The high season is over now so we practically have the place to ourselves here at Pelican Lake (Motorcoach Resort). Nearly all the snow birds have gone home and most won't be back until at least October. But it's nice during high season (Dec - April) to enjoy a giant flurry of activity with friends, but then soak up the serenity and benefits of being here in the off-season as well. We're getting much better acquainted with our new church friends (at Capri Christian Church on the Isle of Capri), so we still have an active social life with the locals here during the summer.
Here's a few scenes from our spot... we sure would enjoy some visitors down here... hint, hint -- that means YOU!!! Come on down!
Here's a few scenes from our spot... we sure would enjoy some visitors down here... hint, hint -- that means YOU!!! Come on down!
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| Love the beauty of this place |
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Sunset over Pelican Lake - the view from a
neighbors lot across the street (on the inner
circle - our lot is off-lake on the outer circle).
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| Spending loads of time in the great outdoors - feels like home |
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| Our new outdoor man cave |
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| Tiny house, big living. (Where have I heard that before?) |
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Backward seasons! Spring is fall & fall is spring! It felt like
fall in late April with a huge dump of leaves in our backyard but then new ones popped out almost overnight. But the "spring" planting season BEGINS in September! |
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| Soooo cat-ciatore |
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| Nice to have the pool & workout room nearly all to ourselves in the off-season |
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Watch your toes - there are some unsavory inhabitants in the
lakes on the golf courses. Yikes!
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Steve (with his Guy Fieri hair) mackerel fishing in the Gulf with the guys in the 'hood. That's our neighbor Larry on the far left.
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| Donna & Larry - our next-door neighbors and very good friends - from Springfield, MO |
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| Neighborhood block parties are always a treat |
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| Naples Beach |
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| On Naples Pier - what a pretty day! |
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| Even at 90 degrees, the ocean breeze feels so nice |
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| Dolphins so close to the pier |
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 on May 24. How time flies! |
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| Gardenias blooming in May |
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| Magnolia blossoms starting to open |
So now what? I heard it once said that "the best we can have in this life is to do something that we believe in and are passionate about. Hopefully by now, everyone knows what it is that Steve and I are most passionate about... it is the Word of God, and sharing the good news that it contains!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3, NKJV
The Bible is the most amazing book ever written, and reading it is a wild ride full of adventure and discovery - page after page. What is truly amazing, however, is how few people anymore really know what is in it. It is the true story of humanity from the beginning of time to the end, with prophecy at it's very core and purpose. God tells us about the end (of humanity) from the beginning -- in other words... He gives us the story of human history, written in advance.
It's often said these days that many roads lead to God. Not true. There is only one true God and He demonstrates it through prophecy. No other holy book has one single solitary fulfilled prophecy, much less hundreds of them like the Bible. The fulfilled prophecies prove the truth of the Bible, and the yet-unfulfilled prophecies give us comfort in knowing what lies ahead and how this story ends!
Of the many fulfilled prophecies, to me, the best illustration is the astounding miracle of the re-birth of the nation of Israel. It happened on May 14, 1948 after nearly 2,000 years of it being a barren wasteland. This re-gathering of the Jews (God's chosen people) from all over the world, was written about in the Bible dozens of times all throughout the Old Testament. And the Old Testament was written between 1500 and 400 BC! Here are just a few of them...
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Deuteronomy 28:63-65 ...You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy. For The Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other... There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest.
Deuteronomy 30:3-5 ...He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, The Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will posses that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous that your ancestors!
Isaiah 14:1-2 ...He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land... and Israel will rule over its enemies.
Isaiah 41:8-11 But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. "See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing."
Isaiah 42:9 ...I will tell you the future before it happens.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.
Jeremiah 30:1-3 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will posses it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!"
Jeremiah 30:7 In all history there has never been such a terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!
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Wow! Sounds mighty relevant to what is happening today in Israel with surrounding nations plotting to annihilate it. But here is the good news. Although we know Israel will be attacked while all the allied nations of the world abandon them (just like scripture foretells), we also know that they will indeed prevail in the end. And the best of all news... our Savior, the Son of God, Jesus (or "Yeshua" in his native Hebrew/Aramaic tongue) is coming back! Scripture tells us this.
Here is a link to an episode of my favorite prophecy TV show hosted by Gary Stearman. He's one of the many Bible scholars that we'd met at the two prophecy conferences we attended in Orlando. This interview provides deeper insight into the Miracle of Israel. It's a 30-minute program that just aired on May 17, 2016. The last ten minutes of it are especially rich in prophecy information. There are many more (and better) documentaries on this topic, but this one is short & easy-access on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/yQDgy7scmM4
Scripture gives us many signs of the end times and we are seeing them converge now - all at once. Of course people have been saying this for centuries, but everyone seems to agree that there has been a seismic shift just in the last few years and that we are on the cusp of some sort of global disaster. I believe we are. Without going into any further detail on this topic, just ask yourself if you are absolutely certain of what happens to you after you die. If there really is life-after-death that lasts for all eternity, don't you want to find out once and for all, if you are truly ready?
Our deepest wish is for all to discover the "peace that surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) that comes from reading God's Word, accepting His grace and living in His care.
Keep looking up! He's coming soon.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Don't own a Bible? Check out the Blue Letter Bible app online. It's so easy to navigate!!! And for the difficult-to-understand passages, just click on any given verse in the Bible, and then choose "translation comparison". It gives you every translation of that verse side by side -- from the most difficult to read (e.g. King James) to the easiest to read (e.g. NLT - New Living Translation). Awesome. 😀
