We
are spending a week in the Grand Teton Mountains! It has been a wonderfully relaxing time. Other than doing a couple of different days
of sightseeing, we are just enjoying some much needed down time and the quiet
and beauty of this country.
As
I was lying in bed soaking up the quiet this morning, my mind and heart was
reflecting on how very blessed Jeff and I have been in our 41+ years of
marriage. Even though Jeff has been in
ministry the majority of these 41 years and not made a lot of money, we have
been so, so blessed with numerous opportunities to enjoy some time away from “life” and it has not cost us a fortune.
We
have had the great privilege this week of staying in a beautiful fully equipped second
home of a very generous couple who go to our church. And we were able to use some free airline
miles that Jeff had built up over the years on a credit card, so the week has
been fairly inexpensive for us.
We
have also been so blessed over the years to stay numerous times at one of the
lakehouses in Bella Vista, AR that family own and also at a beautiful condo in
Branson, MO many times due to the generosity of another church family.
Jeff
and I absolutely love to travel! But on a preacher’s salary, that would be very
rare, if it were not for the generosity of others. However, because of churches paying for mission
trips for Jeff over the years; his working in the Missions Office; the many trips
my Mom has provided for us and my sisters/husbands, associational/church
meetings, our Holy Land trips, and then all these times of free accommodations by others, we have
got to see and experience so much of this magnificent world that God
created! Jeff has been in 68 countries;
I have been in 20 countries. Due to our
last two recent trips, the Mayo Clinic and this trip, Jeff has added 7 states
to his travels this summer. So he has
now been in 43 of the U.S. states. I’m
not sure how many for me, as my family traveled every summer for two weeks when
I was growing up, and so I think I have been in almost all of the US, except
for Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. It
is an amazing world out there and I sure want to encourage my readers to take
advantage of each opportunity you have to explore it!
This
posting is not meant in any way to “brag!” But it is a reflection of my heart as to how
very good God has been to Jeff and I over these years in not only giving us
what we need, but so often in giving us what we desire! Thank you, Lord – and a heartfelt and sincere
thank you to all of those who have made it possible to travel the world!! We love you!
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