Posted in language

Entrega de electrodomésticos

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Both appliances showed up at the same time this morning, on two different trucks from two different warehouses. While the washing machine came from Jacksonville, the dryer came from Daytona Beach. I knew my delivery time window, but was surprised when each showed up unannounced. I usually get a text or phone call.

Anyway, I wasn’t surprised that both crews spoke English as a second language. They were all nice and did their jobs well.

I was surprised when the driver of truck number two used his phone to communicate with me. Using a translation app, he spoke into it and then held it up for me to read. When I answered, the phone texted back to him in Spanish. It was the first time a driver was dependent on a translator for delivery.

After he wheeled the dryer into the garage, he looked at me, spoke a few words, and showed me his phone. “You didn’t order installation.” I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he showed me the screen a second time. I checked my big box store app and sure enough, there was no install on the order. I shrugged and said, “Thank you.” I don’t know why I didn’t say, “Gracias.”

It wasn’t a big deal. I’ve attached a vent and plugged in a dryer before. I was just surprised because the washing machine delivery guys hooked up the water and drain hoses, plugged it in and ran a quick cycle. I did have to watch a video to learn how to switch the door to open from the other side, but it was a pretty easy process.

Google translate is now available in 110 languages. Wow. That’s impressive.

Translation apps are amazing. Unless your cell service is spotty. Or the wifi is down. What if the power goes out? Yikes.

Posted in running

Building Spiritual Endurance: Lessons from Marathon Training

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Miguel A Amutio on Unsplash

“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints” (Revelation 13:10; 14:12).

No matter the meaning of the power and influence of the beasts and the wrath and judgments of God in Revelation, believers are called to endurance. Faithfulness is a marathon, not a sprint. This is going to take a while.

It’s been a while since I ran marathons. In preparation, I ran seventy, eighty, and sometimes ninety miles a week. I didn’t run fast. I just ran long distances for a long time. As a marathon race weekend approached, I would do long runs of sixteen, eighteen, and twenty miles, getting used to running several hours at a stretch. It wasn’t easy. But that’s what you do to be able to finish the twenty-six point two miles of a marathon.

How do we develop spiritual endurance? There are other scriptures that provide insight.

  • “The God of endurance” (Romans 15:5). He’s the source. God is faithful. He keeps going and going and going, faithful to his promises throughout our lives. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” (Lamentations 3:22).
  • “Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11). Endurance flows from God’s power. While a capacitor provides a quick burst of electrical energy, a battery provides a constant source of power over a longer period of time. God can ramp it up if needed. But he’s also a constant, steady source of power.
  • “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). As I read through the gospels, Jesus was never in a hurry. He traveled on foot. He stopped for those who cried out for mercy. He took time to rest, pray, eat, and teach. In contrast, I’m busy, impatient, rushed, and hate to be interrupted. What if I let him set the pace?
  • “Suffering produces endurance” (Romans 5:3). That’s the one I don’t like. It’s not going to be pleasant. It will be difficult. But you’ll be able to go further next time. You’ll develop endurance.

Do you want to follow Jesus? Are you committed to listening to him, learning from him, and doing what he says? If so, block out some time in your day, because it’s going to take a while to understand, trust, and do what he says. It’s going to take endurance.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I feel like I’m in a cloud

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A thick fog held off daybreak for a few hours this morning. Car headlights revealed tiny droplets of water in the air. I love to look up at clouds in the sky. But now the cloud surrounded me.

My usual morning walk route looks different on a foggy day. I feel like a kid watching black and white TV. Colors have given way to nothing but grays. The street should be lined with houses, but I can only see the next one in front of me. A few cars suddenly emerge from the fog, as surprised to see me as I am them.

Limited visibility creates mystery. Is this the right street? Did I miss a turn? Do I know where I’m at? Who else is out here? Who’s watching me?

As I keep walking, I see the sun trying to break through, burn off the fog, and take over the day. It’s a lot easier to chase away the night. But I know the sun will win out. It always does.

Posted in Life, Travel

Traveling the world on a drive through Florida

Posted on by William Douthwaite
The tower of a citrus processing plant somewhere in southwest Florida

We took two of our grandsons to an Atlanta Braves spring training baseball game at Cool Today Park, a beautiful stadium nestled between Port Charlotte and Venice, Florida. Our drive from northeast Florida took us down interstate highways through Daytona Beach and Orlando, before the GPS routed us down back roads to avoid ever-present slowdowns on I-75.

I took in a part of Florida I had not yet experienced. Some of the roads took us through abandoned orange groves. Others took us through vast cattle ranches and expansive strawberry fields. We passed thetowering citrus processing plants, endless rows of fabric-covered infant orange trees, tobacco stores, gun shops, and Latin-American food trucks of southwest Florida.

I thought I understood redneck Florida. I was wrong. Our drive took us through a whole different world, a strange new world in a state where I have lived for thirty years.

I trusted the Airbnb host’s recommendation for a casual supper place. I haven’t been out to eat in a place where people were smoking for a long, long time. The seating area was technically outside, so they got away with the few patrons who lit up a cigarette. I was happy when they finished up their meal and left.

On the way home, we were the only English-speaking folks inquiring about the restrooms. Nevertheless, everyone was friendly and helpful.

I don’t have to travel far to experience other cultures. They are right down the road.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

From brown to green

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Right now, most of the lawns in my neighborhood are brown and sad looking. A few unusually freezing nights did damage to cold-sensitive shrubs. Only the bright green of fast-growing weeds breaks the everything-is-brown monotony.

At some point, the right amount of daylight, warmer temperatures, and spring rains will throw a switch and shades of green will suddenly appear. New growth will take over yards dormant, and the community will look so much nicer. I can’t wait!

I think it’s amazing God created plants that know when it’s time to go to sleep and the best moment to come back to life. Yes, it will mean resuming weekly cutting and trimming, but it’s worth it. A world alive with color makes me feel alive, too.

Cycles of brown and green remind me that I’m not always going to flourish or produce, either. Creativity wanes and waxes. At the right time and with the right conditions, I thrive, too.

Posted in Travel

I wonder where they’re all going

Posted on by William Douthwaite

What a beautiful morning for contrails! The atmospheric conditions were just right to preserve the telltale path of jets heading up and down the east coast of Florida.

Early morning flights take people to business meetings. Families load up the kids to vacation destinations. Couples take off for their honeymoons. Others return home to be reunited with their loved ones.

When I’m up in the air, I look down and wonder if anyone is watching us pass overhead. Unless there’s a nice contrail, I don’t notice all the planes overhead. From the ground, I wonder if anyone is looking down at me. From what I’ve seen, most fliers are asleep or watching a movie, not paying attention to anyone down below.

Flight still amazes me. We can travel so far so quickly. It’s a paradox though. It’s slow getting to the airport, through security, and waiting to board at the gate. But a few hours later we’re in a different country, in a different part of the world, where many speak a different language.

One source says that a million people may be in the air at any given moment. That’s a lot of folks squeezed into metal cylinders miles above the ground!

Posted in faith

Time’s up: you’re no longer a noob

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’ve been walking past this car with a “Please Be Patient: New Driver” magnet sticker for longer than a year. It’s been there so long that the “New Driver” words have completely faded.

How long can someone claim to be a “new driver?” Certainly not a year. Maybe a month at most.

What driving behavior would require my patience? Driving much slower than the speed limit? Cutting corners and hitting curbs while turning right? Lingering at an intersection after the light turns green? Slowing to a crawl on the interstate entrance ramp? Lol. Those are normal driving habits. Experienced drivers do these things all the time.

How long can someone claim to be a rookie? A noob? I meet folks who claim that status after being Christians and church members for over five years. How long can you avoid ministry by stating, “I’m new at this”?

From my experience, the longer I follow Christ, the more questions I have. I feel less qualified and more dependent on grace. I have to trust him more than my own experience or expertise. I no longer say, “I’ve got this,” but rather, “He’s got me.”

It’s more like, “Please be patient: I’ve been doing this a long time.” That’s the perspective of a mature faith.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

First song of the day

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jan Meesus on Unsplash

At 6:00 am, while I’m out on my morning walk, it’s still dark and very quiet. if the wind is blowing in the right direction, I may hear traffic from the interstate highway. An occasional car starts up and pulls out of a driveway.

Suddenly, I realize a bird is chirping. It’s an isolated voice as the first bit of light appears on the horizon. After a minute, another bird answers. Then another. The air is soon filled with many voices singing many songs.

They know. They know it’s time to sing. It’s time to tell the world to wake up.

And the world does. Lights come on. Cars are on the road. Dogs bark. Trash containers bang against garbage trucks. A small plane flies above. The brakes of a school bus whines to a stop for students.

These birds are so small. But their songs are so loud. Their voices carry a long distance. Farther than my voice at a full yell.

I whistle back. I imagine I can communicate with the birds. I mimic the song I hear. But I don’t know what the notes mean. Maybe I’m whistling something really stupid. Are they laughing at my dialect, accent, or nonsensical tunes? Probably. But it’s fun to try.

Posted in Life, Travel

Yard art for everyone

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We’ve passed it dozens of times on our way to Ocala, Deleon Springs, Blue Spring State Park (to see the manatees), Eustis, and Mount Dora. Finally on our way home from Umatilla after a grandson’s baseball game, we stopped to see what the Barberville Yard Art Emporium was all about.

The emporium is three acres of every size and shape of aluminum, glass, wood, concrete, ceramic, and clay animals, pots, mailboxes, birdbaths, fountains, lampposts, and any other kind of statuary you can imagine. Right out front is a twenty foot tall giraffe alongside life-size cows, lions, elephants, and flamingoes. Lots of bigger-than-life chickens and roosters line the road. These large animals are bolted to the ground, as if a thief would have the means to steal one.

The emporium is filled with over 800,000 pieces in every shape and size. Most item’s aren’t cheap. A modest three-foot rooster was $445. A life-size ten-piece aluminum nativity had a $7,995 sticker price. (Where would you store that after Christmas?) We looked at walls filled with Haitian tin art, hammered from used oil drums. Overhead we saw shelves filled with brightly painted pots. This is the place to find that six-foot extraterrestrial giving a one-finger salute you’ve been searching for.

We didn’t purchase anything this time. At least we know where we can find a gorilla or unicorn when we need one.

So I wonder who would buy a giant chicken for their yard? A farm sellling eggs? A fried chicken restaurant? How about a huge cow by the entrance to a dairy farm?

Now that I think about it, I used to ride my bike past a house in our community that had a triceratops statue in the front yard. A friend has a life-size dog statue by their front door. Giant Santas smile at me from lawns in December. Some day I’ll have to count all the flamingo statues I see on a morning walk.