Caribbean Cruise- Favorite Scripture- The Best In Life Is Farther On

Back to the original manuscript!

   

The Sovereign of the Seas--Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Mary & my room was the first row below the front life boats & last window on the right

Mary in our caabin

 CARIBBEAN CRUISE—Mary had often brought up the idea of taking a  Cruise & I had always said & meant,  “That would really be nice.”  or  ''That sounds like a wonderful idea." But honestly I always thought to myself, ‘'I don’t know how we’ll ever afford one’'.  I secretly thought it was just  something nice to talk & dream about.   I never wanted to throw a wet blanket on her suggestions so I just tried to make positive comments. 

       Thanks to John and Dolly, again, who generously offered pay for a cruise to celebrate their 40^th Anniversary, it became a reality.  John Bert, Jane & Helen went also.

 John & Dolly hired a Limo to take us from their house in Melbourne, Fla. to Port Canaveral, we sailed on the ‘Sovereign of the Seas’ of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.  It was a dream come true.  The ship was beautiful, marvelous and huge.  [880 ' long, over 2 football fields, & was 11 decks high]  It was like a floating hotel/mall.  Shops, food courts, activities, one time Mary, I, Jane and Helen watched an animal towel making demonstration & followed it with at a stop and Ben and Jerry's ice cream place.  There was always something going on somewhere.  The cabin rooms were nice, cozy, romantic, intimate & nicely decorated.  We often found towel animals on our bed each day.  One was a Rabbit, it had on a pair of glasses on  I assumed was something the cruise line had picked to add to the decoration.  I made a comment  & Mary said they were her spare glasses she had left in the room.  Whoever had been taking care of the rooms, when they had changed the bedding & had put the rabbit on the bed  had spotted Mary's glasses and put them on the Rabbit.

    The food variety was endless, Mediterranean, Chinese, India, Asian & European.  Our evening meals were in the Mirage Dining Room which was beautiful & the food was amazing.   Every meal I was trying something new.  Breakfast & lunch was usually in the Buffet area called the ‘Windjammer’ with an endless selection from around the world too.  

      With all these foods from around the world, I couldn’t believe the number of people that were getting hamburgers & fries!   Mary & I played shuffleboard & basketball on the top deck but the pool was so crowed we skipped it. 

        

The Buffets were endless, Larry tried them all
well all the international dishes

Rosario Strings

  There were neat places all over the ship on all levels where music groups performed throughout the day and night.   My favorite were the Rosario Strings. Three young Japanese men that played all types of instruments:  piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, violin, bass, drums.  They played all types of music Pop, Classical, Jazz, Country, Rock & Roll.

       I don’t think there was any type of instrument or music they couldn’t play.  I'd been using a wheel chair because with my Cancer Meds side effect my legs weren't always strong and sometimes would swell up.  One evening Mary & I where headed back to the cabin and Mary was pushing me in the wheel chair.  We were on the floor above but could look down on an open area where the Rosario Strings were playing.  They were playing slow County so I had Mary stop and I got out of the wheel chair and we danced to the music, I noticed we got lots of looks.  I'm not sure how bad off they thought I was but as I said the wheel chair was just to keep from getting to much leg swelling that might 
have curtailed my activities. The Rosario Strings serenaded us at our table one evening in the Mirage.  Concerts and entertainment were held in the Follies Theatre each night.  Lots of musicals, some aerobatics & entertainment that was fantastic.  

    

Mary & Dolly on Ferry to Coco Cay

The Island of Coco Cay was beautiful, had great sandy beaches & the ocean clear,  breathtaking & warm.  There were lots of Palm trees and  flowering bushes with colorful flowers. There were also shops with an endless variety of neat souvenirs and places to get a variety of food.

Nassau, Bahamas was a delightful, charming, tropical city. Lots of flowering trees, flowers, coconut trees & palms & beautifully warm temperatures..  We took a tour of the city & heard the history of the City.  There were some buildings of English design.  We visited a Botanical Garden type Zoo, with a lot of Marching Flamingos that put on a performance.  A product of English rule.

  

The beach and lagoon at Coco Cay island

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FAVORITE SCRIPTURES----- I've  read a lot of Bible translations & paraphrases, but I often prefer the Living Bible.  I have several favorite scriptures, but with the trips to Mexico and cousin Lloyd’s Memorial Service at Argonia Cemetery, that I was asked to give, it seems there are two that I often share.  One  is Romans 8:37-39.  I really like it in the Living Bible, it reads ---- ‘’Overwhelming victory is our through Christ who loved us enough to die for us.  For I am convinced nothing can separate us from His Love. Death can’t, life can’t.  The Angels won’t, and all the powers of Hell itself can not keep God’s love away.  Our fears for today, our worries for tomorrow, or where we are— High above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.’’

       When I first started to like this one it was awhile before I had one of my weird thoughts but one day I was thinking that it seemed like a lot of Christian go around with  long faces and somber attitudes & the thought occurred to me.  If there was any power in the universe that could possibly be able keep God’s Love away it might be the Angel, but they won’t because they are on our side.  If Christian have the 4 greatest powers of the Universe; God’s Power, the Power of Jesus Christ, the Power of the Holy Spirits & the Protection of the Angels;   Christians ought to be going around in a perpetual state of Joy, always full of smiles.
        Another one I like that cuts through a lot of the baggage that Churches some times attach to being a Christian is Romans 10:9:  If you confess with your mouth, ‘’Jesus I Lord ‘’, and believe in you heart, God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
      There is one other Bible Verse I have shared when ask to give a testimony of my life in Mexico.  I usually share that I have not always walked as close to God & Jesus as I would have liked to in my life & if they were finding themselves in a similar situation the verse I would share with them is James 4:8.  It says; ‘’Draw near to God and he will drew near to you’’.  And I would encourage them to renew their prayer time and Bible reading.  I’d also say,  ‘’Don’t get discouraged, always remember there is someone in the U.S. that Loves You & is Praying For You.’’

 THE BEST IN LIFE IS FARTHER ON—‘’Joy was just a thing that he was raised on,---

   There are two quotes  I have tried to pattern my life around.  One I found in India from Mahatma Ghandi:   “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides.  I do not want my windows to be stuffed.  I want the cultures of all lands to be blown around my house as freely as possible.”  I always tried to have our family make contact & become friends with people from other parts of the world or different cultures & backgrounds whenever possible.  That has been through 4-H, Church Activities, Missions & just talking to people on vacations.  The other I found shortly after returning form India.  It was from Sir. William Mullock, former Canadian Prime Minister taken from a speech on his   95th Birthday:    “Warm both hands before the fires of Life, make good friends, & cherish good memories.  But above all, keep looking ahead, always ahead, for the best things in life are farther on.”  When I first read this I thought, if I always kept this as a prime thought, life would never be dull & something exciting would always be ‘just around the corner’.

The family playing the Wii

     Looking  back over my life I have been a lot of places many people have never been, experienced a lot of things many people will never experience.   I’ve seen God work Miracles.  But, now that I am older, & the body doesn’t do the things the way it used too, things exciting & exotic sometimes seem far away, although I still concentrate on enjoying life.  Things I  look forward to now are watching a movie, or playing a board game with Mary, a steak dinner, going to Fibiola’s Mexican Restaurant, or making my Indian Briiani, attending Yearly Meeting, [especially at Barclay College in Havilland, Ks. & meeting all our church friends], putting a new Lego together with the boys.    Holiday Time:   [July 4^th, Thanksgiving, Christmas], or time when all the kids are home for a picnic, bonfire & wiener roast, homemade ice cream or just a weekend visit. Playing  Pitch or  another card game with them.  It’s so peaceful to sit back in a recliner, eyes closed, relaxing & listening to Patrick, Jason, Jonathan, & Paul playing a video game on the Wii, the girls join in sometimes,  & hear their enthusiasm & laughter as they try and win a Wii football game or Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.  Or maybe they & the girls have all the computers lined up playing an online game,  playing a board game with Mary,  it is just great to hear all their voices together having fun & laughing.  Or, marvel at the way the grandkids are growing & watching or hearing them playing together and having fun.  I look at Sir William Mullock's words:  “The  “Best Things”,  & I think maybe they are not always exotic places or exciting trips, just maybe, sometimes, the ‘Best Things’ in life are the ‘Simple Things’. 

       

 And the words of John Denver's song ring true again,  “Growin up a Kansas Farm Boy, life was mostly having fun!”