THE COTTAGE

In my early years, my family would vacation at a small little resort on a very small lake near Lake Ann, Michigan. This tiny lake and the quaint cabins/cottages that are situated on it, have provided so many special memories over the years. Our family has continued to enjoy a week at this resort over the course of 6 decades. In my family, this vacation and this resort, is simply referred to as "the cottage." Now our grandchildren are enjoying looking forward to spending a week at "the cottage." In fact, the kids talk about it all year long, and "the cottage" has become an important part of their personal steps toward maturity and often the place where their goals will be met..."I'm going to go on the potty at the cottage." Or, "I'm going to swim to the raft without my lifejacket at the cottage." It's fun to hear the grandkids talk about "the cottage" in the dead of winter, and then eagerly count down the days during the course of the summer.

"The cottage" is a relaxing, refreshing, family building, laid back, memorable and enjoyable time with 4 generations of family. "The cottage" is memory creator and sustainer and the ROI is off the charts.

What happens at the cottage each year, stays with each family member throughout the year, fueling a greater level of anticipation for the following year's visit.

Seeya....I'm heading off to the cottage!

LEGEND OF TUNNEL PARK

A number of my sunset photos were shot from the beach of Tunnel Park. I've had a growing number of people interested in purchasing these photos and they often inquire about the park itself and how it came to be known as Tunnel Park.

Here's the story. The tunnel was formed as a bunker during World War I for a couple of artillery gun placements. Why on the western shore of Lake Michigan, you may ask? That's an interesting story and to this day, unconfirmed. There was word that there were German T
-boats (an early predecessor of the WW II U-boat) that were roaming the lake from as far north as Ludington and as far south as Bridgeman, ranging east and west between Wisconsin and Michigan. These underwater stealth war machines were creating havoc with the fishermen during the summer months and finally congress authorized the purchase of materials and funded the labor to complete the gun placement bunker. The artillery crew that was assigned to this post was unique in that they were all women.
They were credited with 8 kills in the first month, and the remaining subs hightailed it up Grand River and were never seen again. Each woman was awarded the coveted "sub sinker" award and a parade was held in their honor in Zeeland instead of Holland because Tulip Time was in full swing and this parade didn't fit the early vision of the festival. The bunker was decommissioned 4 months later and became a tunnel which today serves as a convenient pathway through a dune on the way to the lake.

Now you've heard the rest of story.

SUNSETS

"Each sunset is someone's sunrise..."
Dave Deur

FREEDOM

The flag of the United States is a great symbol of freedom. Today we celebrate the 231st anniversary of our independence and specifically, the wonderful freedom we enjoy each day. There is no other country quite like the USA where one can enjoy freedom that is, for the most part, unrestricted. Today and each day, I thank God for the freedom I enjoy as well as the countless men and women who've served our country to ensure that freedom.

KIEV...MEANINGFUL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

During my 13 day stay in Kiev, Ukraine there were far too many meaningful events to list here in this space but I thought it would be beneficial to list a few. What made these events and activities memorable and exciting, was God's unmistakable hand in the middle of it all! It was also a blessing to serve with a team of people (13 of us) who modeled a servant attitude every step of the way. Our shared experiences in preparation for the trip and then during the trip itself, built for each of us a lifelong connection. Here we go!

-Jack's testimony during our team preparation - third meeting. Worth the trip itself and we were still sitting in our living room! Priceless!
-Arriving in Kiev on June 14 and reality setting in, and then seeing Pastor Peter's huge smile and experiencing his even bigger hug, which are an obvious overflow from his heart!
-Settling in...meeting our hosts family and then preparing for the marriage conference. Our host family was incredibly warm and hospitable, always working toward meeting our every need. I cannot remember being served this way since I was a two year old with chickenpox.
-The Marriage Conference...Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon. We were unsure if our sessions would be practical, meaningful, helpful, and relevant in this culture. We spent much time in prayer asking God to use our thoughts and words as well as help our interpreter make sense of it all for His glory and praise. This prayer was answered over and over again!
-Our wish was to be used to bring hope and encouragement to marriages. God provided that for young and "old" marriages alike. In fact, we found out later that one of the couples present at the conference was ready to file for divorce, but during the conference they re-committed themselves to Christ and their marriage.
-Learning...marriage issues are the same and communication and conflict resolution principles were welcomed and embraced.

More later....