I spent time at the Heard Museum, home of Native American art and artifacts, and the Phoenix Art Museum. While in Scottsdale I was able to get to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the many shops in Old Town Scottsdale.

The new Metro Light rail was great for getting around central Phoenix to downtown and on out to Tempe and Mesa.

It was great to sit outside in the mornings by the pool and read, soak up the sun and just relax! Often times when at home I don’t always find the time to just kick back and relax, at least not by a pool!

I’ve really come to love desert living and do plan on returning in the future! I’m wondering if I would enjoy living in Arizona when I retire. That’s a question I haven’t been able to answer yet. Retirement is years off yet, at least 6-8 years away.

From a tan desert dude, Dale.

Going: advance; proceed physically. We “go” on a mission trip to teach God’s word, and to make disciples of all nations!

Looking at the scriptures this week while on vacation, I began to find many verses that addressed the topic of “going” and missions. I want to share just a few of the scriptures that spoke to me this week.

“The hungry consume the harvest”. Job 5:5

“Come quickly to help me”. Psalm 38:5

“A man’s steps are directed by the Lord”. Proverbs 20:24

“RIch and poor have his in common: The Lord is maker of them all”. Proverbs 22:2

“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor”. Proverbs 22:9

What powerful messages we see in God’s holy words! It was confirmed to me once again that God is directing me to go to the mission field in the Middle East as a short-term missionary! I don’t know when but God does. That too will be revealed in His timing.

Sharing God’s holy word from the “warmth” of the Arizona desert….Dale (aka “Desert Dude”)

My time in Asheville began a few days prior to the conference. I spent time in Asheville, staying at the beautiful Doubletree Hotel Asheville at Biltmore. A great hotel within walking distance to the Biltmore Village and downtown Asheville. I was able to see most everything I planned on, and got a bunch of great photos too!

Tuesday rolled around and it was time to get over to Ridgecrest and help with set-up and prep for registration. Since I was there early it was he least I could do to pass time away. It was GREAT to catch up with friends I see just once a year. We all had lots to catch up and share with each other. And the weather was great! The afternoon was a pre-conference tour of Asheville, with stops downtown for lunch. It was a fun four day trip! We returned to Ridgecrest and I was off to lead an orientation session for the group. This has been a new feature of the conference, and its fun to share from my heart about CMCA. Dinner and entertainment was at Ridgecrest, with a host of comedy, music and sharing. The “afterglow” session, a time for prayer was awesome – and included an impromptu worship time (which I helped lead from the piano).

Always great time of fellowship in the hospitality room! It’s a time to unwind, kick back and visit with friends, and meet new friends!

Wednesday was upon us and a very full day! Breakfast followed by the reverse trade show, then off for our group photo. This was followed by lunch at Ridgecrest and then off to “The Cove”. We would be spending the afternoon and evening at The Cove. It was a very uplifting and great time at this incredible conference center! We had breakout sessions at The Cove, along with an evening program, with a warm welcome from Gigi Graham!

It was now Thursday, heading into the final sessions of the conference. Additional time at the reverse trade show, followed by an afternoon at the Biltmore Estates! What an incredible time touring the home and grounds, and lunch and breakout sessions!  If you ever get to the western part of North Carolina, you should take time and visit the Biltmore! It’s well worth seeing!

Our evening session was at the beautiful Lake Junalusak Conference Center, set on Lake Junalusak. The general session time was outside in the amphitheater, overlooking the Lake! I was able to get some incredible photos!

Incredible speakers, breakout sessions, music, comedy, and most of all — friendships!

Friday was travel day home, but came with weather delays! What started out as a 10 minute delay of m =y flight from Asheville to Detroit, ended up being well over four hours. Delta Airlines protected me on a different flight via Atlanta, which I was thankful they did! Despite the weather in Atlanta and the entire eastern seaboard, I was well over two hours late arriving in Portland!

God was richly blessed during the week at CMCA. People were blessed at CMCA. CMCA was blessed. I was blessed, and even conducted some business for a fall retreat! I was able to connect with a speaker at CMCA. As of today (May 30) we’re confirmed for the fall retreat!

If you are in need of a destination for a vacation or get-a-way, consider North Carolina! You’re just a few hours away from Tennessee! One of my favorite states!

Dale

Please go to this Picasa site and view my photo album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101414881460053825681/AshevilleNCApril2011#

As of right now, Sunday morning, I haven’t had much time to experience Asheville. Later, in a few hours, I’m heading over to Biltmore Village, just blocks from the hotel. I’m planning on heading over to the downtown area of Asheville, a good mile walk which I’m up for! Today’s weather is supposed to reach into the low 80′s! Woo Hoo, finally a warm weather experience!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on my blog, L-O-N-G overdue I see! I hope to post snippets of the mini-vacation along with highlights from the conference I’ll be attending later in the week. Tomorrow I’ll head over to Ridgecrest Conference Center and work with a couple of others on the conference orientation session I’ll be speaking at Tuesday afternoon. I’m attending the “Christian Meetings and Conventions Association” (CMCA) spring showcase conference. Looking at the attendee list I see several good friends will be here, some I haven’t seen for a few years!

“Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be In Carolina In The Morning”!

Dale

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.” I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.” How is it that there is no work going on here? I asked.

“So sad,” the angel sighed. “After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments”

“How does one acknowledge God’s blessings? I asked…”Simple, the angel answered. Just say, “Thank you, Lord.
“What blessings should they acknowledge?” I asked. “If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy. “

“And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.”

“If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.”

“If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation …You are ahead of 700 million people in the world.”

“If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.”

“If your parents are still alive and still married …you are very rare.”
“If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm; you’re unique to all those in doubt and despair…….”

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept. “Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and
for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it.

If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been blessed with, how can you not send it on???? I thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends.

• ceevee.com – This is a free resume site that will help you stand out from a “heap of humdrum” resumes. You plug in your experience and the website will give your credentials a professional design, as well as your own URL.
• jinni.com – Are you searching for a romantic comedy, a period piece, or a simply a movie that will boost your mood? This site lets you “watch” what you wish for, meaning you can type in your desired genre, then see a lost of films to choose from.
• mypunchbowl.com – Need a virtual even planner to organize your party? This party-savvy website allows potential attendees to vote on the best date, creates online invitations, and helps you find a theme, a venue, a caterer, and more!
• mypublisher.com – If you can snap a picture, then you can navigate this easy-to-use site, which helps you create a professional-looking photo book. You can choose from 10 book styles and more than 200 layouts, then drag images into the page templates. Prices range from $30 to $70.

Prepare a 19-ounce box of brownie mix. Spread half the batter in an oiled 8-inch square pan. Top with 16 York miniatures Peppermint Patties (13.6 grams each), leaving even borders of batter.  Spread the remaining batter on top; bake according to directions on mix.

Cool, cut into 16 squares.

Total Time: 2 hours | Makes 16

“We cannot go through a life-crisis and come out the other side unchanged. The fire will consume or refine—devour or strengthen—but it will leave its mark upon us. Adversity doesn’t have to harm us, but it must alter us. And we alone choose whether this change will be for the better or the worse.”  (A quote from Pastor John Stumbo at Salem Alliance Church, Salem, OR)

Saturday
• 5:00 pm: Worship Service
• 6:15 pm: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
• 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Free BBQ Hotdogs Available
• 6:30 – 9:00 pm: Self-guided Tours
• 7:00 pm: Warren Barfield Concert (amphitheatre)

Sunday
• 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 am: Worship Services
• 9:00 am – 1:00 pm: Free Pastries Available
• 9:00 am – 1:30 pm: Self-guided Tours

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning….

Uphill…barefoot…BOTH ways…yadda, yadda, yadda.

 And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in heck I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!  But now that I’m over the ripe old age of forty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a darn Utopia!   And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve got it!

 I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have the Internet.  If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the darn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!! There was no email!!  We had to actually write somebody a letter – with a pen!   Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents! Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our as*s! Nowhere was safe!

 There were no MP3′s or Napsters or iTunes!  If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car.  We’d play our favorite tape and “eject” it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that’s how we rolled, Baby!  Dig? We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting!  If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that’s it!

 There weren’t any freakin’ cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn’t make a darn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your “friends”. OH MY GOODNESS !!!  Think of the horror… not being in touch with someone 24/7!!!  And then there’s TEXTING.  Yeah, right.  Please!  You kids have no idea how annoying you are. And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!  It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent… you just didn’t know!!!  You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

 We didn’t have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!  We had the Atari 2600!  With games like ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Asteroids’.  Your screen guy was a little square!  You actually had to use your imagination!!!  And there were no multiple levels or screens, it as just one screen… Forever!  And you could never win.  The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!  Just like LIFE!

 You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!  You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!!  NO REMOTES!!!  Oh, no, what’s the world coming to?!?! There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning.  Do you hear what I’m saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

And we didn’t have microwaves.  If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!  Imagine that! And our parents told us to stay outside and play… all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort.  And if you came back inside… you were doing chores! And car seats – oh, please!   Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the “safety arm” across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling “shot gun” in the first place!

 See!  That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled rotten!  You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!

 Regards,

The Over 40 & 50 Crowd

(Send this to someone you’d like to make smile)