MERRY CHRISTMAS AND TO ALL – EMMANUEL (God with us)!
This year has run like the script from a Fellini movie – and the circus continues on-and-on! It started off well with a trip to see my brother Ed, the “Holyland Experienceâ€, and the oldest city in America, St. Augustine! Ed who has been both bi-polar and anti-social, made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ as we prayed and shared Truth from God’s Word. We wanted him to join us onward; imagine as a new believer breaking bread with “Jesus†as he encourages you and prays for you, or seeing a miniature 63 AD Jerusalem with a clear picture of where all the events of the NT took place, or experience live the “Sermon on the Mount†and the Spiritual battles fought by Angels and the Saints in spreading the Gospel of Truth! It is an uplifting experience and blends well with the reality of the spiritual battle that we are fighting in the world that we live in! The fact is our nation and the world are at a moral and spiritual crossroad, and anything can happen! So remember to pray for us & the nation!
My “roller coaster†began with the hail storm that struck in March causing over $20,000 of damage to my roof and trim. Insurance paid it all and I came away with some important knowledge to pass on to others concerning the danger of “ridge vents†in multi vaulted homes with insulation that blocks soffit vents! – they do not work! (You can read about this and essays on everything from art to prayer, theology, miracles, and giants: “ToGodBtheGlory.orgâ€. Please write a review on any blog post- I felt more inspired this year than ever and I always appreciate feedback!) Also in the Spirit of Christmas and Thanksgiving seek out the this wonderfully uplifting song (YouTube): “Lord You’re Holy†and the choral music from an autistic 12 year old girl with her backup group of young autistic kids: “www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5A2QFp0cE&feature=share”
The next adventure went north to Ocean Beach, Delaware, Washington D.C., and to neices wedding. Although we had rain and cold winds (due to a long winter that gave farmers a very bad crop) the wedding day was calm & sunny and the outdoor time in Washington DC was also beautiful: Mt. Vernon, Ford’s theater, and the view from the Washington Monument were all great new experiences! Ocean City has great beaches, restaurants, and an effective Christian mission called “Son Spotâ€. Soon later I had to visit a physician for an inflamed chronic lesion on my shoulder- which was my first basal cell carcinoma! Then in July we headed to West Virginia and Kentucky to celebrate the opening of the life-sized Noah’s Ark. W. Virginia had suffered some very severe floods just weeks earlier, knocking bridges and isolating whole hotels (we saw the damage as we exited right at that spot to have lunch)! We were greatly blessed by the fact that it did not rain even a drop the day that we had to stand outside for more than 3 hours during the ribbon cutting events! The storm clouds were all around us, and the predictions were for thunderstorms! Both the Holyland and the Ark are worth seeing with the whole family! In September I developed a persistent Bronchitis and the blood test showed high liver enzymes. My internist freaked me out by telling me that I might have hepatitis. I had worked on hepatitis patients in Panama in 1999 and had gotten ill the next day. I had had some exams since that time, but no specific blood tests for hepatitis! I saw my past, present, and future turn dark and was ready to shutter the practice. Many were praying for me and when the 2nd set of blood tests came back two weeks later, he told me there was so sign of hepatitis!
A week later I joined a group of friends and dancers in Cabo San Lucas, Mex.for a great time despite hurricane Newton going right over us – we were in the eye! I was also in the eye of a social storm between two of the girls- & ended up helping to defuse their war! Our organizer arranged dinners with the top restaurants – including a Presidential favorite. Our next venture was to cruise from Montreal to Quebec City then over to PEI, Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor & Boston. In Bar Harbor my oldest brother joined me for a relaxing lunch and a walk! In Boston I drove to a nice resort in the mountains of NH to see the Fall colors! We enjoyed the Flume and the magnificent Mt. Washington with its dramatic colors, snow, wind, and ice! A week later I was in Denver for the ADA meeting and up in the mountains of Vail enjoying its beauty! On that last day I chased a stormy sunset all along the Red Sandstone road steering with my left hand and holding a camera in my right. Then just two days later, back in Dallas while at work talking art to a brother in Christ, I suddenly lost all sensation on that left arm and face. That mini-stroke was a blessing in disguise as it answered a prayer for motivation to control a junk food habit. The ER called it: TIA due to “arterial spasmâ€.
Another prayer was answered when Dennis Kavanaugh, (who gave up a teaching career at the seminary to be a missionary to Foreign Students) eagerly accepted the call to teach a Bible study at my home. And was it not God’s Grace that this ole dentist found a reddish jawbone of a dinosaur near Christmas time in an ole riverbed soon after asking God to bless me with one fossil -for having made this long trip to N.E. Texas? I had just visited my patient’s desolate scrubland! The bone had been permeated by ferrous oxide- and so looked just like the hundreds of red rocks! (Check out the Post titled “Dinosaur Fossils..”).  Not only that, but nearby was another fossil 4 inches in diameter and round- either a prehistoric seed pod or fruit!  It has a bite mark that exposes the inside – showing a fossilized pulp with bumps- like that of a pomegranate or guava.
God does give us what we ask for! His answer, however, can come in a way we do not expect! He loves us so much that He wants us to grow and trust in Him, not in our normal inclinations, desires, and mindset! Struggles and tests are part of His plan just as it was for Mary & Joseph as they journeyed to Bethlehem and later fled their home for Egypt. Prophecy was fulfilled! The Glory of God was with them just as He had been with their forefathers as they crossed the Red Sea, when they marched around Jericho, and in every turn they took as a people of God trusting in His Promise. The rewards of faith are great and ever flowing! “For it is by Grace through faith that we are saved, it is not of ourselves, it is a gift of God so that no one can boast.†The Christmas season helps us to rejoice in His Glory -the angels, the star of Bethlehem, the conception, and birth of Jesus Christ! So in the spirit of Christmas I decided to go into the Mojave desert and California’s 2nd highest mountain, Mt. San Jacinto, to photograph and study His stars & the beauty of His creation . “The Heavens declare His Majesty and the firmament proclaims His Gloryâ€. He is “God with usâ€, and remember, “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for each other†1Jn.3:16. In His Glorious Love, Peter