Seven Points Campground, Nashville, Tennessee
Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. At this they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. ~ Genesis 44:11-13 Do you wonder about the steward? What must he think of all this drama? What must he think of Joseph? Is he in on it? Or is he simply following orders (which could be why he reduced the sentence from what the brothers had proposed)? And again, the search begins with the oldest. And again, the drama is built up. And again, it’s Benjamin who’s the focus of the suspense. Renting their clothes is a sign of anguish and grief amongst the Hebrews (maybe other cultures as well?). You read about it all throughout scripture. This is a good thing. It means they care deeply about the consequences – to Benjamin, to their father Jacob, and to themselves. Do you wonder at how they felt on the trip back to Joseph – what was going through their minds? How gut-wrenching and anxious they must have felt? The thoughts swirling through their minds? The quietness of the return trip? How do you react when faced with uncertain circumstances – especially one’s in which you see no way out? Do you try to fix it yourself, or do you bow before the Only One Who can? Do you figuratively rent your clothes? Or do you lay the circumstance and your response at the feet of Jesus?
We worshipped at Grace Place this Sunday. It turned out to be a Church of God. Not that it mattered as far as worship went, and the message was good, but there is no where on their website or bulletin or anything that leads you to believe it’s anything other than an independent church. And such a friendly church! The couple behind us were a former pastor and his wife, and she taught me something it’s taken me 62 years to learn! When she introduced herself, she started with, “I don’t believe I’ve met you before.” Isn’t that great? You can say that to anyone! I’m taking it back to Ohio with me and try it out on our congregation. Our church is so big, you don’t know if the person sitting next to you is a visitor, or a twenty-year member, and it feels embarrassing to ask, so many times, people just don’t say anything except ‘Good morning!’ Can’t wait to see what happens!
After lunch, Blaine went off on a long, fast bike ride (he can do that when I’m not with him 😊), while I remained home and convalesced. He enjoyed himself immensely, but didn’t take the time to photograph his journey. He’s got a great memory, he can do that. Me? I need pictures to remind me. 😊
Still, you can see how huge our yard is, and this doesn’t even cover all of it!
The next day was moving day. We had 200 miles and 4 ½ hours to talk about stuff. During that time, we realized that unless we break our vow, there most likely wouldn’t be a family get-together while we’re home, so we started the process, since Blaine’s drive today wasn’t stress-filled and he could participate a bit. We’re going with a picnic venue. Now all we need is to find one that has an opening on the day we chose. . . . Great news though! Everyone can be there! We just love these family times!
This must be what stink bugs look like right after they hatch!
Say good-bye Mr. Stink Bug. Your seconds are numbered.
Blaine has vowed to clean out our basement when we get home to Ohio.
I hope he finds all the little God-created things and sends them home to meet their Maker.
It’s called “Mule Skinner Blues” and is a fun song about using mules to pull the canal boats way back when.
You should find it and listen to it sometime!
It’s the version in the 1960s by the Fendermen.
One more stop along the way and we’ll be home!
Blaine was reading the other day and someone pointed out an interesting fact about FedEx. Were you aware they have a hidden arrow in their logo? He pulled up a picture of their logo and there it was! Right where it’s been all these past 28 years! (Federal Express has been around for 51). And yes. The arrow was intentional in the design, and managed by using different fonts on the letters. It’s won awards and is considered to be one of the top eight logos ever created worldwide.
Now that we know it’s there, it always pops out at us. : )
Charlestown State Park, Charlestown, Indiana
We were shocked to find this nice campground nearly empty! And it stayed that way! Makes it nice and quiet and dark for us, but it just seemed really strange. Where is everyone? There wasn’t even a Ranger or Host to greet us, or even leave information for us. Very strange!