This past weekend my family rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN to take the boys to see snow.  Kind of ironic that the one weekend we are gone, Barnwell receives the largest snow in 6 years.  At any rate, we found the cabin fine after a 8 hour journey and detour.  The quote of that night was on a country rode off I40 when I pulled into an unpopulated gas station and the attendent in her Tennessee drawl said to me, “You gotch you a GPS?”  “Yes” Then she said, “Turn it off.  It won’t help you here.” The next day we went to the Dixie Stampede.  A lot of fun and Caden and Connor just laughed and laughed.  It started snowing a couple of hours before the show.  Not being from the mountains it didn’t even register that I may not be able to get back to my cabin.  We started back to the cabin at 8:30 pm.  As we approached the first road off the main road we saw car after car stopped.  I then turned right and approached the first steep road.  It was covered with snow.  There were two cars in front of me.  Both slowed to a stop.  A dually truck came flying around and started to slide and a large tree saved it from going off the side of the mountain.

It was at this point that I realized I was stuck.  I couldn’t back down the mountain.  It was too slick.  I couldn’t go up the mountain, I would slide.  I couldn’t sleep in the car…We were one mile at the bottom of the mountain from our cabin.  I wrapped the boys up and we started to walk.  I had a car full of groceries and only a few groceries at the cabin, but it was too much to carry.  I grabbed my gps and off we went.

As we walked it was a bit taxing as the steep grade was tough especially in the cold air.  The roads were not well lit and only a few individuals were walking. I was trying to act like everything was fine as not to alarm the boys, but Caden wasn’t buying it.  We prayed to Jesus and said, “Please get us to the cabin safely tonight.”  Why do we pray prayers and then assume that God isn’t going to answer them… After about a quarter of a mile I reached in my pocket to look at my gps.  We had traveled in the wrong direction.  I stopped the family and turned around.  The bad part is that it was a stretch that was down hill so we started back up the hill.  As we were walking back up the hill, I looked at the gps and noticed that we were to turn right…just when the gps went dead.

So here I am walking down a dark road, responsible for my family, no directions, a mountain to climb.  I didn’t panic but it was at this time that I said to myself, I’m turning around and going back.  Back to familiar territory.  Closer to my car.  Closer to civilization.  And as I turned around to tell Leisa, head lights of a vehicle were approaching.  The closer it got I could tell it was a gator ATV with an enclosed cabin.  It was as if God whispered in my ear, “Calm down.  The Gator is the answer you have been looking for.”  The driver of the gator  told Leisa and the boys to get in the cabin and I climbed in the back and off we went.  I knew that the hill going up to the house was going to be a steep one even in an ATV so I wasn’t completely convinced yet that God was answering my prayer.  She asked where we were going and I said, 2535 Raccoon Hollow Way, Sevierville, TN.  She asked where that was and I said, the only thing I can tell you is turn right.  As we approached what was familiar territory there were two drives to the left, both steep.  I wanted to make sure that we went up the right one because I did not want to come back down on that snow and ice.  I prayed, “Please Jesus make this gps come on.”  and it did.  I got a glimpse of where to go but it wasn’t conclusive, so she started up the farthest road.  As we went up the steep road I wasn’t convinced we were going the right direction.  Then I began to read the house numbers and they were larger than mine and climbing.  I realized we were going the wrong way, and I freaked.  I tapped on the glass and said, “I don’t know where we are mam.  I think we are in the wrong area mam.  I’m not sure which way to tell you to go mam. It may be best just to take me back down to where my car is.”  That’s when she said, “Just calm down.  I’m going to get you to your cabin.”  As we crested the hill the road continued down the mountain and sure enough the numbers started to decline meaning we were just a few 100 feet from my cabin.  Then there it was, “A glimpse of Heaven.”  (That’s the actual name of our cabin!)  I then got out and breathed a sigh of relief and choked up a bit realizing how awesome God was.  I asked her name.  She said Nell.  I told her she would one day be an illustration in front of 500 people.  She said, “You’re a preacher.”  I told her, “Yes”  She said, ‘Pray for my husband.  He just passed away in November.”  We gathered with her and prayed and also prayed for her safety as she was continuing to help others.  I gave her $20 for gas.  And down the hill she went.  I’d say that I was worried about her, but I’m starting to believe in prayer.

I’m sure there is a spiritual lesson in there somewhere.  You can probably figure it out.  For me though it was pretty simple.

Our family had a wonderful time together this past week.  After Thanksgiving we traveled to Orangeburg to watch my boy Rokeem and the Williston Elko Blue Devils win their first State Championship in 30 years!  It was quite a game and Rokeem had a game changing catch to convert on third down to sustain a game winning drive. 

On Saturday Leisa and the boys traveled down to Port Canaveral to board The Disney Wonder on a four day cruise to Nassau.  It was an awesome trip.  Both the boys were so excited and a bit wild, but the boat allowed them to let out their energy.  Connor got kisses from the princesses and Caden got autographs from all the characters.  We made a few new friends at dinner time as they sat with us.  Harris and Alisa from New Jersey and their daughter Faith.  Leisa and I won the newlywed game and got to go their spa on the boat which was an awesome experience.  Caden snorkeled for the first time at Castaway Cay and was able to see a few fish.  It was a great time for our family to recharge and create memories together.

On Thursday we got off of the ship and traveled to Orlando to the Nickelodeon Resort where we checked in and waited on the rest of my extended family.  My four brothers and their children and my mom and dad traveled down later that night.  My Dad has been battling liver cancer so this was a great time for all of us to get together and have a vacation away from everything.  It was my prayer that Daddy would make it through the weekend and be able to enjoy seeing the grandkids at Seaworld.  He has always wanted to take them there.  It rained all day, but we just pretended like it wasn’t raining and put on our ponchos and walked from place to place.  Caden and Connor fed dolphins and we saw several shows culminating to the Believe show with Shamu.  This was the highlight of the trip for me as the grandkids gathered around Papa and watched the show together.  They both got a whale tail necklace after the show that the divers were wearing (great marketing ploy!).  Connor rode the Polar Express with Daddy and got to see Santa with him and they took a picture together.  Connor asked if Santa could give him his gift a little early. 

On Friday night Connor started coughing every 10 seconds.  This went on for the next 24 hours!  It was aweful.  We went to urgent care and got an antibiotic for bronchitus and a steroid.  We still were able to go to the Magic Kingdom.  It was so crowded but we were able to all do the classics together.  We filled up a boat on It’s a Small World, and all went in the Haunted Mansion together.  The grandkids got a nap in the Hall of Presidents and then we rode a few more rides.  We headed back to the hotel and watched the Clemson game.  Then we went to a game show where Caden, Katie, Leisa, and I were contestants.  We won and Caden got slimed!  The imfamous green goo from Nick.  It was a great end to the week.

We traveled all day on Sunday and it was back to work on Sunday morning.  Luckily I work with one of the greatest staffs in South Carolina and are among some of the greatest people on the planet.  Everything was pretty quiet around here this past week and nothing skipped a beat.  It is a mark of good leadership among the staff and members. 

Now it is time to Expect the Unexpected!  Our new series this December.  I look forward to spending Christmas with you.

Well today we went back to the Grand Canyon to see it one last time, and we saw it from a totally new perspective.  En route we made reservations with a helicopter company to book a flight over the canyon.  We then got all psyched up and were the next in line and they grounded all the flights due to wind.  What’s 30 mph in a small helicopter over a mile deep hole?  Needless to say we were very disappointed.  They grounded all the flights for the rest of the day.

We then traveled to the Watchtower at Desert view.  Truly unbelievable.  Best view of the Canyon from the South Side in my opinion.  Great view of the river and the cloud cover provided a dramatic backdrop as the shadows cascaded over the canyon from them.   I became a photographer for other people from around the world.  There was a man from Italy and we talked about where I should visit in Italy.  Then there was a group of teenagers from Holland.  They were enquiring about South Carolina.  I told them it was a land that was very green, rolling hills, pines, beaches, and mountains.   It was also a place where gentlemen opened doors for women and said yes sir and no mam.  They got a kick out of that.  Then I jumped in the picture with them and took a photo.

We traveled back west and stopped at a view lookouts.  As we were leaving I called another helicopter company.  They said they were the only ones still flying and had one flight left.  We booked it against better judgement.  As we boarded the aircraft, the pilot asked us if we were scared.  He said that he was not, and that he had been flying for the past 30 years and had never had an accident.  I was thinking that’s every fallen pilots claim the last time they flied.  The copter went up and the wind whisked us from side to side.  Daddy was freaking out which was quite funny. 

We then flew over the canyon at 500 feet.  Unbelievable!  Couldn’t catch my breath.  Truly something that will be remembered for a lifetime.  The sensation of flying up to this great chasm and then over was overwhelming.  Then the pilot began to take cameras from us and take our pictures while turning around.  I was thinking, “You fly the plane, we’ll take the pictures!”  It was very nerve racking especially for Daddy.  I was laughing out loud!

We landed successfully allowing me to write this post and it truly took about 5 minutes to catch your breath.

We then traveled to Sedona, AZ to shop a bit, and eat our final dinner at the infamous Cowboy Club, an old saloon that has fed a countless number of actors including John Wayne.  Quite an experience.

Our journey out west is almost over, we head to the airport in Phoenix tomorrow.

We headed to Page, AZ today.  Driving north on Hwy 89 we went through the little painted desert and saw dramatic scenery through the Navajo Indian Nation.  Desert for as far as the eye could see and then sharp mountain ranges rising to the sky.  Sand dunes and llamas reminding me of Napoleon Dynamite.

We stepped onto a bus in Page and traveled down to the Glen Canyon Dam via a tunnel and when we emerged from the tunnel we were surrounded by shear cliffs at the base of a dam the size of Hoover dam.  We then stepped on board our raft with our fearless guide David Devries, who was quite a character.  He commented on my Clemson hat and said Gator Bowl…Go Huskers.  I’m  a Nebraska fan.  I responded with, “Sorry about 1981.”

Our journey through the Glen Canyon enroute to the Grand Canyon was indescribable.  The raft ride was serene and slow in pace, but it allowed you to really grasp the dramatic cliffs that rose above you.  Now imagine.  Man attempted to construct an amazing building that rose to the heavens at 1400 feet with the world trade centers.  We built not one, but two.  Now imagine one trade center after another side by side for 14 miles on either side of a torqoiuse river.  That’s a little something God designed.  The red sandstone towered above us 700-2100 feet high.  The width between the walls was about 100 yards.  It was quite impressive. 

We also saw Ancient indian petroglyphs.  They were etched into the side of the canyon wall.

After the trip, we headed back to Flagstaff and saw the sunset over the little painted desert and the full moon in the red glow of the sunset.  Pretty awesome day.

I cannot put into words the awe of standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon. If you have not been there, you will not understand. If you have, words are not necessary. No picture or video does it justice. You cannot feel the depth of the canyon and its expanse from a picture. The perspective of a bird flying at 2000 feet below you half way to the bottom of the canyon, just cannot be captured in art. You cannot stand at the rim and not feel small, insignificant, consumed with the presence of a artistic creator.

We saw a herd of deer, a couple of elk eating on the side of the road, and toured most of the lookout points along the south rim toward the west. We plan to hit up the desert view tomorrow on the way back from rafting.

I sat listening to a park ranger explain to me how the canyon was created millions of years ago through erosion and plate shifts, and I thought, “Why try to complicate this piece of art with science? I see a masterpiece from a creative sculptor that created the minds of the great artists of the renaissance. What if this was simply a work of art on display for us to experience the glory of God?

I asked him, “How do you know how old the canyon is?” He looked at me puzzled and said, “Geologist have looked at the sedimentary rock formations, calculated the erosion and how much time the river took to carve through. There have also been sea animals found here that must have been here when the sea was at this level during the blah blah period.” I said, “What if there was a flood and the sea animals drifted here? What if God caused something awesome to happen that created this great canyon? Carbon dating and other forms of dating assume a constant over time. What if the world was drastically different before and after the flood? A flood after the waters receeded would reak havoc on the desert.” The park ranger said, “I don’t think God would try to fool us into believing that this canyon was this old?” I thought to myself, “Who’s fooling who? God could have created this in a couple of minutes. Left it here with the intentions of us finding it later on in history just to show off his Glory. He’s not trying to fool anyone. He would be just showing you he’s God. We sometimes think too much and in our wisdom become fools.”

Sometimes we are too smart for our own britches, and we diminish awe inspiring things to theories that if told long enough become truth.

Mom, Dad, Craig (my bro), Kelsey (my niece), and I set out on our journey today at 4:45 am from Len’s home in Charlotte and flew into Phoenix.  Dad made it through security with a few fireworks but was able to get through nonetheless.  We rented a car and headed out across the desert for Sedona.  We stopped at a random mexican restaurant and it was pretty good.  We literally drove for 90 miles and saw no homes or signs of life other than the cars on the rode.

The Red Rock formations in Sedona were awesome.  We went up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  Then we rode up to a lookout to watch the sunset.  It was a beautiful view but a little over rated as there were not an array of colors, just a very bright star you couldn’t look at until it was gone.  alt=”" />

Sedona is known for its New Age influence.  I saw a guru walking down the road, but was not enlightened.  There are also these vortex’s everywhere that you can experience some kind of energy field.  We’ll have to do that another day.  Finally we rode the winding road to Flagstaff where we are staying for the night.  Tomorrow, the large hole.

This past weekend my family and my buddy Jeremy Creech and his family went to Hilton Head for a little rest and relaxtion, which included an 8 hour shopping trip one day and a day on the beach. 

Caden and I went searching for shark’s teeth and I found the largest shark’s tooth I had ever found.  We plan to make a necklace out of it.  While we were looking Caden found a broken shell that used to be a conch.  My five year old says many deep theological thoughts.  He walked up to Leisa and said,

“I know this is broken, but it once was part of something beautiful.”

Wow!  The young Billy Graham.  We all our broken in our sin, but we were once part of something beautiful before the fall of man - perfect communion with God.  We will be restored one day through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Confess Christ as Lord and start your journey toward being a part of something beautiful again.

We decided to go to Bermuda to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  My brother Len was going with his wife Nicole on a get a way/Wedding event.  The wedding couple was gracious enough for us to use their code in booking which saved about $2000.  At any rate we weren’t wedding crashers in the complete use of the term, but we did take advantage of the savings.

We landed on Wednesday, July 30.  After a $45 taxi ride, we checked into our plush hotel, Fairmont Southhampton.  Very luxiourious overlooking the turquois waters of Bermuda.  We set out for dinner that night at Mickey’s beach restaurant at Elbow Beach with Len and Nicole.  That night we enjoyed a romantic dip in the huge whirlpool outside and then called it a night.

On Thursday, we proceeded via our rented scooters to the Cup Match.  This is a once a year cricket match between Sommerset and St. George.  It was an experience with the locals that was so cool.  Imagine a two day tailgate party Bermuda style.  The stands were filled with Bermudians.  The stands were scaffolding where families would cook out and almost watch the cricket match all day.  We tried our luck in a game called Crowns and Anchors, a dice game that dates back 200 years.  We then enjoyed the afternoon on the beach at the Southhampton and dinner that night at the Waterlot Inn.  I dropped $120 on dinner and that was splitting an entree and salad with my bride. 

On Friday we set out to discover a new beach.  We found a secluded spot at Warick Bay.

This was the spot we found.  Unbelievable.  All we could hear was the waves, no voices.  Seemed to be all alone in a recessed cove.  It was unforgetable.  I snorkeled in the water you see and also jumped off the rock in the water.  I collected some sand from this beach which was very pink from crushed coral.  That night we went to eat at the Swizzle Inn, the oldest English Pub on the Island and had a seafood platter.  Cool experience, but a little noisy compared to the cove.

On Saturday, it was raining so we went into Hamilton.  Strolled around in the shops and then ate at Hog Penny Pub.  It was the inspiration for one of my favorite TV shows growing up, Cheers.  We went snorkeling in Church Bay for about 5 minutes.  Thought I was going to drown because it was so rough.  We then went back to the hotel and went to the pool.  An 80 year old man shimmeyed out on his balcony high up.  He was in a shirt and looked to have on very little underwear.  We he turned around to go back into his room, his exposed rear end proved that he was in the buff.  It was quite the belly laugh.  We ate at Lido which was an upscale restaurant on the beach at Elbow Beach. 

On Sunday, we ventured out to tour the Crystal Caves.  In 1907, two boys were playing cricket and lost their ball down a hole.  They started to dig it out and noticed it was a 100 feet sink hole.  They tied a rope to a tree and descended down to discover a cave with a 50 foot deep water hole that was crystal clear and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling.  Unbelievable site.  We then went to the Grotto Bay to check out their resort after the tour guide told us that they had caves you could swim in.  And swim we did.  Leisa and I went into one of the caves and took a dip.  Unforgetable experience.  We headed back to our secret cove with Len and Nicole that afternoon and then went to an Italian restaurant Bacci.

Monday was our last day so we headed out to the Royal Dockyard to check it out.  We shopped a bit and then headed back to our beach at the Southhampton.  After hanging out at the beach until about 7 pm we got ready and went to the Ocean Club which had seating out on a terrace over looking the water at sunset.  An unforgetable end to such a wonderful vacation together.

I was so impressed with the people of Bermuda.  They were so friendly and never once did we feel unsafe.  There were no slum areas and the island was very clean and beautiful.  They are family oriented people and have an English class that is very charming.  It was a wonderful week.   

I encourage you guys out there to take your wives off for a week away from the kids every so often.  We had such a great time hanging out together and talking about life.  You don’t have to fork out the cash it takes to go somewhere like Bermuda, but you need to turn off your cell phone and go off for at least a long weekend every year.  Your wife may give you grief about missing the kids.  So what, let her call them and take a few pictures along if she starts missing them.  If you have parents like ours that love to see the grandkids, they will make memories with them that will last for a life time.