Visit with the Harmons

I know it has been a while since we last wrote to you.  Please forgive me.  I will try to get caught up.  We have been very busy (I know that is a lousy excuse).  I read a great book recently.  It was about William Wilberforce, who led the charge to end slave trade (and ultimately slavery) in Britian.  The book was entitled AMAZING GRACE.  There was a movie by the same title a couple of years back.  Wilberforce was a wild young man until a friend helped him come to faith in Christ.  It really turned his life around.  Wilberforce believed that most people in the 18th century thought they were Christians.  People went to church but had no relationship with Christ, never read or studied the Word, never did anything to grow in their faith (they really couldn’t grow in faith because it was dead).  We have found the same to be true today.  People attend church but never read or study their Bibles (they do not take their Bibles to church with them).  They believe they are on their way to heaven, but they have no relationship with Christ.

In a couple of weeks we will be having our Harvest Sunday.  This is a big deal in the UK.  We will have a special worship service focusing on giving thanks to God our Father for His many blessings.  The church will be decorated to match the season.  After the morning worship, we will go to the church hall for a great meal, a harvest meal.

We just took a couple of days off and went to Southampton (England).  From there we took the ferry to the Isle of Wight.  We took the fast jet ferry, only 23 minutes to get to the island.  We visited Osbourne House, the holiday mansion of Queen Victoria, built in the mid 1800’s as a retreat for the royal family (four times a year).  I was very impressed with the place.  The rooms were large and greatly decorated as it was when the family visited there.  Prince Albert, Victoria’s husband, died about 10 years after the house was finished (Victoria lived another 40 years).  Victoria loved the quiet setting in East Cowes.  The gardens were lovely and well groomed.  We ate lunch in the Terrace Restaurant and later had tea in the gift shop.  It’s interesting that when Victoria died in 1901, none of the 9 children wanted the house.  So, King Edward (the oldest child) offered the house and grounds to the English Heritage Foundation.  Queen Elizabeth uses Balmoral in Scotland as a place to get away from the pressure of public attention, even though Holyrood Palace is the official resident of the Queen when in Scotland.

Speaking of Scotland, on August 11, we traveled by train to York (still England) for 3 days, then up to Edinburgh (Scotland) for the rest of the week.  York is an ancient city founded by the Romans and later built up by the Vikings.  We visited the York Minster, built in the 1200’s.  It took 250 years to build this abbey.  There is a wall around the city built by the Romans.  It is 2 miles long.  One day, I decided to walk the wall.  To my surprise, the wall stopped after a while and I couldn’t find the next section.  In fact, I had to ask for directions three times.  You know that men do not like to ask for directions.  But I did and I was grateful for the help I received.  York is a lovely city and if you are ever over here, please check it out.  There is much to do and to see and you’ll enjoy walking the Roman wall.

Then we ventured on into Scotland (Edinburgh).  We stayed near where the Britannia (retired royal yacht) is moored and took the tour.  Very impressive.  We attended the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle later on in the week.   We also visited Holyrood Palace at one end of the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle at the top end of the Royal Mile.  What a great trip!  We loved it.

There are two things you always take with you on a trip here.  One, your umbrella - just in case it rains.  It is raining now and has off and on for several days.  Two, your sunglasses - just in case the sun shines.  I guess where you are the sun is shining - but not here.

We worked hard at planting flowers in the garden (our postage-stamp back yard) and they look beautiful.
We are rather proud of it even though it’s tiny.

There are other places we have visited but the tales of those episodes will have to wait.  We are making preparations for our return home at the end of October.  It seems like it has been such a long time that we have been away.  It will be good to get home.

Love to all,
Dick

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NADINE’S CORNER:

Hello everyone, 

The husband has told you all about our latest ventures and I’ll just add my few comments here:

York is a “walking” city filled with shops and tea houses/eateries.  It was so enjoyable.  Beautiful old buildings.  We just never get tired of these old buildings and their history.  It rained on us most of the time we were there, but never mind - we still had a great time.  We stayed in a really great B&B and hated to leave!  It was called 23 St. Mary’s……very nice.

Edinburgh was a huge place - unbelievable really.  The Queen’s residence there (Holyrood) was very simply decorated.  The Queen is not extravagant.  She has very simple tastes and definitely not flashy.  It was very interesting to discover that about her.

When we visited the royal yacht, it was very simply furnished as well.  She was into “comfort” much more than show.  This yacht is incredible.  It’s more like a huge ship!  It had 10 million miles on it before they retired it.  (About the same mileage as I have!)    There is a full time crew that keeps it up at all times. 

We haven’t been to the Palace in London yet to see the Changing of the Guards, but hope to do that before we leave.  Riding the train to London is a very easy way to go.  Takes the stress off
“you-know-who” !!

We are going to go to London to see “Les Miserables” with our friends Stan and Wendy on Saturday.  We’ll go by train and take a Taxi around once we get there.  Will report on that next time.

I received a request from a friend in Texas to publish one of my “Prayer Time” articles that are being published in a newsletter and I will do so now.  Thanks for asking, Benita!

This was one of my earlier moments:
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WHERE SHOULD WE PRAY?  EVERYWHERE   

JESUS - Prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the upper room with and for His Disciples, on the Mount of Olives and on the Cross!

DANIEL - Prayed in the Lion’s Den

SAMSON - Prayed between 2 pillars in a pagan temple

KING HEZEKIAH - Prayed in bed

NEHEMIAH - Prayed in the Temple

JOSEPH - Prayed in prison

PAUL - Prayed on the road to Damascus

THE EARLY CHURCH - Met at John Marks’ mother’s house and prayed for Peter and again in the upper room just before Pentecost.

HANNAH - Prayed on the outside of the Temple

ELIJAH - Prayed in the midst of Baal worshippers in a pagan Temple

STEVEN - Prayed while being stoned on the outskirts of Jerusalem

DAVID - Prayed in caves

PETER - Prayed in Dorcas’ bedroom

GROUP OF WOMEN IN THE EARLY CHURCH - Prayed on the river’s edge in Philipi

JONAH - Prayed in the belly of a whale

We too must realize that God hears us no matter where we are!  We are never out of His mind.  He guards us tenderly and with great passion.  His love and mercy covers us wherever we go and wherever we are.  His line of communication is never down for repairs.

Many of us pray on airplanes, in cars, in trains, in church, in our homes, on prayer walks, on Mission trips, on radio & TV broadcasts, on the internet, in hospitals, nursing homes, in our beds, at restaurants, in fox holes, in fires, in tornadoes, in floods, in hurricanes, in droughts, in Cinemas - - anywhere and everywhere there is a need for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Because we have a God who hears and answers our prayers, we are NOT limited to a particular place of prayer.  If we are to pray continually, without ceasing, we will, no doubt, be praying in any and all circumstances and locations.  We, as Christians have the distinct privilege of having the mightiest source of help, search & rescue this unsteady world has to offer!!

O LORD SEEK US (By Christina Rosetti)

O Lord seek us, O Lord find us
     In thy patient care.
Be Thy love before, behind us,
     Round us everywhere.
Lest the god of this world blind us,
     Lest he bait a snare,
Lest he forge a chain to bind us,
     Lest he speak us fair.
Turn not from us, call to mind us,
     Find, embrace us, hear.
Be Thy love before, behind us,
     Round us everywhere.
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My love to all of you.  See you soon.

Nadine