His Time

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By Ed Traut

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

  • So often life seems to be difficult and have unpleasantness, but God has made everything beautiful.
  • All of us have the understanding or the sense of eternity that awaits after this natural life.
  • Our capacity to grasp God and all that He has done and all He is going to do is extremely limited, but we trust in Him and we know that He is able to make all things beautiful.

Prayer: How I praise Your name today Lord for how You have made all things beautiful, even through the trials and difficulties You always come through and do things beautifully.  You are a wonderful God and a wonderful Savior and I am so grateful to be Your child. Amen.

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Day 41

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By David Freeze

  Another strong day leaves just two remaining!


  For the first time, I slept from the time I lay down last night until the 5:15 alarm this morning. And my eyes didn’t want to pop open like they usually do. Yesterday just didn’t want to end but it finally did just before midnight. It was still a nice night at the Deerwood Inn, especially after meeting Celina and Josh.


    I considered jumping on the interstate at daybreak, figuring there wouldn’t be much traffic. I rode up the ramp and saw the sign that ended the internal debate. Essentially the same as what we have in NC. No bikes or pedestrians!


      I rode back to Madison on SR 53, then rejoined US 90 East and struggled with road choice early. US Bicycle Routes stayed with 90 and I did too as long as possible. It was the coolest morning probably since San Diego. I rode through Lee, a town that bills itself as “Little, but Proud”. Two stores made up the town, a convenience store and a Family Dollar.


Next came Live Oak, and Welborn, just before I left US 90 behind for now.


    I turned onto County Road 137 for 20 of the best miles since that first day in San Diego. All of it was lightly traveled,  nearly flat and just plain beautiful through mostly farming country. Next came SR 71 for the final ride of the day through Fort White and into High Springs, where I am tonight at the High Springs Country Inn.


    One highlight of today’s travel involved me pedaling along that good 20 mile road. Not another vehicle in sight, but the one behind me blows his horn. I motion in an agitated way to go on around, and am surprised to find that it was a Florida Highway Patrolman.


    I finally found the perfect overnight lodging. Here’s why. The room is great, spacious, priced right, comes with WiFi and plenty of ice, and is within about a tenth of a mile of a grocery, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Subway and a big enough convenience store. For the first time, I am not particularly hungry, even after 85 miles. I will still finish a quart and a half of strawberry though since the Y Service Club is paying for it.


    As an added benefit, there is an outdoor concert across the road. I am going to miss this life on the road!


    Here is the plan. I will have another usual day on Sunday as I head toward the St. Augustine Beach. Part of the day’s ride will include passing through Gainesville, a large Florida city. Then, if all goes well, I will actually dip the back tire Monday late morning in the Atlantic Ocean to officially end the adventure. I will get all the required photos, and head toward home. Good weather is still on tap through the period.


    There is still fun remaining! See you back here tomorrow, when I hope to be sleeping 20 miles out of the oldest city in the United States.

Ready to Rest?

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By Ann Farabee

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the young mother whose T-shirt was imprinted with the words, “I’M SO TIRED.” Her six month old son had the words, “I’M NOT TIRED” on his T-shirt.

No matter the stage of life we are in, there is always a need for rest – even if we think we are okay without it.

Here are some examples about rest in the Bible:

*Exodus 3:17 – In six days God made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

*Mark 6:31-32 – Jesus took his disciples in a boat to get away from the crowds and to go into a time of rest.

*Matthew 8:24 – A great storm arose in the sea. The ship was covered with waves. Jesus was asleep. Yes, Jesus was resting in the middle of the storm!

Jesus demonstrated the importance of rest by resting, showing us that rest was refreshing and … restful.

So, what is rest? Definitions include:

  1. A bodily state characterized by minimal functional activity. (Sitting or reclining?)
  2. Freedom from labor. (Doing nothing?)
  3. A state of being motionless. (Perhaps a nap?)

Charles Spurgeon stated, “In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.”

Convinced? Ready to rest? It will take dedication and commitment, but there are quite a few RE-wards when we  RE-st.

We can:

*RE-fresh

*RE-member

*RE-store

*RE-direct

*Re-lax

*RE-juvenate

*RE-cover

*RE-group

*RE-vitalize

*RE-connect

Ready to rest?

Let’s intentionally make time for rest and see how we like it!

As a teacher, I daily worked at home on lesson plans and grading assignments. I felt God leading me to commit to setting aside Sunday as a day of rest – and I did. Yes, I am talking about working six days a week and resting on the seventh day. (Not only did I stop doing schoolwork on Sunday, but housework, as well!) It allows more time with family, more time in worship, and I am rested and ready for the week ahead. It may very well have been one of the most helpful steps I have taken in my Christian life.

If you do not feel you can ‘jump’ into that commitment, how about a daily time of rest?

Take 10, 20, or 30 minutes daily where you do whatever you feel is restful.

Create your plan and schedule it into your day.

You deserve it.

God set the example.

Jesus set the example.

That’s enough for me.

Ready…Set…REST!

Day 40

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By David Freeze

An even better day gets us closer to St. Augustine!


Late last night, I was still trying to figure out a good place for tonight’s lodging. There was a list of towns ahead with nothing, and one well ahead that might work. I was doing all of this when I should have been getting closer to bed, but I called the Deerwood Inn and Campground. I spoke to the owner, Celina Adam who gave me some good insight. But I had several challenges, but should never let that be a reason not to take on a good adventure.


    My room last night at the Seminole Inn was so nice that I wanted to get to bed early, but that didn’t happen. I figured it would take 103 miles to get to Deerwood, just over six miles south of Madison, Florida, making the total 109. Also, today was the first day on Eastern Daylight Time, so I lost a riding hour. And I had to ride right through Tallahassee.


    My only other option was a Bed and Breakfast in Monticello. Only problem was the owner didn’t really want me. I would have to get up too early and might bother others, she wouldn’t let the bike inside plus she made the price too high, especially since I would not get the breakfast. I probably made her happy by not calling back.


    I was determined to make Celina’s Deerwood and the big miles before dark. It’s been said a few times that I got a double bag of determination early on. Leaving Sneads, my first town was Chattahoochee where I hoped to see Lake Seminole, but couldn’t. Then on to Gretna where I got two egg and cheese sandwiches that were terrible. I threw away the second. Next came Quincy with not much traffic for a town of 8,000.


    The state capital, Tallahassee was next. With about 200,000 residents and part of my ride past Florida A and M, it took a little more than a very hard hour with constant hills and heavy traffic. Tallahassee rivals El Paso for hilliness, but what saved me was the nearly constant bike lanes or the symbol that cyclists could take the whole lane. I never got a horn or a bad comment.


      Then was the challenging ride to Monticello, my favorite town of the day. I met Tina Dollar at the Shell Convenience Store. She at least made me think of chunking the very challenging day by telling me about their motel. But you knew I wouldn’t and did not. Monticello was the prettiest small town of the whole trip so far, with lots of beautiful older homes and a stately courthouse that sits in the middle of a traffic circle. I got several friendly waves before leaving. At least 10 miles of sparkling new asphalt made that segment very enjoyable and fast.


      Next two towns were Greenville, where I fueled up and then Madison, a beautiful town where I turned off US 90 East for the first time in several days and took SR 53 to I-10 where Deerwood Motel and Campground are located. I got a great room in a busy place and pasta meal from Celina when she said she made too much!
  The day was perfect, with only a slight headwind, helping me to make 109 miles by dusk. Darn near the way I planned it and a lot of prayers went into it.


    For tomorrow, I will join up again with US 90 and figure it out from there. Sometime during the day tomorrow, I will put together a plan to likely finish on Monday in St. Augustine.


    Thanks again for following along! One question today, how many rides over 100 miles have I had? I will look it up for sure, but I think around 20 after today, spread over all the rides since 2013. Every one is special!


      See you back tomorrow for the next update!

Day 39

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By David Freeze

Most productive day so far!


    At least it felt that way. I wanted a bigger mileage day to offset some of the hurricane delays. It is quite enjoyable for me to follow one road for several days and we’ll continue on US 90 East for at least most of tomorrow.


    I left the Crestview Inn after an especially good sleep while a big series of thunderstorms rolled through. The room was perfect and I got the right price. Best WiFi yet!


    Rolling early, I got a quick start because there was no reason to stop in the first 30 miles and the terrain wasn’t bad. I did stop at Defuniak Springs and get some fresh cookies and a couple of small tacos, nothing like the ones in New Mexico.


  The early towns were Argyle, Ponce De Leon, Westville and Caryville, which just happens to be the Worm Fiddling Capital of the World. Who knew?


    The next set were Benifay , Chipley and Cottondale. All of these early towns were easy but then I had to roll through Mariana with about 10,000 people. All of them seemed to be out driving at the same time on US 90, which didn’t have a bike lane through town. That was tough.


    Then the final set of towns included just a small stop in Grand Ridge, where 3 friends had hassles with their lottery tickets in the store. It took forever to get them out of the way, before I could roll into Sneads. This is a great little town, on Lake Seminole which I will see in the morning. It is apparently is huge and the funny thing is that Georgia is just right over the trees from my motel window. I am still in the northern part of the panhandle.


    I am in the Seminole Inn, one of the few motels I have used from the Adventure Cycling suggestions. The Seminole Inn is perfect, very roomy, clean and has a Piggly Wiggly close by. Since I am almost sure that the ice cream sponsorship with the Y Service Club is good as long as the ride goes on, I let them pay tonight for Blue Bunny Premium Double Strawberry Whirl, a quart and a half size. Great stuff and already eaten. I also got four of the remaining 10 bananas. Still can’t find cut up watermelon in stores.


  Worth visiting again will be Defuniak Springs where the whole town is historic and many of the buildings are placed right along Lake Defuniak which is the center of town. Marianna might be fun to see what everyone was rushing too.


    Today was my first century ride on this trip at 107.6 miles and easier than some big mountains and super hot areas out west. Tomorrow, I am headed for Tallahassee, the State Capital of Florida. Afterwards, only Gainesville remains as a large city. I certainly like the small towns best.


    Earlier I mentioned USBR, the United States Bicycle Routes. Both those of Adventure Cycling and the USBR are posted through this area and I am staying on US 90 E as long as I can, which the USBR likes best coming up.


    I met James Dempsey tonight here at the motel. His wife is a traveling nurse, so they are staying here while she works. James loved the idea of my trip cross country and says he will follow it the rest of the way. The bike draws attention!


    Time for a shower after a hard day. Let’s keep going and finish this thing our strong! See you back here tomorrow!

Welcome Fall

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By Doug Creamer

            My Chinese students had a holiday from school this week. It is their Autumn Festival. It is a family gathering time, and they celebrate by eating special foods. The most popular thing they enjoy is Mooncakes. My students tell me it is a cake that is stuffed with either fruits or nuts.

            I checked my calendar and noticed that Autumn arrived on Wednesday. After the long, hot, and dry summer, I am ready for the refreshing change that fall brings. Fall is my second favorite season of the year, behind spring.

            Spring is a season of hope and renewal. I am always so excited to begin the gardening season. I love watching everything emerge from winter’s slumber. Spring green has got to be one of my favorite seasonal colors. Spring is a wonderful time of the year.

            Fall has many appeals as well. The cooler weather means that I can be outside more. I can’t stand the heat and humidity of August. I like pushing the limits of the growing season, and ultimately, cleaning out the garden. I like sitting outside or going for long walks, and the opportunity of doing some physical work.

            The downside for me is the watering eyes, runny nose, and sneezing of the allergy season… I take a break during the summer from my allergy medicine, and I know that will soon come to an end.

            The arrival of fall also alerts me to the upcoming winter season. I love to look at the long-term forecasts as weather enthusiasts make their winter predictions. I find it fun to note that the two almanacs are calling for completely different winter conditions for our area. One is calling for mild and wet, while the other is calling for cold and dry. I believe we are in for an overall mild winter with a couple of shots of cold weather. I am hoping the cold collides with some Gulf moisture to give us a couple of good snows, but I always hope for that.

            Winter will arrive all in good time. Right now I want to focus on and enjoy the cooler weather of fall. There are many chores that will demand my attention as we go through this season of change. I am ready to get started on all the tasks calling my name.

            I believe the Lord gives us seasons for our enjoyment. Each season has its beauty and wonder, but they also have trials and challenges. There are storms and dry spells, scorching heat and freezing cold. Each challenge helps us to appreciate the good days.

            I think the Lord wants us to see in the natural what happens in the spiritual. We all have seasons of growth in our lives. Usually that is followed by a season of fruitfulness. As the fruit wanes we discover a quieter season where we have to dig our roots deeper.

            In every season of our lives we will encounter storms. We have to remind ourselves that we will get through each storm that comes our way because God will be with us. He sees the storm coming and He sees us on the other side. Sometimes we will need friends and family to lean on, but we will survive and overcome.

            Sometimes things in our lives change, like the seasons. They aren’t tragedies or victories; they are times when things are different. We move or change jobs. We get married and have children. We send the kids to college and have an empty nest. Our parents move in with us. The kids move back home. Life feels like it is in upheaval; it’s changing, it’s different, and we have to learn to trust God in new ways for His new adventure.

            In every season of life God is always with us, never leaving us. He wants to walk with us through the changes, through the ups and downs of life. These are opportunities for us to draw closer to God. He wants us to lean on Him, to depend on Him. His grace, power, and mercy are enough to see us through the dark and difficult times. His love will encompass us.

            Whatever season you find yourself in, I want to encourage you to strengthen your relationship with the Lord. If things are good now, draw closer, because trials and storms are going to eventually come. If you are feeling overwhelmed by life, run to God and hide in His robes. Let Him help guide you through to the other side. God loves you more than you can imagine, and is waiting for your invitation so He can come and rescue you.

Doug Creamer has a new book at Amazon: EncouragingU: Summer Stories. Contact him at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Day 38

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By David Freeze

Another good day, but still a lot of pedaling to go!


    This was a day that I winged from the start! I got up before 5 to be ready ahead of first light. I had to add air to the back tire for the third straight day and made plans for that too.


    I headed out the door, rode out to the highway and turned right and started riding. Within about 3 miles, I pulled over because there were no US 90 East signs. I asked Siri and she told me to go back to town and get on 90 West. That was sort of dumb, because as it turned out, all I had to do was just keep going according to the Google Assistant. About 5 miles into the ride, I had the sign, the right road and a nickname for 90 East listed as the Old Spanish Trail. That started a whole day of riding the same road and will see it more as I head east.


    Most of the Alabama portion of 90 East had rumble strips but I rode in the lane because traffic wasn’t heavy. About 20 miles into the day, I found the “Welcome to Florida” sign. The area was beautifully landscaped, the bike lane widened and the rumble strips vanished. Very soon, I-10 intersected the area and it became very busy. Miles and miles of rolling hills and a great bike lane.


    I entered Escambria County and crossed the river by the same name. My first big goal was the town of Milton and the Truly Spokin’ bike shop. I had asked Matt to take a look at the tire and tube and see if there was still some metal or glass in it. They found a wire, likely the kind that comes from steel belted tires, and pulled it out. A tube change, a few adjustments and I was back on the road.


    My challenge for the rest of the afternoon was to find lodging for the evening and ride another 30 miles. I got both, the final 30 miles of an 81 mile day and a room in the Crestview Inn in Crestview. I did ask for a WiFi check and to see the room first, and all turned out well.


    I have been asked what I eat out of convenience stores when they are the only option. As an example tonight, I got two Breyer’s  ice creams, usually about half the price of the others. I get something like egg salad and chips, plenty of ice or water and a couple other snacks. Tonight, the clerk rang up the sandwich and a big Smart Water at way too much. I pointed out her error based on shelf pricing and she fixed both cheerfully.


      Now back to where we stand on the overall miles remaining. As of tonight, there are 440 miles remaining and more than 2,600 complete. Like a reader said the other night, we can’t ride a straight line to get to St. Augustine. I am still 28 miles from finishing off the last map of the sixth series. All 409.5 miles remain on the complete seventh series. My goal is about 5-6 riding days remaining.


    By the way, I have already eaten all that food, easily. I will still have more and I am drinking water and lemonade in great quantities.


    Milton is a town that I would like to see again. It was incorporated in 1844, ahead of Florida becoming a state the next year. Milton was involved in shipbuilding until the end of the Civil War and survived but the railroad and lumber both evolved into agriculture as the top industry. The US Navy maintains Whiting Field from which I saw several flights this afternoon. There are lots of historic older homes in town too!


  Other communities I passed through today were Pace and Holt, all of this on US 90 East. I will be back on it tomorrow.


    Enough hills kept me honest today, but the upcoming flatter terrain will be welcome. I’m hoping for a big day tomorrow and closing in on Tallahassee and a town right before it called Midway.


    Keep riding along, there’s more excitement in store!

Day 37

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By David Freeze

  Back at it in a big way!


    My days on the lamb went something like this. Afternoon one was sort of fun in anticipation of the big storm, especially with a trip to Walmart.  Day two got serious late with big rain and wind, and I went to Walmart twice. Day three started to seem as I was too closed in and not even another trip to Walmart helped. Last night, the last one was almost in captivity, probably had the worst weather of any time, torrential and blinding stuff, with the fourth local tornado too. So I busted out today, even though most at the motel were holding firm.


  This morning seems so long ago and it was the beginning of an epic day. I wanted to go to Mobile, figure out how to get across the bay and reach a good jumping off point for tomorrow. I started riding from Lucedale, the town that gave me a home during the storm. Most of my ride was on SR 98, getting busier until I crossed into Alabama about mid-morning where Governor Kay Ivey took my riding surface away and filled it with rumble strips. For about 13 miles of some of the hardest rising I have ever done. I either had to ride in the traffic lane or try to hang on 6-10 inches of pavement, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right of the rumbles.


    Finally the nerve wracking stuff ended when into the City of Semmes, named for the Confederate Admiral. I didn’t know the best way to find the one bridge that would take me around Mobile Bay and out of the city and open up Alabama and on east. Bikes can’t for sure ride in the underwater tunnels, and most think we can’t ride in Alabama on the interstates. So I had to find the bridge using regular streets and roads.


    I met Alex who had a good idea, but didn’t know the exact details. Then, on a hunch, I stopped by the Auto Zone expecting that some gruff old parts guy could tell me just how to do it. One of the girls offered her expertise and helped me draw out a plan. She didn’t give her name or picture, but her plan set me on a mission. I used a couple new friends to help, one the assistant manager of Riley Auto Parts in Pritchard and Luis McMurphy who worked for a utility company but was watching some flooding in the roadway. Pritchard looks like a poor town but with plenty of help I made it through to the bridge. Three miles shorter than Adventure Cycling planned their route. Hoping that all involved will read it, great job everyone!


    Before I left Pritchard, one of the prettiest and historic Catholic Churches I have seen just showed up as I followed my route. Famous train engineer Casey Jones was baptized here in this church.


    Up and over the bridge including those views of the bay and the battleship USS Alabama’s Historical Park went fast and was very enjoyable.


    Riding through what I think was Daphne was nice enough but very hilly. I had planned about 70 miles to make Loxley, probably the last town for me in Alabama. It took 69.37. I’m not always that close.


    The final adventure happened here in town. I sort of had a room reserved by name, which I do a lot. I called this afternoon and confirmed that I did have a room. The owner put me in a smaller motel building, back about a quarter mile a way toward town. This one will make my second entry into the crappy motel list. So I called the owner back at the main place and had an argument. In an agreement, I am only marginally happy with, I got one of the best rooms of the trip in another entirely separate building. Look for the details in the book.


      So, tomorrow, I should head into Florida early and rejoin the Adventure Cycling course mostly for the rest of the trip. I have to do a little sideways pedaling and then want to knock out the final part of sixth series of maps.


    Let me hold off on mileage remaining until the end of day tomorrow and we’ll have a better idea. A good day! Thanks for those prayers, as always!

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