- Maggie Valley from our Airbnb “What a funny world we live in when we won’t turn our phones off, yet we get excited to see we’ve hiked far enough to lose service.” We Dream of Travel - "Goodbye" to Maggie Valley Travel days are always a challenge. So it helps to have a couple …
Continue reading The Road South – and Deep Faith Echoes from the Past
Once again, our day in the North Carolina mountains exceeded expectations. This really is a remarkable state. All week long we have promised the children some water play. So today we had just the one destination. We went to the Dupont State Recreational Forest, spending the morning at Hooker Falls and the afternoon at Triple …
Continue reading Waterfall Day: Dupont State Recreational Forest
Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:2-3 - Grove Arcade, Asheville Thursday took a more relaxed tone, with a leisurely drive into Asheville. We did some serious shopping, fell in love …
Continue reading Asheville vibes, gem mines, and a magnificent elk
When morning gilds the sky,our hearts awaking cry:May Jesus Christ be praised! Photo essay from my morning walk here in Maggie Valley.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.Psalm 121:1-2 - on top of Clingman's Dome The only possible word to summarize Wednesday's mountain experiences with the grandchildren is "spectacular." It helps, of course, that this is all …
Continue reading A spectacular day exploring Clingmans Dome and Dry Falls
Rebekah and I made good time Tuesday, heading to our Western North Carolina retreat, so we decided to give our two eldest grandchildren their first taste of PC(USA) Valhalla. Yes, I'm talking about Lake Susan and the Montreat Conference Center just east of Asheville. At first David and Beks were like, "That's an interesting stone …
Continue reading Mountains, Montreat, Maggie Valley, and Making Memories
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.Psalm 27:13-14 Our big couple of weeks featuring non-stop family took a significant turn Monday afternoon when I drove Andrew, Alicia, and Mr. T. to the airport so they could fly to Seattle …
Continue reading Wrapping up the A-Team visit, and looking to the mountains
I know it sounds crazy, but today marks one full year since Rebekah’s epic retirement day, August 1, 2021!
It’s been a HUGE twelve months, absolutely full of so much adventure. But the memory of last year’s generous, emotional, Spirit-filled celebration remains fresh and vital.
So it is worth sharing again. This blog was my initial reaction, posted the next day. But in many ways we are still processing what it means to have moved into this stage of life and ministry.
In all things we remain blessed. And, may God continue to bless the awesome gathering of saints at WFPC! – Derek
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart.- Philippians 1:3-7
Note to whoever is reading this morning (friends; family; church members; casual readers; blog-surfers, Russian hackers…): This past weekend is going to take a while to process; Sunday…
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- writer Derek Maul with youngest grand July 2022 offered a lot of amazing images, so selecting a representative grouping has been a real challenge. What I want to get across is the power of so many stories weaving their way through my life. They are all distinct, and - in their own way - …
I have always thought of Wake Forest as a picture-perfect community, one of those place where - as Mayor Vince Whibbs used to say when we lived in Pensacola - "Thousands live the way millions wish they could." Here in Tyler Run we live in a lovely home, in a picturesque neighborhood, in an idyllic …
Continue reading Making a big splash with the grands: One more reason to love Wake Forest
Derek Maul: Words, Photographs, and Food for the Journey 