Pumpkin Time

   This is what the entrance to our condo complex will look like this evening when the trick or treaters will be out and around:

   Who will see the decorations around the various doors of the units in our two buildings?

   I thought, as I walked this morning, about Halloween, what it is like for me today and what I remember from 70 years ago.

   I knew that no kids would be ringing my doorbell tonight, they could not get in the closed gate that guarded the complex. I kinda miss that.

   Way back when, trick or treat really meant something in our neighborhood. No treats, no one home or not leaving the porch light on, or not coming to the door, had its consequences. The next morning you might have to go looking for your porch furniture. It might be several doors down the block on someone else's lawn, or strung up a telephone pole.

   Cars left out on the street or driveway and not in a garage, would have soapy windows.

   I will not say that those things should have gone on, but to us it was innocent fun. It was just the way things worked back then, at least where we lived.

   Later on, when our kids had their costumes and candy holders, and we tried to guess which kids were behind those masks that came to our door, the fun was always in watching the faces of the boys and girls (and sometimes parents, too).

   And then the big climax when the kids emptied out their buckets and pumpkins on the kitchen table, and we could make up the big bowl that would be our candy stash for the next few weeks. Our rule: you can have one piece of your candy now, but the rest is left for later. Hope they didn't know that the parents enjoyed that stash, too.

   It is funny what memories come to mind when I see a pumpkin display.

   But I hope those folks on Tunnel Blvd. got all their furniture back.

One More Golf Story

   I guess this picture tells it all:

   But then again, maybe it doesn't:

   Let's back up to his player profile for the 2014 McGladrey Classic, completed yesterday.

ROBERT STREB

1. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
2. Graduated from Kansas State University in 2009 with a degree in Marketing.
3. Claimed a Web.com Tour victory at the 2012 Mylan Classic.
4. Last season on TOUR, made 17 cuts in 21 starts and earned a pair of top-10 finishes.
5. Recorded a runner-up finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

   This guy is good, but he had never won a PGA event before.

   I don't know his whole life story, but I can see the smile on his face, the open arms to hug his wife, and I think I see how big this was for him (and her pride in him).

   One man won the tournament, 131 did not. There are at least 132 stories out there that could be told this morning. There are a lot of "what ifs". There are many "If I had only" memories, but there is at least one verification of a lot of hard work, and it must be sweet to wake up to that fact this Monday.

   Only God knows what happens from here in Robert's life. He is like the rest of us, we know only the past and the minute we are living in right now, but I'm sure his minute this morning is filled with wonder and possibilities.

   And I still see a lot of happiness in that smile,

   And I am happy for him...


 

They Dwell in Somewhat Obscurity

   It is easy to look at the world of professional golf and see the Tiger Woods, the Phil Mickelsons, and the Rory McElroys, but there are others, guys (and girls, too on the LPGA) who work from week to week to get into the big time.

   It is these guys that I usually draw in my threesome in our local PGA event. I'm sure that they are known in their local area, their own club and the school where they played in their younger years, but they are not household names for sure.

   Here is my group from yesterday:

                                  David Lingmerth

                                 Cory Whitsett

                                 Carlos Sainz, Jr.

   Of the three golfers above, Lingmerth ended Friday's round at -5 and is four shots back of the leaders, Whitsett ended at even par and made the cut right on the cut line and Sainz finished at +5 and will not get to play on the weekend.

   As I walked the 18 holes with them yesterday, I wondered about their lives and how they got to this point. They were talented, they were among the top 1 percent of the golfers in the world for sure, they were young and had their lives stretching out before them.

   Perhaps I would hear about them again, but maybe not

   What did God have in store for each? What would their life look like in the days ahead, the days after golf?

   Today, two of the three continue play, and their McGladrey story goes on. One will probably go home and go back out on the range to practice.

   As I stood by the scoring trailer, waiting to see if the scores I had recorded as I walked with these three guys were needed for verification, I think I found the secret to the game and the motivation to play well.

   When David came out he got a big smile and hug from the young lady who had followed us the whole way.

   When Cory came down those trailer steps, he received a bigger and longer hug from the other girl who was in our small gallery on the course.

   When Carlos came out, he and his caddy walked off without any hugs at all.

   Could it be the personal touch, that love and support represented by the public display of emotion that was the key?

   In each of their cases, they are the only ones who know, but I wish I had had my camera to catch the faces of each of them.

   And I pray for each as their life goes on, with or without golf on the weekend.

   God has a plan.

   These three men are a part of the larger story of life, and I pray that each will find his own particular bit part in His Story.

All Around Me, Even Today...

   PGA golf in the Golden Isles is the McGladrey Classic, being played for the 5th year at the Seaside Course on our Island.

   And for the 5th year, I have volunteered to help, this year as a walking scorer, responsible for the scores of the 3 players in my group. It is a fun job, not too difficult, with plenty of time to watch golf being played by guys "that are good".

   As I walked along yesterday, with my 3 guys, I found myself thinking, not only about my job, or the good shots these guys could pull off, but about the beauty that was all around me.

   And I thought "what a privilege to be out here, on this "Chamber of commerce" day, in the sunshine, and being able to walk this place". "What a deal".

   Now, as I get ready to go out again this morning, I wonder what this day might bring. Already, at this early hour in the dark, there are men out on the practice range, getting reedy to play. For them it is a job, howbeit a good job, and one that a lot more would like to have, and I wonder how many will see the beauty surrounding them today.

   Indeed, how much will I see?

   The blessings of God's magnificent creation will be on high display, as it is wherever we are today. How many of us will take the time to give Him praise?

Plans, Bananas and Dessert

   "Failure to plan is a plan to fail".

   "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first"

   "Don't even buy green bananas"

   "Hold your plans in your hands, lightly"

   What do these sayings have in common, or do they? They all talk about the future and my attitude toward those coming times.

   We all do it. We plan. We make to-do lists. We speculate how things will be. We project ourselves into a future that we envision and think how we will handle those situations.

   As I walked this morning, my mind ran to things that I had on my schedule the next couple of days, things that I felt I needed to do to keep my world in some kind of order, so I could make sense out of my life.

   Then I thought back to some days earlier, much earlier, when I looked forward in time and thought how my life would be at this stage. I thought of how I would still be healthy and able to do all the things I could then do. I thought of how my family situation would be and how we could continue to interact and have fun together. I even could get specific with sports that I played and how I would continue them in future times and still be able to do them reasonably well.

   It was like I said to myself, "these times will be so good, my body will still be able to do all of this and my schedule will be free of time constraints, and it will be great".

   Well, in a lot of ways that is true. I do have a good life, but some of the projections of a youthful mind are not too realistic. I move much slower. My eyes are not as good. My mind says move toward that tennis drop shot, but my body does not get the message or act on it very quickly. My perceptions of how things would be are off base.

   So how do I approach the future? With Uncertainty? With Fear? With Confidence?

   Truthfully, with all of the above at certain times, but mostly with the truth that God has that future all in His hands, and that my trust is in that fact.

   My kids all know that one of my favorite things to say is that "It will all work out", and, in truth, it will.

   God is in control, His will will be accomplished, and my life is in Him, today and tomorrow.

   Thank Goodness!

   The sun rises and the windmill turns with the unseen breeze. God's Hand in it all.

   But, get ripe bananas, eat dessert first, just in case….It will work out..

Did You Ever Wonder?

   Sometimes, as I walk early before sunrise, in the quiet stillness of the morning, I hear or see things that I wonder about.

   Like, what animal or animals made those tracks in the dew?

   Like, are those owls talking to each other and, if so, what are they saying?

   This morning, as I walked along the deserted road, I saw a few turkey vultures meandering through the sky, but on this occasion they all seemed to be headed the same way. Rounding a corner, and following their flights, I saw a tall pine tree standing out against the lightening sky, and the top branches were filled with quite a number of these vultures, with more on the way.

   As I got closer, I tried to count the ones I saw. Twenty, thirty, forty or more, and some nestled down on the lower branches that were hard to spot.

   What kind of gathering was this? I did not see any prospective food that would hold their attention. They just sat there, quietly waiting for something.

   My first thought was that I hoped they were not waiting for me. Several times in the past, when I was playing a little golf, I would look up and see a bunch of these guys, and wondered if my game was really that bad.

   But today, I had no club with me, so they just sat and watched. And today, I wondered what on earth they were doing.

   Now I know if I had a new IPhone 6 (or whatever number is current), I could have stood right there, taken their picture, and looked up information on these creatures, but I had to wait to get home and Google them. That in itself is amazing, that I can do that with the click on the computer, when years ago, I would have to find an encyclopedia and look it all up. Technology is great.

   My online research said that there could be at least two reasons they were all there this morning. For one thing, they gather in the tops of tall trees to catch the sun as it rises and warm up their wings for flight. These guys were flying in to that spot from all over, so probably that was not the primary reason.

   The second was that they often gathered to pass along information as to food sources. Now this could be it, as they day was just beginning and food is their main concern. Now I have to wonder, how do they give out any information? They don't make calls like owls, they don't chirp like small birds, how do they communicate?

   That will take more research, but I found out something anyway.

   Wonder is a great thing. The mind is a wonderful instrument, and God allows us to delve into His universe and be amazed at the way He has created it.

   Do you ever wonder?

Saying Little and Being Smart

   Who is the most important person?

   What is a conversation worth?

   I read this verse in Proverbs 17 this morning (The Message):

"The one who knows much says little;
    an understanding person remains calm."

   The other day, as we were coming home from our Mt. Dora visit in Florida, we stopped in the town of Eustis. This was the place where my paternal grandparents lived when I was young, and where we visited on occasion to see them.

   Although it looked like their house was gone, we took a few minutes to go down to Lake Eustis, and there I spent some time just remembering the times I had been there with my granddad, fishing among the lily pads.

   As we walked out on the raised walkway over the water, I saw a man fishing, throwing his line out among the pads.

   As we stopped to chat for a moment, I asked him about fishing and his luck at it that morning. When I think about those few moments, and as I look at the picture now, I realize that I really did not care much about his luck or skill at fishing, I just wanted to tell him that I had done the same thing years ago. I wanted to talk about catching "shiners" to use as bait, and that I had experienced his activity.

   How often I look back on conversations and realize what I might have gained by treating the other person in that two-way chat as the most important one, not myself. What might I have learned? What impression might I have left? What opportunities missed?

   How much better to listen rather than talk, to really care about the other person and what they had to say?

   Who knows what thoughts might have been in that man's mind and what I might have learned?

   How much better to care than to spend the time trying to puff up myself in his eyes and to show what I knew about anything?

   How much better to think these thought then and not just now.

   Saying little and Being smart...

Daylight AND Dark

   I like the sunrise. I like the sense of a new day, and my thoughts often center around the question of what God might have in store for this day that He has given.

   But yesterday, as I was looking through some photos from our trip to Florida a few days back, I realized again that, although I did have some sunrise pictures in that group, the majority of the shots were pre sunrise, taken in the dark, and soft light of the approaching dawn.

   The thought struck me that a lot of the time I look at the sun's rising as a reminder that God is still out there, and what He might have in store for the day ahead.

   But then I thought, He has been there in those dark hours also, and, while the world slumbered and slept, He would not. His will was still being accomplished, whether I even thought about it at all. All around me, in those still and quiet times, there were lives that were being moved along by His Grace and His Will, even if it went unnoticed and unappreciated.

   There was the man preparing to cook for people who might be in dropping in to the restaurant on that morning:

   There were people in cars, going somewhere in the dark, obeying traffic lights on a deserted street.

   There was inventory in a store window, important to the owner of the store, and also to the ones who might come in and buy.

   Somewhere in that town was a person, maybe still asleep, whose plan was to open a store at the appointed time.

   Someone is awake..

   All of the above and more, some awake and some still abed, but all being cared for by a God who loves them and wants them to reciprocate. Their individual lives were in His hands at that moment in the dark stillness and after the sun came up, too, whether or not they acknowledged the fact.

   And I was glad that He was the God of the dark hours as well as the lighted ones, and watching over a silly old man with a camera in a sleepy town.

 

 

A Sign in an Alley

   While walking in Mt. Dora the other day, we came across this sign on a fence in an alley off the main street:

   Here are the words:

   “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 
― Mother Teresa

   I trust that the two versions match, and I was struck by the final phrases:

   "For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

   Too many times I am more concerned about what others think than what God thinks. I am more concerned about looking good out there, than being good.

   Life is not about posturing but about being.

   In The End, God

Hospitality

   What makes us want to go back to a place?

   Well there is the weather, there is the locality and a sense of just belonging, and a feeling of that is where you are supposed to be in that moment. And there is always the place where you slept and ate a good meal.

   When we were thinking of going to Mt. Dora and spending the night there, I looked up on a website for bed and breakfast locations in that area and found one with a bunch of "excellent" ratings. So I booked, and the rest is history.

   The Grandview Bed and Breakfast in Mt. Dora

   When I considered the area to visit, what made it appealing was the ties that I had to the locality when I was growing up. Since my grandparents had lived in Eustis, right up the road, and I had played golf in Mt. Dora, it was a great place to go back to my roots.

   But what I did not know was the tie that this old house would have. I knew that our company in Chattanooga had often sent trucks by Mt. Dora to pick up oranges and grapefruit, and I knew that my grandmother had a grapefruit tree in her side yard that we picked breakfast from each day, but the history of Grandview was tied up in the citrus industry.

   From a book in the living room, I saw pictures and read of the beginnings of the homestead back in 1906, built right in the middle of an orange grove. The windmill in the back yard was not the original, but a replacement for the system that could spray the trees with a coating of water, protecting the grove from freezing temperatures.

   There was even a picture of a label that had graced the end of the wooden boxes used to ship the fruit to markets.

             SIMPSON

   But all of this might have been wasted on me, if not for the graciousness of the old house and the people who ran it.

   From the swing on the front porched that seemed to call my name,

   To the food for breakfast that called for an cleaned plate,

   Our stay could not have been better, and just put the finishing touch on a visit to a town that we will remember with pleasure for a long time.

   History and Hospitality….What a Combination

   Thank you Patti and Gordie for our stay and our full stomachs on leaving. Can't wait to get back to our roots in this area again.

   And yes, Thank You God for giving us this adventure in this great place.

Not Just A Chance Hour

   The Background:

   Our son and daughter in law from VA had asked us to come to Orlando, to Disney World, to stay with their kids (3) and their foster kids (2) one night while they ran a 10 mile race inside the theme park. We went, we visited, we slept and we left the villa early on Sunday morning, when they went back to the airport to fly home.

   I had decided that we might take an extra day or two in that area, before going home, just to look around in some places I had not visited in a long time. So I booked a night in a B&B in Mt. Dora, just up the road a few miles, a place that I had not spent any time in for at least 60 years.

   My grandparents on my father's side had spent their last days in Eustis, FL, a somewhat sleepy town, a few short miles north of Mt. Dora, and I had played golf at the Mt. Dora Country Club with my uncle Charles when I was a teen.

   Why did I choose Mt. Dora? Looking online for a good small town to hang out in for a day or so, I came across a listing of the 10 best small towns in Florida, and there was Mt. Dora. Seemed like a great spot to explore, not only my roots, but also the revival of a place that had been a bustling citrus shipping point, but now had changed its character to a tourist destination. Might be some good pictures waiting there also.

   A scenario from last Sunday:

   Driving from Orlando through such towns as Apopka, Zellwood, Plymouth and Tangerine, place names I recognized from my produce days, we came into Mt. Dora, and, since we could not check into our B&B until 3PM, we drove around. It was about 10AM when we passed the First Presbyterian Church, and the sign out front said "Worship at 10AM". Even though we were hardly dressed for church, we decided to slip in.

   Finding a seat in the back, we looked around and sure enough, we were definitely underdressed. It was also, as we heard from the pulpit, World Communion Sunday, a day that we did not have on our church calendar at home, and we wondered what would that bring? Would we just be fulfilling a felt need to be in a church on a Sunday morning, or what?

   The service was filled with hymns from around the world, with the music of the countries of origin. There were references to Christians all over our globe that would be worshipping on this particular day, and we could be in communion with them, regardless of race, or denomination, or language, or style of service.

   I needed to be reminded of all of these others, people unknown to me, but known to God. Men and women, boys and girls, bowing down to the same Lord, maybe in much different ways, but still included in the Family of God.

   When the communion bread and the cup were passed, I took the time to thank God for allowing me to be in this family, this church family on this particular Sunday morning, and His family of believers around the world, and for the reminder that all worship is not individual, but takes place in the whole community of Christians, wherever and however and whenever they are.

   It was a sweet time.

   And a reminder that I needed.

   And not just a chance encounter for an hour in a town that we did not know.

   God knew, and we were blessed…

   Not just a chance hour on a Sunny Sunday in Mt. Dora, Florida...

Trust, Be Thankful, and Wait

   The 4th day of our recent cruise was to be a stop in Waterford, Ireland. As we sailed from Cork toward this destination, the weather was causing concern to the captain. It was not a bad storm.but the swells were running high, and the forecast was similar for the next day. We were to anchor out in the bay of the port and go ashore in the smaller tender boats, and the seas were not good for that.

   In the morning of the next day, the captain came on the intercom once more, informing the passengers that the ship would not be stopping at Waterford, but continuing on to Dublin where we would dock the next morning on schedule.

   Our itinerary had called for a stop, but these times were not in our hands. The captain had made the decision and what could we do about that? In fact, the weather had made the decision, and everyone on board had to go along.

   What choices did I have? I could decide how I would take the news. I could be upset at missing a port of call. I could trust that the decision was the best for me. I could look for what the new day, and its sailing, would bring for me. In short, it was my choice of attitude that could affect that whole day.

   Psalm 31:15, in the reading for today, says:

   "My times are in Your hand;"

   In truth, they are. They are not in mine. The only part of my day that is somewhat under my control is how I react to my circumstances.

   There is another verse in Psalms from this morning…Psalms 13:5:

   "But I have trusted in Your mercy;
    My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation."

   What two attitudes does God want me to have?

   Trust and Thanks

   This is an active trust, not just a "whatever will be, will be" kind. It is a trust that He knows what we are going through and has our best in mind for the outcome of it all. It is also a thanksgiving that He is in control, and we can rely on his goodness and grace.

   So what do we do when our plans change?

   Waiting is not all bad either.

My Hat Is Off

   There was this verse in the reading for this morning: (From Matthew 11 in The Message)

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

   I guess it hit me because sometimes these days I get weary. Not weary in well doing, but just tired. Most of the time from too much playing, but tired nonetheless. It hit me yesterday when I had to take a 2 hour nap to get some energy back in my tired body after playing tennis for awhile in the morning.

   My wife and I have been married for 56 years, and, for the great majority of that time, she has done all the work around the house. So, a couple of years back, I decided that I should step up and help her in the kitchen, taking care of all the clean up, which is no great task when there is only two of us to mess it up.

   That evolved into doing some of the cooking, under supervision of course, and this I have been doing. I am not good, but have learned a couple of things about opening cans and using the microwave. Even the stove and crock pot are not strangers anymore.

   All of this has led me to a new appreciation of stay at home moms, and dads too. I can look back and see my wife in this role for over 50 years, especially the ones when we had 3 kids at home. Just the simple task of deciding what to have for our main meal is taxing, not to mention the actual getting it all on the table. I even understand the great thrill when someone says, "let's go out to dinner tonight".

   Even though it is a long stretch from Matthew 11 to this discourse, those were my thoughts as I read the verse, and I take off my hat to those moms and dads who do it over and over again on a daily basis. Don't get weary but "Learn the unforced rhythms of grace". God is there with you.