Posted on by jgarrison

I’m traveling for a few weeks

Waiting for the sun (on a day that turned out stormy)

Did you miss my sermon on Sunday? Well, I ran away last week. And through this week I will have limited internet. My technology dry spell continues through the weekend. Next week, I’ll be at Calvin University and Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But right now I am in a beautiful part of God’s creation, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I’m staying in DeTour Village, watching the freighters sail by. I am also doing a lot of reading and planning. Many of the books I brought with me I read years ago, but I’m reviewing them for a seminar group I meet with next week. Others are new books to me, which I’m reading for the first time.

Can you guess which books I’ve read before? And which are new to me?
Hint, I’ve read 7 of the 13 books in the photo.

Last weekend, I was blessed with a visit from Robert and Donna, friends of mine from my Utah days. They, along with Robert’s sister (who took the photo below before church on Sunday) are on a cross-country trip and spent three days with me. While Robert and I come from different theological traditions, talking theology with him is always enlightening and I much appreciate his insights. On Saturday, we made a trip up to the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie.

Do you like my Jerry Garcia designed tie?
Robert watching a 700+ foot freighter move through the Poe Locks
A freighter passing by last Friday, before the weather went south….

I’ve learned something new this week. That’s always good, to learn something new… In the yard by the house where I’m staying there are two apple trees overflowing with fruit… The fruit that drops from these trees are being eaten by sea gulls. I never knew gulls would eat apples. I also expect I’ll have to find a car wash when I leave this place!

34 Replies to “I’m traveling for a few weeks”

  1. You must be a voracious reader, Jeff. I admire that. I have become too addicted to my phone to read much nowadays……the phone and my games have kept me sane during the last three years.

    1. Timm, For some reason, I thought you were in Ohio. I wish I knew you were in Traverse Bay Area and I would have swung by. Or you could have come up to DeTour!

  7. What is it they say—red in the morning, fisherman’s warning? Beautiful sky, but yep, that indicates storms coming.

    Hope you enjoyed your vacation. So pretty up there!

    1. The UP is an amazing place and I was blessed to spend ten days up there (and another five days in Southern Michigan at Calvin University in Grand Rapids which, along with a seminar, allowed me to see friends).

  10. On this golden evening in the cool breezes of the peninsulas, let us be mindful of the proverb that says “The simple believe every word, but the wise look well unto their way.” As I ponder the wise and simple, I remember the father who came into my heart in the eve of the last millennium. His love is unquenchable, as is his creation. As the water laps the sandy shore, so does his love for us never end. The birds hunt for food. Man searches for truth. In the end all things fade and life goes on in another’s form. Be blessed as you watch and pray and read, Jeff. You are who you are. No opinion of man will ever change that. May your children be blessed. And may you leave an inheritance to your children’s children. May the wife of your youth be a help mate for you. Bless her soul. Cursed be your enemies. May God be near to you at this time and forevermore!

    1. As someone said, I think seagulls will eat anything. That’s not a clue to the books I’d read, as in some cases what appear to be bookmarks are papers with notes I’ve made on the book. I’ve now read a couple more of these books!

    1. I have started but not finished it. I will review it. He writes well, but I found a few minor statements with which I disagree. But overall, I would say its a good book.

  14. Enjoy your time away. I’m fascinated by freighters and will watch them when I’m near Lake Erie.

    1. Where I am staying along the St. Mary’s rivers, all the freighters hauling iron ore along with limestone and a few other things from Lake Superior to the southern lakes pass by my door! I have done a lot of freighter watching.

  15. What an amazing sunrise, Jeff! Just glorious! My earliest memory, from when I was three, was standing on a balcony in Charlottetown looking at a fiery sunrise. A man, who my mom told me years later was our landlord, told me, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.” I have no idea why that stuck in my head as my earliest memory, but it is what it is. I never got to see the Soo locks. Dad planned to take us to see them, but life took an unexpected turn and we didn’t get there. I see “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk” among your collection of books to be read. I read it a couple of month’s ago. It’s an amazing and inspiring book! It’s a powerful statement about overcoming adversity; and that, no matter how old you are, there are dreams and goals you can accomplish. I hope you enjoy it. Enjoy your break and your break from technology. That was a great thing about Yellowstone ~ no technology.

    1. Do you know that the red sky in the morning brings storms is in the Bible? (Matthew 16:2-3). It is amazing to watch the 1000 foot freighters that are 105′ wide, slip into a lock that is only 110′ wide! I have read a little of Grandma Gatewood’s walk. As one who has hiked the AT, I’m looking forward to it.

    1. I know they will eat most things, including things not good for them, but I have never seen a seagull peck at an apple before (thankfully, they are only eating them on the ground, not on the tree)

  17. That top photo is stunning! (red skies in morning, sailors take warning…)

    I think you’ve read the seven books on the left.

    May your time away be fruitful (pun intended)!

    2. Kelly, I’ve read the first five books. The first two (Calvin’s Institutes) I read in 1987-8 along with Wendel’s “Calvin” (at that time the book was out of print and I photo copied it from a library and picked up a new copy 20 years ago when it again became available). Partee’s book on Calvin’s theology, I read right after it came out in 2010. He was my Calvin professor and still a friend. The other books I’ve read include “Walking with Spring” which is about the first person to hike the AT in one shot. I read it in the early 80s and lent it out–I just picked up a new copy of the book. I have also read “Pilgrim’s Progress” a couple of times.

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