Come along for the Ride!

I am so glad you are here. Stay with us as we travel everywhere. I hope you will enjoy the ride.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Youth Sunday

Our stay at the rest area in West Memphis went by quickly. It was a nice to place to stay where I could just open the door and let the dogs out to play. The trucks would come and go one right after another but we were kind of out of the way and not really bothered by them.
Pops and I watched a  movie to pass some time. We watched the new Three Stooges movie. I actually liked it. I was hoping that by watching this it wouldn't spur Pops on to acting like a stooge and it hasn't so far.
When we got up this morning I made a pot of coffee and we sat and got ourselves awake and took the dogs out for a walk and then drove over to Olive Branch, Mississippi, well actually the church is in Southaven.
Christview Christian Church is in a real nice neighborhood directly across from an elementary school. We had just been here a few weeks ago.
I had made some friends from this congregation on my facebook page so we were aware that this Sunday was Youth Sunday. The youth were entirely in charge of the service. I was really looking forward to being there.
One thing we noticed last time we visited Christview is that they have a lot of youth compared to most churches that we attend.
Our GPS took us to the right street but on the end where there is a golf course and no truck traffic allowed so we had to reroute and figure a way to the other end of that street. So by the time we arrived Sunday school was just about to begin.
Lance was outside in the pavillion and he shouted something to us but we couldn't hear him so we walked in his direction. He told us that the youth were practicing in the auditorium so Sunday school was being held outside. Last time we were here I attended a different class, but this was ok. There were already about 12 or so sitting there in the pavillion.
Lance taught the class and he was teaching about Being free from Sin. He tied us all up with a rope and then ask questions as to how we felt being restrained and in bondage. Once we got free and "escaped" the ropes then we talked about freedom and how it feels to be free. He related this to stories from when he served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It was a really nice class time.
I really like getting re-visit churches, especially ones where I have friends on facebook. I like getting to know people better and have a bigger network of Christian people. God's Kingdom is so amazing and if we all did our jobs as Kingdom Builders I cannot even imagine what it could be.
After Sunday School we went inside for the service. I was offered coffee and doughnuts. Of course I didn't decline, that wouldn't be polite, hahaha. So I went to the kitchen for coffee and that's where I saw Stacey. She is one of the friends that I have on facebook from last time. She gave me a hug and Pops and I chatted in the kitchen for a few minutes before heading to the auditorium.
We bumped into a few more familiar faces on the way.
You could feel a ripple of excitement in the youth. The air was charged with their excitement and nervousness.
The praise team started the singing and it was upbeat and contemporary, very uplifting. Then the communion meditation was given and at first the young man spoke very fast but eventually slowed down and it was a very good message.
After communion they took up the offering and then they showed a video that the youth had done set to a song. It was so good. It seemed very well planned and filmed and I sure hope they put it on Youtube.
Then it was time for the sermon. It came from Proverbs 30:24-28. The sermon was given by three different young men. I don't know their names or I would mention them.  They spoke about 4 very smalll earthly creatures and the lessons we can learn from each of them.
1. Ants: how they work today from what they learned in their past to be prepared in their future.

2. Rock badgers: They hid in the rock, just as we should take our refuge in The Rock.

3. Locusts: Working together equally toward a common mission

4. Lizard: small and insignificant yet in the Palace of the King
It was a very good sermon and one that was offered really well by the three boys. Christview Christian Church has a lot to be proud of in their Youth. It is not tomorrow's church, it is today's church.
Good job to all who took part.
We did manage to make a few more facebook friends this visit. I hope it's not too long before we get to come back to Christview Christian Church in Southaven, Mississippi. It is really close to Memphis, TN so if you are passing by on any Lord's Day join them for service. You will be uplifted.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Fast Week

This week has just gone by so quickly. I feel like I'm am still enjoying the trip through the Mountains. But once we reached the Chicago area and made our delivery we were given layover options of Wisconsin or stay in the area. We chose to stay in the area.
So we drove to a truckstop and performed the normal duties. Pops checked the tires, the oil and other fluids and swept out the back. While I cleaned up inside and re organized and took the dogs outside.
We had no sooner gotten our work done and was settling in when we got a load offer. It was picking up in Kankakee, Il and was going to Atlanta, GA. So we accepted and got the load.
I was driving now and Pops was trying to sleep. Then he drove while I slept. When I woke up we were real near our destination and Pops needed my help to navigate through the busy streets.
We now have a second GPS and both Gypsy and this new one were having problems getting us to where we needed to go. But we eventually did get there and got unloaded quickly.
We stayed in the Atlanta area for layover although we did drive to a truckstop on the outer edge of the city. We got a load that was picking up in Griffin, GA and it was going to Ruston, LA. It wasn't picking up until the next day but we drove over that direction anyway and looked for a place to spend the night. We found a TA truckstop and got showered and rested up.
I got a phone call while there that my Aunt Sissy had died. She was dad's sister. The last time I saw her was at my dad's memorial service in March. But I have talked to her on the phone. She had a stroke and went to the hospital and while there the doctors found that she was full of cancer. She died a few days later. Please pray for my uncle and her children.
We picked up our load the next day and drove on toward Louisiana. While on the way we got a predispatched load that would pick up in Lufkin, TX and come back to East Camden, Arkansas. None of these loads were super fantastic but we were moving and after last week this slower pace seemed nice.
I slept through all of Louisiana and didn't even wake up when Pops made the 3am delivery. I did wake up when we were close to our Lufkin destination. This was a high security load so we both had to go inside and fill out paperwork.
Our load wasn't quite ready so we waited for about an hour then it was good to go. We went inside and filled out paperwork while they loaded our truck. A seal was put on the back and we were ready to go. It took about 4 1/2 hours to reach East Camden and we have been here many times before getting through the gate was too hard of a procedure. There were two trucks ahead of us waiting to get unloaded but we got to go ahead of one of those.
Our layover options after that delivery were Shreveport, LA or Little Rock, AR. We chose Little Rock and headed that way. We stopped at a small truckstop and settled in for the evening.
The next day we drove down about 3 blocks to Brown's Country Store and Restaurant. We drive past it every time we go toward Dallas, Texarkana, or Lufkin, TX. It looks like such a nice place and I always wanted to stop.
We went inside and noticed a long buffett. They brag that it is over 100ft long and it sure was. It had every kind of good looking and smelling southern food that you can imagine, including cornbread, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes, along with so many meats, potatoes, and just about anything you could want. And the dessert bar looked fabulous although by the time I ate my food there was no way that I could have any dessert. Pops had some peach pie though. Today was National Peach Pie Day and he said the pie was delicious.
After that we drove over to Walmart to restock our groceries. And then we decided that we should probably head toward Memphis where we might do better at getting a weekend load.
So here we are at a rest area. It is raining really hard. That is a good thing because the Mississippi River is so low that they are not allowing boat traffic. This is a good slow steady rain. I hope it lasts for awhile.
If we are still here tomorrow, I think we will probably return to Christview Christian Church. We visited there a couple of weeks ago and tomorrow is their Youth Sunday. I will enjoy that.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Our trip back from the West

We left LA just before noon on Friday and we knew that the traffic would probably be ridiculous. Everyone from California was on their way to Las Vegas for the weekend and everyone from the Vegas direction seemed to be headed toward the beaches of California. Traffic was really bad. And to make matters worse, at one point we saw a terrible 6 car accident that required 2 helicopters to carry away those that were hurt and this tied up our lanes for over 2 hours.
When traffic got moving again the two truck drivers that were in front of me were apparently sleeping and so I had to change lanes to get around them. That was not easy to do because traffic was backed up for miles and miles and now that their lane was moving they were not happy about letting us in the blocked lanes out into their lanes. Oh well.
It was pretty smooth sailing after that until we got close to Las Vegas. Then traffic was slow again. I am always nervous driving through there because you must be on guard. There is so many distractions that if you let down your guard, you are in trouble fast. I was glad to get through that area. Now it was just many miles of desert.
We did not have to deliver our load until Monday in Chicago so we had the weekend to get there. We thought about it and planned to try to get to route 70 in Utah by tonight. Then we planned to sleep at a truckstop or rest area there and then get up and have the entire day to drive across the Rocky Mts. in the daylight.
We slept at a rest area after filling our truck with fuel. The morning was beautiful and it looked like it was going to be a really nice day. Pops drove and this gave me the day to just ride and take pictures. This is a switch to our normal routine but I really wanted to just ride through the mountains and Pops was good about making that happen.
The drive was a long one. We figured that it would take us most of the day and we would reach Denver around dark.
We did take our time and stopped at several scenic areas and rest stops. We did find some more Indian vendors at one rest stop and I purchased a few more items. I liked the colors and style even though the quality wasn't the best.
I absolutely loved this day. Pops and I had a wonderful time and time went by so quickly. I did take pictures, over 500 hundred of them actually. Although some had to be deleted because remember all these pictures are taken while we are moving at 70mph, and most were taken with the camera on my phone.
We switched over driving just after passing through Denver. We stopped at a weigh station and Pops went inside to be checked. So then I drove us into Nebraska to sleep.
We had found a church to attend by using our church directory. I called the number and was told they would lov to have us and that we could park in their grass if we had to. It was the Valley Christian Church in North Platte, NE.
We showered and slept and then got up for church.
When we first walked inside we saw several people sitting at tables with coffee and sweet rolls. They were homemade sweet rolls. Well I wasn't passing those up.
We sat down at a table with a man and woman we assumed were husband and wife and we were right. They were Ray and Trenda Seifer. Trenda was the baker of the sweet rolls and they were very good.
Ray and Trenda made us feel very welcome right from the start and we spoke with several other there as well.
Before long we were shown to a Sunday School Class and it was taught by a man named Dave and his wife was Becky.
The lesson was about the Samaritan Woman at the Well and her discussion with Jesus about Living Water. It was a very interesting lesson and everyone participated in the discussion.
After Sunday School we went into the auditorium to worship and it was a really nice service. Once again it closely followed the timing and schedule of our home church at Wills Mt. We enjoyed the singing and the meditations very much.
Then Brent Montgomery, the evangelist got up to start his sermon. He was preaching from Hebrews 12:1-3 and the title was, Crash Through Our Quitting Points." He talked about when we reach our point of just wanting to stop and not go on that we must "crash through." It was a perfect sermon for me at that time. It was exactly the words that God wanted me to hear. I was in tears as I listened to God's words speak to me through Brent.
I am forever amazed at our God.
After the sermon we stuck around for a little while and visited with some of the people and then we drove over to Walmart about 6 blocks away to get some groceries.
When we left Walmart I was driving and I headed back the exact way that we came but quickly realized that I had turned onto a one way street, the wrong way!
Some nice man in a big SUV blocked traffic while I got turned around and went the right way.
I drove us the rest of way through Nebraska and into Iowa and then Pops drove. I went to sleep.
I woke up when we were at our delivery near Chicago. And after the load was off Pops and I went to Elgin, Illinois for a layover.
I am feeling much better. Thank you for your continued prayers and I really want to thank all of you who called and messaged me. It is nice to feel your love and concern.