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Belle's Musing - Daddy's Not Going to Be Happy
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Pocket Full of Quarters Trek 2009 – Give ‘em Heaven
Belle’s Musings – Daddy’s Not Going to Be Happy
By Belle Touchton
The Missionary Dog
Mommy – Cheryle Touchton
Crowton on the Hudson, New York
For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Phil 4:11-12 NIV
Daddy is not going to be happy with this campground. Don’t tell him about it or he may not catch the airplane to come here. Mommy booked it months ahead and it was the only one close enough for Mommy and Daddy to participate in the Hope Mission Tour through New York City.
Daddy doesn’t really like camping anyway. Mommy’s the camper in the family. Mommy loves camping and Daddy loves Mommy so Daddy camps.
I’ve often heard Daddy say, “Instead of camping, why don’t we just sleep in the closet? We’d have more room.”
Recently Mommy asked, “Bob, if I died, would you ever camp again?”
“Probably not,” he said. I think the real answer is definitely not.
When Mommy and Daddy first married, both of their parents had campers, which they borrowed a few times. These campers didn’t have bathrooms, showers, or air conditioners. They lived in Florida. Daddy didn’t have good camping experiences and back then, Daddy didn’t know much about being content in all circumstances. When Daddy was unhappy, he tended to make others around him unhappy. Mommy finally gave up and they went years without camping.
For their 25th wedding anniversary, Daddy gave Mommy a two week camping trip through Alaska. It was the best gift Daddy could have given Mommy. That was the beginning of poor Daddy’s new camping life. They rented a camper and Daddy found out modern camper technology was tolerable.
Then, Mommy went on her first missionary journey and slept in a tent, all by herself. The second journey, Daddy agreed to tent camp with her for three weeks. That journey was my first camping experience. I’ll say one thing for Daddy, when he decides to do something, he is determined to get good at it. He studied, planned, read diagrams, plotted, and made charts. By the end of that trip, Daddy had finally stopped throwing or breaking things while setting up the tent. In spite of the fact that we lived through being buried under a sand storm, drowned in a monsoon, and awakened surrounded by barking coyotes, Daddy had something that closely resembled fun – or at least not a nightmare.
Still convinced there was an easier way to life but accepting Mommy’s love of camping, Daddy talked Mommy into replacing the tent with a camper. Since then, he and Mommy have learned to compromise.
Mommy camps anywhere and is not picky about the condition of the facilities. She’s pretty good at that “contentment in all circumstances” thing. Daddy likes clean bathrooms, hot showers, cell service, cable, and Wi-Fi. We mostly stay at KOA’s when Daddy is with us.
The fact that Daddy will be stuck at this campground for 5 nights won’t be good. It is a State Park. The camping bathrooms are out of service. The fact that there is a porta-potty close by won’t be relevant to my daddy. He has standards.
There is a pool house bathroom about a mile away but it is dirty and has cold showers. Halleluiah has a shower but Daddy likes 20-minute showers and if he took a 20-minute shower in Halleluiah, he’d have to stop and dump the holding tank 3 times.
Cell coverage is sketchy and there is no cable or Wi-Fi. My Daddy, the daddy who is always hooked up to gadgets, will be cut off from e-mail, possibly cell phones, and definitely television. It’s possible that God wants him to learn more about contentment in all circumstances but I’d rather not be here when God teaches him. I’m offering bribes to anyone who will let me stay with them for the next 5 nights. I’ll do all my tricks, bring in your paper, and cuddle with you in the mornings.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.
This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road as a traveling missionary, send your tax deductible contribution to Pocket Full of Change Ministries, POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240 or go to the donate button on the home page of this website.
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