Travel Escapes by Mike

09/17/2024

From the BP Temp 65

“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”” Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I have been through some battles over the last few years. Both of my parents passing away within 10 months of each other, my in-laws passing away, being falsely accused in a situation, and other situations of my own doing. Thank God for my faith and I thank God for my wife as she was and is with me throughout all situations.

I can write this in all confidence without Jesus and my wife, I am not sure I would have made it through the last few years.

If I quoted or my wife quoted this verse to me once, it was quoted 1000 times…

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I don’t know what you are going through. I only know where I have been. I do know that with God all things are possible and you will get through it. I am not saying it will be easy. I am not saying it will be quick.
I am saying you will get through it and come out stronger on the other side. I promise I did. My faith in God, my walk with God and my hunger for Him is stronger than it has ever been.

Find you someone or someones to offer you support. We are not meant to go through trials alone. I am blesed to have a Christian wife that is with me through thick and thin. I have Christian friends that are here for me.

Remember God is there waiting for you to say, “Hey! I could use some help!” He already knows, he just wants to be called upon.

Have a great Tuesday.

War Eagle 🦅

09/15/2024

From the BP. Temp 70

“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After it not raining for the last few weeks, it seems it may not ever stop. Whoever prayed for rain, please let me know who you are, I have a few prayer requests I would like to relay to you.

I promise, I am not complaining about the rain. It will help my water bill, as I have been trying to enhance the little patch of grass I have in my front yard.

Giving Thanks. Sometimes it is hard to remember to give God thanks for all he has and is doing in our lives. Things might not be going just the way you think it should, bank account may not be as full as you would like you may weigh a little more than you think you should….the list goes on and on. But through it all, we must remember to give God thanks and praise for everything.

With all this rain, I have discovered I have a leak on my beloved Back Porch. I am not happy about it, but I am thankful it is not over one of my TVs. I am thankful that I can get the roof fixed. Am I happy about the leak on my Back Porch? No, but thankful I have a Back Porch to leak.

I do not know what your circumstances might be this morning. But take time to give thanks for something, anything, big or small. Two things I know.
ONE It will take your mind off of the negative and for a moment place it on the POSITIVE.
TWO It will remind you that through it all there is always something to be thankful.

Have a great Sunday.

War Eagle 🦅

09/14/2024

From the BP. Temp 68

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As I sit here on the Back Porch listening to the rain, I thank God for my “lonely place” where I can sit and talk with him. It is written in the Bible that crowds followed Jesus everywhere he went. His 12 disciples were with him when the crowds were not. So “alone” time was very valuable to Jesus. He was able to have intimate one on one conversation with his Father.

I remember and long for the one on one conversations with my dad, Ed. Sometimes the conversations were serious and sometimes just father and son catching up and joking around. I can imagine Jesus talking with his Father and saying, “Can you believe what these goofball disciples said today? Those James and John guys must have lost their minds, oh yeah and what about Peter, what are we going to do with him?”

Jesus also talked to his Father at the most loneliest place ever, on the Cross. He prayed for forgiveness for the people who crucified him.

Find your “lonely” place. Have conversations with our Father. He loves to hear your voice and if you listen closely you might hear His.

Have a great rainy Saturday. Take time to rest, however you rest. I will be resting watching football on my BP. As always,
anyone is welcome to join me, bring some meat and we will slap it on the Boss or Flattie.

War Eagle 🦅

09/13/2024

From the BP. Temp 70

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I am tired this morning. Dragging! Headache! Rarely do I sleep until my alarm goes off, this morning it sounded like a sirens going to a three alarm fire.

But the good thing is, it is Friday. Tomorrow, I rest. Granted, I rest watching three TV’s of football but, it is my way to rest. Since I really do not have a dog in the hunt, I can let my mind rest. Since I am not actively coaching a team, I can let my body rest. I love college football. I am not happy with the path it is taking, but I love all the pageantry and tradition that surrounds it. I love AUBURN football, but in the end, win or lose, the sun will come up Sunday and a new week will begin.

Find something that you like to do to rest. It may be working in the yard, cooking, reading, going on rides in the country, or maybe just sitting and doing nothing. Doesn’t matter what it is, just find it and rest.

Even our Jesus got tired and needed to rest.

John 4:6 NIV
“6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon”

Have a great Friday.

War Eagle 🦅

09/12/2024

From the BP. Temp 68 marvelous degrees

Matthew 6:34 NIV
“34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”

Worry.
How many times have you heard, “do not worry”? I know. I have heard it a million times and have said it half as many times as that. It is easy to say, but harder to do. We are human. We have problems and situations that occur, it is called LIFE.

In Matthew, Jesus speaks to the subject of worrying. He talks about how God provides food for the birds and clothes for the fields. He talks about how much more our Father loves us, that if he would do these things for them, just imagine what more he will do for us.

Please understand, I do not have this whole worry thing figured out. I still find myself worrying from time to time. But it is those times, God reminds me I am not a bird or a field. I am His.

Remember today that you are God’s child.
YOU ARE HIS.

Have a great rainy Thursday.

War Eagle 🦅

09/11/2024

From the BP Temp 73

Twenty three years ago, the day started out normal. Busses ran, people went to work, people met for coffee and breakfast. People kissed their families goodbye as they went to work and about their day. Firefighters had breakfast and coffee with their brothers in their firehouses and policeman made their patrols. People went to airports, stood in lines, and boarded planes.
Then the planes took off and the planes flew…..

Let us never forget 9/11 and the sacrifices that were made.

God Bless America.

War Eagle 🦅

09/10/2024

Sandals Regency La Toc St Lucia!!!! Beautiful. Great people, great scenery, great food.

We can book it for you.
Travel Escapes by Mike
Travel Escapes by Ann Jay
The Travel Escapes

09/10/2024

From the BP Temp 68

John 14:2 NIV
“2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

We are home. Rolled in around 11:30 pm last night. While St Lucia was beautiful and the coffee and view from the “front porch”was awesome, it was not home. While the bathroom and bed was nice, it was not home. While the “front porch” was nice it was not MY BP, MY coffee and MY view.

I love to travel and we love to sell travel. We love for others to see and experience what we have been able to see, still there is something about coming home. The familiarities of the feel of your sheets when you climb into bed and the feel of YOUR pillow. The smell of the coffee brewing in your kitchen. The sounds of the neighborhood dogs barking off your BP. It is HOME.

Well folks, God has a HOME prepared for you in heaven that has to be better, it is in Heaven. (You know, pearly gates and streets of gold). I can’t imagine how spectacular that will be, but I bet mine has huge TVs and Auburn wins every game. 😏

If things get tough today, turn your focus to Home. Turn your focus to Who has built your eternal home in heaven. Perspective can change attitudes.

Have a great Tuesday.

War Eagle 🦅

09/09/2024

Another view from our patio.

09/08/2024

Sunset. Sandal La Toc St Lucia

09/08/2024

Sandals La Toc St Lucia
Kimonos

09/08/2024

09/08/2024

Sandals La Toc St Lucia from a distance

09/08/2024

Same picture “doctored” a little bit.

09/08/2024

From last night. Outside of Soy/Kimonos
Sandals La Toc St Lucia

09/08/2024

Another picture from St Lucia. I could sit here all day.

09/08/2024

From the patio. St Lucia. Temp 81

I pray your day starts out as perfect as mine. I am sitting in “front porch” in beautiful St Lucia. Coffee is good, weather is good, GOD is good.

I started writing these from the BP devotionals last week. I have no clue what I am going to write each day until God lays on my heart. I pray that as you read these thoughts that God uses me to speak to you.

In Genesis 32:24-29, Jacob wrestled. As a former wrestling coach I have always loved this story. Jacob must of been a pretty good wrestler.

“But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭32‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭MSG‬‬”

His opponent was GOD. God threw Jacob’s hip out of joint because Jacob was determined not to stop wrestling with God. When Jacob quit wrestling, God laid his blessing upon him. I will write that again, when Jacob quit wrestling, God laid his blessing upon him.

I will let that last sentence preach for itself.

What are you wrestling with God about?

Have a great Sunday.

And as always I will end it with

War Eagle 🦅

09/07/2024

Rain is coming. This place is beautiful!!!!

09/07/2024

War Eagle!!! From The Sandals Grande St Lucian.

09/07/2024

Sandals lounge at airport in St Lucia. Go through the doors and turn left. AC, snacks, cold drinks as you wait for your transfer to resort.

09/07/2024

From patio in ST LUCIA. Temp 81

Genesis 1:10 MEV
“10 God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. Then God saw that it was good.”

I am always amazed at the beauty of our planet. The beauty of the oceans, the beauty of the mountains and everything in between. All the places I have traveled there is one constant variable….GOD MADE IT!!!!!

God made all of the beauty we see around us. I don’t know what you are going through this morning, but KNOW this, he created the Heavens and the Earth. Since we know he created them, we need to remember he created US in HIS image. Oh my, how that speaks to my soul as I sit here looking out over my view. As beautiful as the scenery is around us, WE ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD!!!!

Think about that today.

Psalm 139:14
“14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Have a great Saturday!!! May your team win. Don’t forget Church tomorrow.

War Eagle 🦅

09/07/2024

My view with coffee this morning.

09/06/2024

Sandals La Toc St Lucia

09/06/2024

Sandals La Toc St Lucia.

09/06/2024

View from patio. Sandals La Toc. St Lucia

09/04/2024

The Travel Escapes
We can book it.

08/10/2024

We can book it for you.
Travel Escapes by Ann Jay
Travel Escapes by Mike
The Travel Escapes

08/09/2024

We still have cabins for the September 2025 Alaskan Cruise!!! It is a whale of a deal. Less than $5000 for two airfare from BHM included. Also a lot of other amenities, too many to type this early in the morning. 🫤Contact us for details.

07/20/2024

All original cabins have been sold at original price. We have grabbed more cabins they will be $4996.54 for balcony and 2 occupants out of BHM. Hit us up today cabins are moving fast. A great deal for an Alaskan cruise.

Travel Escapes by Mike
Travel Escapes by Ann Jay