Denver!! We “rushed” to get there so we could spend the day with various friends, and even though the end of that grueling 18.5-hour-drive was tough, we were so happy we did it when just hours later, at 9 am, we met Jim and Lois for breakfast.

Theirs is a story only God could’ve written (and yes, I know that He’s in charge of all of our stories, but this one is super special.)

We met Lois Hart back in the mid-80’s when we hired her to serve as the office manager for CBS. That was the beginning of a now decades old friendship with this beautiful single lady who really wanted to be married but was resolute in her commitment to wait for God’s best for her. After working at camp for awhile, she took a job in Avalon and that was her home for the next 25 years until she moved to her home (inherited from her parents) in Calumet, Michigan, very near Camp Gitche Gumee, on the shores of Lake Superior. Her grandfather had founded the Christian camp back in 1930, so though very remote (and not a likely spot for an over-60-year-old to “find” a mate), Lois settled in to this familiar life full of family legacy and heritage just about 5 years ago.

Fast forward to about a year ago, when Lois heard that her college roommate, Carol Taylor, had passed away. Having been close friends with Carol and Jim as collegiates, during which time they served together at Camp Gitche Gumee, etc., Lois sent a sympathy card to Jim.

And that was the beginning of this “only God” story and His plans for them!! As the story goes, many decades ago, Carol had declared to Jim that should she predecease him, she hoped he would marry Lois. Their long list of “things in common”—most important of which was their shared commitment to Jesus and living fully surrendered lives for Him—included their love for and giftedness in music, their passion for ministry, their appreciation for being active outdoors, and their love for family.

And so what began as an expression of grief to Jim for the loss of his first wife and her friend opened a door to the fulfillment of years of longing and trusting Jesus to “write her love story.”

It didn’t take long for them to decide this is what God had for the next chapter of each of their lives, so after a whirlwind romance across the miles (he’s from Colorado and she’s from Michigan) and a proposal over Christmas, the wedding date was set for April 6 in Colorado.

And then the pandemic hit and shuttered life “as we knew it,” scuttling their plans for an intimate wedding at the Broadmoor Hotel, followed by a honeymoon in Avalon. While many young couples are postponing their nuptials until 2021, trusting the pandemic will have loosened its grip by then, Jim and Lois, each in their seventh decade of life, decided the show must go on now. So in an impromptu wedding in Jim’s home, on March 22, they exchanged vows with only their pastor present.

And they were just as married as they would’ve been had their planned wedding taken place.

That’s why we had to drive 18.5 hrs to make sure we could spend some time with these newlyweds. We wanted to catch up with our dear friend Lois and to get to know this man who had made leaving her single life at her age and stage the best option.

And it was so worth it. We loved hearing the details of how God had masterminded this whole deal and though only 4 months into their life together, they seemed like they’ve been married much longer, in the best sort of way. What joy to be with them!

Breakfast with the new Mr. and Mrs. James Taylor (aka Jim and Lois) was such a highlight of our trip across country.

We were also delighted to share dinner with Dave and Kathleen Sherman, with whom we’ve shared four decades of life (Kathleen and her family were family campers when Kathleen was a young girl, and subsequently Dave and Kathleen raised their daughters at camp, and eventually those daughters both served on family camp program staff). More recently, Dave and Kathleen have partnered with us in discipling the Chalay family (see the blog from August 2019 for the Chalay story of conversion during family camp) and they have faithfully poured into this precious family the throughout this past year. We love Dave and Kathleen and were so happy to have some face-to-face time with them.

Dave and Kathleen Sherman are such servant-hearted kingdom builders.

Back to our “B&B” with Danny and Rayna Oertli for a few hours with them around the fire pit on their back porch. How we love these guys! Their hospitality was first class (complete with disposable masks and hand sanitizer) and sharing hearts with them was so good for the soul. So very thankful that our day in Denver was full of such inspiring, encouraging moments with such important-to-us people.

Danny and Rayna Oertli were the consummate hosts for our two nights and one day in Denver.

On the road by 5 am Thursday, bound for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to meet up with our dear friends, Lou and Grace Charette. They served with us at CBS in the late 80’s, Lou as our large equipment mechanic and Grace as our head cook. We’ve been fast friends ever since and since we hadn’t seen them since 2012 when they last visited Catalina, we couldn’t resist going out of the way to pop in on them. And we’re so glad we did. Grace set up dinner on a card table in the garage so we’d be in the open air and safely distanced, and we had such sweet fellowship over the yummy meal, catching up with one another and affirming the gratitude we feel for the gift of our friendship. Another gift from the Lord.

Lou and Grace seem timeless and ageless. We had such a sweet reunion with them in Sioux Falls.

We had driven 12 hours from Denver to Sioux Falls, and after the two-hour dinner break with Lou and Grace, we drove 4 more hours to Des Moines so we’d have a shorter day on Friday (July 10). Our destination Friday? Greenville, Ohio, where Matt and Susie Light have poured many years into developing a camp whose centerpiece has been a Leadership Institute that is committed to investing in the lives of a select group of at-risk young men. These men enter the program as freshmen and spend 1-2 weeks each summer of their high school years learning life skills and character lessons. It’s been on our bucket list to visit “Chenoweth Trails” and this presented the perfect opportunity, so after driving a short 10 hours on Friday, past fields of corn and hay, we arrived at the camp in time for dinner.

The next 24 hours were a great delight in every way.

Since “camp” is our jam, we loved exploring their beautiful property, seeing their set-up, and hearing their vision for continuing development. We loved hanging with all six Lights who couldn’t have been more hospitable or kind. We spent Saturday morning touring the historic Bear's Mill and were thoroughly engrossed in the verbal history given us by Terry Clark, the owner and operator of this very cool throw-back place.

Breakfast at the retro diner in Greenville

Bear’s Mill in Greenville, OH, is a fascinating historical place to visit.

As has been true for every visit, this one ended too soon, but press on we must. With only a 1.5 hour journey to our next stop, we didn’t leave Chenoweth Trails until late afternoon, and the very short drive was appreciated by our bodies (understatement).

Mason, Ohio, right outside of Cincinnati, is now home to our dear friends, Wai and Elaine Wong, whom we’ve known since they attended the Home Improvement Sunday school class we taught at Grace Chapel for many years. They showed up in 2000 with two tiny girls and hearts open and hungry to grow their Christ-centered marriage. They immediately became “chosen family” and we’ve done life with them for twenty years now. Two of their three beautiful daughters were home with them (the third was serving at a camp!) and we had a too short but very sweet visit with them for 18 hours. We ate yummy food, walked through their new neighborhood (our last visit with them was in Ann Arbor, Michigan), and talked endlessly. We were so encouraged by our time with them.

Elaine, Wai, Jasmine, and Jessica Wong were, as always, the consummate hosts. Being able to visit them was a gift.

We left their home at 10:30 am Sunday, July 12, and 13 hours later pulled into our driveway. Very, very thankful for safety as we traveled 4200 miles in 55 hours and for the gift of so many wonderful reconnections with people we love.

No rest for the weary: inspired by some of the things we brought home from my mama’s house, "we” thought it would be a great idea to continue the DIY-Home-Improvement-During-Covid Plan. “We” were rather horrified to realize that our living room and bedroom had not been painted since we moved into our home in 1994. I couldn’t imagine how that could be, so as I reflected on this apparent neglect, it seemed at least a bit justifiable, given that starting in 2003 with the launch of Home Improvement Ministries, we’ve only spent about 60–70 days a year in our home. That counts for something in my thinking.

Be that as it may, my underestimation of the the task at hand is now laughable. “It won’t take that much work” I said unconvincingly to Paul, but believing it myself. “The living room only has one big wall.” Well, I was wrong. It was a lot of work to remove everything from the walls, bookshelves, and furniture, and to clean, repaint, and reposition the room. We worked non-stop for two days, during which time we repainted the living room, kitchen, and hallway and redecorated the living room around a painting we inherited from my mama.

We love the results.

Another silver lining.

The deconstruction of the living room . . .

. . . and the finished product. — . . . *and the finished product.*

The July 19th wedding of Rick Hendricks and Christina Raffi provided a delightful break in the home improvement projects. Paul was so honored to officiate the union of the these two whom we’ve known since they were very small and with whose families we’ve had long, deep relationships. Held at the Searles Castle in Windham, New Hampshire, it was a wedding that fairy tales are made of and the perfect setting for this Renaissance-loving couple to be wed. It also provided the “this is the time” moment for Paul to shave his Covid beard and I (for one) am glad to have “him” back.

Everything, except the shadow of Rick’s mother Kit’s passing this past February, was perfect. Beautiful everything: the outdoor wedding and reception, the delicious dinner served on elegantly set tables, meaningful toasts, dancing to great music, the bride tossing her bouquet from the turret of the castle, and the bride and groom running off into the night under a blaze of sparklers. And need I mention that the pastor did a great job on the service? What a joy to be a part of this very special day for our dear friends.

Rick and Christina Hendricks were wed at Searles Castle in Windham, NH, in a most beautiful wedding.

The following days were spent sewing, meeting up with friends, doing Zoom counseling, and continuing the purge of yet-untouched areas of our home. We took long (at least 5 miles) daily walks, had sweet times with the Lord through quiet times, and celebrated a dear friend’s 50th birthday in style.

Masks all around for the quasi family reunion at the Johnsons’ home in Virginia

On Saturday, July 25th, we drove south to join all of our kids and their families for a mini-spontaneous reunion. It was so good to all be together for two full days. The five cousins think it’s heaven on earth to all be together (except when it isn’t) and they jumped endlessly on the trampoline, played lots of games, celebrated Nathan’s birthday, and exploited their unique bond as cousins. They all wished they lived next door to one another. Derek and Julie hosted everyone with ease and generosity, and great moments together became sweet memories that will be enjoyed for years to come.

After dropping Lisa off at BWI for her return flight on July 28, we stopped in Wayne, Pennsylvania, to have an outdoor dinner with our dearly loved “salt of the earth” friends, Bill and JoAnn Shore. It’s just pure inspiration to be with these two who are madly in love with both Jesus and each other. Every time we’re with them, we remind them that every church would be so blessed to have a couple like them in their congregation, mentoring just by living among them. It was such a treat to be with them.

Bill and JoAnn Shore inspire our vision for what life should be like when we grow up.

Home again, and fully refreshed and ready, I suggested our next DIY project (and Paul is genuinely hoping our last): our bedroom. The other room which hadn’t been repainted since 1994. And boy did it need it!!

I made no claims this time that it would be “fast and easy,” which is a good thing. My credibility had already sunk to a new low after my living room predictions.

The dust bunnies had taken up residence and truly had lived up to their “rapid multiplication” reputation. And somehow over the years, our room had become the repository for many unrelated-to-bedroom “things.” Like flat rate boxes. And posters from Red Sox games. And things that needed to be sent. Or repaired. Or that didn’t have another home, so why not the bedroom?

Out it all came. The dust bunnies were relocated to the outdoor trash. New homes were found for errant items that were keepable, while others were relegated to the trunk of the car for their ride to the thrift store. Painting followed dusting and sweeping. Floors mopped, curtains washed and rehung, and furniture repositioned . . . and we were done.

We love it.

This is a good place to stop. Both doing projects and writing this blog.

This most unusual "summer of the pandemic” has been such a mix of disappointments, restrictions, adjustments, challenges, and “off-balance” living, while at the same time offering silver linings and opportunities to re-set, re-examine, review, and re-do the “way things were.” The losses and hardships for many have far outpaced ours and we’re not unaware that our experiences these months have been far more positive than for many. Even still, there are times it’s tempting to give in to the doom and gloom, to the incessant prattle of biased news, to the uncertainty of what is to come.

And then the sun rises, reminding us that God is not asleep at the switch. The sun sets, filling the sky with the glory of Creator God. The moon’s fullness drives away the darkness of night. The tide comes in and goes out. Gardens produce succulent veggies and fruit trees bear summer delights such as peaches, while vines deliver juicy watermelons.

“Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Our hope has always been in that truth, but pre-Covid, it was easier to believe our hope was in a stable job and income, good health, and the freedom to go and do whatever and whenever we pleased.

This pandemic has the potential of burning the dross in our lives and refining that which is connected to eternity.

That’s our prayer for ourselves as well as for you.