A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Since I always wanted to visit the northeastern U.S. Colonial States during the fall foliage color change, I decided to give late September and early October a try this year. My primary museum resource was, of course, my “Guide to Over 900 Aircraft Museums – USA & Canada,” which gave me an approximate route for my trip. Next came the airline and rental car research. One friend, who had lived in the Boston area and still had relatives living there, recommended the Providence, RI airport for two reasons. One, because Southwest Airlines (I could fly free with points) had non-stop flights from Orlando to the T.F. Green airport in Warwick, RI; and two, because it was a smaller airport with much less hassle than JFK or LaGuardia. When I checked out the rental car prices, I found I could save over $250 by renting the same car at a downtown Providence location instead of at the airport. That savings would go a long way toward paying for my gas on this trip. Here again my Boston friend was able to assist me with Rapid Transit information to and from the airport to Providence. On most of my trips I find that talking to friends who have lived in the areas I plan to visit is a great source of valuable information. Next, I researched the Internet for “Things to do” and “Points of Interest” in the major cities of the states where my initial route seemed to be taking me. This narrowed the route down to more specific locations along the way. Then I approximated the distances between museums or attractions (including time at the museum/attraction) along my route to look for motel locations and rates (nights for the lowest points) so that hours on the road per day were reasonable. All this makes for a very time consuming process, but I enjoy the research and thinking about all the fun places and things I am going to be seeing.
I had planned to start my first day (flight day) after arriving in the Providence area, to pick up my rental car, and then visiting a museum and a memorial park before checking into the motel for the night. I was a little concerned about the timing of all this because my flight was scheduled to arrive at the T. F. Green Airport at 12:50 pm and the commuter train left the airport stop for Providence at 1:25 pm. If the plane was late, it would mess up my whole evening as the next commuter train would not leave the airport until 3:55 pm. My Boston friend assured me that I would have plenty of time to make the 1:25 train and not to worry. Right, easy for him to say! Well, as it turned out, the flight was early getting into the T.F. Green Airport, and I got to the train stop in plenty of time. Interestingly, there was a young man waiting for the same train I was, and I asked him about how to know which train was my train. He kindly explained and come to find out he was from Melbourne, FL (about 40 miles from Titusville, FL where I live) and had been on the same flight that I was on from Orlando. He was there to visit relatives and was very helpful with information about the commuter train system.
—–To Be Continued—–
What is going on in the world? This question seems to be on the minds of many people today as we consider world events. Some people face these times of uncertainty with great fear and dread while others engage these times with wonder and expectation. For those of us who are Christians, there is another question on our minds: “Do world events have anything to do with Bible prophecy and the return of Jesus?” While God is clear in His Word that no one knows the time or day when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36), He also tells us in the same passage to “keep watch.” He gave us specific prophecies in the Bible related to world events telling us these would be indicators that His return was near, and He stated that these anticipated happenings would grow in increasing intensity: “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8). The miracle of birth begins slowly, maybe even weeks before the actual delivery. Early contractions are so insignificant that many young mothers may not even notice them. As the prophecies of Matthew 24 begin to be fulfilled, they will start small and grow in significance. There is no doubt that we are seeing a growth in intensity of world turmoil, and some of these specific prophecies are becoming more pronounced with every passing day.
believe that God has given Christians equipment, or armor, to help us endure the evil days leading up to Christ’s return and to bear fruit during a time of unparalleled opportunity. Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” I shared these thoughts about this verse in my book: “While ‘the day of evil’ can refer to a time of intense temptation or spiritual conflict that can come at any point in any Christian’s life, it seems that God may be calling us to think about THE day of evil. Is it possible that this passage is calling Christians approaching the last days to prepare for battle by putting on spiritual armor?” With that question going through my mind, I began studying Bible prophecy about the last days comparing it to the teaching of the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6. The connection was significant, and I believe there are important implications relating the spiritual armor for the last generation before the return of Christ. These implications are not only important for us, but also for our children and grandchildren.
Old Things R New 