Words on a Page

When I was in high school, I was fairly popular. Now, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t the most popular. But, because I was a cheerleader and dated the Senior Class President, I must admit I had my fair share of friends. As I moved into my 20s and 30s and 40s, I remained very connected to a large group of friends. Like most people, the older I get the fewer my friends. It seems my friendship circle is constantly contracting. It’s weird. My husband started our relationship as the shy one - the introvert. Somewhere around the age of 50, our roles flipped. He is now the social butterfly. I’ve become the recluse. I have no doubt it confuses some people. It must be as weird to them as it is to me. I’m sure a mental health professional would have a great time sorting through my life. So, just what has caused me to be less active in my church and less visible in the community? I think it’s called life. I am among the burned and burned out when it comes to church activities. Amazingly, my relation...

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” I am not very good at waiting. I think that’s one reason why I like to travel. Traveling is the best way to become a better wait-er. After all, regardless of transportation methods, I don’t suddenly arrive at my destination. I have to wait to make it to each milestone in my journey. Waiting requires patience. What’s funny is patience is strengthened through waiting. The two are intertwined. We can’t have one without the other. I had an MRI recently. They aren’t fun. MRIs force you to wait. I spent my time in the machine praying, silently singing hymns, and reciting Bible verses to myself. Difficult waiting became time well spent. Invite God into your waiting. After all, faith in Him strengthens our ability to wait and the ability to wait strengthens our faith. Again, it’s intertwined. I believe, with God, everything is connected. Trusting Him allows me to wait patiently between life’s milestones. 

We recently returned from a three week vacation visiting some of the national parks in California. The parks are beautiful. The fact that there is no TV service or Internet in the national parks makes them even more beautiful. No news is GREAT news! For those of you that don’t know, we have a Facebook page dedicated to our travels. It’s called Archers’ Adventures. We invite you to follow along. Archers’ Adventures is a humble page. We don’t post to brag. We post to share. We are keenly aware that many folks cannot or do not travel long distances. We encourage you to enjoy this great nation (and beyond) through our pictures. Someone wrote me and said, “I must admit that I am a little jealous.” That’s not our intent. I believe we can all take a vacation. Turn off the TV. Take a walk or a drive. Visit local points of interest. Read a book. There is no better way to escape than through the pages of someone else’s experiences or imagination.