Ps Doug Holck

Evils of online networking

2009-07-29T12:19:00.001-07:00

You got to read this!

http://www.collidemagazine.com/article/238/the-evils-of-twitter-and-facebook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=the-evils-of-twitter-and-facebook&utm_campaign=072309

Noah flooded his life with right things

2009-06-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Noah's life was lived in the midst of his culture: he lived morally correct (just/righteous), blamelessly before others AND he walked with God! What a concept! Why can't we?

Don't Want to Go Through the Motions

2009-06-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

Check it out:
http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/13534/The-Motions--Matthew-West

Sidewalks and Paths

2009-06-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

I’ve a question: where’s the adventure in walking on sidewalks?
“Doug, you walk the sidewalks where I walk and you would see. It’s not safe!”
Okay, I’ll allow that. However I still ask the question: where’s the adventure in walking on sidewalks?
Give me a path to walk any time and I’ll take it. You never know where a path will lead or what it will throw your way. When I was young, living on an almond ranch in Capay Valley, we had to be careful of rattlesnakes. No problem! It was part of the adventure walking the path.
Today, we’re civilized and with the exception of places like the mountains, or a beach access, paths hardly exist.
If sidewalks are a sign of being civilized, perhaps we’re to civilized. We’ve lost nature’s ultimate visual reality—walking paths. Sidewalks erase adventure. They’re too predictable.
In our search for adventure, we’ve settled instead for virtual reality video games, where adventuring is artificial. Or, shows where others do the adventuring and we “spectate.”
As followers of Christ, have we become sidewalk Christians? Following prescribed ways of coming and going. In so doing have we lost the adventure of taking a path that leads to where we’re not sure, or do not know?
God said he would direct our paths. He’s the God of adventure. In fact he put the “advent” in adventure. (Leonard Sweet)
Let’s decide together to get off the sidewalk of coming and going like we always have and start walking a path to where we’re not sure, or do not know. (For those who’ve lost the spirit of adventure, here’s his promise: “[My] word is a lamp to [your] feet and a light for [your] path.” Psalm 119:105)
By faith lets hike the path. Sidewalks are for sissies. (Now I am in trouble.)
Yours for the path set before us,
Doug

Leaving our first love

2009-05-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sadly, we fall in love with the donkey, rather than the One who rode the donkey.

Mom's Generosity Transformed a Life

2009-05-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

I learned it again these past 6–8 months as I watched my mother open her home and pour her life into one of her grandchildren.
I know God ultimately does the work, but I believe God uses people with generous spirits to transform lives.
We were placed here to display God’s generosity. When, with a spirit of generosity, we give, God uses it to transform lives.
Mom, on this Mother’s Day, thanks for a generosity that transforms. All your children rise up and call you blessed. Your generosity transformed a life.

Matter of life and death

2009-05-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

It is a matter of life and death for the culture that followers of Christ are clothed with compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility and patience. The world doesn't need more toxic Christians.

Chicken-a-la-carte

2009-04-30T08:56:00.001-07:00

Check out: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte#videoDetail

Enthusiasm for Others

2009-03-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Titus 2:14 reads: He died...so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others.

The rescue is not only for my own good but the the good of others.

Enthusiastically, I personally respond to the forgiveness of sin. With the same enthusiasm God calls me to do kind things for others.

God help me in this area for self-centered enthusiasm is narcissism. It stinks. May I not be a closed bud, but a full bloomed flower opened outward, bringing beauty and fragrance to the world about me by the enthusiastic doing of good for others. Amen

Is the Whole Earth is Filled with His Glory?

2009-03-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 6:3

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Really? I mean really?

Is it possible the space I call my life is void of His glory?

Have actions, intentional or not, created a vacuum void of His glory?

This I know: a vacuum void of His presence will be filled with something. With the Spirit’s help I pray it is God.

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

What would you do with $100,000?

2009-03-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Matt Wiemer teaches fourth grade at Fresno Christian School and is part of the leadership team in PC for Children Ministries on Sunday mornings. Currently, Mr Wiemer, as he his known to his students, is teaching about the California gold rush.

Camden, our grandson, is in the class and is deep into this part of our state’s history. It has the adventure and intrigue that draws in young boys. One of Cam’s assignments is to tell how he would spend $100,000 of gold he had just found in the Sierra foothills.

Carol asked him for his answer. Here’s what he said: he would buy himself a blanket, then blankets for everyone in his family, then use some to buy blankets for homeless people. Given that there are a lot of other options for a nine year old, we thought he answer was pretty good and showed a carry heart.

I’ve been reading Jentezen Franklin’s book, Fasting. In it he draws attention to Matthew 6, where Jesus speaks, “When you give to the poor…” and “When you pray…” and “When you fast.” This is a pattern by which the child of God is live: giving, praying and fasting. Ps Franklin states, “When giving, praying and fasting are practiced together in the life of a believer, it creates a type of threefold cord that is not easily broken.”

In reading Matthew 6 I’m reminded of Isaiah 58, where the people of Israel fasted and prayed, but God was unhappy with them because they did it to be seen and they overlooked injustice, oppression and the poor.

This past year, when we had 40 days of fasting, Brad and Kellie, Camden’s parents, taught and practiced with their family the value of prayer and fasting. In addition the family helped those who were in need.

As the pace of 2009 picks up, I pray we not lose sight of these three components of our faith: giving to the poor, praying and fasting.

OH! There’s one more part of the story. Carol asked Cam what he would do with the rest of the $100,000. His quick response, “I’d hire a butler to do my homework, clean my room and make my bed.” Draw your own conclusions from that!

Blessings,

Go to the End of the Road

2009-01-27T06:36:00.000-08:00

“Go to the End of the Road”

For a Christmas present this past December I bought myself a TomTom GPS unit which Carol and I used on our recent trip to Hawaii. A number of the roads in Kauai and Maui are a dead end. Several times the GPS’s electronic voice would state, “Go the end of the road.” Or, “At the end of the road, you have reached your destination.”

A go to the end of the road moment was the road to Kauai’s Waimea Canyon. Mark Twain called it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. I would describe it as the Grand Canyon covered with moss.

Leaving the town of Waimea, you zigzag your way up a mountain. As you do, you have an ever-increasing panorama of the coastline of Kauai and the Pacific Ocean.

There are numerous places to pull over and take a look at what is behind you. Then... Choices: do we go on? Do we abandon the rest of the trip? Perhaps staying at the vista point. Or, making the decision to go back?

We came to a place, where there was a lookout—the main lookout. We got out trudged up the stairs, were blown away by what we saw. It was a “wow” moment. Waimea Canyon spread out before us! For more than a few minutes, we stood there drinking it in. God’s creation in full splendor.

Finally, we turned to walk back to our car. Walking down the steps, we passed a couple. The husband, obviously bored, trailed his wife. This was the last place he wanted to be. I smiled to myself, knowing what I’d just seen. He reached the summit of the stairs. He reached the summit and exclaimed, “Oh WOW!” I chuckled aloud.

Back in our car we drove to the end of the parking lot, where there was a sign: Kokee State Park to the right. Waimea left. We went right heading toward the end of the road.

We came to what seemed to be the end. There was a humble lodge, a museum, and a place to obtain a wilderness permit for hiking and camping and a lot of chickens! Feral chickens are everywhere in Kauai.

To my surprise, beyond the expansive grass area in front of the lodge was a single, pothole-filled lane of asphalt with a sign in Hawaiian: Kalalau Lookout. We took it, pulling over more than once to let those returning down from what was ever up there go by.

At the end of the road we came to a lookout with a view looking beyond the Waimea Canyon towards the ocean. Depending on where you stood, there was either sunshine, mist or full on ran. Such is Kauai. The debate was whether we would get out of the car. We did, and were ever glad. It was one of the greatest of “aha moments” of our trip to Hawaii.

Stretching out before us was a sloping valley flowing all the way to the ocean and above it was a full rainbow. It was worth the ride to the end of the road!
Isaiah writes in Isaiah 56:1—3, 6—7, “1This is what the LORD says, ‘Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. 2Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.’”

In other words, “Keep going to the end of the road! Keep doing what is right. You may be tempted to stop and campout at your present vista, maybe even turn back. But don’t do it. Go to the end of the road.

Here’s the payoff. Isaiah continues writing the words of God, “6 I will also bless the foreigners [Gentiles] who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant. 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.”

When we follow to the end of the road, what is promised us is an AHA MOMENT like none we’ve ever thought or imagined! My friends keep going to the end of the road for he will bring us to the holy mountain and we will be filled with eternal joy!

Go to the end of the road!

S.O.A.P. God's Word

2008-08-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Since the challenge on Sunday to gain Godly wisdom, many have shared what God has already shown you through His Word. One grandmother told me her daughter-in-law is taking her 6yr. old twin girls through it, asking their mom to not stop reading.

I linked Pastor Wayne Cordeiro's (New Hope Community Fellowship, Honolulu Hawaii) S.O.A.P method with the parable of ten virgins (5 wise and 5 foolish). The gathering of wisdom causes our light to shine brighter and gives a never ending reservoir of wisdom's oil.

Here's the short of the message:
1. We must know the difference between planning and preparation (God plans, man prepares)
2. Preparation positions us to fulfill God's plans
3. The gathering of wisdom is a part of God's preparation for us.
4. Enter the S.O.A.P method for attaining wisdom in our lives.
Bring a Bible (devotionals, while good, are not a substitute for our reading the Word of God)
Bring a Pen
Bring a Reading Program (systematically read through the Bible)
Bring a Journal
S = Scripture: Choose a verse or two through which God is speaking to you
O = Observation: what God is saying here?
A = Application: What is God saying to you?
P = Prayer: write a prayer solidifying it in your heart.

Please share with me your stories as a result of taking this 30 day challenge through this blog, or by emailing me: daholck@peopleschurch.org

Proverbs 18:4 reads, "A wise man's words express deep streams of thought." (LB)

Be blessed! Be in God's Word. Drill deep. Be filled with God's wisdom!
Doug

It's Not about Me

2008-05-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 2 Corinthians 4:5

Two Days from Here

2008-02-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had an experience that’s rocked my boat.

Carol and I were taking our friends Pastors Luiz Carlos Pinto and Fabio Leonardo Pinto to the airport for their return flight to Brazil. We stopped for a left turn signal at Cedar and Shields.

Coincidently, the center median is the stake out of a homeless American Vet.

I rolled the window down to give the guy a couple of dollars. The homeless man looked at me dressed in a coat and tie and asked, “Are you going to church?”

“No, but I work at a church.”

“Which one?”

“Peoples Church.”

“Hell! Where’s that?” (using his language, not mine)

“Back up the street at Cedar and Herndon.”

“That’s two days from here,” he replied as he took the money. Then before walking away he added. “Thank you sir, have a nice day.”

The light turned green and my mind raced forward. Wow! What a word picture. Here I am working at a church five minutes from a guy who’s two days away. No wonder Jesus said, “Go into all the world.”

It’s less of a journey for me to go and get him, than it is for him to come and get it.

Five minutes from here is two days for him!

Three Questions

2008-02-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Three questions:

1. Do you know how hard it is to embrace your grandchildren (or anyone else for that matter) when your arms are full of groceries?

2. Do you know how hard it is to worship God when your mind is full of other things?

3. Do you know how hard it is to have compassion for the world when your arms are clutching all you own?

Okay, question #4: What would happen if you put down all those things and with open arms embraced the one (The One) in front of you?

Unfullfilled Expectations

2008-02-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

Before going to bed last night, I took a look out the front window. Granville Avenue was dark. Completely dark. Six to eight non-working street lights, victims of thieves who stole the prized copper wire. Now the lights stand as daytime symbols of unfulfilled night-time expectations to fill darkness with light.

After a few minutes in bed it hit me: if we're not careful (individually and corporately) thieves could steal our power leaving us as only a symbol of an unfulfilled expectation God has for His Church—to be light in the dark. Prayfully, when people look at the church they will not see us as lights out, an unfulfilled expectation.

God's Blogs

2008-02-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just finished Lanny Donoho's book, "God's Blogs." I've had this book since receiving it at Catalyst in October. I started yesterday and finished it today. It's a must read. I'll not give it away but it's very creatively written. Favorite blogs: Money, Time, Preachers, Weddings, Olympics, Tsunamis. Read it all. I've not done it justice to pick these over the others.

Thanks Lanny for an awesome book and making it available, like blogs, for free (at Catalyst).

If All You can See is the Mountain, You're in Trouble

2008-01-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

At the "Celebration of Life" Service for Rose MacAlpine, I shared the following account of a flying experiencing while traveling with our Pastor, GL Johnson, some friends and associates:

One of the memories of my time here at PC is a trip with Pastor Johnson, Ed Baloian, and a couple of others on our staff. We were flying in Ed’s plane, returning home via Arizona. In the distance I could see Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental US. The more I looked at it through the window of the plane, the more certain I was that we were going to crash into the mountain—it would be the end. Finally, trying to sound brave, but wanting to alert the pilot to the looming mountain, I said something to Ed, who was facing me. Without looking over his shoulder, he stated, “If you can see the horizon beyond the mountain, you’ve nothing to worry about. You’ll fly right over it. You’re in trouble, when all you can see is the mountain.”

Some would see death as a mountain, spelling an end. Rose saw it as a fly over point as she moved into the forever horizon of God’s eternal heaven.

If all you can see is the mountain, you’re in trouble.

Away Isn't Always So Far Away (Part 1)

2007-06-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

On a recent stay at a Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles I read the following on a card placed by the phone:
“Away isn’t
always so
far away.”

The implication: telephones reduce the distance between friends and family. With the advent of cell phones, don’t we know that, “away isn’t always so far away?”

Check out Psalm 63!

Hiding in the desert, away from the threats of Saul, David longed for the close presence of God. In fact, so intense was his desire that his body ached for God. In this context David writes about his relationship with God, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:7–8)

Away from home, away from those he knows, away from those with whom he worships, David longs for the presence of God. When he stops to think about his circumstances, he realizes with God, time and geographical distance is not an issue. “Away isn’t always so far away.” He is there even in the night watches (v. 6).

The old saying, “out of sight, out of mind,” is not the way of God toward those who call Him, “Lord.”

He promises he “will never leave us or forsake us!” (Joshua 1:5)

No matter what we feel, or can’t see, He is there! He is always on the line.

With God, “Away isn’t always so far away.”

Elvis has left the building

2007-05-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Recently on American Idol, through the wonders of modern video technology, Celine Dion sang a duet with Elvis Presley. Wow, what a moment! When finished, I recalled the phrase attached to the closing of "The King's" concerts, "Elvis has left the building."

Have you ever felt like leaving the building?

I don't mean checking out of life completely, although I guess what I want to say would apply to that also.

I mean: do you ever just want to give up on things, the present circumstances, the relationships, your job, your walk with God, etc.? Okay, so more than once I've said, "Doug has left the building!" Usually I've said it in a "feel sorry for myself" moment.

The Psalmist David had such an opportunity to leave the building. Psalm 11 is his response to those who encouraged him to run when King Saul was after him.

Psalm 11 starts not like other Psalms with a lament, but rather with a statement of faith. 1
In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
"Flee like a bird to your mountain.
For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.

David realized that fleeing only put himself in a place of vulnerability—as vulnerable as a small, hunted bird in the moutains. In fact he realized that already there were those waiting with bows ready to shoot him down.

The Word says that Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Here's a thought, I've never seen on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, a lion roar just before it bounced on its prey. Instead it hid itself in the grasses looking for the right moment to spring. Roaring came later, after the kill. Before the kill, only stealthful stalking.

David new that leaving the protection of God's refuge would mean disaster. For quietly, without warning, from the shadows would come a close or fatal encounter with the enemy. Why risk it?

So David finishes the question with: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

His answer is in verse 4:

The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes the sons of men;
his eyes examine them.

God never leaves the holy place of watch over those who are his own. He is ever watching, never sleeping, not even dozing. The "REAL KING" never leaves the building! Therefore, I will not leave the sacred place of refuge afforded those in his care! It's not worth the risk.

David ends with the promise for those who persevere, "Upright men will see His face." The ungodly flee, but the righteous, prevail, seeing the face of God, both now and for eternity.

However tempted you may be to "leave the building", to forsake the assembling of yourself with others of the faith reconsider. Remember, you're only putting yourself at risk. God never leaves His place of watch over you, do not leave His place of sacred refuge.

His for The Journey!
Doug

The Squinting Eye of God

2007-05-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

This past week Carol and I visited a fast-food eatery, specializing in tacos and etc. And now when pressed we can say, relunctantly, we went there once! Fortunately, they had pictures, because even under normal circumstances, it was impossible to read the posted menu and prices. Admitedly, the contact I was wearing for distance reading was an old one, as I'm awaiting a replacement. The only way I could begin to read the prices was to squint. Finally, I gave up and chose a pictured carne asada plate. (A greasy, bad choice!)

Later that day, I read Psalm 11:4:

The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes the sons of men;
his eyes examine them.

KJV puts the last part like this: "his eyes behold, his eyelids try"... Meaning, God's eyes are always squinting in our direction, on our behalf—viewing each detail of our lives. Not like a God with a fly swatter, ready to hit us when we land someplace we don't belong. Instead His concern is a benefit to us, as He searches the depth of the soul, and our slightest glances (Treasury of David). In this the Psalmist took refuge (v. 1) knowing it was better to stay in the refuge of an ever watching God than stray to a place of vulnerability, away from God's protection.

Remember, you're never far from the squinting eyes of God! (BTW: God doesn't have to squint, it's a picture to us of His attention to the most minute detail of our lives.)

His for The Journey!
Doug

"I know how you feel, papa!"

2007-04-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, I needed some space to process an unexpected event—some alone time to try and make sense of a situation.
In midst of it our three-year old granddaughter, Abbie, was visiting and was persistent in her desire for attention from papa.

Finally, she came into the kitchen, where I was trying to console myself with food, looked up at me and said, “I know how you feel, papa. I know how you feel.”

Now how does a three-year old know how to say something like that? And, aren’t grandparents supposed to be the ones who kiss “ouchy-booboos’? Here she was ministering to my pain.

Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter, I was spending some quiet time on our patio, preparing for that evening’s Easter service. Before me was Psalm 116:8–9:

“For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.”

Suddenly, it hit me!

While we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter, we, also, celebrate our own resurrection. God, through Jesus, has delivered our souls from death, so that we may now walk before the Lord in the land of the living!

In the challenge of a moment, in the pressures of life, the unexpected pain, the twisted turn of events, the death-defeating Jesus says to us as we walk the resurrection journey, “I know how you feel, my child. I know how you feel.”

The words of Psalm 116:8—9 become real. They become life. They kiss the ouchy-booboo. They become worship. They celebrate Christ’s resurrection! They my resurrection!

“For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.”

“You know how I feel, Jesus, You know how I feel!”

St. Paul's Cathedral

2007-02-20T07:49:00.001-08:00

“How Sweet the Sound!”

A Service to Commemorate John Newton, with music by Christine Collister

One of the benefits of having traveled more than a little bit, is the opportunity to visit other churches, especially some of the world’s greatest cathedrals:
• Notre Dame in Paris
• Cathedral in Cologne, Germany
• Westminster in London
• Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England
• St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome
• Canterbury Cathedral in England
• St. Patrick’s in New York
• Cathedral in Mexico City
• to name a few.

Add to that list, now, St. Paul’s Cathedral (Church of England) in London.

Sunday night past, February 18, 2007, I attended the 6:00pm Evensong Service. The service was titled, “”How Sweet the Sound,’ A Service to Commemorate John Newton, with music by Christine Collister.’”

What a wonderful evening as we sat in this huge cathedral, where by the way, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married. The forty-five minute service, which included the cathedral’s huge pipe organ for prelude and postlude featured singer-songwriter Christine Collister singing only a cappella some of John Newton’s best-loved hymns and spirituals originally sung by slaves.

Canon Edmund Newell joined her in leading a special service celebrating the life of clergyman, hymn-writer and anti-slavery campaigner John Newton. It marked the 200th anniversary of Newton’s death and the passing of the Act of Parliament that brought to an end the British slave trade.

Newton, a former captain for a ship carrying African slaves, a profession he continued awhile after his recommitment to Christ.

The service was great as each song echoed through the cathedral. Several times we joined in singing. Especially wonderful was Amazing Grace!

On the way to the concert, I stepped out in front of a car was nearly hit!

God was with me!

Love you all!
His for the Journey!
Doug

The Taxi Ride

2007-02-20T01:58:00.001-08:00

The Taxi Ride!

We reached London, Sunday morning at 10:25am after descending through the obligatory layers of clouds covering England. When isn’t it cloudy in England?

Except for the long line, customs was uneventful. What followed was history making.

We were trying to decide how to get to our hotel. Having landed in Gatwick airport, we needed to transfer to our hotel, The Heathrow Thistle. Which as its name indicates is by Heathrow International Airport. We would find out soon enough that the hotel actually sits on one of the runways. (HINT: with the heater running on high in the room, you never hear, or feel planes coming or going.)

Transportation choices were simple: take a transfer bus, which would take us directly to Heathrow Airport then require a taxi to our hotel, or use public transit—a three hour process at least, which would include train, subway, bus and perhaps a taxi to a hotel, whose whereabouts we knew nothing of. All of this with luggage in tow.

Long story short: out of nowhere, as though it was a miracle, a third option emerged while three of us were off using the facilities! An independent taxi driver appeared! Independent means, he is not part of infamous, mostly black cabs, London cabs with their incredibly knowledgeable cabbies. Independents act as the name implies—independently. Usually, there’s no signs on the cab, no information regarding the driver, etc. My personal experience with them is that the drivers are of foreign descent.

No doubt he had watched us go up and down a long hallway, attempting a decision. However, he never approached the four of us! They seldom do. Waiting until there’s only one, at the most two left guarding the four large suitcases, coats, computers, etc. Richard D. Barnes guarded the bags; we decaffeinated. Upon our return, Richard had arranged transportation! Well, so it seemed. Pricing was open for discussion. No problem with our luggage and the four of us. No problem at all.

Before leaving the terminal, he needed coffee. So off he went with George to find coffee for him and three of us. A decision I hoped we wouldn’t later regret, seeing we had just relieved ourselves of seven hours of the black liquid magic. Who knew where or when we would find the next restroom.

The driver, dressed in a pink shirt with a pink and white tie, tied three inches short of his belt, seemed like a nice chap (English for a nice guy). We later discovered he was Moroccan, had lived in England for twenty years and had friends with great Moroccan restaurants, complete with dancing women. We declined the one with dancers, and took his recommendation for one with just food and gastric unsettledness.

We packed three of the suitcases, computers and coats on a trolley, (English for an airport luggage cart) and headed for the taxi. What an experience that was, as our driver with one hand on the trolley and the other carrying a cup of coffee, guided the “mind of its own” trolley through a hallway, a sloped walkway, through doorways, around halls, a parking garage and unsuspecting travelers, who darted in all directions, attempting to dodge the onerous four wheeled moving van. With a pastoral sense of responsibility for our earthly possessions, I followed close behind the way-making trolley.

Passengers, like us, had traveled all night. Reflexes were less than swift, and almost became victims of the trolley and driver as both zigzagged the distance between terminal and taxi. At one point they into a wall. At another, the trolley added a good six inches to a doorway—shifting suitcases. So what if there was a gap between the automatic door and the doorframe. Now there was more room for the next trolley to navigate. I finally came to the rescue of our luggage and the driver by offering to carry his cup of coffee. It was when I took his cup that I realized the trolley was not completely to blame, as there was only a small amount of coffee left in the cup.

The only relief for passengers came when the driver stopped to use a restroom. Dozens darted past us, hoping to put some mileage between the trolley and four boisterous American before the driver returned. Word spread fast regarding our trolley and its driver, as for the next thirty minutes, the evacuated hallways became a ghost town.

Finally, like a prisoner set free from the confines of his cell, we reached the car park (English for parking garage). I looked down the row parked vehicles—all small foreign made cars except for one at the far end. There, a head and shoulders above the rest was a Toyota van. For a moment, I thought, “There is a God!”

Why the driver chose to push the errant trolley so closed to the parked cars, when there was a full lane we could use, I don’t know. Without incident we moved parking stall by parking stall closer to the “our” Toyota van.

Suddenly, without warning, we stopped, two cars short of Nirvana.

“Here we are,” informed the driver.

“What!?” Richard exclaimed.

“No way,” chimed George Temple

“I don’t believe it,” moaned Daniel, son of George.

I simply smiled. Shook my head. I felt a blog coming on!

“Here we are!” “What!?” “No way!” “I don’t believe it!” was a Peugeot sedan, the size of a Toyota Corolla.

“No problem,” assured the driver, as he opened the trunk and began loading our luggage, counting as he tossed them in. “One, two, three.” Well, more like 2 and a half! Daniel’s “soft side” didn’t quite fit. But after three or four more running attempts, and a few grunts and groans, the later mostly from Daniel, he had it in there. Fortunately, Richard had packed two small suitcases rather than one large. The decision was made to hold them in our laps.

Getting in the car was worth the price of a first-class roundtrip ticket to London. I decided to sit on the left in the back. No problem. Except, now Daniel was standing next to me, waiting to enter. So, I crossed over the car to right. Somehow, in transit across the seat, my left foot arrived on the right side of the car ahead of my right foot, which was now pinned under the front left seat! I couldn’t move!

With precision and quickness, Daniel in anticipation of my moving over was already in the car and mostly on top of me! I was pinned for the count. With body twisted in a way it wasn’t supposed to rotate and bordering on claustrophobia, I cried, “Help me! Move the seat someone! I’m caught!” Only Jeff Salley could fully get the picture of my hysteria!

Richard to the rescue! He moved the front seat forward. Daniel stepped out of the car for a moment. I dislodged my twisted foot and we finished packing ourselves in the car. With the drivers help, we pilled Richard’s luggage and all our carry on items on our laps.

Picture this: I was in the rear right, Daniel in the middle, George (yes, George, as Richard had called out the right to sit shotgun) was rear left. We were so tight in the back seat; George could only close his door by putting his right arm around the back of Daniel. Fortunately, they’re father and son, because they looked pretty cozy!

I’m not sure why middle-eastern cab drivers love to play music in their cabs louder than the decibel level of PC3! He was no exception. Perhaps they do it to drown out boisterous Americans. Fortunately, this time it wasn’t middle-eastern music! It was American oldies, including one that was a song recorded by a group of celebrities for some charity event in the 70’s or 80’s. You know the song, “Sing it loud; sing it strong...” Maybe Lebanese music would’ve have been better.

I suspect the cabbie is a “wanna be” NASCAR driver. He had drafting to a science. Cars, bigger and smaller than his Peugeot, and lorries (English for trucks) we’re used, to gain speed and fuel efficiency.

We were packed so tight and traveling so fast, that If we had been in an accident our DNA would have all blended together in a globular mess and the numbers game would have eluded a Sudoku master.

We departed the car park!

Richard asked the driver how long it took to get to the hotel.

“One hour,” was the reply.

“Well we need to get there quicker than that.”

Wrong response!

It’s a distance of 45 miles to Heathrow. Well . . . we made it in 35 minutes! Laughing, talking and praying the entire time.

Looking back, at times terror filled our eyes, like foggy condensation on windows inside the car. No matter what you do you can’t wipe it away fast enough.

Not soon enough we arrived at The Heathrow Thistle.

When we opened the car doors in front of the hotel, contents of jackets and luggage, and humans spurted from the car, like a punctured jugular.

Happy to be alive we stretched. Unloaded suitcases from the boot (English for trunk). And thanked God for a safe trip!

George paid the driver. With tip it came to $200 American dollars for the “E” ride!

The driver handed us his card and told us to call if we needed a ride anywhere.

Look at my eyes: I don’t think so!

Next time, I’ll tell you how I almost was killed when stepping out in front of traffic on our way to a great service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

His for The Journey!
Doug