Claiming territory

It feels good to be settling somewhere for a while. Not only am I getting into this island beach life, but the cats are really feeling comfortable and taking control of the Beast too. Max & I keep having stand-offs over who gets to sit where. The chair that works best for me to use the table while watching TV is also the chair Max has claimed as his own. Tonight we shared it for a while, as I sat on the outer half and Max kept his stake on the back half. Didn't matter if I was squishing him, he wasn't going to give up. I finally gave in and moved to another spot.

I guess that's what happens when I've been out and about, and the boys have had the Beast to themselves. Today it rained a lot, so I was there and trying to reclaim my territory. Obviously that hasn't worked. That's ok. Most of the time I'm outside soaking up all that I can, and since I've really put them out by removing them from their comfortable home to live on the road I feel I owe it to them to let them have a little control. Pathetic? Maybe, but who cares?

I'd much rather claim my spot on the beach or in the gazebo with book or laptop in hand anyway. It's a little tough to do on the weekend as this place is packed. But come Monday, I'll have the run of the place again. Woo hoo! I'll miss a few of the folks I've been getting to know this week, but there will be new ones to come.

I keep thinking of a book I heard of once, it had a title something like "Everywhere I go I meet a friend" or some such thing. That has definitely been the theme of this sabbatical. Some people were worried that I'd be lonely on my own, but that has hardly been the case. There is some kind of kindred spirit that seems to take over in a campground setting - or along the beach for that matter too. This is a very good thing.

Ishy Squishy Jellyfish

All along the beach tonight I kept seeing these globs of whitish looking squishy things.... could they be jellyfish? I've only seen pictures of those too, like the stingray last night. So I asked a fisherman if that's what they were, and he told me yes, they come in about this time of the evening all the time. He then went on to tell me that earlier this week, when he was out on a jet ski, he encountered hundreds of them out further in the water.

Jellyfish are terribly ugly, yet strangely attractive things. I could have just stared at them all night - some were bigger, some smaller. But they all were dead, which is why they wash ashore when the tide goes out. It makes me wonder what strange, new things I'll encounter on my walk tomorrow night.

But one thing that's not so strange is how friendly people are and how easy it is to get into conversations along the way. The fisherman and his daughter were very welcoming to me. In fact, Hannah gave me a very pretty shell that she dug up as we were talking. Her dad was originally from Traverse City, MI and had fond memories of visits to Milwaukee. Amazing how easy it is to hear people's stories on the journey.

Back here in the campground, I noticed I've got new neighbors moving in too. They have a cute little pop-up trailer, about the size of a king size bed. Sitting outside as they were setting up was a monster St. Bernard dog and another not-quite-so-big-but-still-big dog. I wonder where the couple sleep since the dogs will take up the whole trailer? :-)

Thankful for these things

Today I am thankful for laptops, a gazebo, and ocean breezes. My back is still feeling a bit crunchy with the sunburn of 2 days ago, so I am hesitant to spend any time on the beach without an umbrella. But thankfully, there is a gazebo overlooking the ocean from the top of the dune. I have moved my collapsible chair there to park myself with my laptop.

Here in the cool shade and ocean breeze, I am finally finding my focus to write. I don't know if what I'm writing is any good or not, but it's coming anyway. Yes, I could do this inside the cool comfort of the Pink Beast, but my inspiration is here with my Spirit Source. Now if I could only find a way to move the ocean to Milwaukee. I think I'd get my sermons done in no time at all! Hmmmm.... maybe I should be writing all my sermons for the next year while I'm here. Sure would make my Saturday nights less stressful once I get back. Not a bad idea. Then in the future I could use my continuing education weeks to find an ocean and do another year's worth of sermons. Not a bad idea.

Anyway, I am still in love with Emerald Isle. Last night I took a walk along the beach for a half hour to just pray and think and reflect again. Seems easier to do that in the evening than the mornings yet. You never know what you'll see either. There was a fisherman out on the beach with his poles planted in the sand, and on the return route of my walk I saw that he had a crowd around him. He had reeled in a big ol' stingray that was flopping around on the sand as he tried to find a way to get it back out into the deeper waters. I've never seen one before other than in pictures. It was pretty cool, but made me wonder how much I want to go back into the ocean again. I was just out in those waters the day before, and he wasn't out that deep. Oh well, I'm not going to let that keep me out of the water, I guess. My crunchy back is doing that too much as it is!

Hopefully the spray-on 45 sunblock that I bought yesterday will help me get back out there later today or for sure tomorrow. I can't stay out too long! In the meantime, this gazebo may be my home for a while.

Baptized in the Spirit Source

This morning I allowed myself to be baptized again. I spent my morning on the beach with my Artist's Way book and the sound of wind and waves. As I read about recovering my self-identity, I took periodic breaks to go immerse myself in the Spirit Source (which I have decided is a most appropriate name for the ocean.) This is where book and life and Spirit all intersected.

I have come to realize over the last couple of years that I know very well who Pastor Kris is, but I no longer seem to know who Kris is. Today, I felt a sense of self again... or at least a beginning to that self. My body led me into the water to cool off, but my soul led me to allow the waters to embrace me in a re-baptism of my spirit, so to speak. I found myself in prayerful posture, with arms outstretched and palms up to the sun. All the while, the tide carried me and I let myself just be, as the sun shone upon my face. I wonder if I could somehow pray like this every day? Better yet, I wonder if somehow we could transform our new worship space into an ocean to get that sense of joy and peace in our worship? I think I could preach really really well while floating in the ocean!

With the flowing of the water, I felt a release of all that has kept me bound. Suddenly I wanted to write, and to let the torrent of ideas and emotions flow from me to the written page. I hope this carries over, and that I can keep the flow going. I may need to extend my stay here to really develop that pattern of life, and to find my whole self, not just the beginning of it.

Eventually I took my now-wrinkled-self back to my chair on the beach, and let the warm breath of the Spirit blow over me, warming me all the way through. There is a definite peace to this place, and I could stay here forever I think.

In the meantime, I wonder if sand is bad for my laptop. I may need to take it with me to the beach to see if the flow can begin to be productive.

Answering the call

Today I felt the call of the ocean. Maybe it was the inspiration of sweating my way around Colonial Williamsburg yesterday. Maybe it was just the need to feed my spirit with some water and some wind. But either way, as I drove into North Carolina today, I decided that I needed to be near the ocean, even if it meant driving more than my usual 4 hours for the day. I would bend that rule and push myself beyond that wall to get to my spirit-source.

The nearer I got to the ocean, the stronger the call. Somehow the drive didn't seem so long as 4 hours turned to 5, and then to 6 hours on the road. Heck, since I was pushing myself anyway, why not go all the way? So I decided to shoot for what is known as the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. As I felt the call grow even stronger, I decided that for this 3 night stay, I needed to actually be AT the ocean. When will I ever get the chance to do this again? So for 3 days, I am splurging on what will really feed my spirit.

I am on Emerald Isle, with the ocean just a short walk over the dune from my Pink Beast. Tonight I walked a half hour along the water after I fed my hungry stomach. So now both body & soul are feeling nourished. Life is good. The Spirit Source is near, and it is well with my soul.

Just a few observations from the journey today... driving south from Norfolk, VA and getting across the James River was a new experience for me. It was a bit unnerving to drive my Beast through a tunnel under the water. I had to stop at an inspection station before entering to make sure my propane tank was shut off, and then entered into the depths of the tunnel knowing that all that water was surging overhead. Eerie feeling. Then after emerging from the tunnel, there were still a few miles of bridge - not just a straight across bridge either. The bridge branched off into a few exits and different highways. What an amazing road system!

Entering North Carolina I was also keenly aware that I was truly entering the Bible Belt too. Every other mile it seemed there was some type of Baptist or Holiness Pentecostal church. And a whole lot of them had "Healing" somewhere in their name or their motto on the sign. There sure are a bunch of hurtin' folks around here in need of healing, I guess!

Maybe they should all answer the call to come to the ocean. :-)