Gaither Caribbean Cruise...My Thoughts...

You know what they say after any type of vacation...BACK TO THE REAL WORLD...  well, that's only half true...let me explain.  We have taken time-off before and while we always have a great time and memories to share, you don't always feel the spiritual refreshing that you do on a Gaither cruise.  Stephanie and I had another awesome time with Bill, Gloria and the Homecoming Friends. This was our second cruise and boy it was a blast!  From the concerts, to the shopping and beaches, the week with the GVB went by way too fast.  We made many new life-long friends with people who love God (and the GVB) ;-).  The highlight for us was the spiritual growth we experienced between the music, testimonies, devotionals, and Ken Davis' presentation.  We also had some unexpected intimate meetings that richly blessed us.  To sum up our trip, yes, it is back to the real world, but the memories and spiritual encounter will last forever.  

As my son says...this is going to be good!

We are just under 3 weeks until we head out to FLL for the Gaither Caribbean Cruise.  The excitement is building!  As I write this blog post this evening, I am in the middle of finalizing our arrangements.  Flight from PDX to FLL--check; passports--check; hotel for Saturday night--working on it :-); gym clothes--check.  Let me explain why I included gym clothes here...we have not packed our bags yet; however, I warn you--the first thing that we were told on the Alaska Cruise was that the average person gains 15 pounds during the week.  Not sure if that was a scare-tactic to get you to purchase some personal training on the boat...but judging from the food we ate on the last cruise, I can tell you that they might be right :-)!  Babysitter--a BIG check.  We have been blessed to have family watch our kids when we are away.  My mom and aunt flew up from Hawaii to watch the kiddos when we attended the Alaska Cruise this past summer.  This time around, my wife Stephanie 's (Twitter @SMW003) parents are flying in from Phoenix to watch our little ones.  Although this last week we have had some outstanding sunny weather in Portland, we are looking forward to the warm...warm...warm!  At our age, we are beyond blessed to be able to attend two Gaither Cruises in less than a year.  We are also looking forward to the Portland concert in July!  Back to the hotel arrangments...good night! Scott    

Divine appointments...are they real?

God continues to blow my mind...let me explain...last night I had the opportunity to share my testimony with our church while our pastor was out of town.  (A side note: It was great timing as this month is my 15 year anniversary walking with the Lord).  As part of my testimony, I described my moving from Hawaii to Oregon to go to college.  When I first moved to Oregon, I had a diffcult time adjusting to the climate, culture, and life on the mainland.  As I was in the middle of speaking, a visitor walk into the church whom I had never seen before.  In speaking with her after the service ended, I found out that she was from the Bahamas and just moved to Oregon 6 months ago.  Here's what's interesting:

1. She was dealing with the exact same issues (coming from the islands) that I dealt with when I moved to Oregon;
2. I have not spoken in our church in over a year;
3. I can't recall in the last 15 years when someone from the Bahamas visited our church; and
4. She said she received a church invitation in the mail and our church doesn't do church mailings.

The best part is that she gave her life to Jesus at the end of the service. Amen! 

Do you believe in divine appointments?  Hhhhmmmm...I think I do!