Missionary Lady?

After leaving Barry Edwards in North Carolina, Susanne and I headed to her final stop on the JOURNEY, Virginia. 

 

The end to that little part of my JOURNEY was quite SCARY.

 

SCARY indeed!

 

Throughout the whole preparation time for the JOURNEY, I had moments here and there where I would get messages from God about NOT being afraid. 

 

I NEEDED to know those messages for this part of the trip. 

 

Here are some I received from God....

 

This was posted by my friend, Deana, on Facebook just when I NEEDED it.

 

There's a book I read every day called, Jesus Calling, that speaks to me ALL the time.  Other people have said that too.  If you can, pick up a copy.  You won't be disappointed.  It gives you a page to read for each day.

 

 

One of the entries in the book said, "Concentrate on trusting Me, and fearfulness will gradually lose its foothold within you."

 

Another day..."Trust Me and don't be afraid.  Fear is one of Satan's favorite weapons.  When you start to feel afraid, affirm your trust in Me.  Speak out loud.  Resist the Devil in My name, and he will slink away from you." 

 

I've used that one a lot on this trip!

 

"Trust that I will equip you fully for whatever awaits you on your JOURNEY.  I am with you, watching over you wherever you go."

 

"Remember that I go before you as well as with you into the day.  Nothing takes me by surprise."

 

"Keep walking with me along the path I have chosen for you.  The JOURNEY is arduous at times and you are weak.  Cling to my hand for strength and direction."

 

Isaiah 7:4 "Be careful. Keep calm. Don't be afraid."

  

Well, Susanne and I both NEEDED to know all of those messages from God. 

 

Of course, by the time we were almost to Virginia, it was DARK. 

It was raining REALLY hard. 

My windshield wipers are windshield wipers from Southern California, so they don't know how to act in torrential downpours like the one we were in,

and I couldn't see a dang thing! 

 

The highway we were on was REALLY bad, and there was an accident that kept us in traffic for a very long time.

 

We finally made it off of the highway and onto a road that was even worse. 

It was REALLY, REALLY DARK, and I couldn't see at all in front of me, especially if cars were headed my way with their headlights glaring at me. 

It was a narrow, two-lane road with no shoulder, and did I mention I was driving a

BIG truck with a camper hooked to my bumper???

 

So, honestly, I needed to know those messages above. 

 

Susanne was helping me see by trying her best to see out of the front window too. 

There was absolutely no where to turn around or pull over, and I was hardly fitting on the road.

Just when I thought we were done with that road, we went around a little "rotary" or "circle" (when I was living on the East Coast as a kid, they were called "circles") that took us on a road EXACTLY like the one we were just on. 

 

That was it! 

 

I was SCARED and even considered crying a little bit. 

 

Susanne was awesome and said the most beautiful prayer I think I've ever heard about Jesus taking the wheel (I know....but way better than the song) and driving us through this.

 

It reminded me of another scripture God had given me in Mark 8:34 - 

"Anyone who intends to come with Me has to let Me lead. 

You're not in the driver's seat.  I am."

 

Well, thank God that He was in the driver's seat, and thank Susanne for that prayer!

 

We eventually did make it through all of that ALIVE!

 

We were planning on meeting her friend at Walmart, so Susanne could go visit with her. 

 

Well, I was never so happy to see a Walmart in my life! 

 

After Susanne left, I went right into that Walmart and bought me some East Coast windshield wipers!

 

I have "camped" at Walmarts on my trip.  I did not feel very "comfortable" camping at this one, so I called the Target across the street, and they said I could spend the night there. 

For some STRANGE reason, there is such a difference between the Walmart parking lot and the Target parking lot even when it is across the street.

 

So the next morning, these two very handsome gentlemen came and rescued me from the Target parking lot!

 

Yes!!!  Barry joined the JOURNEY!

 

 

This is Barry and his life-long friend, Dave.









 

This is Barry in Dave's driveway all ready to join the JOURNEY

(Yes, he backed it up)



 

This is Dave's house. 

I'm sure his neighbors didn't mind us parking our travel trailer in their driveway. 

I'm sure they didn't mind at all!

Anyone seen the Homeowner's Association rules???

 



This is Dave's wife, Amy, me, Dave & Barry

 

This is Dave & Amy

 



 

This is Dave's step dad, Cork, and his mom, Mary



 

I don't have any pictures of Dave & Amy's daughters, but they have three...Maggie, Grace & Esther.  We got to meet them, and I got to hang out with Esther a little bit.

 

A couple of weeks later, I got this email from Dave:

 

"Just wanted you to know..I ran into a woman in town who asked if I had a missionary at my house.  I was trying to think of what she may be talking about when she said Esther had told her all about a lady who was staying with us.  She said the lady drove all over the country telling people about God.  Then I realized that Esther was spreading the word about your visit."

 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

That cracked me up! 

 

So I guess Esther was right.  I am kind of a "Missionary Lady,"

or at least that's my goal...to drive all over the country and share God with people.

 

Amen

 

Thanks, Dave & Amy, for letting us "camp" in your driveway,

and thanks for your generous gift to the "Missionary Lady!"

 

Thanks, Susanne, for coming with me on my JOURNEY, your friendship, and for your prayers!

 



Cracker Barrel, IHOP & Barry Edwards

Even if we were "wandering" in the dark looking for a Cracker Barrel, we needed to know.....

 

This is a phone case Auston found for me.

 

Is that cool or what?

Soooooo Susanne and I LOVED Savanah so much that we stayed a little too long.  We didn't leave until evening, which went against ONE of Barry's (Strickland...it may get confusing because now I'm talking about two Barrys) "suggestions" for my trip, which was,

"Try not to drive after dark." 

I have NOT followed that advice at all.  There have been MANY times that I arrive at campsites (or other special camping spots...driveways, Walmarts, Targets, Cracker Barrels etc.) after dark. 

Barry's advice is very good. 

Very good. 

Good things don't happen when you arrive at campsites (or other spots) after dark. 

Sometimes when you arrive after dark, you don't see an "Exit Only" post, and you scrape the whole side of your trailer and things fall off of the side of your trailer, and you don't even realize it until the next day when things are missing! 

 

See my blog post New Orleans Voodoo or a Roaming Lion? for the complete story.

 

Anyway, we left AFTER dark to head towards North Carolina to see our friend, Barry Edwards, whom we figured out we haven't see since the five-year high school reunion, so it's been about 27 years. 

 

Oh my! 

 

One thing I've noticed since getting older is I can't stay up as late as I used to. 

I had BIG plans of driving really far after leaving Savannah. 

Big plans.

Well, my 50-year-old body had other plans. 

Susanne and I made it for a few hours, but then it was time to head to one of my FAVORITE destinations on this trip.....yep! 

Cracker Barrel! 

I just LOVE Cracker Barrel! 

They make you feel like you're "coming home." 

They have hot meals all ready for you (but not at 2:00 a.m.),

the fireplace is on,

there's shopping, audio books, games, rocking chairs....

you get the picture.

 

So we pull in to a Cracker Barrel parking lot at around 2:00 a.m. 

We are still happy that we stayed in Savannah, I think. 

I had a little bit of an issue parking, and I'm sorry about their tree.  It is not in the same condition as it was when we arrived there.  

But on a good note, the camper smelled like Christmas!

 

I took the "backing thing" a little too far this time

 



Ooops!  Sorry, tree.

 



After snooozing at Cracker Barrel, Susanne and I headed to North Carolina to
see our friend, Barry Edwards, at IHOP! 

We were very excited to see Barry. 

IHOP...not so much. 

Cracker Barrel wins in that department. 

But it doesn't matter, right? 

It's the company that counts.

 

If you've kept up with my blog, (if not, shame on you) you'd know that God told me there were THREE people I was suppose to meet with on this trip. 
One was Linda in Woodstock, GA, and I gave her the book, He Knows Your Name.

This is the book

This is Linda and her pig, Fiona

See my blog post Friends, Friends, Friends, Friends, A Pig & Some Chicken for her story.

The second person was Janice Beppel

 

She got a book too.

 

See blog post Journey Through the Sunshine State with the Beppels.

 

So the third person that God told me I was suppose to meet was Barry Edwards. 

Now, the book, "He Knows Your Name," I've HEARD  (no....I haven't read it yet, and I knew I wouldn't have a chance, and now I've given my own copy away to my niece, Jordan...sorry, Julee) the book is for girls. 

Barry is obviously NOT a girl, so I wasn't really sure what God was going to do at this "meeting."  I told Barry that God had told me I was suppose to meet with him.  Did he have any idea why?  He said no, but he would think about it.

 

When I told Janice (from above) what Barry said, and that he probably just thinks I'm a "crazy camper lady," she said, "I don't think that at all.  I think it is a feeling you can't describe to someone.  I was touched.  You have no idea.  I still feel blessed."

 

The bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 (the Message bible),

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart.  Don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.  He's the one who will keep you on track."

 

I've walked with God for 26 years (with a walk-,away period of 7 years- don't try that one), and I know when He tells me to do something. 

Just by spending time in prayer, I have learned to hear His voice. 

 

Do I know why He had me meet with Barry Edwards?

 

No

 

Do I know He WANTED me to meet with Barry Edwards?

 

Yes...without a doubt.

 

I don't always know WHY God has me do things, but I do know He knows why. 

It's not my job to question.  It's my job to be obedient. 

 

Am I obedient all the time? 

 

Unfortunately, no.

 

Does God get mad at me if I'm not? 

 

No, I don't think so.

 

The only thing I think that happens when I don't do what God wants is I miss out on a blessing He had for me. 

That's all. 

But I do love His blessings, and I do LOVE being part of His plan, so I try to listen and do as much as I can.

 

God loves Barry Edwards and wanted him to know that He would send a "crazy camper lady" to tell  him that He was part of God's plan. 

Barry was part of the JOURNEY!

Barry, Susanne & me

 

Different angle....Barry, Susanne & me 

Barry joked with me the whole time about me being like Waldo (Where's Waldo?) so this is us looking through a map....get it?

 

Barry is now part of the JOURNEY!

He even has a hat to prove it!

 

Thanks, Barry, for meeting me on my JOURNEY!

Savannah with Susann(a)

As I said in my last post, Susanne

(or Susanna for this part of the trip just because it rhymes with Savannah)

joined me on the JOURNEY at Theresa's house in Florida. 

 

We visited my aunt & uncle in Palm Coast and then headed to Savannah. 

 

We already THOUGHT we'd love Savannah, but we really ended up LOVING Savannah! 

We loved Savannah so much that we decided to stay an extra day, which really freaked out the people Susanne was suppose to meet in Virginia. 

We ended up making it to Virgina a LITTLE late, but we think it was well worth it.  We'd do it all again and just hope and pray there wouldn't be as much rain next time when we got to Virginia. 

 

Right, Susanne?

 

We did what all tourists do....we took the Old Town Trolley Tour in Savannah. 

We decided we were going to go through the entire tour and then decide where to get off once it completed its entire route around the city, BUT we were STARVING, and the driver mentioned that B. Matthews Eatery had great food, so we jumped OFF of that trolley as quick as we could. 

 

I had the

Veggie Scramble

home-cut hash browns, scrambled eggs, spinach, goat cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, green onion, cheddar, made-from scratch biscuit

 

It was honestly one of the BEST meals I had ever had in my life.  It was so good. 

Poor Susanne....I think I said, "yummmm" with every bite.  I'm sure she was tired of hearing it, but then again...I think she was saying the same thing. 

We LOVED it there, and the atmosphere was cool too.

 

Susanne & me at B. Matthew's Eatery (yum)

 

I want to live here and have them cook for me every day :)

Fall is my FAVORITE time of the year, and it was EVERYWHERE.

 

Some bridge

 

Another cool thing that was going on in Savannah was the filming of

Sponge Bob Square Pants. 

 

I know...pretty exciting, huh?

 

This is Antonio Banderas as a pirate in the movie. 

They had changed all the storefronts in town to look like they were stores that would be in a Sponge Bob town.

 

 

Here's Antonio demonstrating some great acting abilities. 

It's hard to act without the other characters because they're cartoons, you know!

They brought in some Sponge Bob automobiles

 

 

Salty Shoals license plate

We had ice cream at Leopold's Ice Cream that's owned by Stratton Leopold, who is a famous producer in Hollywood. 

He actually walked by us as we were sitting at this table, but we were enjoying our ice cream so much we didn't realize it and missed a photo opportunity. 

It was worth it.

Ice cream at Leopold's

 

The streets of Savannah are so beautiful with the Spanish moss hanging down, but it just doesn't look as good in pictures. 

You have to go there and see it for yourself.

 

Susann(a) and I LOVED Savannah!

Journey Through the Sunshine State with the Leafeys

Next stop on the JOURNEY was to Palm Coast, FL, to visit my

Uncle Larry & Aunt Nancy Leafey

 

Susanne had joined me at Theresa's house and was going to travel with me until we reached Virgina.  There aren't any pictures of her because she was our photographer.

 

When we arrived at their house, there were so many frogs, it was CRAZY!  They were all over the outside walls of the house, and they were so NOISY! 

 

So much for a little peace and quiet in the country.

 

This one was climbing up the wall of the garage.

When we arrived, we realized we couldn't really fit in their driveway very well, so we ended up "BORROWING" the neighbors' driveway.
They weren't home, and we were hoping they wouldn't come home during the night.

THAT would have been awkward!

I'd like you to notice the obstacles I had to overcome to park in this driveway.
One - it was DARK,
and all I had was my uncle and his flashlight behind me to give me direction.
He did grumble a little bit about how I arrived after DARK,
and that it would be hard to park now that it was DARK.

Did I mention it was DARK?

grumble....grumble...grumble

That's what uncles do, I guess :)

Another obstacle was...
see the drainage on each side of the driveway?
Well, I had to maneuver the camper and the truck so they would not fall off the sides of the driveway all while backing up in the DARK
with my uncle and his flashlight giving me direction.

See the miracle?

I don't care if you don't.

I'm considering this park job a MIRACLE.

I can do that because it's my JOURNEY!

HAHA

 

 

 

 

Aunt Nancy & me
 

Uncle Larry & me
 

Aunt Nancy, Uncle Larry & me

I also gave Aunt Nancy a quick blog lesson, so hopefully they're following me.

Thanks, Uncle Larry for your great direction, and I'm only kidding about the grumbling,
and thanks to both of you for your hospitality AND
the hospitality of your neighbor.

Shhhhhhhhh

Journey Through the Sunshine State with My Friends

Next stop on the JOURNEY was to my friend, Theresa's, new house in Spring Hill, FL. 

 

I had to leave my dad's bright and early (yes, I caught a sunrise) to get to Theresa's,

so I wouldn't miss the boat. 

No matter how much I pleaded with them, they said if I wasn't there by 9:30 a.m., the boat was leaving without me. 

 

OH NO!

 

Well, I made it, AND backed into the driveway! 

 

Whew!  THAT was close. 

 

My friend, Colleen, flew to meet us there from New Jersey. 

 

Susanne flew to meet us from San Diego.

 

Theresa had just sold her house in NJ and bought her house in Florida. 

 

Her brother, Johnny (or John, if you haven't known him since he was little) and his girlfriend, Anne, took us out on their boat for the day. 

It was so beautiful. 

We saw dolphins and stingrays,

and the sand was so white, and the Gulf water was so warm. 

 

We had a great time! 

 

Thanks, Johnny (John) & Anne!

 

 

 

Theresa & Colleen

 

 

Susanne catchin some rays

 

Susanne & me

 

 

As Theresa calls it, "Fantasy Island"

 

 

 

Colleen & Theresa

 

That night we got to go to dinner at an excellent Italian (love those Italians) restaurant called

"La Bella Napoli" in Weeki Wachee (that's for you, Theresa), FL. 

 

When we were leaving, the owner of the restaurant, Jeanne Deluca, said,

"Who's doing the blog?  I want to follow it."

 

Hmmmmm word spreads fast (hahaha). 

She had heard about the Lory's Journey blog somehow?!?!

 

Hope you're following, Jeanne!

 

Colleen, Me, Susanne & Theresa

 

Then the next day (if boating and eating Italian wasn't enough), we got to meet with two girls from high school that we hadn't seen in FOREVER!

We got to go to lunch (more eating) with Pam Ditullio and Carol Probst (maiden names)!

It was so GREAT to see them. 

Carol has been following my JOURNEY,

but Pam has not, but said she would start....how's that going, Pam?

Pam also asked me to PRAY for our lunch. 

That was awesome because it goes with the whole

EAT, PRAY, LOVE part of my JOURNEY,

I got to EAT, PRAY and be with these girls that I LOVE!



Carol, Colleen, me, Susanne, Theresa & Pam

 



Carol & Pam

 



 

Me & Carol

Me, Carol & Pam

 



Susanne, me, Carol & Pam

 



 

Pam & Colleen

Just like prom....me, Colleen, Theresa, Susanne, Carol & Pam

 

It was so great to see them!

 

So since we just ate lunch, we decided we NEEDED to go out to dinner too. 

 

OH MY!

 



Colleen & Theresa just famished because they hadn't eaten for at least two hours

 



 

Anne & Johnny (John)

 

Mike (Anne's brother), Susanne, Colleen, Theresa, Anne & John



Colleen was thirsty!

 

One of the few times I actually had to back up myself

Theresa's driveway looking a little crowded

 

We also went to the Pickled Parrot, but we're not going to talk about that except that we got to be part of the band because there were only about ten people in there, so they didn't mind that we were part of the entertainment. 

'nuf said.

 

It was so fun seeing all my friends! 

 

Thanks, you guys, for meeting me on my JOURNEY! 

 

Lots of blessings!

Journey Through the Sunshine State with the Beppels

 Boy, it's been a long time since I've blogged. 

 

The last time I had a chance to blog was way back in October.
 

It's now November 7th, and I'm sitting in my camper in Albuquerque, NM, hoping to catch up on all that's been happening on this amazing JOURNEY that I'm on. 
 

Yesterday I drove 14 hours straight from Tulsa, OK, to Albuquerque, NM, so that I'd have a couple of days to try to catch up on the blog while I wait with for my friend, Penny, to join me on Sunday.
 

I hope and pray I remember all that's happened in the last month.  If I leave anything or anyone out, please let me know, and I'll add it in. 

I can do that.  I am the author of the blog, and I have that ability :)

 

So ever since arriving in Florida, I've been busy visiting people, and/or I've had the pleasure of having some of my closest peeps on this Earth joining me on my JOURNEY. 
 

It has been way more than I ever could have dreamed or imagined.  It has been such a great time, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to take this trip.

 

I just sat and read all of the blog posts from beginning until now. 
It's incredible all that has happened...all that God has done.

 

I think I left you guys back in Florida.  The last post I posted I was visiting with my dad. 

Way back a long time ago in the blog, I told you that my friend, Julee, had given me three books titled, He Knows Your Name, that she felt God wanted to be given to three girls on my JOURNEY.

The first book Julee gave to Valinda Grimes in Floresville, TX. 
See the blog:  He Knows Her Name

Before the JOURNEY began, God told me there were three people that I needed to meet with while on this trip.

 One of those people was Linda (my friend with the pet pig) in Woodstock, GA. 
Linda got the second book. 
See the blog:  -Friends, Friends, Friends, A Pig & Some Chicken

The second person God told me I was suppose to meet with is my friend, Janice Miller Beppel.  Janice and I were friends in high school, but we hadn't seen each other since then,
so it had been about 5 years.....oh wait...haha...32 years!
We've talked here and there on Facebook, and I asked her to meet me during my JOURNEY.  Janice lives in Florida also.  We had talked about meeting half way between her house and my dad's house because they live two hours apart.  We had it all planned out that we would meet somewhere for lunch on Friday, October 4th....or so I thought.  For some reason Janice thought it was Thursday, and I thought it was Friday. 
We are getting pretty old, you know.  These things happen. 
It turned out that Janice couldn't meet me on Friday,
and I wasn't even at my dad's yet on Thursday. 
I was so bummed.  How could this be? 
God told me I was suppose to meet with her.

Linda almost couldn't meet me either because of emergency spinal surgery, but we ended up making it happen even though I had to drive my Beverly Hillbillies' mobile to her house.

Now Janice wasn't going to be able to meet me.  I was so bummed.  I just said to God,
"Well, you told me you wanted me to meet with her, so you're going to have to make it happen."
 
The next morning, I woke up to this text,
"Good morning!  You aren't going to believe it, but my son just texted me and said he can't come home, so what time do you want to meet?" 

Yay, God!  You're amazing!

So Janice and her husband, Rick, decided to actually drive all the way to my dad's house and come over for dinner.  I was wondering how I was going to be able to talk to Janice by herself to see what God had to say to her because there were going to be other people around...
my dad, step mom, their neighbors. 
After she and her husband arrived, we went back to see my camper.

It's pretty exciting, you know. 
If you ever want a tour of the camper, just let me know, and I'll schedule you in. 
Kind of like Graceland.  The JOURNEY camper is becoming quite famous.

Anyway, we went back to take the tour.  Before we left the camper, I told Janice that God had wanted me to meet with three people on this trip, and she was one of them.  Well, her reaction was pretty incredible.  She immediately started crying.  I wasn't really sure what to do.  She was crying, and her husband, Rick, was getting teary too. 
Ummmmm I wasn't really sure what God was doing.  I asked her if she needed prayer for anything, and she said she did for her son. 
I then told her that I felt that she was suppose to get one of the books too.  She immediately started crying again. 
I wasn't sure why she was reacting the way she was.  Sometimes we really don't know what God is doing.  We just have to trust that He's doing something.
 
We then prayed for her son and for them and thanked God that we got to meet.

When we went into my dad's house, Janice and I actually got to hang out in the kitchen by ourselves for a couple of hours, which was awesome because I had wondered how I would get to talk to her by herself. 
She told me that way back in the blog, when I had talked about the three books, she wondered to herself, "I wonder if one of those books is for me." 
Well, it certainly was.  God had it in His plan to make sure she got one of those books.

It was so great to see her and her husband, and I'm so glad God worked it all out.

 

Janice & me

Rick & Janice

I just wanted to share another letter God had written to me about the JOURNEY.  It kind of goes with meeting with Janice.  I hope and pray, and I do believe she was touched by God's Spirit.

"Dear Lory, I love you with an everlasting love.  I will show you great and mighty things. 
We have such an adventure to go on....you and me. 
I will touch people with my Holy Spirit.  I will be glorified.  Glory is your new word. 
Look for my glory wherever you go. 
I will show you the path to take.  I will show you my wonderful ways. 
There will be many people you'll meet.  All will be touched by my glory in one way or another.  Follow close to me.  Do not go to the right or the left.  Stay on the straight and narrow path.  I will show you great things.  Look for me in unexpected places. 
I'm excited about our trip.  Thank you for the faith and courage to take on this task.  You will be blessed.  We have great things to do together.  Listen for me, and you will hear me.  I will tell you each step of the way.  I will be glorified.  Keep listening. 
I love you,
God."

God is the best letter writer ever! 
Have you tried it yet? 
He'll write you a letter too.  Just ask Him.