Family, Computer and Book Time
My visit in Florida gave me the opportunity to catch up on
“Sister Time.” We have thirty years to make
up because my sister Donna was away as a missionary for thirty years during out
adult lives.
The
SIM Village where Donna lives is residential community of 90+ retired
missionaries.
It is a VERY special
place!
Seeing so many butterflies struggling to leave their cocoons
to become what God created them to be. caused me to wonder how our spiritual
struggles and messes look to God as we
make every effort to add to our faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control,
perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love, 2 Peter 1:5.
Butterflies like bananas.
Church Family in Florida:
In Sebring, Florida, I attended St. John United Methodist
Church. The Snowbirds from many states
fill the services. Coffee after church is
served outside!
My Sunday school class was wonderful. We did a series on
Wesley’s three rules, Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God was
studied.
Laura, my teacher offered the
book, Praying with John Wesley by
David A. deSilva. I recommend this book
because it blessed my soul.
Through class discussions, I came to love and appreciate the
members.
Together we used the book, Give It Up! A Lenten Study for Adults by
Dottie Escobedo-Frank. This book asks us
to give up various things each week of lent; I was a failure the week we were
to give up talking.
I shared about a book
I was reading,Tell It Slant by Eugene Peterson. . A recent email let me know that
the class has decided their next book series will be using this book,
These books are available at www.coksbury.com.
You might know my teacher, Laura, and her husband Bill. They serve at Henderson Settlement during the
summer, www.hendersonsettlement.org.
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN
As I warmed up in Florida, thoughts of getting to be a part
of United Methodist Women in West Michigan Conference warmed my heart. I used computer time to expand my
understanding of issues pertinent to my new volunteer position as social action
coordinator.
I attended a weekend conference of the United Methodist
Women at a retreat center in Florida.
As you might expect, I found the same warm hearts and kindnesses
fill the hearts of the women at this conference. I even found another snowbird
from Michigan who was also there by herself.
Racial Justice
Racial justice is still needed in our communities, country
and world. In a prior blog, I reported
on the Martin Luther King Junior Parade in Sebring, Florida. I also viewed the movie Selma while I was in
Sebring. I am glad to be a part of
continuing the push for racial justice. It is a United Methodist Women’s focus.
My heart grieved when I read the report about injustice in
Ferguson, Missouri.
Please take time to read the article: Because We Believe: A
Wesleyan Response to Ferguson, Missouri, www.unitedmethodistwomen.org.
St Augustine:
The Oldest City in the United States
I was glad that my sister in law, Janet, was able to join us
for a couple weeks in Florida to be a tourist with us as we visited the old
sites in St Augustine.
A familiar name in Saint Augustin-Yes we bought some chocolate!
My visit to a National Monument, Castillo-De-San-Marcos
caused me to ponder.
Our grim, remarkable history begs the question, “grim and remarkable”
to who, in what ways and at whose expense?
Guns, violence land grabbing, displacement of indigenous people, home
demolition, and colonization name just a few of the problems suffered in the
process. It caused me to think of the similar
problems my friends in Palestine and Israel are experiencing.
I felt blessed to see the 1964 effort for racial equality
memorializes at the park in St. Augustine.
Florida’s Space Coast
We had the fun of visiting
the John F Kennedy Space Center, NASA’s launch site.
Getting to view the actual spacecraft
helped clarify the sizes, power and amazing technology that allowed it all to
happen.
My awe of God expanded exponentially as I ponder the
universe and the God that created it!
We live in one of the arms of a large spiral galaxy called
the Milky Way. The sun and its planets,
including earth, lie in the quiet part of the galaxy, about half way out from
the center. According to the best
estimates of astronomers, there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in
the observable universe. Scientists come
to this estimated number by counting the galaxies in a particular region, and
multiplying to estimate the number for the whole universe.
O Lord, how great are
thy works, Psalms 92:5.
My soul is singing
the hymn, “How Great Thou Art.
Ah-tah-thi-ki seminole Mesuem
After gaining some knowledge about the suffering of the
indigenous people groups in St Augustine, we visited the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole
Museum, www.ahtahthiki.com. The name means a place to learn, a place to
remember. It is located in Big Cypress,
just north of the Everglades. It was
interesting learning about the tribal customs.
My heart grieves over the historic injustices.
Everglades
The history of this region is intertwined with the dilemmas
of the indigenous people, the extreme heat and hurricanes.
A two-hour tram ride through the everglade park was an
opportunity to hear about the changes in climate. We learned how weather conditions are
affecting the animals.
Did you know alligators have to lie around in the sun in
order to have their temperature high enough to digest their food? Some summer lying around sounds good to me.
One of the highlights was our Everglades National Park boat
trip in the area of the Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Good company, many birds, and the sightings
of dolphins made for a wonderful experience.
God blessed us with the beauty of sunset as we watch the sun
go down over many islands while we sped back to port.
The evening was finished off with a wonderful fish
dinner.
The little town of Everglade City does not have any of the
usual type chain motels.
How thankful I was to hear my sister-in-law say, “I’ll take the
top bunk.”
Trip Home
Praise God with me for the safety of the trip home. What a joy it was to have Janet share the
driving.
Janet and I shared the fun of having lunch in Tennessee with
Mary. We both met Mary in Sierra Leone. Janet
met her on a VIM Trip and I met her on an Ubuntu Journey.
Circumstances-Passions
We serve a God of justice.
God uses the circumstances of our lives getting our attention and
shaping us for action. What an adventure
is ours as we allow God to reign in our hearts. As we work together to bring
God’s reign into our homes, church, community, nation and world.
Back Home! Praising God for the Circumstances of My
Life.
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