Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
Since I am older, I don’t have a desire to travel too far. I am pretty much a home body who likes to stay kind of close to home, but here lately a little trip sounded pretty good. Just to see new scenery and explore new places.
My Sweetie, Denny, has a life long friend (John) that he had known since school days. They had not seen each other for a long time and felt it was time to get together. We are all getting older and to see and visit old friends means a lot..
After texting and messaging, a date was set for us to go spend the day. John and his wife, Judy, live on Lake George, located close to Fremont, Indiana.
To get accurate directions, I downloaded MapQuest and got the directions and that ladies voice on my phone giving us verbal directions. I was so proud of myself getting the map and we felt comfortable in getting there.
Sunday arrived and after feeding the “kitty cat”, making a couple sandwiches and grabbing my purse, we headed out.
Denny said he knew the way and I said, “Oh I have all the directions right here on my phone.” I looked in my purse once and no phone. I started taking things out of my purse and no phone. I said, “ Oh no, I forgot my phone.” After briefly searching for the missing phone, we just decided that I left it at home.
We had a good time listening to music on the way, the day was sunny and warm, and we enjoyed the drive which was 80+ miles.
We exited on I69 towards Lake George. There were lots of homes along this lake and we found Judy and John’s house by reading the name on their mailbox.
The lake was gorgeous with blue waves washing around, Judy had so many flowers planted that it looked like a botanical garden, but wouldn’t you know it, Denny went to the car to get something and came in and handed me my phone. Oh no! He told me he found it upside down on the floor of the car. I was happy to find it but felt silly because I thought I had forgotten it.
The home was a big house and beautifully designed, we chatted around a table visiting and then our hosts asked if we would like to go on a pontoon boat ride.
I have a very real fear of water and it took some help, encouragement and assistance to walk over the dock and get in the boat.
I explained “I can’t swim and never could.” Going on I said “I flunked a swim class called Terrified Adults.” However, everyone else could swim so I felt that if the boat overturned someone would surely save me.
After the nice relaxing boat ride we went back inside where Mrs. Judy had prepared a delicious chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy, asparagus and pecan pie. It was so good.
Then it was a time of reminiscing with recollections of school days, jobs, children and how Denny was John and Judy’s best man at their wedding. We could have talked for hours, but time was passing quickly. It was just a nice visit.
With time passing by so fast, we then toured the grounds with the lovely florals and trees, met their two Newfoundland dogs, who are both delightful, and after saying our good byes, it was time to head back to Ohio.
What a great day, a great visit and being with wonderful friends. If the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise, we hope to get back there in the fall.
Seeing old friends, talking old memories and making new ones is part of each of our lives. I am ready to go back, take a boat ride without screaming and see the fall scenery and beauty
Did you ever take a trip to see old friends and recall some of your past experiences? Did you forget your phone or have a fear of something like swimming? Let me know and I’ll give you. Penny for Your Thoughts.
The question
By: Doris Applegate
Sad, sad the innocents killed
By demonic raging soul
Children no longer allowed to play
Children no longer allowed to grow.
Whatever happened to loving each other
With kindness, caring, goodness, and cheer?
This is the question I’m asking us now
Will our lives be filled forever with fear?
Or will we repent and turn back to God
Bring back the Ten Commandments and pray
Or will we continue to grow cold in our soul
A nation who it seems has now lost her way?
I’m hoping and praying that we’ll see the light
And realize the error of our ways
For then God has promised to turn things around
Heal our land, give us peace for the rest of our days!
As we come close to another election time for president, God is ready and willing to heal our country and bring peace again to our lives but only as we repent and turn around from our sinful ways. Repentance is so important and comes from the heart and with action. When John the Baptist came and started baptizing people in the Jordan River, he said, “Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.” Our faith is dead without corresponding action (James 2:14-21). We do not want dead faith and so we must be always doing good things unto others as we do unto other as we would like them to do unto us, our faith is full of good works.
Just as the man on the Jericho Road was robbed, beaten and left for dead was helped by the good samaritan, so we also help anyone along our “Jericho Road” when we help others. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “That we have also done it unto him.” What a blessing it is to also do it unto Jesus Christ. A song we sing in church: “Sowing in morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in the sunshine and the dewy eve, waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping. We shall come rejoice bringing in the sheaves” as we walk our pilgrim pathway, are we doing our own thing or are we living for others and Jesus Christ?
Amen
