A Year of Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we are often reminded to remember all of the things we are thankful for. But how long does that reminder stay in our hearts?? A day, week, or maybe two. I an offering all of you a challenge – let us make this a year of Thanksgiving. I am a list maker. I have all sorts of lists, from things to do, things to pray for, goals to accomplish, etc. Once, on a long road trip, I challenged the other couple, in another vehicle, to name all the songs they could with the name of a city in it. I set a time limit and we all put our brains to work. Some of the ones we listed we duplicates, some were long forgotten songs. I still have that list in my small purse notebook. Anyway, what I was getting to, make a list every single day for a year of the things that you are thankful for – but be specific.  If you are thankful for your family, pick a family member and give thanks for 1 particular thing in regards to that relative. (If you have a large family you are covered for a few days). If you are thankful for blessings from the Lord, list a specific blessing per day. You will be surprised as to the fact that you will easily find something to be thankful for every day! The challenge is on – start today.

A reporter, Eryn, from a newspaper geared towards Winter Texans rode along with us on Friday as we picked up vegetables and delivered them to the colonias. Eryn is doing an article on Caring Hearts Ministry – the article to focus on the ministry and not on us. We picked her up at 6:30 in the morning and headed to Border Missions for our pick-up. It was a bit of a wait, as we do not start loading until 8, but we get there early as to be timely in line and not have to wait a long time. We were 3^rd this Friday – not bad at all. Eryn took a lot of photos there, as well as when we entered the colonia. The volunteer ladies were glad to see her, welcomed her, and just went on with their work as she photographed all of the action there. We were lucky to receive an abundance of food, as we handed out 130 baskets of food – equivalent to 130 families. We also served turkey sandwiches, a crunchy snack, sort of a spice cake, and a drink to everyone who came to pick up food, as well as all of the volunteers. It was a busy morning and we eventually dropped Eryn off at her car at 12 noon!! She is going to let us know when the article is to be published, as all of the ladies want to have a copy.

We did take time this last week for a day of relaxation as we traveled with friends to Boca Chica to the SpaceX Launch station to see what was going on there and if there were any new developments. We were informed that we only had 45minutes until the road was going to be closed due to operations going on – the changing of fuel and testing of engines. We had time to take a few pictures, and drive a few feet to the beach for a view of Padre Island across the bay. After picking up a few shells, we drove back to Port Isabell to our favorite Island restaurant but found it closed. There is another one also owned by Dirty Al on S Padre Island so we went there (the atmosphere is not as nice as the one in Port Isabell, but it is right on the bay and is also a fresh seafood market. After relaxing with our usual meal of huge Gulf shrimp, we headed out to the beach for a while. We fed the sea gulls (my favorite thing to do as they are such cute and feisty birds) picked a few shells, and sat in our chairs on the beach for about an hour just enjoying the beautiful day. It was indeed a great day. We heard that on the following day, one of the rockets had blown up during testing! Wow – we were glad we went the day before.
                                              

    the firing area

 closeup of the capsule

another firing area

beautiful day at the beach

S Padre in the distance - a bit foggy that day

the wall in the background

We received a call from a fellow chaplain who wanted to know if we had any need for a brand new wheelchair. We contacted Ida who informed us of a lady in the colonias who had knee surgery and needed a wheelchair as she had no insurance and Medicare would not pay for it. It was delivered almost immediately and will be used until she is mobile again which time it will be passed onto someone else in need (there is already a waiting list). God always knows our needs before we do. Ida told us she was praying for hams or the funds for hams so that everyone we serve could have a small ham for Christmas. The following day we received 104 hams with the promise of more to come!!Another proof of God’s ability to provide before we even know!!

Today was another beautiful day with a clear sky and lots of sunshine, although it started out a bit cool. We attend Pastor Jim Maxon’s church again this morning and listened to a sermon about a subject seldom heard taken from the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31. We can tell jokes and laugh about Hell as much as we want to. Even some theologians even deny the concept of Hell, but Hell is real. Ignoring the fact or truth does not change the fact that Hell exists. What is truth for others is not often truth for us. A child may believe he can fly (in his mind this is the truth) but in reality we know for a fact that it is not true. Feel good churches do not want to talk about Hell. Hell is a reality and is a real place. The scripture from Luke clearly shows that Hell is real. Just as we go to the Lord immediately after death, so does a soul go immediately go to Hell. There is good in Hell – yes – you heard right – good in Hell. There are “good “people in Hell. Reality check- a “good” people do not all go to heaven. Hell may be full of good people but only saved people go to Heaven. There are actually good prayers in Hell. In the above mentioned scripture, the rich man prayed for himself and his family. We all need to pray for ourselves first – not for favors but that we have a rightful spirit in prayer. There are even good intentions and evangelism in Hell. The rich man wanted someone from the dead to talk to his brothers in order for them to repent and be saved from damnation. Hell is a place of torment. The fire is so hot that the rich man begged for a drop of water from the finger of the beggar who had sat outside his door on earth – a dirty, disease infected beggar. Just a drop of water from his dirty infected hand was what the rich man desired. When a person sees and realizes when his cast into Hell that it certainly not a good place to be. A person is condemned to Hell for eternity – a place of no 2^nd chances. Just as we who are saved will be spending eternity in Heaven. God does not hear prayers from Hell – it is a place of regret as salvation is lost, Hell was not prepared for man – it was prepared for the Devil and his angels. Revelation 21_7-8 says of the ones who are saved, “I will be his God and he will be my son. But for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, , as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be will be in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. Where is your final destination?

We wish everyone a very happy and safe thanksgiving, and don’t forget my Challenge!!

Different Cultures

We had our hair cut the other day by our amazing beautician. We have had Margie cut our hair since we came to the valley 15 years ago and she still does a wonderful job. Margie is of Mexican decent and often talks about her early days here in S Texas and is very proud of her nationality. She talks of her and her family traveling as migrant workers to the Northern states to work in the fields Her view of this type of work ethic seemed very different from what most of us are used to. We often think of migrant workers as those who cannot find jobs elsewhere and work for little or nothing in the Northern farm states, but really, this is not true. Here in S Texas, the migrant workers are honored with huge festival in the fall when the migrant workers return to the Valley for the warmer winter month. The workers often work together as families, all of the family members working together for the family good, earning money to help support the family. Margie talks with pride about the many places she and her family have worked and the many places they have been. Now a grown woman with a husband and family, she has an amazing work ethic as a hair stylist while her husband works in the oil fields, coming home every two weeks or so for a few days, then returning to work near Houston. Her son serves in the military in S Dakota, while her daughter holds down a full-time job and takes college course online. Our different cultures are not really so different.  There are those who rely on the system in both cultures, and those who are proud to be self-sufficient. As the weather was cold and rainy, then warming up in the afternoon, Margie told us that the Mexican folks are not like the Winter Texan Caucasians who complain about the weather!! She says they just put on or take off clothing as the need be and continue with their daily living. We all can take a lesson from that.

We received a call from a reporter from The Welcome Home Winter Texan weekly newspaper published for the benefit of the Winter Texans who spend their winter here in S Texas. This paper features activities her in the Valley, including park sales, craft sales, entertainment, church services, etc. at all of the RV Parks here. For a lot of folks this is their S Texas Bible – they want to make sure they know what is going on and where. The lady reporter wants to do a feature of Caring Hearts Ministry in an issue of the paper. We were very excited about this. She is coming along side us this coming Friday to see exactly what we do and how God has led us to serve others. Fred talked to the girls in the colonias (thru Ida of course) and asked permission for this reporter to be there, as well as take pictures. All of the girls were excited about it - laughing and saying that that they had to really “” pretty up” for the occasion. They all asked for copies of the issue when it came out. We always ask permission for anyone who is not part of the ministry to be able to be there for the distribution as these folks are a bit leery of strangers. Thankfully they have put their trust in us to know that we would never do anything without their approval.

Today was the first service at Mission Bell Church, so we attended with friends. Jim Maxson is a very humble and excellent preacher. He and his wife Shirley are servants of the Lord. Today’s sermon “Are You in?” is based on the story from Judges 7:1-8. The Midianites had surrounded Gideon and his people and were threatening to wage war on them. The Lord had allowed this to happen because the Israelites had fallen into sin – but God chose to redeem them by allowing them to overcome the Midianites. The Lord commissioned Gideon to lead an army against the Midianite army of 135,000 with only 32,000 men. God wanted Gideon to overthrow the Midianites but to do so for His glory. So, God told those who were afraid go home – that left Gideon with only 22, 000 warriors, a ratio of 14 to 1! Then God told Gideon to take his army to the water and let them drink. Those who lapped the water like dogs were allowed to remain, the rest were sent home. Now here is the part that I did not know – those who lapped the water like dogs rather than put their faces in the water to drink were the most vigilant of them all. The did not lay down their weapons and become oblivious of their surroundings. Those who lapped the water like dogs held on to their weapons, dipped their hands in the water, lapped like dogs, and yet still kept their eyes and ears alert to where the enemy was. Only 300 hundred remained – a ration of 450-1!!! God did this to prove victory from the Lord and not man. All the technology in today’s world cannot save us – only the Lord can. Those who were eliminated were done so because of personal reasons – those who were selected was because of their conviction. God counts the heart, not the # of people. The Christian people today are diminishing. Are we diligent - are we aware of why we believe? Satan is responsible for bringing problems to people as a lack of awareness on their part.  Do we show the world that we are as committed as the 300? Fear keeps us from committing to God – it will keep us from getting what we want. Faith keeps us committed – this difference is what we think we can do versus what God thinks we can do. Abundant life on earth is the faith we have in God. God expects us to be selfless. This all begins with salvation – keeping your eyes on Jesus. Are you in?? Do you drink form the water of the world or the living water? Continue reading Judges for the rest of the story!

Thermostat Error

Someone messed with the temperature thermostat here in S Texas. One day it was 90 degrees, the next day was 51!! It does warm up on some days, other days it does not. Today is a bit warmer than 50 degrees, but tomorrow another cold front is supposed to move in. What happened to our flip flop capri weather?? I do wish the weather would change gradually – not such a shock to the system.

We had our first chaplain meeting of the season yesterday. As the new chaplains became better acquainted with us older seasoned chaplains, we asked them about their first impressions of being a RV resort chaplain. For most of them, it was a new and different concept than serving in a church setting. We love seeing their enthusiasm and energy!!! Hopefully they will feel that same way at the end of the season. It was a great time for fellowship, enjoying each other’s company, words of encouragement, and prayer.  A major point of concern to these newbies is how to handle the changes in the world today. How to handle the same sex marriages and relationships in their parks, folks who are not married and living together for financial or other purposes who want to have a “commitment service”. It was interesting as we all discussed how to handle situations like these. We just have to make ourselves available to all of these alternative lifestyle folks and let God lead us. As we circled and sang praises to God, we prayed for our Chairman of the Board and his wife. He has been fighting kidney cancer for a while, been on dialysis for a while now. They made a decision to move back home to Oklahoma when it was discovered that the cancer had moved to his lungs. Please pray as they make quick decisions to move to Oklahoma, get settled in their new pace, so he can enter hospice there. His biggest concern right now is to have his wife settled before his health deteriorates so badly that she is not left with a lot of decisions and a big move to take care of herself. Please pray for God’s intervention in this matter.

It was cold again as Fred and his partner, Doug, delivered in the colonias. I can now take a break for a few months as Doug wants to help out on Fridays. We were blessed with an extra donation on Thursday, as well as some clothing – the guys took all they could possibly handle on Friday. Saturday, an amazing anonymous donation came in of 104!! small canned hams for our Christmas distribution. I imagine you are wondering how we could receive so many hams and not know the donor? They came through a third party who acted as a proxy. We still need a few more, but we were assured that those, too, would be donated.  We also received a few Spanish and English Bibles to distribute. God’s provision never ceases to amaze me.

As we continue our study of pop verses (popular verses) in the Bible, today’s verse from Hebrews reminds us of faith – what is faith and how do we continue to uphold our faith in the Lord. We take so much on faith today from human resources – mostly electronic devises. When we type in a location on our devices, we take it for granted that the GPS or other program will direct on the right path. We even place our faith in the fact that we are getting the correct directive from our politicians, government, teachers, and even preachers. We seem to place our faith in artificial intelligence rather than divine intelligence. Abraham went to the land God directed him to – not knowing where it even was. That was faith. Do you have that type of faith in God? It seems that in todays’ world, that type of faith is dwindling away. Hebrews begins with God’s divinity and impounds on His earthly humanity. All of it is based on faith. Many in the Bible lived on that faith – Abraham, Saul, Noah, Able, David, Sarah, and Samuel to just name a few. Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see”. Living a life of faith opens the door to great possibilities. A life of faith is not a perfect life – it is not a state of being but a state of becoming.

The Return of the Snowbirds

Since the weather up North has turned cold and snowy, the winter Texans are finding their way here to the park. Some of our neighbors have arrived, and some are due in this week. I always like to see the folks return, but still do enjoy the peace and quiet of the summer months (but not the heat).

This has been a rather quiet week other than greeting our winter friends. The food distribution is amazing – the Lord blessed us with an overflowing supply for the colonies. The weather was cool on Friday as we picked u the food and drove to the colonias where the ladies were all bundled up, waiting for us. We received wonderful beautiful fruit (fresh limes, blueberries and bananas), and vegetables. (lots of different kinds of peppers, cucumbers, regular and cherry tomatoes, as well as tortillas, bread, donuts, pinto beans, and prepackaged meals. I love to watch the ladies as they laugh and chat away, diligently doing their part of the process of packing food boxes. It is like an assembly line – each lady taking her part in assembling the food boxes. We also had boxes of clothing that were put out – whoops – that is the end of packing boxes for a while, as the ladies began going through the donated clothes for themselves and their family. It is a fun time, as they discover sparkly blouses and skirts, hold them up to themselves, giggle, and pass them in to anther lady who they think will want them. We have to remind them to get back to packing boxes. I guess the remedy would be to not bring out the clothes until the boxes were packed, but folks are already arriving by then. It is such a pleasure to see the ladies “shopping” though, so we allow them the first pick. God has so blessed us to allow us to serve these loving people.

Chaplain conferences and board meetings are over, and now it is back to work also for the new and alumni chaplains as they return to their parks for the season -some to the same park, others to new parks, or as a new chaplain in an already established CRM park. It will take a bit for them to get settled in, but by the next chaplain meeting, they will be back to norm (if there is such a thing!). We do miss being assistant chaplains here at the park, as Sunday mornings were so special to us, but the current minister seems to be doing a good job. As it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1 - “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. I think of this often as we prepare to make a change in our lives – returning to Arkansas to serve there. The Lord has truly placed it on our hearts that this is where He wants us, so we answer His call. Change is coming for all of us, some may be good, some not so good. Most change is just new and different. Invest your hope and faith in that which will never change, “For I m the Lord, I change not, Malachi 3:6.

Church this morning also reflected the return of the Winter Texans, as “our” side of the church (are we all not creatures of habit?), held more than 4 people. The pop verse was not familiar to me – at least not as familiar as the previous ones. Ephesians 2: 8-10 talks about God’s grace, by which we have been saved. This is the core of Cristian faith. Just what is grace?? Some definitions are, kindness, favor, and mercifulness.  The Biblical meaning of grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. It does not matter if you have only made a few mistakes or if you are having continuous regrets, you can find grace and peace in God. He took away the punishment and guilt that we feel and replaced it with love. The kind of love that is eternal and won't be taken away if you mess up again. You will always be able to run back to him. Grace is returning a lost item and receiving a huge reward for it. You did not expect anything in return for doing your Christian duty, but someone granted you grace in the form of a material reward. But what about the grace you cannot see? Forgiveness and grace go hand in hand. You said something about a friend that was unkind and your friend heard about it. Rather than confront you, the friend decides to ignore it, forgive you, and treat you just as before. (Is this not the same as justification – just as if you have never sinned). It was the freely giving of love and favor in their eyes

We ask for prayers for the family of  Lory Maier, a neighbor and friend here in the park. We learned last week that she had pancreatic cancer, and she passed away last night. She and her husband were involved in the same ministry at Border Missions as we were a few years ago, and went on to establish a ministry through a church.

Passing the baton

This was a busy and tiring week as we had annual board meeting of CRMI and training g for new chaplains. All day sessions of videos, discussion, devotions, and singing praises to the Lord, lead by Suzy and Greg York. At the board meeting, I formally resigned as treasurer and passed the honors on to Shairon Dickey, who proved to be a perfect replacement after only one day of training ( yes we worked that in too).         It was good to see those that we have not seen in awhile as well as welcoming our new chaplains. Not to mention the great food all week!     

                       A great group

                                Chaplain Roy Gee giving the opening devotion.                                                           The weather took a drastic change  as we had a cold front move in - the mornings are cool - around 50ish but then warms up to about 80 in the evening. Really perfect weather for the return of the "snowbirds" from the North! They are slowly trickling in to our park - by next week we should have a big influx. Fun to see old friends returning but it will be sad as we will be missing  others.                                                     Brag time as I post a picture of our newest greatgrand daughter born just a few weeks ago. She is such a precious gift from God.       

                           Sweet Veda.                                 This morning's pop verse is from if  10:13 "I can do all things through God who gives me strength".  A depth of meaning in this verse that can change your life. We often are so stressed that we want off the train of daily living.  How can we find daily strength in Christ.  Why is the strength not there even if we pray? The secret of feeling content is to Be Content in you life. We can do all things in life if we rely on Christ and lear on our relationship with Him. Let go of what you think you have and do what you can for Christ.  Use you strength to serve the Lord instead of the world. If you truly want strength change your perspective  Focus on God and everything else will fall into place. You will have when you do. The more you bless the more blessed you will be. When we get busy living in Christ we get busy dying to the world.

Hot and Hotter

The hot weather does not seem to be wanting to let up. It is almost the 4^th week in October and the temps are still in the 90’s, even hit 103 one day. We do get a break occasionally when it drops to 80 or so. Today was not nearly as bad, as we had a short shower this afternoon. When we came out of church today it was so humid that Fred’s glasses got steamed up. A person could feel the moisture on your hands which said rain was coming.

This coming week is the CRMI chaplains training and conference here in the Valley. The chaplains assigned to parks in the Valley as well as the new chaplains will be in attendance. Also scheduled is the annual board meeting where our new secretary and treasurer will be admitted to the board. As I am resigning my position, there will be a lot of work to be done to pass the baton, including some training sessions for the new treasurer, but she will do well!! As we will be returning to Arkansas to continue our ministry there, it will be sort of a bittersweet time for us – but I always refer Ecclesiastes 3 “a time for everything”. It will be a wonderful time this week though for learning, meeting new chaplains and board members, good food, and great camaraderie.

It has been a bit of a busy week, as we have been doing some packing of things we don’t need as of now, cleaning, showing the house to perspective buyer, as well as receiving donations of clothing for the colonias. Ida had an event yesterday at the church for ladies – bible study, food, a study time, a time for crafting, and distribution of beans, rice, and clothing. There is also another event being planned, so all of the donations we have received so far are so much welcomed, as well as a frozen turkey! which will be cooked and used for the children’s meal and bible study on Wednesday.

The sermon series continues with Pop Verses – popular verses that congregation members submitted for discussion. Today was another favorite verse of mine from Jerimiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, plans to proper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. I remember a few years ago when a good friend called and said he wanted to read me that verse, as it was the guideline for his life. He survived a heart attack, and 5 different types of cancer, only to recover stronger and more determined to serve the Lord. I marveled at his faith and determination to continue serving His Savior. When Jerimiah sent this letter to the Israelites after Jerusalem was destroyed and they were taken captives by the Babylonians, it was meant to be a letter of hope and promise. The Israelites expected the letter to tell them that God would release them from captivity and return them to their homeland. Instead the letter encourage them settle in Babylonia, raise crops, marry and have children. He encouraged them to become members of the community where they now were. He put them there for a reason – to seek shalom (peace) with their captors. Does god speak to us today through Jerimiah’s message? We ourselves have experienced this when the Lord led us here to the Rio Grande Valley to serve Him, away from our comfort zone, to a strange and new place and culture. The Lord urged us to be a part of the community totally different and uncomfortable to us. He taught us to be at peace where we were, to reach out to those live differently than we did. God is still speaking through Jerimiah’s letter to the Israelites. The words of Jerimiah indeed gave us peace in our new surroundings. Being at peace is also told us in John’s letter to the Philippians in Philippians 4:7. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heat and your minds in Christ Jesus”. The Lord has given us peace and understanding here in the RGV but now is uprooting us to return to NW Arkansas to serve Him there. As we prepare to follow Him, we are truly at peace. We rejoice in His actions. Gods promise for our future is a certainty that we rely on. He has given us a future filled with hope

#8

Time for great grandparents bragging rights. Last Monday, October 7, our 8^th great grandchild (and 5^th great granddaughter) Veda DeMarkquie Mylove Vaughn entered this world weighing in at 10lbs. 1 oz. and 21 inches long. A big baby girl with beautiful black hair.  She had a bit of trouble breathing at first and spent a few days in the NICU before being able to be held by her parents. She had to go back to the NICU as a result of being jaundiced, but is now safely at home, being loved by her blended family siblings. When we were married 57 years ago, we never even thought at that time we would have 4 daughters, 6 grandchildren, and 8 great grands. I am sure we never even thought of the future generations that would follow us, but God as so blessed us with a wonderful family – all of them so different in their own right!

We had good distribution this last Friday in the colonias – there was a cool breeze for a while, so the girls worked quickly to finish the boxing of produce, etc. before it got too hot. I again had the donut bagging responsibilities – it seems that the girls do not want me to do any hard work! We distributed the 150# of beans, and 150# of rice, saving some back for an event coming up soon. We also had a few boxes of sorted clothing to be given out at that time. Fred and Jose were busy fixing tables that a few unruly teenage boys thought it was fun to destroy. Hopefully they are remorseful as they realize that it was not a good thing to do. Fred warned them that perhaps the next time it happened, the authorities would be called. With a bit of luck and prayer, they won’t think to do it again.

                                                      The ladies worked hard to fill these boxes

                                       

Fred and Jose repairing the damage to one of the tables

                                                  

still working as the sun begins to heat up - no matter the temp, some ladies always wear long sleeves

A new sermon series has started at church. The congregation was asked to submit their favorite verses which be featured each Sunday. Sometimes verses are taken out of context and create an entirely different meaning, so Pastor Ricky will examine each one and dissect it so that we understand what is being said. Sunday’s verse was from Joshua 24:14-15 “as for me and my Lord. The series is called “Pop Verses, meaning popular verse sometimes misquoted. Preaching has the power to save people. Joshua was a preacher. When he preached this to the people, he was old and did not want his teaching to fade way. Since all of the Israelites had settled in the promised and, they had become lax in their beliefs. God used and continues to use sermons to impact the lives of people, believers and unbelievers. We all take away something different from listening to the Word. God has acted on our behalf and shown us His love. If you don’t give your life to serve the Lord, He chooses to no longer bless you. Put away all of your earthly gods (money and possessions) and focus on God. It is OK to own a beautiful home or car, to have a job that allows you to lead a leisurely life, and a close, loving family, but always put God first and do not let pride come between you and God.  Commit to God’s blessings and realize it all comes from Him. Keep your commitment to Him always first and foremost in your lives. Let not a rock, which is a symbol of our sins, become a stumbling block for us to serve the Lord.