Faithful for a Lifetime

Evelyn and I drove to E91 Church in Indy today to attend the celebration for John and Joyce Samples, honoring John's 50 years in ministry and retirement (just a few days short of his 80th birthday). It was a wonderful time, full of funny stories and touching tributes—laughter and tears.
Rick Grover, minister, said he had lunch with John earlier this week, and John said, "It's hard to be given so much attention for doing something you love."
Early in his ministry as senior pastor at E91, Dave Faust called John to serve there as seniors minister after John retired from his role as director of Christian ministry at Standard Publishing. Dave said someone told him, "If you didn't do anything else right in your ministry here, you did a good thing when you brought John to E91."

The 75-minute program included moving testimonies from John's family--son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. It was a challenge to all of us to remain faithful for a lifetime.
Evelyn and I had a great time at the packed reception. We got to visit with Roy and Joy Lawson, Mike and Linda Sweeney, Betty Aldridge, Mike Berry, Dave Smith, and others.

We were home by 7:15, and I watered plants while Evelyn collected the mail from the neighbor and began getting the house back to normal after our week of vacation in Montana. 

We ate popcorn for supper and found the season premier of "Duck Dynasty" to watch while we munched before calling it a day.

Returning From Montana

I wrote this from the middle seat of our flight from Bozeman, Montana, to Denver, and now that I’ve made the happy discovery of free Wi-Fi at DEN, I get to post it.

We’re returning home after a fine week visiting Ken and Susan Aulen (Evelyn’s brother) at their second home in Big Sky, Montana. The week has included

• ·      two hikes (the most difficult and the second most difficult I’ve ever taken);
• ·      two trips through Yellowstone National Forest;
• ·      picture-taking of multicolored mountain cliffs, pine-covered mountainsides, rushing mountain rivers with their spectacular waterfalls, unique mountain wildflowers, and magnificent mountain animals (bison, elk, a baldheaded eagle, and even a chipmunk);
• ·      great food at local restaurants and cooked at home by Evelyn and Ken and Susan;
• ·      learning a new game I want to get sometime before Christmas (“Wits and Wagers”); and
• ·      exploring two quaint Montana mountain towns (Cooke Cit, and Red Lodge).

Ken and Susan have a large and comfortable condo, which served as the base for our daytrips and one

overnight trip. They enjoyed showing us around the spacious ski resort at Big Sky where they live and work every winter. And we enjoyed the extended time with them—our longest time together since I can remember.

They are good and gracious people, and our week was punctuated by lots of laughter and long conversations about where life has taken us and what might be ahead.

Our flight today is part of the price we’re paying for this week discovering unique vistas and adventures unlike anything or anyplace we’ve experienced before. We travel Frontier from Bozeman to Denver and then wait three hours before boarding the longer flight from Denver to Cincinnati, scheduled to arrive at CVG after 11:30 p.m. One consolation: the arrival time will be only 9:30 on our bodies, which now are acclimated to Mountain Time. But Sunday morning will come soon, followed right away by a full work week.

We’ve never before taken three weeks-plus of traveling vacation time in one year. (We cruised around Italy and Greece early in June.) My vacation days are all spent, except for one or two at Thanksgiving and three or four at Christmas. But we have lots of memories (and pictures—I WILL post a bunch on Facebook!) in exchange for what we’ve spent, and I’m very grateful for it all.

Montana Vistas

Saturday we flew to Bozeman, Montana, for a week's visit with Ken and Susan Aulen (Evelyn's brother) at their condo adjacent to the Big Sky ski resort. What beautiful country this is, and what wonderful tour hosts Ken and Susan are. 

Sunday we visited Yellowstone National Park, enjoying several scenic stops and seeing the most famous tourist site, Old Faithful. Actually, we hiked a half mile to an observation point above the geyser, for a view not many enjoy. Then, after hiking back down, walking over to the Yellowstone Lodge (fantastic rustic interior) and enjoying moose tracks ice cream, we walked back to Old Faithful and saw her erupt from our seat with the other tourists at ground level.

The park is full of geysers and other unusual geologic phenomena, including “Paint Pots,” which I don’t understand and can’t explain!

A highlight was hiking along the Yellowstone River, viewing two huge waterfalls, and standing stunned at the canyon walls on either side of the river, dubbed (for good reason) as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Dinner was at Bullwinkle’s in West Yellowstone.

Yesterday we hiked to Lava Lake, “one of the most popular trails” in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, and probably the most difficult hike I’ve ever completed. Rated “moderately difficult,” the hike is an almost constant ascent of 1600 feet across three miles of boulder-strewn, sometimes boulder-covered dirt trail.

We were shaded by a forest of 12-story-tall lodge pole pines, accompanied by the melody of a river rushing down the mountain, often walking past hedges of some unnamed wild berries just now starting to ripen to a raspberry red.

We were rewarded at the top by access to Lava Lake, a shimmering blue beauty surrounded by pines and auto-sized boulders. We found several places to rest and soak up the serenity and enjoy our lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and peanut butter cookies. Protein bars and miniature Butterfingers gave us energy on the trail both climbing and descending the mountain.

My aching legs and hips were weak and rubbery by the time I had finished the hike back to the bottom. I was somewhat consoled this morning by the fact that the other three in our quartet were still speaking of their sore muscles.

Ken fixed shrimp on the grill, and we enjoyed dinner in Ken and Susan’s comfortable condo.

All these pictures and more are (or soon will be) in an album on my Facebook page.

Something New for Dinner

Last year, when I was faithfully blogging every day, sometimes the best thing to picture was dinner. We have some nice dinners! I was inspired to return to the custom by the great new dish Evelyn fixed this evening.

Spaghetti with broiled tomatoes and basil.

Vegetarian. Tasty. A little spicey. Wonderful mozzarella and parmesan melted on the tomatoes with some pepper ( I think) and a pinch of red pepper. A great way to use thick, juicy tomatoes from the garden.

Facebook God Thoughts and Gratitude

Sometimes gratitude to God comes in the midst of well-planned worship services. Sometimes it surprises you at times you weren't expecting. I've had plenty of the first experiences, but today, it was the latter.
I was at church, but "backstage" during the second chapel "classic" service. My duty today was to "host" at both chapel services; one meets at 8:30, and a second identical, sparsely attended service meets at 10:30. That's a LONG morning, and when I host in both, sometimes I  bring my laptop to work or catch up on Facebook before time to lead the Communion service and offering and announcements at the end of the second service, about 11:15.
When I scrolled through my Facebook News Feed while the church sang hymns on the other side of the wall, I discovered:

• pictures and posts from my son, Geoff, and his wife, Lisa, reporting their successful climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro; 
• a picture from Forefront Church in Brooklyn recording a women's event there yesterday when my daughter, Jen, was the guest speaker; 
• and a tender obituary written by Amanda Mays Bledsoe describing her grandfather's life of faithful service and witness. He was father to my former classmate, Christian leader Roy Mays, who died prematurely several years ago. 

From my seat in the dark in a corner of the chapel stage, I could hear the congregational song, "To God be the glory--great things He has done!" And I was washed by the realization of the great things God has done in my life, largely because of the people he has allowed to influence and bless me.

A few snippets to make my point:

Geoff's post:

Yesterday, Lisa and I started off from base camp (15,100 ft) at midnight. Wearing 7 layers and a headlamp, we hiked for 6 straight hours uphill, in the dark and freezing cold. At about 6:20 we reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,341 feet, just as the sun was rising over East Africa. It was easily the hardest thing I've ever done and my wife was with me every step of the way. She is one tough cookie!

And Lisa's:

After 5 days of trekking, we left Base Camp (15,331 ft) just after midnight on Saturday morning and began our ascent to Uhuru Peak (19,341ft). We hiked for over six hours up the very steep switchbacking rocky trail in the pitch black in sub-zero temps with a hostile wind that made our lungs burn as we gasped for what little oxygen there was. For hours on end, all you could see were the lines of head lamps stretching up the hill ahead and down behind. Finally, just before 6am, we heard a cheer up ahead as the hikers ahead of us reached Stella Point. We arrived at Uhuru Peak in time to watch the sun rise over East Africa. I cried with relief - it was the hardest thing I've ever done. 

The sappy bit: I loved experiencing every moment of this adventure with my sweetie Geoff Taylor

The thing that moved me about their posts, besides the sheer difficulty of their physical and emotional achievement, was the fact that the whole experience meant much to each of them because they reached the goal together. They're pursuing many goals--not only for vacations and not only in their work, but as Christians seeking an influence in the lives of other Christians and non-Christians around them.

Just a couple of the pictures Lisa took on their trek:

The picture from Forefront. That's Jen, in black, facing the large semicircles of women reached by this growing New York City congregation:

She had written earlier that she was looking forward to the chance to speak with these women about living a fulfilling life pleasing to God--whether single or married, with or without a man in their lives. (Planners had originally envisioned the event as for singles, and then they broadened it for any woman who might come.)

Evelyn and I are so proud that Jennifer is being recognized in several circles for her leadership and maturity and insight. And I thought of her good husband, Matt. While she was in New York he was faithfully finishing preparations for another Sunday's services where he has preached in Pennsylvania for quite a few years.

What more could a Christian parent want than for his children to serve God and love their spouses?


And a few details from Amanda's obituary:

MAYS Roy H., Jr, 91, received and accepted his homecoming invitation on August 9, 2013. To receive him was his wife of 59 years, Thelma Thompson Mays, his son of 54 years Roy H. Mays III, his sister Maxine (Howard) Hanks, his mother and father Roy H. (Rachel Elrod) Mays Sr., as well as numerous friends and a host of witnesses. He left a strong legacy of faith for his family to follow. . . . A lifelong Lexingtonian, he graduated from Maxwell Elementary, Lexington Junior, and Henry Clay High School, enlisting in the US Army Air Corps in 1942. As Staff Sergeant, he served during World War II as radio operator and navigator. A charter member of Southland Christian Church, he taught Sunday School for 37 years serving as Elder, Deacon and Elder Emeritus. President of both the Southern Little League and Dixie Babe Ruth in Lexington, he was a founding member of UK's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and loved investing in the lives of his community's youth. 

Every time I read an obituary I subtract my age from that of the deceased. In this case, it's a large enough number--large enough to still have some impact, large enough to still reach some goals, large enough to allow for quite a bit of spiritual and emotional growth, large enough to affect the legacy I'd hope to leave some day.

"Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice!"

I was rejoicing this morning, in the dark, with my laptop open, while I was browsing Facebook. It was a moment of worship I hope I'll remember for a long time, which is why I made the effort to record it here today.

Friday Night Fireworks

Every Friday night home game, the Reds have a fine fireworks show to end the evening. It lasts almost 30 minutes, and fans sitting in the stadium have front-row seats. But anyone on the riverfront, especially in Kentucky looking at downtown, can enjoy the fireworks too. And at least once each season I like to go to Newport on the Levee and see 'em for free.
Last night was our night. We picked up Terry and Shirley Wuske after 7:30 and drove to the Levee,
walked around to see the city views from beside the Newport Aquarium, and then retreated to the balcony beside the Starbucks on the second floor of the Barnes and Noble bookstore. We bought some cookies and coffee and enjoyed the view and each other's company till the game ended and the fireworks began.
It was a beautiful evening, a nice breeze but still warm. The only distraction was a festival going on down by the river, complete with at least two sound stages and competing rock bands thumping and blaring throughout the evening. They were far away enough that we could still hear each other when we talked, but it would have been nicer without them.
It was great to catch up with Terry and Shirley, though, and to renew what has become a tradition for our summers in Cincinnati. Maybe before the season's out we'll actually get to a game--inside the park!--some Friday night!

Saturday and Sunday in New York

A week ago I described our nice Friday night with the Taylors and Johnsons in New York City. We had equally fine days Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday morning we enjoyed brunch at Geoff and Lisa's favorite neighborhood spot, Cafe Henri. Then we drove (yes, I drove too; we needed two cars) to the northern edge of Manhattan to a unique museum called the Cloisters. It features many remarkable pieces of medieval art, including glass windows, tapestries, and wooden statues. Its beautiful courtyard was a good place for pictures, as well as the surrounding gardens and the beautiful park it bordered. We enjoyed the fresh air as well as the culture!

That afternoon we ate snacks on the waterfront in Long Island City and rested and visited till the Johnsons needed to catch their train back to Pennsylvania.
After resting some more, we went with Geoff and Lisa to the waterfront in Brooklyn where we had wonderful lobster rolls at a stand called Luke's, enjoyed eating them in the Brooklyn Park, watching the lower Manhattan skyline light up with the sunset.

Sunday we got up early and rode to Central Park--we were there by 7:00--where we sat up our chairs, spread out our blanket, and waited till noon when the theater ticket office gave out free tickets for that evening's Shakespeare in the Park performance of Love's Labour Lost. (The long time to talk about life was a highlight of the weekend.) We ate waffles from a truck and then drove back home to grab some food and rest in our room.
That evening we enjoyed a great worship service at one campus of Redeemer Presbyterian with Geoff and Lisa, grabbed dinner at a Shake Shack, and then made our way to Central Park--in the rain. We waited under umbrellas till after 9:00 (the play had been scheduled to start at 8:30) when the rain abated and the theater opened. We really enjoyed the quality of the acting, singing, and dancing. A musical score had been added to the play; it was surprising, funny, and cool. And the actors performed like real troopers in the rain that started before 10:00. By a few minutes after 10, management called a pause. And 15 minutes after that they called off the performance because radar didn't show any sign of the rain clearing up. We didn't see the last thrid of the play, but we were really glad we had seen some of it in the beautiful open-air theater in Central Park.