Dancing in the Rain!  Oh my dear ones, I had great ideas of writing each day on our trip and keep you all abreast of what is going on, but life has been a whirlwind and I was just not able to write. So now I will catch you up to date. It's pouring rain today and so on my lunch break I decided to give this a whirl! 

We bought a house in Loris, South Carolina which is 25 minutes from the Beach. It is a little west of Myrtle Beach in a new development, out in the country and we just love it! We had to make two trips back East to get it all done but we are pleased to have the keys to our new home. Our little Scion is actually parked in the garage! 

That is big news to be sure but I have to tell you that I had the most unusual experiences that have enriched my life. Daryl says I must have a sign on my forehead that say, "Talk to me, I am here for you."

On one of our plane trips, the woman next to me started crying, rather forcibly. "Are you okay?" I asked her. "No I am not," she said. "My father died." "I'm so sad for you," I responded. "Was it sudden?" "No, it's complicated," she answered. She went on to tell me the story. "He lived in California and I live in Virginia and he died two months ago and I didn't know anything about it till last week. My brother lived with him and cleaned out the house and the money and finally told us when we couldn't get an answer from my dad. We didn't talk often because my dad was an alcoholic and it was a broken relationship."

For the next hour and a half she poured her heart out. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry to be crying to you. "It's okay," I assured her. "Tears are healing and you are grieving and I am here for you." We bonded and blessed each other.

My journey is also filled with people, well complete strangers really, who bless me too! While going for an appointment at Stanford recently, just I was about to enter the building a women stopped me. "Wait, she said, "I have something for you!" I looked startled because I did not know her. "Here," she said, "this is for you," and she handed me a stone in the shape of a heart. "I want you to know you are loved!" With that she placed a stone in my hand. "Everyone needs to know they are loved," she proclaimed and then she left and I stood with the amazing gift. I was stunned, amazed and thrilled that an individual would just burst out with love like this. I am so sick of hearing all the angry rhetoric lately and this was like a piece of sweet chocolate after a fast! 

Of course I could not keep this stone to myself, so I passed it on to someone at church, who then passed it on to someone, and it is still going. We are spreading the love!

Now one incident like that can carry me for many days, but I had another one! We flew into the airport in Myrtle Beach and they used golf carts to transport us from the parking lot to the terminal. It was almost midnight and so we had to call someone. Sure enough, very promptly a boisterous man arrived with his cart. He acted as if we were VIPS's. "I got the bag," he said, "no lifting for you," he told Daryl and me. We engaged in delightful conversation and he put our bags in the back of our car. 

"Oh wait," he said as I handed him a tip. "I have something for YOU. He pulled out a little figurine of Jesus. "Here," he said, "this will bless you!" It was the cutest little thing - about an inch in size and fit in  the palm of my hand. "This is great," I said, "I'm a pastor and I will share it with my children at church." "Here you go, have some more and he gave me three more." Daryl and I got in our car and I just burst out laughing! "I got a miniature Jesus in my hand." I said. "I guess I can carry him with me wherever I go. A good reminder of the love of God and others!" The ironic thing is that since we got home and have been getting our house ready to sell, I have misplaced them. My Jesus is lost! Not really, because he is so alive in my heart and apparent in the many people I meet everywhere I go!

So I've decided to find love everywhere I can. I don't want to seem indifferent to the sorrows many are facing and the political dilemma in which we find ourselves and yes I am writing to my senators and representatives who seem to have no backbone at all, but really love is the key.

We change the world with our love, our caring hearts, our joyful gratitude for the earth and its people. This morning I was not grateful for our country's leadership so Jesus and me had a chat. Still not grateful, but I did pray that our leaders will not sleep a wink until they do the right thing by the immigrants and much more! Okay, I know that sounds vindictive but that's where I am. I know - maybe when I find my Jesus, I'll send one to them or a heart of love!  I have to do something and I think it's a better option than being mean or afraid.

There are two mottos I have in life - you already know the one - "Joy in the Journey" but the other one is "I choose to live in Faith, not fear." Matthew 6:24-34 is my mantra and Daryl has written a song with them so I sing it alot. 

Perhaps you are not able to have faith and that is okay. I love you and will wrap you in my prayers and heart. As I continue to do my chemo maintenance and see the doctors at Stanford, I am grateful for your loving support that holds me up when I am weary. Everything seems to be good at the moment and I feel great! It's a good thing too because I am madly packing! 

Ministry with my parish continues to be a delight and we are growing even as I prepare to leave. Our folk are so amazing and incredibly full of compassion so it's a beautiful thing to experience this in my last two months with them. 

May your day be full of blessing and hope. YOU ARE LOVED! Pastor Bonnie

Thursday March 6 Searching for our new home

 We had a good time with our daughter and son in Fayetteville NC and helped Jordan get settled in his new apartment. Now we are in Myrtle Beach and ready to do some house hunting. Many of you have been asking if we have a house so let me explain our process a bit.

We will actually not buy a house on this trip. We are planning to build a new home so we are looking at models and sites. We will sell our home in California first before we purchase a home here. It will take about three months to build a house here.

No worries, we won’t be without a place to live! We have our RV and I love my rolling home! I have such fun nesting in there! Plus once we are ready to move we are going to drive it across the country! It is going to be fantastic! 

So back to the house buying plan. We will hopefully get our home on the market in early April. Once we have a signed contract on our home, the builder will let us purchase a home in Myrtle Beach. Does it sound a little up in the air? Absolutely but that’s just part of the adventure! My mantra of one minute at a time still serves me well. God is gracious and calms my spirit and Daryl and I pray for wisdom everyday. 

In the meantime we plan to head to the beach today! We drove through horrendous rain storms yesterday but it is glorious today! (By the way, the fires are no longer a threat and not near where we are going to live.)

We still have much to do with our sweet parish when we return! Our little church continues to grow, we are going to be receiving our confirmands on Easter, and Lent is here. We are so blessed to be in ministry with such wonderful, loving people!

I have purposely not watched the news as my brain, my soul and my body need a break from it. I do continue to pray fervently for those who are harmed by the recent actions of the leadership. One of our own people in the parish has lost his job because of the federal firings(or whatever you call them.) how tragic. 

The only way I can deal with all this is to live by faith and not by fear. I’m still sending emails to my representatives but the replies I get are of little comfort. 

Today, my dear ones, know I love you and hold you in my heart! Joy in the journey! (Thanks to our daughter, this is a view from our hotel room!)

We went to Corky’s! February 28 Friday

Vacation is great fun, especially when you can eat a variety of foods. See that picture above?That was our dinner at Corky‘s. DARYL found this restaurant and it was listed as one of the top eight barbecue places to eat in Memphis Tennessee. It did not disappoint. Its Elvis theme was fun and the atmosphere was rather like a party. 

As you can see, we had a slab of ribs part of it dry and part of it wet. (I had to ask what that meant!) then it came with pulled pork, brisket, pulled chicken, Cole slaw and baked beans. They topped it off with fantastic homemade rolls. Oh my it was divine. Now Daryl and I, knowing we were going to be doing a lot of sitting in the car the next day, ate in moderation. We packed over half of it to take for the next day.

So feeling quite comfortable we were ready to pay our bill when the waiter said, “Now y’all not from here, and you just gotta have some of the best banana pudding in all of Tennessee. Why that just is the perfect ending to a good rib meal!” He began to describe it and I suddenly had flashbacks of my childhood in the south and that homemade pudding. “ We make it right here,” he said. Daryl and I looked at each other and said okay we gotta do it.

Oh my, I am still dreaming of that banana pudding today! Vanilla wafers, rich divine banana pudding, “just right” ripe bananas and real whip cream on the top! It was heavenly, but by now we weren’t sure we could pull ourselves out of the chairs. 

We waddled our way back to the hotel with our leftover goodie bag. I wish I could tell you we slept deeply and long, but alas the food kept speaking to us. It was a bit of a trial and tums and sprite quickly became our friends! So no we did NOT eat the leftovers for lunch. We ate mildly all day and very little. However,was it worth it? Absolutely! I would do it all over tomorrow night if I were in Memphis but alas we are headed to Fayetteville NC tomorrow and I’m sure biscuit gravy and grits will be waiting! Happy eating!