Sailing For The Son

Plugging in on Grand Bahama

Bill and I are happy to be spending the winter on Grand Bahama again this year. The Bahamian people are so warm and welcoming. Ocean Reef Resort and Yacht Club (oceanreefresortmarina.com) feels like a second home.

In late November 2023, I saw a FaceBook advertisement inviting the public to the Grand Bahama Children’s Home Christmas festival which sounded like fun and a way to gather information on how to plug in there. Back in Jacksonville I love volunteering at The Nest, a Women’s Center (thenestjax.com), and I always miss that community connection and opportunity for sharing the love of Jesus when I’m away.

Together with our friends, John and Michele, Bill and I had a great time at the Christmas festival playing Bingo with the children, watching them get their faces painted and jump in the bouncy house. We were barely through the gate when we were approached by a volunteer overzealous to recruit us! Ingrid is an 81 year old Canadian who has resided on Grand Bahama, and has volunteered at The Grand Bahama Children’s Home, for 30 years. She does gardening and landscaping, as well as teaching the children how to crochet. Ingrid also volunteers at a few other places on Grand Bahama. She is a real powerhouse and a genuine pleasure to be with.

The Grand Bahama Children’s Home (gbchildrenshome.org) serves abandoned, abused and neglected children of the Northern Bahamas. They provide housing, meals, love, and support of all kinds in a Christian atmosphere for children 6 weeks to 14 years of age. They strive for every child to feel safe and loved as they learn, dream and laugh.

Ingrid picked the four of us up at 8:30 in the morning on the following Friday. We spent 4 hours cleaning up the landscaping: pulling weeds, trimming edges, and generally sprucing up the grounds. Several of the children were all too willing to help. They mostly kept our weed buckets emptied and dumped the wheelbarrow when it got full. Eventually the boys eyed our tools and asked to use them but the we thought best not to set them loose with our hedge trimmers and pruning shears!

We learned quite a bit about the great work The Grand Bahama Children’s Home provides and we will be back to lend our support. We ended the day with a delicious meal with Ingrid at the Taino Beach Resort.

The Eiffel Tower

September 2023 found Bill and I on a “European Whirl”. The European Whirl is a two and a half week tour through Europe offered by Trafalgar. Our last stop was Paris. I have to say that I was looking forward to Paris and the Eiffel Tower. I knew it would be impressive, but I was truly awestruck.

The Eiffel Tower is a wonder during the day, and exciting to explore, but seeing it light up after dark is truly a thrill.

The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustavo Eiffel for the 1889 World’s Fair. The tower was not initially accepted by the locals, as they didn’t like the design, so it was scheduled to be dismantled in 1909. However, as destiny would have it, the tower’s height proved valuable to the innovations of radio and television, so, thankfully, the Iron Lady was allowed to stand. Today the tower is one of the most recognizable and most visited structures in the world.

The Eiffel Tower stands 1083 feet tall and is the tallest structure in Paris. Theoretically, a person can see the tower from 50 miles away. Interestingly though, while walking through Paris, from The Louvre, my husband and I couldn’t see it until we turned the corner and it was two blocks away.

All of this reminds me of Jesus. He is not universally accepted, He is attacked by those who oppose Him, is often hard to see, and yet He is always there standing as a Strong Tower. Proverbs 18:10 states, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe”.

I was excited to see the Eiffel Tower light up after dark, and I had read that it will twinkle for five minutes every hour on the hour after dark. I thought I was prepared for it. But I wasn’t. I don’t believe it is possible to be prepared for the absolute allure of the Eiffel Tower twinkle. I was taking pictures, I was videoing it, I was literally video calling everyone I know (despite the time difference)! The beauty is quite simply overwhelming. I found myself describing it as “life changing”.

And that was only five minutes of my life. On Earth. Thinking that Jesus, my Lord and Savior, creator of all things, has prepared in heaven for me more than I have heard, more than I have seen or can even imagine is pretty overwhelming (1 Corinthians 2:9). He is a good God. And I’m thankful to be His child.

Protected: Summer Sailing Camp 2023

Unexpected Wonders

This is a picture of a Blue Button jellyfish. I took this photo at the Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama on February 1, 2023. It looks extra-terrestrial, right? It’s interesting, but not at all what I was expecting to see that day.

I was expecting to hike, explore the caves, and walk the beach, yes, but I wasn’t expecting to see the rare Blue Button. I’ve been fortunate to spend a fair amount of time in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and I’ve seen a lot of jellyfish, just not a Blue Button.

I’m more of a beach type of gal. Usually with a book. And a cold drink.

This is where I have to tell you that I’m claustrophobic, so I don’t normally do caves. I’ve paid admission to waaaay more than my fair share of caves, I just usually chicken out at the last minute. Reading up on this park I found that it has two caves, and I really hadn’t planned on going in them. However, the caves are easily accessible, and given that I didn’t plan to scuba dive through the caves…ahh, seriously, who are those people?

Michele spontaneously praises the Lord

And I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear my friend, Michele, break out into praises for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Michele was alone in the cave when I heard her start singing, so I scrambled for my phone to capture what I could. She has an absolutely beautiful voice! Listen to the video twice, and during your second listen, find her expression at the end. She claps her hands together and says “yeah”! That is so Michele! I love that she is filled with such love for Jesus and blessed with a beautiful way to express it.

Following the cave exploration and a short hike, we did have a great walk on beautiful Gold Rock Beach, then lunch at Banana Bay.

A day with sweet friends, a nature hike, caves, beaches, a blue button, and lunch with a view, hmmmm, I have to say that the caves were most memorable. When I woke up on the morning of February first, I would have told you that spending time on the beach with friends was going to be the highlight of my day, but I’d have been wrong. (Don’t tell my husband!)

February 1, 2023 is a great reminder that I’m not in control. Even retired, I wake up most mornings (around 9:00!) thinking that I know the plan for the day, but Proverbs 16:9 reminds me of the truth: “In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord establishes his steps”.

I’m thankful for Scripture reminding me who is really in control! When was the last time the Lord showed you something you didn’t expect to see or hear?

All in

I’m sure we can all recall times in our lives when we kind of knew what we wanted, or even knew what we should do, but we held back for some reason or another. Like the time I knew I should have gotten out of the car before my brother drove onto the icy pavement and started doing spinouts “just because”. That was back in high school, of course. I think he probably still does that sort of thing-I’m just not going with him.

Living on a sailboat and cruising several months a year requires a hefty dose of all in. Sure, there are times when I still hold back (think 10 foot waves), but I’m mostly all in. I am committed to being all in, but I admit that I still fall short sometimes.

December 2022 finds us in Grand Bahama. It’s beautiful here-the water, the beaches, the weather, and the people. Getting here required my first Gulf Stream crossing. I was apprehensive, but I trust my husband’s sailing abilities, God’s providence, and, as I say, I’m all in.

I am loving it here. And it doesn’t even have anything to do with the sunny 78 degree weather here vs the -1 in Nebraska today!

On the entrance into the channel we saw locals who are clearly all in.

On our first week here I participated in karaoke, singing “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” with my buddy boater, Michele.

And this week I upped my game a bit by writing my own Bahamian version of “The 12 Days of Christmas”, enlisting the help of 12 others, and we brought the house down. (That is if “brought the house down” means lots of laughter!)

In the grand scheme of life, these are all small things. Many years ago I made the big decision to go all in with Jesus. Now, let me tell you, that was a radical, life changing all in. Going all in with Jesus gave me the freedom to abandon my past failures, put my regrets behind me and rejoice! Can I have an amen for that? Jesus washed me of my sins and made a new creation out of the mess I had made with my life.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God who has reconciled the world to Himself, not counting men’s sins against them.” 2 Corinthians 5: 17-18

Following Jesus is a great adventure, and He’d love for you to join us. Are you all in? If not, today is the day of salvation! Please feel free to contact me or find more information about Jesus at LifeSpring.church. http://lifespring.church

Gardens and Gardeners

As often seems to happen to me, the plans I make for the day don’t always go exactly as scheduled. This week, in Grand Bahama, Bill and I, together with our buddy boaters John and Michele and John’s brother Darrell, experienced a bit of authentic Bahamian hospitality that I don’t think any of us expected.

A popular tourist destination here is Garden of the Groves, a nature walk highlighting the beauty of the island. Planning to make a day of it, we headed out walking towards the bus stop. Half way to the stop the bus passed us, stopped, turned around, and came back to pick us up. That should have been the first clue that we weren’t going on a typical bus ride. At least not a typical American bus ride.

Chatty, as usual, Michele struck up a conversation with our bus driver, Lady J. Michele discovered that she and Lady J have a mutual appreciation for gardening. I’m not really sure how this happened, but the next thing I knew, we were pulling into Lady J’s driveway. The driveway at her house! Then Michele excitedly announced that Lady J is going to show us her backyard garden!

I just can’t see that this would ever happen in the States. However, in Grand Bahama, it somehow seemed to fit right in. And Michele was almost giddy! Lady J was very methodical and Michele was positively enthralled as they made their way around the garden. Some plants we recognized-banana trees, palm trees, herbs-but many were foreign to us.

One tree was full of a fruit none of us recognized. Lady J explained that this is a sapodilla tree and that the fruit is very good. Although it wasn’t yet ripe, Lady J picked us a few and explained that when they ripen we can eat them like an apple. I’m not a very adventurous eater, but I’ll give it a try!

Following the private tour, Lady J did drive us to the Garden of the Groves. The garden is beautiful-great trails, waterfalls, birds, turtles, butterflies and more.

Reflecting on the day, I believe it wasn’t either of the gardens that were the most memorable- it was the gardeners-Lady J and Michele forming an easy kinship over a shared loved of God’s creation.

I’m going to remember that.

Back to the Bahamas!

The 2022-2023 cruising season has begun. Bill and I are currently on S/V Liberty in Lake Worth (West Palm Beach, Florida) awaiting a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. We are buddy boating with our new friends John and Michelle Schultz on S/V Yes My Dear.

This summer was particularly eventful starting with the high school graduation of our first grandchild! We’re so proud of you, Ella!

My mom, Mary, turned 80 this year. She is so beautiful. The party we hosted included several of her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, lots of nieces and nephews, and even 3 of her high school classmates! At her request, we held the party in my cousin’s barn. My mom is a farm girl at heart.

My mom, daughters, granddaughters and me

A surprise event this year was the engagement and covenant marriage of our daughter, Becky, to Wyatt Kipp! There is no doubt that God had a hand in bringing these two believers together, and we’re excited to see what He has planned for them.

Bill and I are proud of our son, Kristian, who is serving in the United States Army. He spent just over a year on an unaccompanied overseas tour, and has now returned safely (and joyously!) to his wife, Alejandra. They will be relocating to Texas this month for Kristian’s next assignment.

This cruising season we are returning to the Bahamas! We spent the last two seasons enjoying the Florida Keys, but with the Covid pandemic, together with it’s travel hassles and restrictions, waning we’re ready to head to the “Bahamian Blue” waters again. Bahamian Blue is the color my friend Kelly and I dubbed the unique beautiful blue found only in the waters of the Bahamas.

In the next few days we will cross the Gulf Stream (my first time!) and head toward West End, Grand Bahama. We will check in with Bahamian customs and immigration authorities to obtain our cruising permit, then head to Ocean Reef Resort and Marina oceanreefresortmarina.com . We heard great things about this marina from our friends Dave and Linda Olson on M/V Entrusted.

Our trusty travel buddies, Steve and Susan Holdaway, and Tim and Kelly Will, will be flying in to join us for some exciting adventures this season. New this year, Bill’s sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Gary Slifka, will be joining us for a bit. Be sure to check back for stories and pictures! I’m practically giddy just anticipating watching Susan pet the stingrays at Sandy Cay. According to her husband, Susan loves to be stretched out of her comfort zone, and I’m pretty sure this will be a bit outside her typical routine!

Relationship

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 says: No temptation has seized you except what is
common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

When Jesus said, “come to me”, He invited you into a relationship with Him. When you accepted what Christ did on the cross for you, you entered into a personal relationship with Him. He gave you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! He began a life-long process of molding and shaping you for His service.

Relationships are very important because the relationships you have had, and the ones you have now, have a significant impact upon the rest of your life. A relationship with God allows you to experience freedom and peace. With Him, you will discover the meaning and purpose for your life. Spending time with God every day strengthens your relationship with Him which changes you and the choices you make. These positive changes allow you to have stronger, more loving, and more meaningful relationships with others. Reflect on this: love is a choice followed by action; not a feeling that changes like the wind.

Spend time listening to God daily. He speaks to us through His creation, His word, His church, prayer and our life experiences. Spending time with God each day allows us to discovery joy; that confident unchanging inner peace that is not dependent upon our circumstances but entirely upon God’s presence in our life. Joy changes how we handle the storms of life.

John 8:31-32 says: If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. His word, the bible, reveals God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He teaches us how to live and how to love. Read your bible daily then spend time thinking about what He is saying to you. Pray throughout the day every day. When you pray, you speak to God. This works any time every day because He is always with you. Be faithful in prayer. Be sure to set aside a dedicated time and place to pray daily. Then, listen as God speaks to you through His creation, the bible, other believers and your life experiences. Spend time thinking about how God is always with you, that He knows your needs and has the power to mold and shape you. Thank Him for loving you. We are to worship God by living a life worthy of the calling we have received. Offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Make a choice and follow it up with action as you use your gifts and talents to love and serve others with kindness; not expecting anything in return.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.

Faith

Romans 1:20 says: For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

I have studied and worked with electricity most of my life. People like me who believe electricity is real understand the power it has because they see the work it can perform. I cannot see electricity flowing on a wire, but I remain very cautious around live wires.

The first part of Hebrews 11:1 says: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. I am sure and certain children should not play around or with electrical power outlets! Are you?

Faith can be described as putting your full trust and reliance in something or someone; even in what we do not see. People with faith are sure and certain. We know things break and people, even our friends, can let us down. I am sure and certain God is always with me. No matter when or where I am, He gives me strength according to His will. Philippians 4:13 says: I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

My hope is in the living God. I am confident He will fulfill His purpose for me. Please read 1 Peter 1:3-9 today.

It’s Not a Choice

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you”. Exodus 20:12

Hmmm…truly one of God’s Top Ten. Top five , even. I love lists-I’m convinced that I’d never get anything done if it wasn’t on a list.

What does it even mean to honor someone? Honoring someone means something like holding that person in high regard; to cherish. Sadly, ‘honor’, ‘high regard’, and ‘cherish’ aren’t words Americans tend to use in our everyday speech. I wonder why.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds me that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness. Ouch! ‘training in righteousness’-there’s a figure of speech I almost never think about! So, I guess Timothy is telling me that I can’t simply disregard Exodus because it seems physically or emotionally difficult.

It’s no wonder we find it so hard to honor our parents (and all people in positions of authority, by the way). But that’s the thing about Scripture, God doesn’t ask us to like it, or even to actually understand every word of it. However, as Christians, we are expected to submit to God’s authority in our lives, and to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit to give us strength when we don’t have the will.

Busyness with my career, my family, my friends, my pets, my vacations, my tv shows, my volunteer activities, my need to rest and relax. These are all great reasons not to hold placing my mother’s needs into a place of high importance. Or at least they sound like it. To me. To my selfish, deaf, human ears. But when I hold them up against God’s Word, they all fade pretty quickly. And sink in the quicksand I so often find myself stuck in.

So today, I choose to cherish my mother. I’m going to brush her hair because I know she loves it. I’m going to paint her fingernails because she has beautiful hands. I’m going to place her in a wheelchair and take her outside to see the birds, and hopefully a bunny. I’m going to sing old hymns and patriotic songs out loud with her because she loves the old songs and she remembers the words. I’m going to ask her to tell me about her parents and what it was like growing up on a farm. And I’m going to bring her ice cream because we all need ice cream.

What am I going to chose tomorrow? Well, tomorrow is not here yet, and there is that whole thing about tomorrow having troubles of it’s own…so today I will follow Jesus with a grateful heart, and I’ll leave tomorrow to itself until then.

Who are you cherishing today?