Around the area

We are not doing a lot of tourist things while here in Branson, but I take an occasional picture when we’re going to the grocery store, etc.

There’s a new feature in the area:  a Zip Line from the top of the tower over at the Shepherd of the Hills area. You must look very closely to see the line from the tower to the right side of the picture.

This is the gym and family life center where Dennis, Sally and I go four times a week to exercise.

It’s our understanding that the Chateau on the Lake is hiring in every department right now.

We got a short rain shower Monday, but before the day was over it was hot and humid again and today is more of the same, even hotter.

Hope you’re staying cool where you are.

Our “Harley” Friends

Do you remember our visit with my friend, Liz, in Indianapolis?

Well, Liz has a new toy.  Liz’s friend, ME, would appreciate prayers for Liz’s safety.

She does look good.  She needs a windshield, though.  Or maybe she likes bugs in her teeth.

She says she needs a riding buddy now, so LoPo and NoPo, you may need to ride down and ride with her. 

LoPo’s Honda has now grown into a “big girl bike”… NoPo’s old Harley.

Dear Lord, please protect all our Harley Mama’s and Papa’s from harm.  Keep them alert to their surroundings and keep a shield of protection around them.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Harley & Rider Blessing:

May God bless you and keep you safe on this machine.
May you encounter the risen Lord in your travels, in the freedom of the open road, the fellowship of other bikers and in each person you meet.
May the Lord be with you at home and on the road.
May He accompany you when you start on your many journeys:
May He fill your life abundantly with his many blessings;
May He keep all your riding safe.
May His mercy, grace and love shine upon your every road.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Biker Prayer

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Lord , let your hand be on the throttle of my life .
    When I need to go forward , open it up!
Keep my eyes focused in front of me ,
    So that I don’t become lost .
When I need to turn ,
    Point me in the right direction .
Show me the signs along the way,
    And give me the wisdom to take the right road .
When I need to change gears ,
    Remind me to use the clutch .
When I need to stop ,
    Put on the brakes .
When I ride into the darkness ,
    Be my headlight .
Encourage me to take time daily
    To fill my tank with your Spirit .
Protect me from the road debris thrown at me my the enemy and guide me safely around the potholes in my paths .
Forgive me when I ride off coarse,
    As I forgive others that may unintentionally cut me off .
Forever ride by my side as my personal road captain.

Amen

Another Biker’s Prayer:
Dear Lord, as I get ready to get on this hog and prepare to ride,
Just let me feel your presence with me riding side by side.
Let us feel the wind together blowing across our face,
Don't let me fail to see and smell the nature around me as I ride from place to place.
Dear Lord, keep me safe from harm and let the other drivers see me as I ride by,
And every once in awhile even though I'm a biker let them say, "Hi".
Keep me alert and always watching for others,
Don't let me ever fail to stop and help out one of my sisters or brothers.
And when my time on earth is up and it's time for me to take that ride in the sky,
Just give me a chance to tell everyone I love them and don't forget me when I die.
Lord, Thank You for letting me be a biker and doing what I loved the best,
For the many miles I traveled, places I got to go and see before I finally come to rest.  Amen.

Feasting at Jesus’ Table

Precious Jade opened our Bible Study time at church this morning with a song about prayer.  Very beautiful.

Dennis facilitated the Bible study.  We studied 1 Samuel 23.  Volumes could be written about David and his relationship with God.

Dr. Dan Griffin brought the message this morning.  This is the second time this summer that we have had the privilege of hearing him teach/preach and both times he taught about Jesus Christ.  His love for the Lord above everything else is so apparent.  I was thrilled to hear of his experience of meeting Dr. Richard Wurmbrand at the empty tomb of Jesus Christ several years ago.  Dr. Wurmbrand is the Romanian pastor who was tortured in prison on many occasions by the Communist; wrote Tortured For Christ; and established the Voice of the Martyrs ministry.  Appropriately, Dr. Dan’s message was from John 20:1-10 about the resurrection of Jesus.  The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis and foundation of all that we do as followers of Christ and Believers in Him.  The Resurrection is the main fact that sets Christianity apart from all other religions.  No other religion can boast about a Messiah who died for the sins of the world and was resurrected.  That’s why God says the only way to the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

Here is Dr. Dan and his lovely bride, Laura.

You might say that the ‘ministry team’ for this morning met at the Olive Garden for lunch and fellowship.

If you know me, you know my love of people.  I’m a normal grandmother and children always catch my eye.  I wasn’t sitting where I could see this doll at lunch, but Don was and he pointed her out to me.  I’m shameless when it comes to taking pictures of children.  I complimented her to her grandmother when we left and was given her name, but I’ll withhold it.  Beautiful name, however, for a beautiful child.  May God bless her and may she learn at an early age the plan that her Creator has for her life.

Later this afternoon, Sally and I took a trip to the West Branson Wal-mart to pick up a couple of items. Yippee, sweet black cherries were on sale!!

Dennis and Sally picked almost five gallons of wild grapes this afternoon, so Sally will be canning grape jelly tomorrow.  Yummmm.

It’s been a wonderful Sunday.  Didn’t get to talk to any of our girls today, but did talk to Mama Trudy and she’s doing pretty good, but not feeling good enough to go to church this morning.

Following is the heart of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand:

"God will judge us not according to how much we endured, but how much we could love." - Tortured For Christ
"The tortures and brutality continued without interruption. When I lost consciousness or be­came too dazed to give the torturers any further hopes of confession, I would be returned to my cell. There I would lie, untended and half dead, to regain a little strength so they could work on me again. Many died at this stage, but somehow my strength always managed to return. In the ensuing years, in several different prisons, they broke four vertebrae in my back, and many other bones. They carved me in a dozen places. They burned and cut eighteen holes in my body. When my family and I were ransomed out of Romania and brought to Norway, doctors in Oslo, seeing all this and the scars in my lungs from tuberculosis, declared that my being alive today is a pure miracle! Accord­ing to their medical books, I should have been dead for years. I know myself that it is a miracle. God is a God of miracles. I believe God performed this wonder so that you could hear my voice crying out on behalf of the Underground Church in persecuted countries. He allowed one to come out alive and cry aloud the message of your suffering, faithful brethren." - Tortured For Christ
"It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners, as it is in captive nations today. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us—so everyone was happy." - Tortured For Christ

Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
August 29, 2010

“God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not a human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act ? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”(Numbers 23:19 NLT)

God is ever worthy of our trust. He is unchanging and uncompromising. His promises will always be kept and He shall always stand true to His word. Every promise shall find fulfillment in you who are Christ's workmanship; in you who have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Master.  Rejoice therefore in Him and be filled!

This has been brought to you by the following ministries:
Blue Letter Bible
Sowing Circle

More new friends & good times

Joel and Linda will be leaving Branson Monday and we wanted to see them one more time before they left.  They came over this evening and brought their new friends, Rachel and Daniel.  They spent this entire very hot summer in a tent while working at the same campground with Linda and Joel.  Linda and Joel just recently helped them locate and purchase a new pop-up trailer with air conditioning! 

Here’s Joel, Linda, Rachel and Daniel tonight.

We had a wonderful visit and actually had a mini-Bible study together.  Now we have two new friends!!  God is so good and we are so blessed.

 

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18).

Friday Fun

Friday.  Don left at 6:00 AM with Dennis to go to Bible Study.  I did laundry.

The trailer has left that was parked so close to us, so now we have more room.

There was a foggy haze over Branson this morning.

A little before noon, Dennis, Sally, Don and I went to Silver Dollar City.  The theme for the next twelve days is Southern Gospel Picnic.

We get a kick out of Cedric Benoit and the Cajun Connection.

Cedric is very animated and has more energy than most two year olds!  He did the high kick, over his head, several times, not to mention all the jumping and stomping he does on stage, while playing the squeeze box.  When The Saints Go Marching In is the closest thing he plays and sings that is gospel and I don’t think he is referring to the Rapture when he sings it (being from Louisiana and all), but the four of us were, so we enjoyed it. :-)

I like Cedric, but my favorite band member is the washboard player.

Homer Lee, a well known Branson comedian, was everywhere in the park today.  He was at the front gate when we arrived; at this location (in the picture); later in the day in a different outfit (Mark Twain, I think) several times. I told him I was stalking him and he always makes a funny about anything you say to him.  When we were leaving the park, there he was, and before I saw him, I heard him, “Oh my, there’s my stalker again!”  He’s funny.

We stopped in for a little gospel singing at the Country Church.

As we were leaving through the gift shop, I snapped this picture of Dennis in a hat he was modeling from a nearby rack.

Tonight, Linda and Joel came over to share dinner with us and a couple of games of Zilch a.k.a. the Stupid game.  Their time in Branson is sadly, quickly coming to an end.  We are already missing them.

 

Does the thought of getting older discourage you or make you fearful? Consider these words the Lord spoke to Isaiah: I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. Isaiah... 46:4 NLT  God spoke these words centuries ago but He is the same yesterday, today and forever and I AM His Child and as such, I claim this promise as my own.

'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)

New friends; the Locust praising God

Don and I had our first experience with Thai food today.  Precious Jade and Lucius (center) invited us to join them at Thai Thai Restaurant here in Branson.  PJ is a singer/song writer and as a hobby, started making buttons, which turned into a way for her to make money for ministries.  She gave me “Jesus Loves U but I’m His Favorite.”  Cute.

After lunch, we drove through Stormy Point, a community fashioned after Cape Cod.  It is communities such as this where CRM chaplains are getting permission to conduct Bible Studies during the week at their clubhouses.

This evening, Mark and Jen invited us to drive out to Reed Springs to see a forty-six acre property that they are going to get and use in ministry for at-risk children.  As we were driving, the sky was very red as the sun was setting.

Isn't this amazing?! And the crazy thing is, I took this picture from the truck, through the windshield, and God allowed me to catch this shot with those trees in the frame. Going 50 mph, there's no time to see a picture like this and then take it. After I clicked the sunset is when I saw the tree that semi-framed this gorgeous sunset. That's God and His gift to me today and I couldn't wait to share it.

Mark, Jen, Jacob and Dustin are very excited about the future for this property.  Jacob and Dustin can hardly wait to explore every inch of it.We prayed with this dedicated family, for them and for the work that God has given them to do here.  We’re expecting exciting things to happen here.  

I have to share with you this moment:  As we stood in a circle and begin to pray God’s blessing over this 46 acres and the family about to embark on a ministry here, the locust in a nearby oak tree begin to “sing” in a resounding chorus in agreement with us.  In the middle of our prayer, I giggled.  It was just too awesome to hear.

DAILY VERSE
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:21

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DAILY QUOTE
Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; Where your treasure is, there is your heart; Where your heart is, there is your happiness. - Augustine

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DAILY THOUGHT

Could it be that so many in our modern culture are unhappy because they have mistaken fleeting pleasures for a deep abiding joy, and in so doing, have treasured unworthy ends? C. S. Lewis probed this thought when he said: "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
Do you have acquaintances, friends, and family members whom you have watched exchange immediate pleasure and instant gratification in the place of true happiness? Have you stumbled into this trap yourself? All of us need a spiritual checkup from time to time to make sure our hearts and our desires are in line with God's will for our lives. Where do you find your pleasure? What do you consider your treasure? Have you given your heart to something of infinite worth?
O God, my pleasure is in you. I give You my heart. I treasure my relationship with You! Amen.

You can’t take it with you, but you can certainly send it on ahead. – Randy Alcorn

A short road trip

Today was a fun day.  We got to tour a southern Missouri ranch!  We saw way too much and I took way too many pictures to ever post it all, so the descriptions here will be brief.

The main ranch house and headquarters.

A view of the house taken in the winter when foliage is gone.  There are no longhorns at this ranch, only Black Angus.

The ranch house was inspired by the house at South Fork from the TV series, Dallas.A historical grist mill that has been remodeled to be a social event center.

In front of the main house is this three acre spring fed lake with a constant water temperature of 56 degrees.  It’s stocked with fish.  

Inside the big house… the kitchen.

Family room adjacent to the kitchen.

Formal dining room.

The foyer.

Upstairs where there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The balcony.

Views from the balcony.

The building seen from the balcony here is an old general store and post office complete with original fixtures.

Going back downstairs.

And into the basement game room.

And now for the secret door…..

to the indoor heated swimming pool room.

Just one of the many vistas on the ranch.

Very friendly Appaloosa that came right up to the fence to let me pet him.

View of the headquarters from a distant hill.

Can you just imagine the color here in the fall?  Beautiful.