A Mixed Up Day

Sandy said she was going through chemo. Roy was diagnosed with lung cancer. Thomas had problems with his prostate. Carroll had trouble with his sight. Marjorie had Crohn's disease. Ernest was withdrawing and didn't want to talk to people much. Edie was a nanny who waitress-ed on the side. Jettye and Becky were on their way to exercise class and stopped because they were just curious and Barbara had Lupus...yet... when I asked them, everyone said "Yes" without even hesitating.

Everyone one of us has a need.
Everyone of us has a need for someone to care about us.
The best way to care...not the only way...but the best way...is prayer.
So when I asked, "Is there anything I can pray for you about?" The answer is always "Yes"

Now later that day we had a need. We arrived in St. Francisville, LA and had walked about 11 miles when it started to rain. As the day passed the rain increased and we needed a safe place to park our RV. We spotted a large church parking lot at a Church right on route 61 and decided to ask if we could stay there for the night. The lady at the church called an elder who lived around the corner. He'd be over in five minutes. It was pouring out and I couldn't understand why he had to come over but everyone has their own way of doing things.

We heard a knock on the door and invited him in out of the rain. He told us that the church had been taken advantage of by some folks in the past and so they made a church policy that no campers could stay in their parking lot overnight. We weren't so much disappointed as we were stunned. We thanked him for his time and left

We looked across some road construction and saw a grocery store and spent the night in their parking lot. Now I'd like to tell you I didn't mutter about this but I did. Then God whispered in my ear..."Pray for them." "What! They weren't very nice and..." Once again the whisper came "Pray for them."

Then I began to understand. It's not about them or me...it's about being like Jesus. He tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate you.. I started to think. They have a right to do what they feel is right. It is their property. They are not my enemy, we just disagree on this one issue. It's taken me awhile but I have managed to ask God to bless them in whatever way is needed.

I pray for our land and our people everyday and yet when there's a little glitch in my life...would you do me a favor? Pray for me to have a softer heart and to love people more... especially those who think different than I do.

New Life in New Roads

Church on Wednesday night is something I really enjoy. It is relaxed and informal and you can actually get to talk with folks beyond "Hi, how are you?"

Now each church has it's own personality. Some just open their arms and welcome you like lost friends and that was the case in New Life Worship Center in New Roads, LA. They have a community coffee and cake fellowship at 6:30pm and service starts at 7:00pm. We felt like we were family after about fifteen minutes! Part of that is that they were streaming the International House of Prayer when we walked in. It felt like home!

Even after the service was over, they hung out with us for another hour or so. Pastor Jimmy and Marlene seemed in no rush to leave even though they had a 40 minute drive to get home and had a couple of their children with them. They also offered to let us stay parked in their lot for the night. Lucyah and I were both very drawn to them. Hospitality is definitely their gift.

We came away thinking that this is the attitude we should all have....friendly, helpful and open. Please remind me of that when I get grumpy.

Re-generated

Made it to the town of New Roads and was getting settled in for the night. The weather had been beautiful but now we were suppose to get sleet and maybe even some snow! It was cold so we flipped on the generator and...it turned over but it wouldn't kick in....on top of that our heater (powered by propane) was blowing COLD air. Back to the RV Repairland for us! It was about 30 miles back to Baton Rouge so we drove that night and got a motel.

We got in to the service area as soon as they opened the next morning and the service manager took us right in! Being there gave us a chance to get both items checked on. Everything works out for good....Thank You, Lord!

God In An Empty Parking Lot

He had a bushy beard and I liked him despite the fact that he wore a Chicago White Sox cap. He had sincere eyes. We had stopped in an empty parking lot after getting the RV repaired to get our bearings on where we were and where we were going.

Dennis was pondering some issues in his life and talking to God when he noticed the sign on our RV. "What's that all about?' he thought. Not being a shy guy, he stopped to ask. We invited him in to sit and talk. He was a baseball coach on his way to Florida for spring training. Each year he stops at Jimmy Swaggart Ministry for a few weeks to seek God, get focused and attend classes. He told us they had a little campground there and invited us to spend a day with him and go to a few classes as his guest. We were anxious to get back to walking but when God sends someone to your door, tells you there's a place to hook up to electricity and water plus you can get some free education....you modify your plans!

Dennis took the time to show us around the JSM campus. Many years a ago Pastor Jimmy had some issues of sexual misconduct and unfortunately his ministry is still showing the effects of his error. There are wonderful facilities here that are nearly empty and one un-utilized building that stands as a reminder of one man's fall from grace. It is sad to see. The good though is that the ministry is going forward as best it can. There are students attending classes and visitors are allowed to audit for free. We made it to two of them and one of them was taught by Loren Larson. When his class ended Lucy and I found ourselves wanting more.

Now going around the campus was a bit embarrassing. Dennis would stop people, call across the parking lot, go into offices and say "I want you to meet these people. They're walking across America for Christ." He must have introduced us to two dozen people!

Dennis was a stranger who became a friend in less than 24 hours. That's what happens when people meet under the umbrella of God. Our point of connection wasn't sports, weather or celebrities. We began by talking about Christ. We shared our beliefs. We were in harmony on some and agreed to disagree on others like true friends.

Life is so beautiful when we take time to talk with each other...and when we do, we often encounter God in our midst...even in an empty parking lot.

Maintenance Monday

Dateline 02.22.2010... Went to Miller's RV for service on our "home." The generator had a disconnect and our water heater wasn't heating. We had a leak in our gray water pipe and our bright lights weren't. They got us in at 8:00am and we knew we'd be there for the entire day...we've learned that's just the way RV repair places are. We expected our bill to be over $1000 and we're bracing ourselves for $1500 just in case. The real expense in motor homes is the cost of labor; generally runs from $80 to $120 per hour.

Michael was our mechanic and he surprised us by coming out to the waiting room and telling us everything he did. He explained about the piece we needed for the generator, what it did and how much it cost. He took me out to see what he was doing on the water heater and explained how he repaired the leak on the pipe. We didn't need new headlights, he said. We just had a fuse out of line. It was 12:30pm when Michael informed us when the work was done, shook our hand and told us the our bill would be ready momentarily. Wow! We were so impressed with his professionalism plus with a non-mechanic type like me, he had plenty of opportunity to pad the bill but didn't. When we received "the damages" it was only $522.00! We were stunned! Miller's only charges $55 per hour for labor.


Attention all RV'ers....if you are looking for good work done at a fair price check out Miller's RV in Baton Rouge...ask for Michael!

Care With Prayer

Jeffrey, Landry & Christopher are three college guys who stopped and wanted a picture. "Sure," I said. "I'm praying for America. Anything I can pray for you about?" It didn't take them long to come up with prayer requests. It never does. We held hands and prayed on the side of the road as cars whizzed by. Bet these guys thought I was going to pray for them later.

I once had a wise man tell me to "pray at the moment otherwise you'll forget." It only takes a second and people are amazed that you really mean what you say. A similar thing happened today. A car stopped, Dorothy handed me $8.00 and I asked if she had anything she wanted me to pray for. "My three daughters," she replied. "My youngest is eighteen. Jesus has always seen me through and I want Him to do the same for them." It only took a moment to put a prayer in her heart and a smile on her face.

You've heard that old saying..."people don't care how much you know, they just want to know how much you care." I've found the best way to care is with prayer.

Learning in Louisiana

Attended First Baptist Church in Eunice, LA on Sunday and made a couple new friends in Al & Nanette, our Sunday School teachers. They took us out to lunch at the Krazy Cajun for some Shrimp "A-2-fay" and taught us some things about southern Louisiana. Prior to meeting them we thought crawfish and shrimp were very similar....boy, were we wrong!!

Shrimp come only from the sea but crawfish, affectionately called "mud bugs"...which cured me of ever wanting to order them!!!... can live in water or dirt. In fact they leave little mounds called "chimneys" all over people's lawns.

There's a lot of rice farms around here and big, warehouse size rice drying operations. One of the side crops for the rice farmers is trapping crawfish. When they flood their fields, they lay down traps for the crawfish. Ya gotta love Louisiana they know how to grow their entire dinner at one time...the local staple?...what else? Crawfish and rice!

We also learned that Mardi Gras is not just an event in New Orleans but is celebrated throughout Cajun Country. Saturday is the boucherie (hog slaughter)...let the cooking begin! Then Sunday afternoon was the children's Mardi Gras and we got to go run and jump with the other kids!



Lundi Gras is a day of dancing, drinking eating and general partying and then on Tuesday morning (Mardi Gras) horseback riders will re-enact the medieval tradition of a procession of beggars. They will ride through the countryside stopping at farms, chasing chickens and getting ingredients from the people to make a community gumbo. To learn more about the history of Mardi Gras click here.

The food here is delicious...diet begins Ash Wednesday (first day of lent). What a wonderful corner of America we have landed in. The people have been so friendly and gracious...and patient with all our questions. Thank You, God, for allowing us to experience this beautiful culture within our culture.

Life...So Much To Be Thankful For!

This past week has been an emotional one...God brought people to us with every sort of struggle. It tears at your heart. There's a four year old that has an extreme anger problem and parents who don't know what to do. What causes anger in one so young...a chemical imbalance, a genetic disorder or learned behavior?

There was a woman who was diagnosed with a brain tumor and is afraid.Her family doesn't know what to say. Keith and Yolanda are struggling in their marriage after five years, he asked for prayers. He loves his wife. Christopher is thirty-four and is a severe alcoholic. His stomach is being pumped and his family says he doesn't want to live. His mother and sister-in-law stopped to asked me for prayer.

So much pain, so much worry and every one wants and needs prayer. Each time we meet someone and they ask us what we are doing, we tell them that "we are walking for Christ and praying for America; the land and the people." Then we ask "is there something we can pray for you about?" No one says "No." Everyone has pain tucked away within. Look around. Stop for a minute and look deep into another life and you will see the hurt that they don't want to share and you don't feel comfortable asking about. When we meet people on the road we don't seek to learn their business, we just ask if they want prayer and God touches their heart and they open up to us.

After we pray and they depart, I thank God for allowing me intercede for them. I am overcome with the blessing of being used by God. As I walk along the road, I ponder their struggle and I am so thankful to have the life Lucyah & I have. I feel ashamed for complaining to God about my so called lack of things. But we serve a gracious God and when I ask for His forgiveness...He gives it to me.