A Christian Travel Blog: Trip info on Monday and devotionals on Friday.
Make no mistake, I LOVED the Christmas experience of being in New York City last year. But, this year I’m across the Atlantic in the enchanting towns of Munich, Nuremburg, Salzburg and Vienna enjoying the famous Christmas markets that have been a part of their culture for several centuries. Look for lots of photos next week, but for today, please go back and enjoy some posts along with the photos from last year’s time in the Big Apple.
Ho, ho, ho! Enjoy the season, everyone!
As you read this today, Steve and I are visiting the Christmas markets in Germany and Austria. I am so eager to share the photos and impressions of our visit with you when we return. In the meantime, I wanted to take you back to thoughts I had in New York about the words from “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” https://www.conniewasthere.com/2018/12/21/when-hate-is-strong/
And, I want to share our experience attending worship at The Brooklyn Tabernacle. If you plan a trip to NYC, please, please, please time it so that you can go to this spirit-filled place. If you don’t think you’ll be able to visit in person, then go to their website and “have church” with them right in your own home. https://www.conniewasthere.com/2018/12/14/when-church-is-that-good/
Have a great week, everyone. Enjoy this season that points the world to Jesus.
Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
I love talking to Virginia Howell about Auburn University sports, especially football. She KNOWS whereof she speaks, has season tickets to all the home games and goes to an impressive number of away games. She might not return home from a night game until the wee hours of Sunday morning, but you’ll still find her faithfully in Sunday School and in her seat in the choir loft after very little sleep the following morning. She may love Auburn sports, but she loves her church even more. Maybe I should add here that Virginia is 85 years old. Clearly, being both passionate and loyal have helped her find the path to the Fountain of Youth. Her eyes and mind are clear and sharp. She inspires me.
While working on a writing assignment from Desoto Magazine about Belhaven University’s Singing Christmas Tree performances presented continuously since 1933, I had the privilege of interviewing another octogenarian who’s full of passion and loyalty.
Ms. Bettye Quinn recalls attending the Singing Christmas Tree event in Jackson, Mississippi when she was only 3 years old. The lights and music enchanted her and sparked her imagination. Since that night in 1937 (four years after the tradition began), she hasn’t missed a single year of attending this performance. Once she finds her seat this year on the first weekend in December, that will add up to 82 STRAIGHT YEARS OF ATTENDANCE!!!
Not only does Ms. Quinn love the Christmas concert, she also loves Belhaven University. Currently, she is an associate professor of Education and Director of Elementary Education, a position she has held for over 50 years. After she was hired at Belhaven, she went to the choir director and asked if she could sing with the group. He agreed, and she was actually one of the performers for 10 years, adding her soprano voice to the majestic chorus consisting of about 100 singers.
As a child, she loved sitting as close to the tree as possible, but now, as a senior adult, she finds a more accessible place to watch and listen.
Remarkable commitment to a tradition. Passion for seeing it continue. Loyalty to those who make it happen.
What are YOU passionate about? What subjects/events/occasions cause you to enthusiastically jump on board? What causes have gained your unwavering loyalty?
Loyalty to a university is admirable. Being a passionate fan of a sports team or a Christmas concert is fun and energizing. But, I believe we’d all agree that our HIGHEST LOYALTY and our MOST INTENSE PASSION should be focused on God, on the teachings in His Word and on being obedient to His commands. What would it look like if our unwavering commitment to God matched — even surpassed — the other passions in our lives? Is it too much to suggest it would be world-changing?
Proverbs 3:3-5 (The Passion Translation) — “Hold on to loyal love and don’t let go, and be faithful to all that you’ve been taught.
Let your life be shaped by integrity, with truth written upon your heart.
4 That’s how you will find favor and understanding
with both God and men— you will gain the reputation of living life well.5 Trust in the Lord completely,
and do not rely on your own opinions.
With all your heart rely on Him to guide you,
and He will lead you in every decision you make.
Here is a link to my story in Desoto Magazine. https://issuu.com/desotomagazine/docs/desoto-november_issuu Story begins on page 24.
Two places you must check out when you’re driving throughout Thoroughbred Country in South Carolina — roughly the area immediately east and south of Augusta, Georgia — are the Little Red Barn Pottery and Art Gallery in Barnwell, SC and Jim Harrison Gallery in Denmark, SC.
LITTLE RED BARN POTTERY AND ART GALLERY
Liz Ringus is the Master Potter who owns this store/gallery along with her husband. You can actually watch Liz work if you visit at just the right times. She may be best known for her face jugs, but she has plenty of other beautiful items on display as well. The face jugs have an origin that I learned for the first time. “Back in the day” everything in a home had a specific function, particularly when it came to pieces of pottery. The first face jugs were created to hold the hard liquor of the man of the house as a way to “scare” young children from drinking any. I believe these frightening, grotesque faces would have been a great deterrent, don’t you? It makes me wish we still had graphic tools like this to keep children and young people away from substances that are harmful. In my opinion, mere warning labels don’t have the same effect.
A number of other local artists have their works available for sale, too, at Little Red Barn (12080 US Highway 278, Barnwell, SC), so it’s a great place to find the perfect gift.
I was inspired by hearing of Liz’s work at a nearby prison. She goes once a week and teaches a 3 1/2 hour class to a group of inmates. She is justifiably proud of their progress both artistically and in the rehab they are going through to prepare for life eventually outside the prison. She mentioned that a variety of classes are offered at this facility. I applaud South Carolina for promoting such efforts.
I would strongly recommend that you browse the Jim Harrison website to learn about this fascinating man who died in 2016 at the age of 80, still actively doing what he loved. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a dual major in art and physical education, then coached for a number of years before deciding to pursue a painting career full-time.
His gallery at 4716 Carolina Highway in Denmark, SC. features limited and unlimited reproductions of the works he created during his 35-year career. I spotted one original painting near the front door with a price tag of $85,000!!!! But, most, of course, are less expensive. His Clemson Tiger and University of South Carolina Gamecock prints are particularly popular.
Jim Harrison may be best known for his works that incorporated the Coca-Cola logo, a company with whom he had a licensee relationship dating back to 1995. His fondness for the logo began when he was 14 years old and hired as an apprentice for J. J. Cornforth who had a contract for painting Coca-Cola advertisements on the sides of barns and stores.
Harrison considered himself to be “a self-proclaimed protector of old things and old ways” and was known as a public speaker and an author, in addition to being an artist.
While you’re in the vicinity, here’s another arts and crafts related suggestion:
If you’re in Thoroughbred Country during a weekend when the Living History Park is in full swing, you’ll be able to see costumed Early American reenactors weaving, quilting, candle-making and blacksmithing, among other things. Check this page for upcoming dates and events.
Immediately I was intrigued. The itinerary I was given for a recent visit to Thoroughbred Country in South Carolina included a short stop to get a drink of water at God’s Acre Healing Springs in Blackville, SC. What did it mean? What would it look like? How did it come to be called by such a name?
From what I learned, the Native Americans who originally inhabited the land considered the springs to be sacred and believed the water had healing properties. That belief was furthered by the story of some gravely wounded British soldiers being taken to the springs where they drank from the springs, bathed in the waters and eventually rejoined their fellow soldiers after being miraculously healed. The Edisto Indians eventually sold their land, and the Healing Springs Baptist Church was built next door. Rural churches in those days almost always had a cemetery on the grounds, but this church decided against digging a graveyard in order for the springs to remain pure.
The acre encompassing the springs was owned by L.P. Boylston, who surprised everyone by officially deeding that parcel of land to God in his will read in 1944. It was a shrewd move. 1) How was anyone supposed to collect taxes from God? 2) The government was forced to assume the responsibility of maintaining the site.
Today several gallons of water per minute spew from spigot pipes sunk into the ground, and a large sign states: “This historical property has been deeded to God for public use, please revere God by keeping it clean.”
In just the few minutes that I was there several cars drove to the site, parked on the gravel lot and brought their jugs from home and filled them with the water. When asked, they declared that the water was wonderful for drinking, and that they wouldn’t want to go a week without it.
I tried a bottle full for myself. The taste was good, and I didn’t get sick. It remains to be seen whether the effects, other than quenching my thirst, will be long-lasting. But what a thought that this land LEGALLY belongs to God. The Bible says that the whole earth is HIS. Why haven’t more people chosen to acknowledge that fact with a signed document? Or at least with an attitude of the heart?
Psalm 24:1 — ” The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (KJV)
And, don’t forget. The water at Healing Springs may be good, but Jesus offers a water that will keep us from ever being thirsty again.
John 4:13-14 — ” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” AMEN.
P.S. I hope you’ll stop by the springs when you visit this area. The address for GPS purposes is 2563 Healing Springs Road. And, if you are there at lunch time, a great Amish-Mennonite cafe is only three miles away. Miller’s Bread Basket is a popular comfort food place served cafeteria-style.
Last week I had the pleasure of exploring one of South Carolina’s 11 tourism regions. With the title of Thoroughbred Country, this one comprises four counties: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg and Barnwell, and it is located very near the Georgia state line outside of Augusta. I learned very quickly why the tourism representatives have added the tag “WAY MORE THAN HORSES.” Even though this is indeed horse country which hosts equestrian events of an impressive variety — polo matches, steeplechase, harness races, just to name a few — there is far more to the region than might first be visible.
Today I’ll draw a few attractions to your attention. The Willcox, an historic hotel with an impressive list of past guests, the Aiken County Historical Museum “Banksia” and Malia’s Restaurant.
Frederick Sugden Willcox came to America from England in 1891 and first served as a caterer for the Old Highland Park Hotel in Aiken. When it burned to the ground in 1898, he was encouraged by his friends to open a hotel of his own. The Willcox registered its first guests in 1900. The hotel’s commitment to excellence and impeccable attention to details lured many guests and forced it to expand from its original size on several occasions. Such notables as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Arden and Harold Vanderbilt have stayed at The Willcox. Both Travel and Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler have included it on their lists of the best hotels in the WORLD.
I loved the two-room Astor Suite that I was assigned. Such luxury and comfort! After coming in from dinner, I found the turn-down service with a fresh pitcher of ice water, soft music playing and a delicious chocolate treat on my bed. Breakfast the following morning involved a number of continental items as well as cooked-to-order dishes. I recommend that you consider this elegant lodging option when you visit Aiken, but don’t expect to stay there during Masters Week in Augusta. One year they even had to turn down the Duke of Windsor because every room had been booked. Wow.
AIKEN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The landscape of Aiken is dotted with some fabulous homes, dubbed “cottages,” that were built by Winter Colonists, rich and famous people who came to Aiken from the northern states to escape the harsh winters and to participate in the many horse-related festivities, races and contests. The Aiken County Historical Museum is housed in one of these cottages that was nicknamed “Banksia” by the family who lived there. An Aiken cottage was said to have “at least 22 rooms.” Banksia has 32 rooms, 15 bathrooms and a large ballroom.
This is the place to go to understand the beginnings of Aiken and all that has led to the present. Allow a couple of hours to do it justice. This museum has free admission and is open every day except Monday.
Malia’s, at 120 Laurens Street, is an upscale, white tablecloth, aesthetically-pleasing restaurant that serves great food. It has been in business for almost 30 years and is the passion of owner, chef and namesake, Malia Koelker.
I heard rave reviews about the braised short ribs, so that’s what I chose, along with the Asian deviled eggs for an appetizer. My friends and I sampled several of the delectable desserts. This is a wonderful place for a fantastic dinner, but remember that it is closed on Sunday and Monday and only serves lunch on Tuesday.
P.S. I would also recommend that you check out the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum on Park Avenue or a narrated tour of the town, such as Tailored Tours of Aiken.
A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I witnessed one of the strangest high school football games we’d ever seen. Our home team won 76-0, but what was happening across the field was troubling.
The home stands were filled. The band kept a solid repertoire of rousing music and cadences going. The cheerleaders stirred us up and threw plastic footballs into the crowd after each touchdown. Hundreds of nachos, burgers, sacks of popcorn and drinks were consumed. All of the normal Friday night happenings happened.
But, on the other side, it was the complete opposite.
I could count only a dozen or so in the visiting stands, and a few of those were actually the overflow from the home crowd. There were no cheerleaders or banners. Not a single blast from a trumpet or beat of a random drum.
The visiting team’s uniforms were white, devoid of decoration or color. The team members appeared to be lacking even the most basic skills or game strategy, such as not running the ball out of the end zone on a kick-off when an opponent stood at the 1 yard line ready to trounce. The home team’s defense scored almost as many points as the offense, because of poor ball handling skills. From what I could tell, the visiting team’s bus driver kept the motor running — likely anticipating an early departure.
By the time the second half started, some “mercy rules” were established. Two 8-minute quarters without stopping the clock except for heat breaks made short work of the massacre. We learned that even though it was the sixth game of the season, the visiting team had yet to score a single point.
That team desperately needed cheerleaders. They needed moms and dads screaming their heads off for every completed pass or first down — and there were a few. I wish our coaches had figured out a way to let them score and then encourage the whole home crowd to stand and cheer their effort. They fiercely needed a taste of victory to jumpstart their appetites for better, for more. How were they able to keep going out on the field once the score got so high in the other team’s favor? For that matter, where were they finding the courage and the motivation to keep showing up for practices? Why were there no cheerleaders or band members? And, most of all, why, oh why, were there no parents to lend even a tiny bit of moral support?
We ALL need cheerleaders. Life can get hard. We’re not going to win every game. We need someone or several someones pushing us from behind, whispering instructions in our ears, showing us how to improve and applauding our efforts at making even small amounts of progress.
My mother was the cheerleader in our family. We were devastated when she died suddenly. My dad, brother, sister and I struggled until my dad remarried, and our stepmother became a new cheerleader for us. Then, she also died, and our dad died. Now, we have to keep each other cheered and encouraged.
With my husband and children, I believe we each use our unique personalities to cheer each other in different ways and at different times. One might soothe, while another points to a carefully-constructed list of logical points. One might “whip into shape” while another makes us laugh. One just listens and hugs. And then, we switch roles and stay on track. Sometimes family members are the cheerleaders. Other times friends fulfill those needs.
Who are your cheerleaders? How do they keep you moving in a forward direction?
For whom are YOU a cheerleader? Is God bringing the name or face to your mind of someone who needs an encouraging nudge from a person who truly cares?
I believe we need to turn on our Cheerleader Radars and zero in on someone who’s thinking of quitting the team. Someone who’s wondering, “What’s the use?” Someone who’s had more losses than wins.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Small towns can have enormous civic pride, and I believe it often reveals itself in the form of public art. When a town cares enough to pay artists to paint murals in key places or create sculptures representing unity, deep moral values or the lives of deeply-loved members of the community, it says a lot. These works and objects provide beauty, evoke imagination, cause a chuckle, inspire and help to educate residents and visitors who come to their towns.
In June of 2018, Ms. Patricia Walsh wrote an article in Americans for the Arts outlining five reasons why public art makes a difference. From my observations as a travel writer, a former music and art teacher and as a lifelong promoter of the arts, I agree with her.
Art in public spaces plays a distinguishing role in our country’s history and culture. It reflects and reveals our society, enhances meaning in our civic spaces, and adds uniqueness to our communities. Public art humanizes the built environment. It provides an intersection between past, present, and future; between disciplines and ideas. Public art matters because our communities gain cultural, social, and economic value through public art.
Both Clarksville, TN and Cartersville, GA have relatively small populations, but their city leaders understand the impact of public art. Here are a few examples in each town that I was able to photograph in recent months. While you look at the photos, imagine what could be done in your own community.
Look for these works when you visit Cartersville and Clarksville and talk to your city council members about getting something started in your own town. There are many talented artists needing our support and encouragement. Or, tell me about the public art where you live. I’d love to come and see it in person.
During the last weeks of the summer, Steve and I enjoyed a magnificent spectacle off our back porch and through our family room windows. We had a flock of hummingbirds buzzing around our flowers and feeders that we estimate numbered more than 50. Many, many more than we had ever had before. The sight and that very distinctive humming sound were hypnotizing.
Steve was very particular about his “brew” (1 c. sugar to 3 c. water) AND about how he wanted it prepared. Which generally meant that I just let him do it. 🙂 To keep four feeders supplied, he seemed to be making a gallon or so of his brew every other night. He was diligent about the task, and he had been very specific in the spring with his flower choices. He WANTED these tiny creatures to find our yard, and they did.
Consider these fun facts I found on kaytee.com:
I looked a little further and found in thespruce.com that they have a heart rate of 1200 beats per minute. I was particularly interested in the preparations they make for their long migratory journey. Again in thespruce.com, I found that “as daylight levels begin to change, hummingbirds eat more on purpose and increase their weight by 25-40%.”
When our feeders were being bombarded with hungry hummers, they were racing to get fueled up for the long, solitary flight they were about to make. Their tiny brains told them what they needed to do. The Heavenly Father Who created them equipped them with the instincts to survive.
I believe that as Christians we also know instinctively what we need to do to stay healthy spiritually, to function as He intended and to stay fueled up for our own journeys. Here are some steps I can take to keep myself ready for what life brings:
We don’t usually have advance notice when an obstacle rears its head, when a diagnosis rocks our world, when an unexpected life event changes everything. It’s important to stay ready — to stay fueled up.
The Message paraphrase of 1 Timothy 4:6-10 reads this way:
” Exercise daily in God–no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.”
And, of course, we can’t leave the subject of birds without looking at Matthew 6:26:
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (NIV)
For five years now, Granddaddy (a.k.a. my Silver Fox) has been taking grandsons to an Auburn football game — first with 3 boys, then a couple of years with 4, now this year with FIVE. He has a gargantuan task, yet it’s one he embraces with his whole heart. They pile in the truck and drive for hours, arrive on campus and walk for miles, bake in the sun of the upperdeck, cheer until they’re hoarse, then drive for hours once again. Along the way, they make memories, laugh like crazy and eat at Waffle House, where, according to Sam “they give you free butter and syrup.” 🙂 In comparison, my job is a piece of cake.
For two of our children’s families, if their girls are allowed to visit, it means a free weekend for those two sets of parents. And, since those two girls have birthdays just 10 days apart, it makes perfect sense to celebrate here, get some birthday cash and spend a day shopping with Grandmomma (me!).
We put in some hard hours and literally do shop until at least one of us drops or until they spend all their money. Physically speaking, it’s an exhausting gig, but otherwise it’s pretty simple if we follow a few key principles. Entertaining pre-teen girls, after all, isn’t rocket science. 🙂
2. Tune into the radio station they request and be rewarded with sweet singing. In Birti and Megan’s case, the choice was WAY-FM, the Christian station, and they knew every song. What encouragement to my heart!
3. Allow them plenty of time to look, think and decide. This may be the most important point, and it’s a luxury that grandmothers have over their mothers. Their mothers have many plates spinning, simultaneously, every day. Their grandmother doesn’t — at least for this one day.
4. They get to choose where, what and when they eat. Even if grandmother is a travel and food writer and blogger with a cute restaurant in mind to suggest, on this day, their preferences trump my own. They were intent on continuing their shopping when hunger pangs hit. Understandably, getting in the car and driving to a restaurant when a perfectly good food court was within sight just didn’t make sense. The food court won.
5. Throw in a fun surprise. This year I suggested pedicures, and they loved it. No boring colors for them, though. Only the brightest and wildest. 🙂
5. Applaud their choices and admire the fact that they wanted to shop AND still have money left over. If they keep this up, they will have happier husbands in the future.
6. Savor the downtime moments. We got home in time for a dip in the pool, showers, then snuggling on the couch with pizza and the Auburn game on TV. Megan happily put her new Legos together, while Birti relaxed with her head on my shoulder. So nice.
Admittedly, younger granddaughters need much more guidance and supervision. With older granddaughters, you are lucky to get small snippets of their time and attention. Very lucky. Bear in mind that my EIGHT granddaughters range in age from 3 months old to almost 19 and a freshman in college. So, I’d say that these years between ages 10-14 are GOLDEN. I’m just glad to be a part of their lives at any stage.
Winning stores this year were at Parkway Place Mall and Target — Claire’s, Justice, Belk. Previous years have included Build-a-Bear and Bath and Body Works.
I’d love to hear what principles/suggestions/stores/activities you’d like to recommend, so I can begin thinking about next year.