Karen and Clair’s Excellent Travel Adventure Chapter Two: Installment Two

I’m not one to blather daily on Facebook about every little thing I do. However, when people learn that Karen and I are living full-time in an RV and travelling the country, they invariably ask what it’s like; many also claim they would love to do the same. Because of that interest, I am publishing another installment of my travel journal. You can stop here and move on to something else if you are not interested.

Week Six (Election Week!)

Our first week in Golden Valley was uneventful except for the national drama of the presidential election. As I write this on Saturday, four days after the election, Biden is still six electoral votes short of winning, but there is little doubt of the outcome. On the other hand, there is no certainty Trump will concede as he has expressed his distrust of the results in several states, promising legal challenges. What bothers me beyond the lack of trust in the system is the fact that once again half of my fellow countrymen (and women) have cast a vote to fundamentally change what America has been for centuries. They think they want a socialist country. I hope the result they get so obviously a bad choice very quickly, that in 2024 we can chuck the experiment and get America back on track.

Forget politics; que sera, sera. When we landed in Golden Valley last Sunday, I was slightly disappointed. First, the price had gone up $100/month since I reserved back in September. Then the park itself was underwhelming. It is all gravel except for a 12x8 concrete pad at each site. I knew from my web research that the trees, one for each site, were going to be small, but IRL they seem insignificant. They are little good for either shade or protection from the wind.

The wind has been easy to take until yesterday. We put up the screen room right away, but had to take it down in preparation for a two-day windstorm with 20-30 mph winds and gusts over 40. That event brought us our first dust storm. It was a small one, only lasting a few minutes, but it was dramatic nonetheless. We now have two or three days of rain in the forecast, so we will be closed inside our little (little) trailer for the duration.

We made several 20 mile trips east into Kingman for groceries and hardware items. Home Depot to the rescue. And they have our favorite grocery: Smiths. Yay! We also went 17 miles west to Bullhead City to visit a Lowes because I was given a gift card by the generous folks at Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center. It was a wasted trip because they didn’t have the pipe I needed to hook up our sewer. Who could imagine they would not even carry 3-inch PVC? Really! That meant another trip to HD in Kingman. We also discovered a quirky but tasty treat in old town Kingman, in their Route 66 historical district. We have eaten at Rickity Crickets twice already. There are several other places we will try out as well as every fast food and sit-down restaurant you could want in the new part of Kingman.

I ordered an electric bike before we got here hoping it would arrive about when we did. FedEx has held it up for several days, but I am supposed to get it Monday. I am like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. I plan to ride it daily for my cardio exercise and hopefully explore some of the desert nearby. It is a fat-tire folding model which is supposed to be able to handle even sandy terrain with the tires partially deflated. The electric motor can be used either as a pedal assist or a full-on motor-driven bike. I get my bicycle and motorcycle in one toy. Karen is not overly pleased with the cost ($1,000), but I hope she will get over her disappointment. I dream of one day getting her one too.

We looked into another park just down the road, and we may move there in December to save the $100 we are paying here over the advertised rate. It is similar but with paved roadways and tall, mature trees surrounding the entire perimeter. That may help protect from the wind somewhat. We will lose the unobstructed view of the valley and surrounding mountains, but the savings and the protection should compensate for the loss.

Week Seven

Sunday November 8, 2020: First it’s the wind. Not a gale, but steady enough and strong enough to rock the trailer a little once in a while. Then the clouds darken, and the rain showers come. Not steady downpours like in Michigan, but scattered, now-and-then showers pelting just enough to sound mean on the fiberglass roof over my head. Suddenly the pelting takes on a sharper sound: hail. Little BB size ice pellets bounce off the roof and the gravel surrounding the camper. It lasts maybe a minute. It all stops for a bit, then starts over: rain then hail again… and the wind. Thunder, once then again. The sky is heavy, dark and low. We’re under a storm cloud again. I’m waiting for the rain to start again. And the hail maybe. The wind picks up; the trailer responds with a waggle. I think we will be right under the storm this time.

I can see fluffy cumulus clouds over at the southwest horizon. The setting sun reveals blue sky over there, but between me and them it is nasty. Flat-bottomed, bumpy gray that fades as the rain blurs the view. Maybe it’s just to our north. Red and orange on the radar says we are just out of its reach. But the rain is back; heavy and almost sideways in the wind. Forty-five degree angle on the window-tracks. Harder rain this time like a Michigan thunder shower. Sheets of rain freight train over the trailer.

Thirty-three degrees predicted tonight as the cold front that brought the thunderstorms also brought a drop in temperature. It has already dropped a few degrees, and the windows are fogging as the furnace burns propane to keep us comfy. Living in an RV is different than living in a house. I feel closer to nature, even though I am in a park surrounded by other campers. I only have an inch or so between me and the real outdoors instead of two-by-fours and fiberglass and shingles and an attic. Winter here means 20’s or 30’s at night and 50-60 in the daytime. I can handle that as long as the water lines don’t freeze. I may have to hook up the line heaters in December. We’ll see. I am loving it whatever happens.

The Rest of November

One week has rolled into the next in such a way that weekly entries are unnecessary. Don’t misunderstand that I am bored or have nothing to do. Quite the opposite. We have done some sightseeing, visited three desert wineries (Surprise!) and I have put about eighty miles on the new bike. I try to ride at least twenty minutes every day as my cardio workout. It is so much more fun to do that by cruising the desert two-tracks than sitting in the rec room on a stationary bike. We have developed a pattern of Monday breakfast in either Kingman or Bullhead City followed by shopping. Then on Friday we have our “date night” in one of the two, usually involving shopping as well. We have found some fabulous restaurants already, as you would know if you follow us on Facebook.

It is December 1^st as I write this. Today we are moving from Tradewinds to Adobe RV park five miles down the road. The wind I mentioned earlier blows through our current park stirring dust like crazy. I love the view the open arrangement provides, but the wind takes away some of the enjoyment. We will be moving to the center of Golden Valley the “city.” It’s little more than a few gas stations, convenience stores and swap meets (big thing here, I guess). Geographically, Golden Valley is about ten miles east-to-west and about forty miles north-to-south depending on where you draw the southern boundary.

I will miss my view; I can see the mountains marking the north, east and west edges of the valley from my campsite. Adobe is surrounded by trees that block long-distance views so that my neighbor’s trailers will be the main feature I see there. We are giving up the vista for two reasons: first it is $95 dollars cheaper per month ($240); second the park had paved drives and the surrounding trees I mentioned that will hopefully cut some of the wind/dust we are dealing with here. Sadly, the park will not allow any type of screen/tent structure on the lots, so we can’t use our attached screen room. If we find we can’t live without it, we may be moving again. Stay tuned.

Exam Time

Having been a schoolteacher for most of my career, I am used to thinking of examinations as a way to measure progress in learning. Self-examination is something I didn’t begin until my mid-life. I am currently in another season of introspection. Some people belittle introspection as “navel gazing,” a waste of time. I prefer to follow Socrates who asserted that the unexamined life is not worth living. I think the Apostle Paul echoed the philosopher’s opinion when he recommended taking one’s measure in at least two places, and Peter joins him as well. (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; 2 Peter 1:10-11) as well as demonstrating that he took the inward look himself. (Philippians 3:4-11)

Having been through the process of self-examination before, I find I generally have had to reconsider who I am based on what I have discovered about myself. For example, when I used to look back on my life as a student in elementary and secondary school, I thought of myself as a nerd. My wife assures me that cannot be true because she would never have married a nerd. I mentioned my nerdiness to a fellow-classmate at our fiftieth high school reunion and she agreed with my wife; she had not thought me a nerd either. This misapprehension didn’t really cause any harm or bring any shame, but it does make me realize that others don’t see me for what I think I am.

After being married to my high school sweetheart for a couple decades, I had the opinion that I was a fine example of a loving, Christian husband. Then something brought me into that state of introspection, and I began to realize that I had fallen far short of perfection. In fact, I think I was basically a jerk for quite some time. I was not consciously abusive, but because I had never tried to learn what my wife really needed, I dragged her through a life furnished with most of what I needed thinking she was fulfilled as well. That was a wake-up call, and I still hear that alarm ringing on occasion.

About the same time, I discovered my wife had unfulfilled needs I was ignoring, I also came to the surprising conclusion that for all of my thirty-seven years, I had been trying to please my father. My Dad was of that “greatest generation” that suffered through a Depression and fought in WWII. Like may of his peers, he didn’t share much of what he was feeling. He was also a workaholic which meant that even if he had been more forthcoming with expressions of emotion, he wasn’t around very often to share them with me. I realized during my mid-life examination that I had been asking, “What would Dad think,” about everything in my effort to garner some praise or at least recognition.

I also got a shocking revelation from one of my children a few years later. I had always thought I was a really good father. I even began to write a seminar program to share my expertise on raising perfect kids. It’s probably a good thing I never finished it. My oldest was approaching middle age herself when she told me (in a context I have forgotten) that as a child, she was afraid to talk to me about anything important. Although none of them ran away from home, each of my children found someplace else to be immediately after high school, and I haven’t seen much of them since then. Apparently, the nest was a little prickly.

Now I am looking over the fence at seventy. I am examining what I have been and done in my three-score and ten. I have said for most of those years that I am called and gifted by God as a teacher, and I would have said in the past that I have done well at that. Even though I am retired, I still have occasion to teach by my writing and in person when given a chance. Lately I have been told that my teaching methods are not only ineffective, but even harmful in some instances. This is bringing on another bout of self-examination. I haven’t decided if my detractors are correct, but I have to look because of what Socrates said.

Now I will explain why this autobiographical rambling belongs on a site that claims heaven always matters most. First, there is one thing I am positively certain of: it doesn’t ultimately matter what others think of me or even what I think of myself. All that matters is what God thinks of me, and I know beyond doubt that He thinks of me as His child, accepted in the Beloved. When He looks at me, He sees Jesus. I am seated in the Heavenlies at His right hand, the place of highest honor. I have done nothing to gain His acceptance and His love; Jesus has done everything necessary to guarantee it. I don’t find this truth by looking into my mind, which I have just demonstrated is messed up. I learn the truth of my position by looking into the mirror of the Word as James calls it. God’s Spirit testifies to my spirit that I am his child.

The second reason these ramblings belong here is this: the preceding paragraphs were written yesterday. Today, Pastor Bill Johnson of Kingdom Life in Muskegon shared a word that spoke clearly to what I had written, but in a remarkable way. Bill spoke of the need to be grounded in the love of our Heavenly Father and to be rooted in the foundational teachings of the Word of God. He pointed to the words of Jesus that warned of times to come when deceit and lawlessness would cause many believers to drift away from righteous moorings. Finally Bill referenced Hebrews 12 which warns of a “shaking” that will cause worldly things to fall away.

I’ll keep trying to be a better husband-father-teacher-man, but I won’t waste a minute worrying if I am a good son of my Heavenly Father; He has taken care of that – no examination needed. I will also focus my deepest efforts on clinging to the things that cannot be shaken while letting go of all that can. I have been a sincere, diligent student of the Bible for over forty years. In spite of all that, I don’t think I have ever felt a more compelling desire to immerse myself in the Word and be conformed to it. I pray everyone in Christ’s true church will find the same passion. With everything that is happening in the world these days, I am reminded that there is an examination coming, perhaps soon, that we don’t want to fail.

Red Letters; Red Faces

In the title, I am referring to the practice of putting Jesus’ words in red letters in some Bible translations. Some people believe we should take the words in red more seriously than the others. Certainly, Jesus words are very important because He was speaking as the perfect Son of God, and every word His followers recorded is Scripture. I am not discounting the importance of Jesus’ words.

However, there are two things to consider when interpreting Jesus words. First, the things Jesus said during His earthly ministry were spoken almost exclusively to ethnic Jews who were under the Old Testament system of Judaism. His message echoed John the Baptist’s in that He repeatedly called His listeners to repent because the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. He called for change of mind because a major change in how they would approach God was in the offing.

One example of how Jesus’ words need reinterpretation will illustrate what I mean. At one point He counselled His listeners to “leave your gift there before the altar” if they had any issues with a brother. Since we no longer sacrifice animals on the altar in the Jerusalem temple, this counsel must be reinterpreted if it is going to apply to New Testament believers. The same condition exists with Jesus’ instructions about the temple tax, ceremonial cleansing of lepers, interaction with tax collectors and the military, and countless others. Principles can be extracted from the words, but they don’t apply to us directly.

The second thing to consider about Jesus’ words is that one of the last things He said was that His disciples would get a fuller understanding of His words after the Holy Spirit came to help them. This means that the words of the New Testament writers who came after the gospels have as much weight as Jesus’ own words and may have better clarity. There is no conflict between the “red letters” and the rest of the letters in your Bible. These too must be reinterpreted in some instances because of cultural changes that occurred in the intervening centuries, but the principles drawn from either set of words will align one with the other.

The reason I mention the red-letter controversy is slightly obtuse, but I will try to explain how I got here. A corollary to the well-known question, what would Jesus do? (WWJD), is what would Jesus say? (WWJS) Now comes the leap: how would Jesus say what He said? We know from the biblical record that different groups of people had different reactions to the same words of Jesus. The religious leaders thought Him a heretic; there were some who thought Him a lunatic; a few recognized Him as the Son of God. Same words, different perceptions.

The ill-conceived idea that perception is reality doesn’t fit here at all. Jesus spoke only truth – ultimate reality. Yet He was misperceived by many of His hearers. Here is the crux of my problem: WWJS needs clarification as to the tone of the Master’s delivery. In my youth, I was known by many for my use of the Bible as a club. I beat people into agreement – rather, I tried to. Often as not, I drove them away instead of drawing them closer to the truth.

I want to say I have grown away from my earlier misadventures in teaching, but of late I have been accused of something akin to my Bible-thumping ways. After decades of Bible study, I fear my method of delivery may not have grown at the pace of my knowledge. I am still accused of insensitivity at times, occasionally causing people to get red-faced with anger. When I look at some of Jesus’ words, I want to say I am following His example. Here are some troublesome red-letter words: “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” I try to imagine Jesus saying that in a tactful, loving tone. I struggle. At one point, Jesus looked at one of His closest disciples and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Put yourself in Peter’s place and try to hear that in a loving tone.

There are many other red-letter examples of questionable tone such as Jesus calling the hypocrites of His day vipers, whitewashed tombs and sons of the devil. One wonders how would Jesus handle crazies on Facebook? How would He engage with misguided politicians in our representative democracy? How would He react to believers who embrace the homosexual lifestyle? I know: He would love them all. But love can sometimes get tough to borrow James Dobson’s coin. WWJD?

The books of the New Testament are full of admonition, correction and rebuke. No one is more corrective than Paul, yet he suggests his readers, “become imitators of me as I imitate Christ.” I am currently reading Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. He makes a strong point to both his proteges not to engage in petty squabbles or meaningless disputes. I suspect I have ventured into that territory occasionally, although I pray it has not been expressing heresy as were the subjects of Paul’s correction. The best I can do is to continue to pursue and present truth with this admonition foremost in my thinking: “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow into him with reference to all things, who is the head, Christ.” Then, hopefully, red letters or black, at least I won’t be red-faced.

How Can They Think That?

For almost two decades I have been trying to understand the “liberal” or progressive mindset. These labels encompass most twentieth century Democrats, and today’s Democrats are more puzzling than ever. When I was on the road, I spent hours listening to the BBC and Air America and the mainstream media on satellite radio trying to understand where the liberals were coming from. I think I finally have the answer.

My Bible reading today was in 2 Thessalonians where Paul describes the workings of the “man of lawlessness.” It is not lost on me that the most radical progressives are exactly that: lawless. Anarchists who call for defunding of police are the essence of lawlessness. Many of the political left’s other policies follow the same idea. They remove the law against murder by giving women the right to kill their unborn children. They remove the laws governing immigration so that the country may be overrun and the economy destroyed by illegal aliens. They remove the law against homosexual marriage, destroying the traditional meaning and purpose of marriage in the process. They despise the laws of free-market economies that have allowed America to flourish and prefer to redistribute all wealth in a socialist/communist pattern.

Virtually all the planks of the progressive platform would upend society as we know it and replace it with a socialist vision that would be anathema to the Christians who founded this country. Recent experience, history and logic itself demonstrate that their policies don’t work – never have. This makes me ask why they are so adamant about their revolutionary ideas. Paul tells the Thessalonians why: “God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” The Apostle said much the same thing about homosexuality in Romans: “God gave them over to a debased mind.” Similarly, he cautioned the Ephesians, “that you no longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the futility of their mind, being darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, who, becoming callous, gave themselves over to licentiousness, for the pursuit of all uncleanness in greediness.”

There is something else at play here that motivates people to remain “ignorant” as Paul calls them in Romans and Ephesians: lust. Lust for power and all that it provides is the primary motivator of many politicians in both parties. I wrote before about the corrupting influence of power (“The Uncorrupted Life”). This helps to explain why so many laudable campaign promises are abandoned once the statehouse or Capitol Hill are gained. The levers of power are controlled by a small oligarchy in this country, and for better or worse, that elite band must either be mollified or manipulated to get anything done.

Where does this leave Christians who want to see the Kingdom come? On our knees where we rightfully belong. I cannot find anyplace in the New Testament that encourages us to take over secular government to accomplish God’s will. We are commanded to pray for our leaders so that things will go well. We are also promised that God remains in control despite the hubris of ignorant people (Paul’s description) who think they run the show.

I am writing this between election night 2020 and inauguration day 2021 with no certainty who will be making the speech in January. I have decided to stop debating and redouble my praying. Paul’s characterization of the people with whom I would disagree tends to make me think I am wasting my words on them. I am not being arrogant or dismissive; I am being confident that God’s will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and the final outcome will be for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I think I am on pretty solid ground there.

Related posts: Honor the King, What is the Church?, Beware of Bowlegged Politicians, What's Wrong With Politics in America, Bringing the Kingdom

Karen and Clair’s Excellent Travel Adventure Chapter Two

 Day One: Muskegon, Michigan to Norwalk, Ohio (October 1, 2020)

We had to finish packing up what we were leaving and loading what we were taking. It was 2:15 before we finally called it quits and hit the road. I am not proud of the way we left the house for Lucas and Michael. Things were in major disarray and I realized after we were on the road that I forgot to pack up a few things. Karen and I had reached the end of our collective rope, physically and emotionally. Had we worked one minute longer I fear we would have fallen into the pit of despair. So we left.

It had been raining off and on all day. God was good and gave me a short dry period to load the truck and hook the trailer; then it poured again. Our only major traffic slowdown was on US 31 right in Muskegon. Once we hit I-96 we sailed at top speed (trailer puller top speed: 65) all the way to our first stop in Lansing for fuel and potty break. Then we motored to Ottawa Lake, Michigan without even slowing for Ann Arbor (at 5:00!) and took on fuel and grabbed snacks from the trailer.

Ohio slid by with no trouble and we were blessed to arrive at the Sandy Ridge Winery and Mercantile just before they stopped serving in their restaurant. We started with a glass of wine; they had a passable Chablis and a good cabernet each with their own label. No vines were visible, so we assume they ship juice in from elsewhere and do their vintner magic. We shared a delicious plate of pork tenderloin slices bronzed in a mango barbeque served with fried plantains. There was a corn and bean slaw on the plate as well, but we found it too peppery to enjoy. We topped it off with a sea-salt crusted sugar cookie. Num!

We slept soundly through a quiet night on the edge of Sandy Ridge’s parking lot alongside a field of ready-to-pick soybeans. Our over-packed trailer and truck weathered the first day well. Nothing terrible happened in the stacks of stuff in the trailer, and I was pleasantly surprised to get 9.7 mpg in spite of all the extra weight. I think we had a tailwind most of the way; in any case, it was a good first day once we abandoned the drudgery of packing up the house. As I type this, my muscles ache from the last-minute race to finish the storage job, but all-in-all I am happy and looking forward to day two.

Day Two: Norwalk, Ohio to Cumberland, Maryland

We had a quiet night’s sleep next to the soybeans. We pulled out around 9:00 and started south, looking for a place to eat breakfast. Karen spotted a local eatery called Cattleman’s in Savannah, Ohio which turned out to be perfect. Delicious omlette and good coffee (and no mask required). It’s always fun to try the Mom and Pop places along the way. After breakfast we wandered down US 250 to the Interstate system. 70 to 79 to 68 and we were in Cumberland by 5:15.

Our spot on the Harvest Host list for this night was 1812 Brewery out in the hills by Cumberland. Apparently it is quite popular as a music venue. They had a blue grass band for Friday and a Nashville country-western singer and dobro player for Saturday.  They bring in a food truck for the concerts, so we had a plate of “crabby fries” that turned out to be a meal. The crab sauce and cheese was delightful, but unfortunately they peppered the fries too heavily for our tastes.

There were two of us camping and a large crowd showed up for the music. Luckily the band only played until 10, because we could hear it quite well in the trailer even though we were down the hill a ways. I had a great night and I am ready to head to Virginia. There are lots of mountains ahead, but we have already tested the little Dodge somewhat. We had some pretty substantial climbs yesterday in West Virginia and Maryland, but I was able to keep it up to no less than 50 mph. Our best tank yet was the one going across Ohio at 9.7 mpg. God has been blessing us with a tailwind so far. Couldn’t be happier.

Day Three: Cumberland, Maryland to Toano, Virginia

If I thought yesterday’s hills were a tough climb, today woke me up. Ms. Google directed us cross-country through the backside of Maryland and West Virginia. A couple of the hills were so steep that we were at 10 mph and about 3,000 rpm. We were on roads that were so narrow, I had to sweat every time someone approached from the other way. After a couple hours of climb and turn, climb and turn we reached a state highway that even had painted center lines. It took us smoothly into Winchester, Virginia where we finally found an IHOP for breakfast.

After breakfast we travelled about four hours of Interstate and we arrived at the Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center, our “home” for the next three weeks or so. We were fortunate to get a campsite as there was a large group from Beth Messiah mostly in tents nearly filling the small RV area. Saturday afternoon and evening was NOISY with young campers running and screaming all over the place. By evening, we were blessed to hear the shofar announce a Sabbath end service (didn’t know there was such a thing) which they held in the pavilion near our campsite. What a joy to hear Yeshua in place of the name Jesus in our favorite worship songs. The “rabbi” preached a short message about how Yeshua tabernacled (tented) with us – fitting in a setting where they were tenting for the weekend.

Day Four: Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center

Today was a day of rest – much needed rest. We were treated to another short devotional and singing by the Jewish Christian group in the morning before they packed up and went home. The rest of the day was filled with silence and getting more settled in the camper. We left the house in Muskegon with so much extra stuff that it is a challenge to find a place for everything. Karen assures me that once we eat away at the extra foodstuffs, we will be back to a more reasonable load.

Our extra clothing isn’t going to go away though. Although we are in balmy 70’s here and look forward to more of the same for most of the winter, we will be visiting Salt Lake City a few times to see our daughter and her family. It can be snowy and cold there as we learned two years ago when we wintered there. That means we have to have at least a small wardrobe of cold weather clothes. The bed of the pickup is going to be our storage shed for most of this trip I think. I’m so glad I purchased the Softopper truck capper; it doubles the usable square footage of the small bed.

Tomorrow we begin our work-camp experience here at the Center. I’m not sure yet what all we will be doing, but they have assured us we will be kept as busy as we want to be. The understanding is that we will work about twenty hours per week for which we are given the campsite and our utilities for the week. Last time we were here I did everything from logging to pool maintenance to utility vehicle repair while Karen helped out in the kitchen as they prepared meals for the program participants. COVID may reduce the number of people who will use the facility, but as yesterday proved, it won’t be vacant. Whatever they have for us, I know we won’t be bored.

Day Five: WCRC

Met with Bob Briscoe this morning and set up a meeting with the maintenance head, Andrew. When we met in the afternoon, we decided I could work six hours a day for four days and earn my keep. Lots to do: trees to cut down, firewood to split, the pool needs to be cleaned for winter (they leave it full as it seldom freezes hard).

After the meeting, Karen and I went into Williamsburg to my old favorite, Home Depot, for some things I needed to complete a few projects. We are gradually finishing the transformation from a summer vacation trailer to a live-aboard home. By the time we finish, there won’t be a wall, a cupboard, a shelf or anyplace that is not re-purposed as storage of some sort. I am reminded of the pictures I have seen of hoarders’ dwellings: stuff everywhere. Oh well; if it gets too bad, we may just buy a bigger rig.

Day Six: WCRC

Began the “work” part of work-camp today. The Center goes through lots of firewood, so splitting and hauling the wood to the various distribution points throughout the grounds is a big job. I worked with another volunteer for several hours today, and between us we hauled seven wagon loads of firewood. Here I am lumberjacking again. Whew! Karen will have kitchen duty Saturday, so I am only going to work three days. The plan is to give the Center four days of five to six hours to earn our keep. If I end up hauling wood all three days, I will be ready for a long weekend!

The campground itself is a beautiful, quiet forest setting. Quiet except for the other campers’ dogs. We have one on either side of us that gets left in the camper alone for hours each day, barking and whining almost constantly. I don’t understand people who say they love their dogs yet abandon them in a tiny space to loneliness and fear all day. The absent owners don’t have to listen to their pets’ desperate cries for help hour after hour.

Supper by a campfire and a movie tonight (there goes some of that firewood I split). After my hard day’s work, I was off to bed at 9:30; 7:00 wake-up comes soon enough. Tomorrow will mark our first week in this adventure. I can’t access the Internet with my computer here at the campground, so I will find a place to connect and post the weekly journal as soon as I can.

Day Seven: WCRC (10/7/20)

We have been on the road for one week. I can’t tell whether that is a surprise because it seems longer than that or shorter. One moment it feels like we have been living in the trailer for weeks, and the next moment it feels like we left Muskegon yesterday. Either way, I think we are settling in well. There’s still too much stuff everywhere, so we have to continue to pare down. There aren’t many more options for adding shelving or hangers for the detritus that clutters every horizontal surface. We are already using the bed of the truck as a “closet” for our winter clothes and a cupboard for food we brought from home that won’t fit in the trailer. I think we need to rediscover the freedom of knowing how much we can live without that we had on the fifth-wheel.

Today I played fireman, or rather fire watchman. We started burning a pile of brush which I monitored while splitting another wagonload of firewood. Once it burned down to a smolder, I deposited the wood and spent an hour helping a fellow-camper with a project. Then after lunch I was off to another burn pile and spent a couple smoky hours watching that before heading back to the trailer. Let’s just say I wasn’t keen for a campfire at home.

Week Two in Review (10/8-15/20)

Nothing too dramatic to report unless you count three days of almost continuous rain. On Sunday afternoon we visited a winery that has totally embraced the tasting-as-tourism idea. While the winery is only about 35 years old, it was built to resemble the 1619 era when the area was first settled. At the entrance to the tasting area, a sign proclaimed, “When it rains, we pour,” so the gray skies didn’t faze us. Wine tasting is served in a two-story, covered “picnic” shelter that overlooks some of the 300 acres of vineyard. Comfortable chairs, couches and coffee tables are arranged in a social distance manner around the two floors. The servers bring a flight of wine to taste or you can order a glass and a charcutier board to enjoy.

During the rain days I polished off an entire Robin Cook novel. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent prepping and painting two shower rooms in one of the cottages. We did have some unwanted excitement on Wednesday when I got a splinter of something in my eye and it caused a subconjunctival hemorrhage. I checked my eye late in the afternoon and was horrified to see the wide streak of red in my eye. We went to the Williamsburg Regional Medical Center emergency room where a promised 20-30-minute wait became 90. After waiting in the examining room again, in about five minutes with the medic I was pronounced safe and sound. I was finally discharged 3 hours after we arrived.

The rain was ushered in by a cold front which made it necessary to run the furnace at night to fend off the temperatures in the 40’s. Daytime highs are back in the high 60’s, so it’s not bad. We finally have the sun back too. We are hoping to do some sightseeing this weekend – maybe Jamestown and a couple museums that look interesting. More on that in next week’s recap.

Week Three (10/16-22)

For our Friday night date we went to Kephi’s Greek Kitchen and had one of the best Greek meals I have ever had. We discovered Greek cuisine back in Lansing years ago. Since then we try to sample it when we find it; it’s not as popular as some other ethnic offerings apparently. Kephi’s is a jewel. Beautifully decorated, well served and delicious.

We spent a day at the historic Jamestown settlement. It was interesting, but not as much as Yorktown. There was a school group that created some crowding, and we skipped the tour of the replica boats that brought the original Europeans due to a long line. The three boats looked very authentic and completely detailed from our vantage point on the shore. The visitor center and movie were very informative; they have a large display area with several rooms depicting the stages of Jamestown’s settlement by Europeans and, surprisingly, Africans.

My work this week was supposed to be cleaning the pool, but there were electrical problems, so the pump won’t run consistently. The maintenance super, Andrew, and I repainted the lines on one of the tennis courts and I split some more wood from a tree we took down. Before we knew it, Friday came and we packed up to leave Williamsburg.

Week Four (10/23-30)

Friday and Saturday nights were spent at Whippoorwill Farms, a small organic farming operation that is part of the Harvest Host outfit. We spent $20/night for water and electricity. I wanted to run the air because it was in the 80’s in the daytime and only in the high 60’s at night. The hosts were gracious and helpful when we arrived, but the accommodations were very rustic. We tried arrived late Friday and did little more than hook up and eat supper before we hit the sack. On Saturday we went into Savannah for a tour. What an interesting place! We rode a hop-on-hop-off trolley with an entertaining and informative driver who gave us a full picture of the history of the city. They have the largest historical district anywhere in the US, according to our driver. It is extensive; our tour lasted over 90 minutes after which we walked the riverfront and ate lunch on a second-floor patio overlooking the street and river traffic. Fabulous people-watching and some delicious scallops.

On Sunday we left the farm and travelled to Theodore, Alabama and our next stop at All About Relaxing RV Park. Cute name and wonderful park and people. We stayed a couple days here last spring and knew we wanted to come back. Unfortunately, hurricane Zeta is headed right for us, so we have to make a decision whether to stay the week as planned.

We decided to flee the hurricane because it promised three days of rain and up to 50+ mph winds… not exactly relaxing. We covered four states (AL, MS, LA, TX) and stopped at another Harvest Host location, Franscone Winery in Anahuac, Texas. We tasted some interesting local wines and had alligator egg rolls for our supper. It seems Anahuac is the gator capital of Texas; the creatures can be found along the side of the road or in your yard if you are “lucky.” The wife of the winery owner, Suong, is from Vietnam. She used to make pork and chicken eggrolls, but one time the organizers of the annual Gator Festival told her she couldn’t serve anything that didn’t have alligator in it – thus began the tradition of gator eggrolls; delicious.

Because from Alabama to Texas we probably bridged bayou, delta and river with a thousand alligators, it is only fitting that we ended the day with an alligator meal. This is not what Karen probably envisioned for her birthday dinner (10/27), but it certainly was unique. Even though we are on the edge of Galveston Bay, and a walk along the pier is tempting, we intend to move on because of high percentage chance of rain throughout the day tomorrow.

It took four days and three nights to cross Texas on I-10. Whew! The two major cities we went through were Houston and El Paso; both were smog covered and stinky. The hill country of West Texas was pretty, but with the added struggle of a strong headwind, fuel mileage was awful averaging around the low sevens. The highlight of the whole Texas trip (after Anahuac) was a detour off I-10 through New Braunfels to visit a place called Water 2 Wine. I know it would offend some people to think of a Christian winery, but if Jesus could make wine in Cana, why not believers in Texas?

The Travle Adventure Ends (10/30-31)

It is interesting to note how often the topography changes at a state border. Once we crossed the Rio Grande just inside New Mexico, the hills of West Texas became the flat desert of New Mexico. After two days of struggling with the hills and wind, our little rig sailed a across the flat land at top speed (my top is just over 65) and still got a record 10.2 mpg. The country started to roll again right at the Arizona border, but there were still plenty of long, flat downhills.

We stopped at a beautiful campground in Benson, Arizona called Butterfield RV resort. We considered spending an extra night to do some sightseeing, but the lure of our final destination only 357 miles away was too strong. The campground has a private observatory, and the dark sky makes for a great show on every clear night. One day we will have to come back for that and to check out the Chiracahua National Monument. Boulders stacked precariously on boulders the size of busses make for some interesting vistas. We had a sample of the amazing feature in Texas Canyon when we passed through on the way to Benson.

Saturday will find us at Tradewinds RV Park in Golden Valley, Arizona, our winter home (we think). They are holding a spot for us through April on a month-by-month basis. If we decide not to stay there through until spring, we have only to give them ten days’ notice that we are leaving. The park charges $235/month plus electric (probably $25-30 until A/C season), so I can’t imagine staying anywhere for less. It will be a long haul around the Grand Canyon and up I-15 to see Elissa and family in Salt Lake City, but there was nothing closer available that didn’t cost twice as much and still keep us from freezing.

If spring comes early, we may head north to Draper, Utah where we stayed two years ago. We could spend the month of April and do some weekend camping with Elissa, Nick and the kids. From there we can run the northern route home along the Canadian border into Michigan’s upper peninsula and then drop down below the bridge to our summer spot in Montague. If we do that, we will have driven a circle around most of the outer states of the lower forty-eight from fall ’20 to spring ’21.

It has been quite an adventure so far. Our 23-foot home is too small by almost any measure, but when we set up the 8x14 screen room under the awning, it is almost livable. After we circle back to Michigan next spring, we will have to decide whether to continue in tiny house mode or look for something bigger (again). Our spot in Montague at Trailways Campground won’t allow anything bigger, so our decision will either have to wait until fall, or else we will have to find another spot to park. Either way, unless something drastic changes between now and then, I think we will be living the nomad life for a while. It’s still too much fun!

To Be Content (on Sunday) in Whatever

With all the variety in worship styles and different levels of teaching quality in modern American churches, believers are often put in situations where they wonder if they should look for another place to go to church on Sunday. Worship style and/or music choice is probably one of the biggest differences between churches that are covering the biblical bases of what church should be. Larger churches have been able to schedule two different styles of worship music by having two worship times. Smaller churches have to compromise or settle on one type. In either case, a believer may feel unfulfilled on Sunday morning.

I am going to say something that may sound contradictory to what I have said in the past. I believe attendance at a local gathering of believers is very important. Admonitions like Hebrews 10:25 and the general nature of being a "body" necessitate corporate interaction of some kind. However, the "where" is not as important as the "what." By that I mean "what" does church mean in the believer's life? If church attendance is the only thing in a person’s life to indicate she is a Christian, I think she should heed Paul’s suggestion to “examine [herself] to see if [she] is in the faith.” You have doubtless heard someone say that going to church doesn’t make one a Christian any more than going into a garage makes one a car.

What a person does Monday through Saturday is the real measure of faith. If the Bible doesn’t get opened devotionally; and the knees don’t get bent in prayer; and the mind doesn’t travel to thoughts of grace, provision, protection, etc. almost every day, doubt arises as to the authenticity of one’s faith. True Christianity is a mindset, a world-view that colors everything the believer thinks, says and does. Sunday services are a time to celebrate with like-minded others and to join in corporate events of worship, prayer and teaching (Acts 2:42) But in reality, church attendance is not the sine qua non of Christianity; lifestyle is.

Most sincere believers know those things. When a believer is not feeling fulfilled by the corporate Christian part of her life (aka church), it is wise to consider her options. Because the perfect church doesn’t exist, it is fruitless to go off on a quest to find it. The church, universal and local, is made of humans – fallible beings who will fall short of perfection in everything they do, including doing church. The biggest question to ask in an unsatisfactory church situation is whether the local body in question is doing something the Bible prohibits or not doing something the Bible commands. If the former is the case, it may be time to look elsewhere for body life. If the latter is true, the sincere believer must decide if the lack is critical or not. The follow-up question is whether the dissatisfied attender can do anything to correct the issue.

The  question can become complicated if one parent/spouse is happy in a local body, and the other is not. If the husband is the satisfied one, as he is the head of the household, acquiescing to his preference is something a submissive wife might do. If he wanted to go Unitarian Universalist or Mormon, I think a wife would have grounds for discussion if not disobedience. Otherwise, if they are dealing with the “something missing” category with most of the other boxes of church being checked adequately, I don't know that a wife should protest too much. I know this is a thorny issue in the twenty-first century, but Paul’s direction in 1 Corinthians 7 still applies. Even though the situation may not involve an unbelieving spouse, the concept of being who she is in spite of who he is may be drawn from Paul’s comments. If it's the husband who is dissatisfied, he may be justified in moving, but he must consider what a move would mean to his wife. Deference sometimes means we get less that we might if we had complete independence. 

This raises the question of whether a dissatisfied believer can do anything to introduce the worship and teaching she craves into her life. Christian radio (Internet) is a wonderful twenty-first century ministry that can fill in what’s lacking in a local situation that is otherwise biblically sound. I have it on almost constantly when I am in the car and often in my ear buds around the house. At my church, we had what they called a “prayer furnace” every Wednesday morning. We gathered around a smart phone tuned to a worship channel on the Internet (YouTube mostly), and we sat silently or sang along and frequently spoke prayers aloud when so led. I was amazed (shouldn’t have been) to see how often the “random” songs that played wove their way into the nature of the prayers we were praying.

As an aside, I want to mention that this was not the typical prayer meeting where you pray for your neighbor’s cousin’s mother-in-law’s upcoming surgery for a bunion. Genuine needs regarding material things did come up, but we mostly prayed for wisdom and guidance for the church, effectiveness in ministry to the city, and other topics like improving the quality of worship in the Sunday service. Sometimes the silence was more edifying and satisfying than any spoken prayer. I even had visions a time or two. My point is that we had times of deep worship when the Holy Spirit was evidently in the room. It was a high-point of the week.

It is sad that sometimes people are not being fulfilled in the corporate part of their Christian life. The most important thing is knowing that your life before your spouse, the kids, your co-workers, your grocer, your neighbor – you get the idea – demonstrates that you belong to Christ and want to make His life yours. “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” as Paul put it. Focus on that with all your heart and Sunday mornings may not be so much of a problem.

Romans 13 Applied

 I have written more than once that Black Lives Matter has communist and anarchist roots. ANTIFA, an openly anarchist organization, knowingly co-opts BLM “protests” and makes them violent and destructive. These things alone are enough to lead thinking conservatives to decline to support BLM. Some would say these are “political” reasons with no place in Christian dialogue. As it happens, there is good biblical ground for disagreeing with BLM as well.

The Apostle Paul begins Romans chapter 13 with these words: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except by God, and those that exist are put in place by God. So then, the one who resists authority resists the ordinance which is from God, and those who resist will receive condemnation on themselves.” Paul didn’t give us the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the governing authorities; he flatly said we are to be subject – to obey. Lest you think the Apostle had good government in mind, remember who his governing authorities were: the Romans.

Emperor Nero began his reign about the time Paul would have been writing Romans. Nero is the governing authority who is thought to have blamed the Christians for the disastrous fire that ravaged two thirds of Rome in 64 A.D. Whether he blamed them or not, there is no question that he began a vicious campaign to persecute the young sect of believers. For over one hundred years, Christians were marked out for persecution and death in an empire where emperor worship was required.

Paul surely understood that “be subject” did not include false worship, but he gave the command just the same. The verses that follow apply today as much as they did in the first century. “For rulers are not a cause of terror for a good deed, but for bad conduct. So do you want not to be afraid of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from it, for it is God’s servant to you for what is good. But if you do what is bad, be afraid, because it does not bear the sword to no purpose.” A modern translation might sound like this: “There is no need to fear the police if you are doing what is right. However, if you are disobeying the authorities, watch out! They carry Tazers and pistols to maintain civil order.”

Paul continues in Romans 1: “Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.” In other words, we don’t obey the authorities simply because it might be uncomfortable if we get caught; we obey because it’s the right thing to do. No one with a healthy conscience could feel guiltless while burning down neighborhoods, looting stores, and throwing rocks and bullets at the police who are trying to maintain order.

Finally, Paul instructs us to give honor to whom honor is due. Surely this honor does not apply to a man charged with domestic abuse, rape and robbery who is detained by police in the act of violating a restraining order. I agree: it is unfortunate the situation in Milwaukee escalated to the point where an officer believed he was in danger and had to use his weapon. Note that the gun only came to be used after the man broke free from two Tazer shots and continued to his car where he appeared to be retrieving something – perhaps a weapon. For NFL players to honor this man with his name on their jerseys is not just irrational; it is offensive.

I want to be careful here. I suspect the loyal British subjects in proto-America in 1776 might have felt about the rebellious colonists the way I feel about ANTIFA and BLM. However, I do not think there is a moral equivalence. The revolutionary colonists and today’s social justice protesters share the feeling that they suffer injustice under the governing authorities. The main difference is that the colonists spent years writing to the authorities pleading for a redress of their grievances. They did not begin their protest with Molotov cocktails, torches and bullets. They did not burn down their neighbors’ barns and stores. True, there were acts of civil disobedience such as the Boston Tea Party, but large-scale violence did not break out until the authorities began to use it against the protesters. It was at that point that the Founding Fathers resorted to an appeal to what they called “natural law” which assured them the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – rights they saw as endowed by a gracious Creator God.

I am not convinced that people of color in America are being systematically denied their rights. I admit that there are bigoted people and even communities who make it harder for minorities to achieve success in a material sense. However, there is no system of government that works by design to deny anyone the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I admit that there used to be such laws, but no more. To violently overthrow the government because of perceived oppression is not patriotism; it is vandalism and anarchism. It is also in direct disobedience to the principles Paul outlined in Romans 13.

As believers we must pray for our leaders as Paul recommends to Timothy, “in order that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” There is nothing godly or dignified about BLM and ANTIFA. Let us pray that our leaders can find a way to resolve the horrible unrest in our country without having to resort to “bearing the sword with purpose.” There is one other thing we can do: show the love of Christ to everyone regardless of color, for truly, all lives matter.