and all of us that He (God)
 would never again destroy the earth with water.
 Never. 
And did you know that just about every culture in the world has a flood story?

2 Corinthians 1:20 says that All God's promises are YES and AMEN.
 (My paraphrase).

 All.  

That means they are true.

 True for you and true for me.

 TRUE.

Rainbows have seven colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, 
(And here's a little free nerdiness: the number seven is used 860 times in the Bible and always refers to completeness). 
 Gods promises are complete - yes and amen. 

Here's another little fact - the rainbow flag we've been seeing flying around
in the news lately only has six colors.
 Six in the Bible symbolizes man, human weakness, the enemy's evils, and sin. 

 Just sayin'.

A man of great faith, my hometown Texas pastor has said,

 "If God gives you a promise, 

believe it, stand on it, and act as if it has already happened." 

If we stand on something - we remain motionless and steady on our feet. 

Unmoved.

Believe it. 

Stand on it.

 Act as if it has already happened. 

"But God has never given ME a promise.", you say.

I beg to differ my friend.

You can not say that God has never given you a promise, 

because he has given you 3,573 promises in His Word. 

Three thousand, five hundred, seventy-three.

You might need to go on a Bible treasure hunt to find them, 

 but they are there and they are for you.

Believe them. 

Stand firm on them.

 Act as if they have already happened.

One afternoon on the ranch, 

we could see the end of the rainbow

and I'm here to report that there was no pot of gold anywhere in sight. 

But the end was just right over there.

It was something I had never seen before.

 Could Noah see the end of his rainbow?

Did he wish for a camera?

When I changed my view point just a little, 

the rainbow appeared to end at the complaint box.

Complainers take note:

"... no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'yes' in Christ. 

And so through him, the 'Amen' is spoken by us
to the glory of God." 

2 Corinthians 1:20

New International Version

These folks at the complaint box, look like they are standing in the rainbow.
God's promises are yes in Christ.
The Greek word used in this scripture for "in" carries a meaning

 of a fixed position and rest.

Rest. 

If God gives you a promise,

Believe it.
Stand on it.

Rest in it.

Act as if it has already happened.

One more little fact gleaned from the Internet is that 

a person standing IN a rainbow cannot see it.

It is only visible to the people on the outside looking in.

Sometimes when we are hanging on to God's promises for dear life,

we can't see that we are right smack dab in the middle of his promise, 

But to everyone else, we may appear to be 

restfully, peacefully, standing firm

in His promises.

God has given you a promise.

Believe it.

Stand on it.

Rest in it.

Act as if it has already happened.

And stop complaining.

"Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the yes of Jesus. 

In him, this is what we preach and pray,

the great Amen,

God's yes, and our yes together,

gloriously evident."

2 Corinthians 1:20

The Message

Amen

Beach Photobomb Tips

Our family just spent a week on the Emerald Coast of Destin, Florida, but we spent months beforehand searching for the best beach, the best vacation rental, the best restaurants, the best activities, and the best ways to record your vacation memories.

Here are the Beach Photography tips I gleaned from the world wide web:

1. Begin your shoot an hour before sunset

2. Use Available props (and pretend that someone else's sandcastle is your masterpiece).

3. Take a jumping shot (even if teenage boy decides to jump like a girl)

4. Make sure your subjects maintain eye contact

(unless someone yells, "Stingray"!) 

5. Plan your poses (but expect photo bombs).

6. Pose to appear slimmer (stretch your neck like a turtle and hide behind the grandchildren.)

7. Have Daddy hold the baby. 

8. Know your equipment.

9. Use a tripod and the timer on your camera so that everyone can be in the picture (and if you forget the little quick release attachment thingy you can always tie the camera to the tripod with a shoestring).

10. Shoot from the front.

11. Shoot from the back (even if they are shaking their booties).

12. Take a lot of pictures because you just might get a lucky hair shot.

13. Photograph feet (including sunburned one's)

14. Take photos from a distance (but then you can't pretend you are the only ones on the beach)

15. Plan ahead to wear coordinating clothes (white, black/white, khaki/white, or pastels) so that no one has to go to the thrift store and buy clothes that make her look fat.

16. Catch a child exploring her environment.

17. Show the beach love.

18. Write in the sand

19. Take sunset shots over the water (unless the sun sets somewhere else).

20. Say Goodbye to the beach.

The End 

(there they go again)!

Thanks, family, for the greatest beach vacation ever!