I would like to tell you a story today about a man I had not always appreciated as I do now. A quiet, humble servant of Jesus. His name is Paul Gardner, and he was my great uncle. Paul was the oldest son in a family of two boys and three girls. His brother was my grandfather.

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Censorship by the media of anything not in alignment of the "accepted narrative" has reached epidemic proportions. During Black History Month, Amazon closed off access to the documentary "Created Equal," an excellent biography of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in his own words, only because he was on the wrong side of their agenda. I watched the whole thing and it was excellent. I tried to share this opinion on Facebook, and was also censored. So I am posting the link here, on our own site.

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Arches is probably the most popular park in Utah's canyon country, so popular that we had a hard time finding a place to stay. Because of this, the nearby town of Moab vigorously discourages boondocking. We were there on a weekend, which made it that much harder. Even so, we found two perfect places to spend different nights while we were there.

The park covers a large area, so even though there were lots of visitors, we had no trouble parking, taking pictures, or hiking. Join us as we explore yet another of God's wonders of creation in southeastern Utah.

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We met a young lady at the laundromat who seemed to be very outgoing and willing to share her passion for helping youth at risk. What a blessing it would be to hear about similar programs that not only teach young people to see their own potential, but also to be connected with Christ, the best source of identity, purpose, and hope.

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Mom didn’t write every day, but I thought I’d record this short account I found in a little notebook. She started this when she was 50 years old, and prayed for all of her children, and little Marti, her niece.

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A year after Mom left us, I am finally getting around to going through the boxes of memories that she left for us. Most of the writings are in Mom's hand, but occasionally I will find one of Dad's (gold!). I thought I'd share this one today, written to his children. Somehow it seems fitting to the present time, a reminder of the basics of life.

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Welcome, all wonders in one night! Eternity shut in a span!

Summer in Winter! Day in Night! Heaven in Earth and God in Man!

Great little one whose all-embracing birth

Lifts Earth to Heaven, Stoops Heaven to Earth! – Richard Crenshaw

God has truly blessed us this year—a busy but very special year. . .

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The native culture called Toccoa Falls “the beautiful.” It is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College, our alma mater, where we lived early in our marriage, in a mobile home park on the college grounds. After three wonderful years, in 1975, we both graduated from the college.

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In our travels, we have found that the vast majority of the people we have met, including police officers, are pleasant, polite, interesting and helpful. For example, just now, as I was writing this, sitting in a lovely pavilion overlooking a lighthouse on Lake Michigan, a man and his dog “Rosie” stopped by to chat, while out for their morning walk. But in St. Louis, we met one person who was none of the above, and his actions have wounded, but not defeated us.

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Weeeee’re baaaaacccck! Yes, the Joyces have begun their wandering again. On January 15, after spending the holidays with our family in north Georgia, we hit the road again, heading for warmer places. And just in time! We just missed the recent Arctic weather that has wreaked havoc across the eastern United States. It has been great to be in sunny (but not always warm) Florida during this time.

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God does indeed move in mysterious ways. In fact, the scriptures tell us that His ways are past finding out. This blog entry is about one of those times!

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That’s the name of a 1970 book by H. R. Rookmaaker. I’ve never read the book, and although I’d like to read it someday, in a way the title says it all. One doesn’t need to be an art expert to see a connection between the death of civilization and the gradual degradation of all the artistic media as culture has become divorced from the meaning and purpose that comes from being children of God. Our experiences in the world of art one day really reinforced this conclusion.

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Unlike the Israelites, we only spent two and a half weeks in the desert. Even so, the terrain often reminded us of our trip to the Holy Land, with lots of wilderness! When we started across I-10 (or “the ten” as the locals say), I wondered how we would find things to see along the way. Surely we had seen the most amazing sights already. But I was in for a surprise! Look at the sample of things that we did after leaving Phoenix!

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When my Aunt Ruth was dying, the Lord brought cousin Judy (Ruth’s only living child) one of the “old” songs each day to comfort and encourage her, songs like “It is Well With My Soul,” “I Love to Tell the Story,” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”  It is that last one that I’ve been thinking about a lot this week.

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Jeremiah and Angel are ministering for the Lord in an area that many people would prefer not to be. Living in Los Angeles, CA, their hearts beat for the many who are living without hope and without God while thinking they are doing just fine.

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