Happy Thursday night. A new weekend has arrived, and I’m looking forward to it. Tomorrow (Friday) night I’ll go #Retro with my Top 5 hits from exactly 20 years ago on Sunday July 12TH 1998. Then on Sunday I’ll share Scripture with you, and finally on Monday it’s my brand new Top 10 personal hit music chart.
But as for tonight it’s something simple – just a goofy photo of me and a bear – from inside a souvenir store on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada.
Greetings Church Family. I have returned home from vacation at beautiful Niagara Falls Ontario Canada. It was a first-time visit for me, and it was only my second-time ever to Canada. (I visited Windsor for a few hours about 13 years ago.)
The Falls were spectacular to see, hear, feel, and experience up-close. The rides and walks through the endless mist were refreshing in the Canadian heatwave (mid-to-upper 90s Fahrenheit / mid-30s Celsius).
“O Sovereign LORD ! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you ! (Jeremiah 32:17 NLT)
Me, my brother, and his wife stayed within walking distance of Clifton Hill – the shopping and entertainment tourist district of Niagara Falls. It was a lot of fun for a couple of days, but it’s always great to return back home again – where I belong.
Tomorrow night at a local church revival I’m preaching a sermon titled “Accepted & Anointed”. That’s what we all are on this fantastic journey towards God’s bright light. If we believe that fully – then we can change the world with our works – using our strong hands and our powerful arms.
One of my greatest regrets in life is that up until the Spring of 2010 I didn’t own a camera. Once I bought my first smartphone 8 years ago (at the age of almost 43) I started taking pictures of my life and times. Photography has become my hobby over the past 8 years. It was my Dad’s hobby during much of his life. He was a photographer for the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War.
I’ve taken thousands of photos over the past 8 years. I created a Flickr account about 1 year in to my hobby in April 2011. My goal has always been to only upload the best of the best photos to my Flickr. The rest can sit on my computer’s hard drive forever after. I also caption all of my photos on my Flickr. To date I’ve got almost 2,600 photos posted within 59 albums. Most of my photos and albums are online for the entire world to see. I’ve held back 9 albums of photos for my family’s personal viewing only.
This past month of May 2018 was a breakout month for my Flickr with 61 new photos posted – the most in 24 months ! I made a commitment a month ago to resurrect my lately-neglected Flickr. I succeeded in May, and I hope to keep the momentum going into June and July. I’ve got trips planned to the Florida Panhandle, Middle Georgia, SW and NW Ohio, and (for the first time ever) Niagara Falls Ontario Canada. There will be a lot of new photo opportunities to be captured.
Feel free to check out my Flickr. Here’s the URL for my albums – www.flickr.com/photos/cmday6567/albums
On the web site edition of my blog you can always check my last 3 photos posted along the right-hand column down towards the bottom, and you can access my Flickr from there as well to view more photos.
For the record – I don’t Instagram. I don’t think I’ve ever visited the web site. Aside from Twitter I’ve been with Flickr longer than any other social media site.
I have returned from vacation. Regular Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Friday blogs resume.
I spent 4 of my vacation days at sea on this beauty (pictured above in Nassau) – the Disney Magic. It was my 21ST cruise overall (since 1991), 1ST cruise in nearly 4 years, and 1ST cruise on Disney Cruise Line. I enjoyed this cruise (with family) immensely. Other ports-of-call on this short cruise were Key West (just 130 miles down the Overseas Highway from my home) and Castaway Cay (Disney’s private Bahamian island).
I took a book with me to read. It was recently given to me by a Brother in Christ. It’s a short 140-page book titled, “Holiness, Truth, And The Presence Of God” by Francis Frangipane. I intended to read the whole book while on this cruise, but I only managed the first 52 pages. It’s been an amazing 52 pages. I loved how Francis described the beginning of salvation as seeing God’s Kingdom from a distance, and the expansion of salvation as entering God’s Kingdom. And I’ll add that God’s Kingdom continues to expand as you continue to move forward towards His light – bringing others with you.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth – unless you are born again – you cannot see the Kingdom of God. I assure you – no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:3,5 NLT)
I may be preaching my next sermon next Sunday, so I should get that enhanced and finalized. It’s great to be back home – where I belong. It’s great to have you walking this fantastic journey with me.
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