Saturday when I arose I was up before everyone else so I checked the internet for the news in America and sports scores! We had thought about staying up watching the Duke/Carolina basketball game but it started around midnight and we had a long day of driving and sightseeing ahead of us on Saturday. (We drove roughly 300 miles) I was surprised to see Duke had won (and Doug Miller was very excited when I told him) We loaded up the vans and headed south. We were going to Lindisfarne Castle/ Holy Island, The York Cathedral and Nottingham. The drive to Holy Island was a very scenic trip through the Scottish countryside. To crossover to Holy Island you had to drive across the Lindisfarne Causeway which was actually underwater during high tide. You can search for videos of vehicles getting caught on the Linsisfarne Causeway as the tide comes in and there are many. We were fortunate that we had arrived at low tide so we had some time before the tide became an issue. When the tide comes in the island is only accessible by boat. If you are on the island when the tide comes in you have to stay there until the tide recedes. At least one car/month gets stranded on the causeway and has to be rescued by the Holy Island Coast Guard.

On the island itself is the Lindisfarne Priory which was founded in the 7th Century by Saint Aiden and the Priory was a very important Christian site in the UK. The island was one of the first sites to be attacked by the Vikings in 793AD and almost everything of value was looted. In the 8th century a Latin manuscript of the Gospels was written at the Lindisfarne Priory and it was renowned for its beautiful illustrations. The manuscript was called the Lindisfarne Gospels and I think it was on display in London while we were on the island. The Lindisfarne Castle in the island was built to defend the island in the 1500's and the castle walls were reinforced with Yak hair to keep the rains from eroding the castle walls. The castle was undergoing an extensive renovation while we were there so we only saw the castle from the outside. We were in a hurry and had to leave the island before I would have liked but I did not want to be the subject of YouTube video of a van of Americans being rescued from the top of their vehicle.

We then went to York and went to see the York Cathedral. I love the British towns as most of them have been around for hundreds/thousands of years and have wonderful old buildings and Cathedrals. The Church is also know as Saint Peters Cathedral in York. It is one of the largest Cathedrals in Northern Europe. The first church on the site was constructed in the year 627 AD. In the years of 1220 AD - 1472 AD the church was renovated to be the "Greatest Cathedral in the Kingdom" It was a very beautiful cathedral. The Cathedral was very well cared for. One thing that has been a sad sight is that many of the grand old churches have been re-purposed for many different purposes. When in Edinburgh Matt and Lynn passed three churches that had been changed into various venues. Two were nightclubs/pubs (The Elim Pentecostal Church - built in the late 1800's - had become the Frankenstein Pub) and the third was a market place. It is sad to see grand churches become something other than a church!We stopped in a few of the small shops in York and the most interesting was a small hardware store. The hardware store was tiny and had very narrow aisles but it was interesting to see the "tools" of the UK. We then ventured on to Nottingham where we met the Winstanley's, Smith's and Wibberley's for dinner to celebrate Charlotte Winstanley's Birthday. We ate at the Prezzo Ristorante in downtown. It was a nice Italian restaurant and we enjoyed the sights on the way to and from the restaurant. It had been a long day of sightseeing and traveling and we were glad to have a warm soft bed waiting for us at Nigel and Cath Smiths house.

Sunday morning we slept in because church was not until 10:30. Church was very nice as we had a speaker for youth Sunday. It was unusual for Lynn and I to be sitting in a congregation listing to a sermon because since last July we have been the ones delivering the sermons. I found myself listening and taking notes as he had many good ideas for future sermons for us. The music was a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary music. I watched they sang the Charles Wesley Hymns and then I was amazed when they all sang Rend Collective's "Build Your Kingdom Here" and everyone (even the senior saints) were singing. But when you read the words to the hymns and the contemporary songs they were saying the same thing - just with a different rhythm. The words were:

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here

We Pray.

These words apply to all of our churches.

We had tea at the church afterwards and then went to the Smith's for lunch. We kind of meandered and rested for the afternoon and then went to hear Doug Miller who preached for the evening service. Doug had a very good sermon as he preached on Leviticus 19:1 - The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: "Be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy" He had a full length mirror and challenged us to see if we saw ourselves as being in the image of our Creator and how did we appear to the mirror. It was good to sit in the congregation and listen to Doug preach again. It has been a busy but good weekend and I am looking forward to resting tomorrow while Lynn, Matt, Doug Harrelson and Rosie Goddon venture to London on the train.

On Monday we awakened early so the explorers going to London could catch the proper trains. I was very happy when Cath Smith picked up Doug and Rosie and took everyone to the train station. They gave us a manual transmission van for our rental vehicle and I had adjusted to driving on the wrong side of the road but now I was changing gears with my left hand and did not want to drive in the heavy morning traffic. I was happy to stay home to rest and spend some quiet time with God. It has been nice to take time to rest and spend time with God as at home life is so busy and I do not make myself take quiet time. I am going to be more intentional when we return home about my quiet time. The London travelers had a wonderful time in London. They sent pictures throughout the day and they saw an amazing number of the sights in London. When we picked them up at the tram station at midnight Matt said they had walked close to 24,000 steps for the day. I had a good day to as I spent time with dear friends and we went to a English farm nursery/garden shop/coffee shop. We went with Caths mum and dad and they were delightful company for the afternoon. Today has been a really good day. I have rested, spent time with friends and most importantly spent time with God. It has been a very good day! God is Good.