Day 16

Day 16, August 18

Our morning prayers included a good Stillspeaking daily devotion on conflict.  Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace, but division.”  We listed the levels of conflict from families, to communities to the ends of the earth.  Conflict is a fact of life.  Most of us enter difficulty with despair.  Jesus teaches us to enter with hope and that makes all the difference.

We began to load the car for the two weeks at Christmount.  We shut down and locked up at the house and headed to Savannah to worship with Kay’s sister, Irma.

We got away a little earlier than we had planned so we first drove through the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge on the way.  Lots of things were grown up making it difficult to see the banks and open fields.  We did see alligators and some of the usual birds.  I special find was a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks just at the exit.

Next, we were on to Isle of Hope United Methodist Church where Irma has become an active participant in their Anchor Service at 11:15.  That is the contemporary worship that takes place at the same time as the congregation’s traditional service.  We wanted to take this opportunity to worship with Irma.  Cousin Sandy also came for the special occasion.  I took notes on what was going on.  They have a praise band and an informal setting.

After worship, we went to Irma’s and ate lunch with Sandy and Kay’s and Irma’s brother Dennis and his friend Bill.  Dennis and Bill had just returned from Chautauqua in New York.

We departed for Black Mountain, NC, at 2 pm and after one stop arrived here at 8 pm.  A key to the sabbatical apartment, our home for the next two weeks was waiting for us.  We unloaded, put a few things away and got ready for bed.

DB reminds us that we are the salt of the earth.  Note that we ARE the salt, not that we HAVE the salt.