Counting Sheep - Calculating Air Fare

Instead Of Counting Sheep
Sometimes I wonder how much money the internet has cost the airlines. I'm sure you lay awake at night wondering the same thing.

Karen prepares to visit four countries in six hours.

I mean really, just the other day Karen was in Belize, Canada, Guatemala, and Uganda all in a matter of hours all without leaving home. That day was a bit slower for me. I was only in Canada to meet with Karen while she was "in Canada" to work with our boss organizing the logistics for Global's next Candidate Orientation Class.

It's crazy when your wife is at home, you're in the office eight miles away, and you "meet" in Canada for a couple hours. Let's see...what DID that day cost the airlines? Between the two of us, Skype cost your typical domestic airline nearly $5,500 that one day.

That doesn't take into account the week I was in France, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, and Canada (twice) for meetings...ka-ching? There's another $4,800. And that's just air fare...not rental cars, lodging, food, souvenirs...for two people...multiply that by everyone traveling via internet...

Here I am in Iowa (while in our office in North Carolina) meeting with Heather, who's headed to Sierra Leone, Africa.

No wonder the airlines seem grumpier and the skies just a bit less friendly than they used to be.

Speaking of Grumpy
And while we're speaking about grumpy...this is the time of year that Tucker doesn't sleep much at night either. She's busy counting tomatoes that have yet to grow on the plants in our salsa garden. She guards them in her mind at night, counts them in her mind.

Me, grumpy? Do I look grumpy? Where are the tomatoes?

Tanner, on the other hand...doesn't worry about much. He just finds a quiet, private corner and goes into relaxation mode.

Tanner

Some days, in some ways, I wish I'd be more like my dog.

Backyard Bird Blog

It's been a busy time at our backyard bird feeders these past few days. Here are a few shots of our latest feathered friends to stop by!

 Blue Grosbeak (male)

Rose Breasted Grosbeak (male)

Our pair of nesting Eastern Blue Birds

 Northern Cardinal (female)

 Northern Cardinal (male)

 Hairy Woodpecker

Red Bellied Woodpecker (male)

American Goldfinch (male) 

House Finch (male)

 Brown Thrasher

Scarlet Tanager (male)

 Summer Tanager (male)

Summer Tanager (female)

Lions and Gardens and Mom, Oh My!

April brings the month each year that we get to enjoy a visit from Keith's Mom. This year we had lots of rain while she was here but that meant lots of green as everything came to life after the winter lull. Coming from southern California, she really loves seeing all the green of spring here in the east.

Mom, Keith and I with the green trees in the background.

One of our traditions each year when Mom comes is to make the journey to the greenhouse and get our salsa garden plants. Because of the rain we had to wait until after she left to plant this year but, "Thanks for the salsa garden, Mom!" I was able to finally get it planted yesterday.

 The tomato garden at the side of the house

Lettuce growing and newly planted peppers in the back yard.

Even though Mom wasn't here when I planted this year, I did have some fun company while I dug in the dirt. A little toad found a nice place to chill out under my potting bench and stayed there all morning while I worked. Then there was a shy little Skink who was feeling quite interrupted by my presence in the back yard! Usually we have a neon Blue Tail Skink but this one had some red instead of blue.

 The toad resting on the bottom shelf of my potting bench while I worked.

The Skink lizard running from me on the board walk.

We like to meet up with Keith's nephew, Dean and his wife Ali while Mom is here so they can visit and we found a great place to meet! We all got to together and enjoyed the "Toys And Treats Tour" at the Conservator Center north of Mebane. Not a long drive and it was so fun seeing the big cats ans smaller animals up close as they were given treats or things to play with. There are too many pictures to show you all of the animals but if you are local, it's a great place to explore!

The lion's roar shook the earth!

This white tiger was huge and so unusual.

 Mom, Keith, Ali and Dean grabbing some lunch after the tour.

In between tours and gardens I got to help Mom by making some curtains for her kitchen. We enjoyed sewing and chatting and just being together.

Mom's new curtains. There was also a valance for the top.

We are already enjoying the flowers in our gardens and the birds and squirrels continue to entertain us. What a blessing to be in a housing development that allows us to have woods behind us that invite God's wonderful critters to visit!

 The Goldfinches are so bright right now!

Blooming Sweet Williams

That's what's happening behind the scene at 2700 Pepperstone in Graham. What's happening at your house?

Bootcamp!

Basic Training Portrait: 1975

Until Thursday and Friday it'd been 42 years since I'd last been in "boot camp." Actually, ARMY Basic Training, September-November 1975; Fort Knox, Kentucky. Eight weeks of uh...adventure camp guided by two combat-experienced, extremely motivated military professionals SSGT. Footman and SSGT. Osborn. We hiked a lot, got yelled at a lot, did push ups until Kentucky couldn't be pushed any more, marched around a lot, duck-walked a lot, crawled in the mud, charged up hills with our M-16's yelling, "Bang, Bang" at the "bad guys" (as the ARMY had a shortage of blank rounds for training at that time), ate complete meals in 5 minutes or less inside, ate from little green cans outside, shot real bullets, threw live hand grenades, experienced the pleasures of CS Gas (Tear Gas) in a highly saturated closed environment, and used up a lot of shoe polish and Brasso....ahh....but I digress.

This boot camp, March 30-31, was a little bit different. It was hosted by Support Raising Solutions (SRS). We were in a church venue in Charlotte, NC. No push ups, no one yelling at us, no tear gas, shaved heads, bullets, or hand grenades just 70 people gathered together for two days of intense training in how to be "Spiritually Healthy, Vision Driven, and Fully Funded" in our respective faith-based ministries. We did have crayons, silly putty, and breath mints!

On-table resources. The eggs contained Silly-Putty for personal use.

Our bootcamp venue at Steele Creek Church.

28 Sessions in 7 Parts over two days of interactive training, practical application, and competitive support-raising related activities (chocolate being the motivational prizes)...prayer, hard work, facing fears and conquering them related to sharing our ministry and inviting others to join us in it. From the newest missionary yet-to-raise-their-first-dollar--to those missionaries termed "grizzled veterans" (it seems odd to think on oneself as "grizzled") who've been living on faith support for over 20 years, we were all thrown in the support development trenches being drilled in the foundational aspects and approaches to expanding God's Kingdom inside the church in order to be enabled to share Christ's love and compassion outside the church. Goal setting and accountability, baby. GO. GO. GO.

Karen takes on a worksheet.

Part Four of Seven in our SRS Wookbook & Reference Guide

Intense. Focused. Practical. Challenging. Fun. Well worth it. A good investment of time, heart, soul, and Kingdom Resources.

Our training companions!

If you're headed into full-time Christian Service of the faith-based kind (raise your own donor-based ministry income) Karen and I highly recommend fully preparing for, and then attending, an SRS Bootcamp! You'll be glad you did, your mission will be glad you did, and those whose lives you're going to touch and transform...will be glad you did.

Me, Karen, Kim, and Jeremy

During the seminar were blessed to connect with a young couple, Jeremy & Kim, who met in the ARMY during a deployment in the Middle East, got married, started a family, and served 12 years before being called out of the military to serve in a the specific ministry to the military that transformed their lives through hospitality, outreach, and Christ's love: Cadence International. It's a great story of returning to a sub-culture many don't understand, to be Christ's hope for those serving our country around the world. They have a special understanding of our men & women in uniform.

Thanks for making it possible for us to undergo this training and be able to pass along everything we learned to the new missionaries and "grizzled veterans" entering service with Global Outreach Mission!