Making a Difference

Yesterday I went with our senior group "Encore" from Journey Church to the Billy Graham Museum in Wheaton, IL.






It is across the street from Wheaton College were Billy Graham went to school and met his wife Ruth.







The museum shows the life a Billy Graham and his influence around the world.  It is amazing how he started from humble beginnings and with his love of God and his wanting to share with everyone the great hope he found, he has had such a great impact in the lives of individuals- thousands of individuals.

The museum also shows the history of evangelism in the United States from it's very foundation as a nation.  What a revival these individuals and organizations brought about in the country.












Oh to have such a positive influence on people around us and to make a difference in the world.

You Can Do It With Enough Determination

Even though circumstances are not what you may have hoped for, you can still reach your goal with resolute determination.

We had wanted to take the RV we had purchased out for a test camping experience.  We chose to go a couple days to Starved Rock State Park which is a few hours drive from us.  The problem is that is was about the hottest week of the summer- in the 90's.  We wanted to do some biking and I wanted to do some hiking in the canyons.  I was hoping to take our dog with me so he could get some exercise.

The situation-
Temperature in the 90's.  Too hot to take the dog out hiking.
The park was a couple of miles from our campground.  Too hot to take the camper and park it at a trail head to go hiking.  Both my husband and our dog would be miserable in the camper while they waited for me to finish a hike.  We had to leave the camper in the campground connected to electricity for the air conditioning.  So this meant riding our bikes in the heat to the park if we wanted to see anything.

Solution-
I rode my bike in the early morning, when it was a little cooler, down back gravel roads to get to the east side of the park and go hiking on that end.  On the next couple of mornings I rode my bike to catch the trails in the middle and then on the west end. In the evening when it cooled off a little we took our dog out around the campground for a little run.


During the middle of the day, my husband and I rode our bikes the 2.5 miles each day into the park and spent time in the air conditioned hotel for lunch, took a bus tour in the air conditioned trolley, and sat in the shade to see a nature program about hawks. Mind you, when we got back to our RV, we were soaking wet in sweat.  Whew!








But we did it, I hiked, we biked, I got some nice pictures of the canyons and it is a vacation to remember.

Taking Photos Creates Memories

Photography creates memories.  I was watching Harley and the Davidsons on TV of how they started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I was watching the bikes they were racing and had to stop and look up an old photo of my Great Grampa Gallup who worked at the Harley-Davidson in Kenosha.  Those were the bikes!  My Grampa is the second from the right.