Visiting my brother and vacationing in St Louis from March 21 to 26

Most people who read this go on a vacation 1 to 3 times a year. That includes holidays with family, spring break trips, and nonbusiness travel to vacation locations.

I have had a tiny family. I am single and never married. I do not have a current or former wife. I never had any children or grandchildren. My parents were only children so I have had zero aunts, uncles, or cousins. My mother died decades ago of emphysema. My relationship with my dad was always strained. We would talk on the phone briefly every few months. My brother is 3 years younger and he is divorced with one son that is 28.

The last time I went on a vacation was 16 years ago in 2003. My dad paid for me to fly to visit my brother Jim and my nephew Trevor for his 12th birthday. It was in Aurora Colorado that is near Denver.

Before that my dad flew me to visit him in Hawaii where he lived near Honolulu where he had retired. He brought me there for my 40th birthday on April 23, 1993.

The vacation before that was in 1976 I was 23. I was in residential drug rehab. Our household went to the beach house of a friend of the ministry.

That is a total of 3 vacations as an adult.

During high school and college, I enjoyed sailing. I sailed in the Bahamas for 3 summers. Those were the those golden years for vacations.

As a child, we went on a four family vacations until I was about 9.

I have gone to about 7 weekend church retreats over these past 42 years.

I went on one time on a mission trip that was to NYC.

SO for me to go to Saint Louis from March 21 to 26 to visit my brother and nephew is a HUGE event in my life.

It is ONLY possible because of anonymous supporters offered to sponsor this.

BACKSTORY

There is more to this story. The gracious sponsors offered in the fall to send me to visit my brother for Christmas. But he was too busy then. And he has been busy since. I feel that he can just fit me in during March.

Jim has always had a corporate job and I never did. Most of his life he has also been working on ways to get ahead financially through a side business. He is smarter than me and harder working. But he has never gotten much ahead.

For the last few years, he has been studying a system called Clickfunnels https://www.clickfunnels.com/ . This is a proven system that has led all sorts of people to build home-based businesses in a wide range of industries. He has read books, attended workshops and more.

I studied that system last year and I have returned to study and apply it this year to the online business I hope to launch soon.

So internet marketing will be a major topic of conversation during my visit there.

I am very grateful for the relationship I have with Jim. We talk on the phone for 1 to 2 hours every few weeks. I can talk about anything with him but about Christianity.

Jim was married briefly and has a son named Trevor who lives in St. Louis too. He is 28 years old and a computer programmer. Trevor is single and has a long term girlfriend. When I look at his Facebook page I cannot identify with ANY of his posts for the last few years. I have not talked with Trevor in 16 years. So I request special prayers for this relationship in general and our possible meeting next week.

My brother does not want me to stay with him. The hotel where I will be staying is near a huge park that I am told is as big as Central Park. So that is where I will be when I am not with my brother. I love to walk and observe nature.

WORK

Most mornings I participate in a conference call for Workaholics Anonymous http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org/  I have gained much from hearing and contributing to this group. I have noticed that my workaholism manifests as what they call work avoidance. I plan, research, and prepare yet repeatedly fail to gain the needed focus to implement. This has been going on for decades so that I could not afford to go on vacations.

I talked with a man that has been working the workaholics anonymous program for many years and he pointed me to a group that has helped him and others named Underearners Anonymous https://www.underearnersanonymous.org/  I just learned about this recently. The guidelines on the website indicate it might be helpful. https://www.underearnersanonymous.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/about-ua-2018.pdf

PRAYER

While I am writing about the subject of vacations and requesting prayers let me share the kinds of vacations I would enjoy.

May God open these doors for me to somehow go on these kinds of vacations in the coming years and provide the funds.

Where I grew up there was a large woodland nearby. I would go and walk there for many hours. I miss walking among big trees.

As a kid, I enjoyed it when we visited National Parks.

The times I went to an arboretum and botanical gardens I felt close to nature and to God.

I miss sailing.

I would like to explore kayaking.

Please pray for God to prosper my online business so that I can afford vacations as well as other costs.

The generous sponsors will also give me a prepaid debit card and that is AMAZING.

Plus if you want to contribute to this adventure and future adventures, then here is my Paypal link https://www.freewebs.com/jsohub/give.htm

THANKS again for all your prayers.

Shalom

John