09.17.16 Charlotte, North Carolina – The Thompsons and the Billy Graham Library

Saturday, September 17, 2016 – Thursday was a very happy day for Roy and I.  We drove to Charlotte, North Carolina to meet my RVillage boss, Deborah and her husband Aaron!  We’ve worked together for several months but have never been in the same room together!!!  All of the photos in today’s blog can be enlarged by clicking on them.

They live in a 5th wheel in Charlotte, NC which is a little under an hour from where we are staying in Shelby, NC.  We made a detour from driving straight to Atlanta to be close enough to meet them in person. From the minute we first hugged until we said goodbye I felt like I was with a life long friend!  We visited and worked together which was really cool!  She is a very hard working lady and is quite dedicated to RVillage.  I admire that dedication.  Mostly I admire her obvious love for our Lord.

They cooked a delicious lunch for us which we all ate together before Aaron had to leave for work.  While Deborah and I were working and having fun, Roy and Aaron visited and put up with our giggling!  Not really giggling but we were happy to be together!  Roy even took a nap with their precious little doggie, Porsche on his lap.  Porsche is a one of a kind dog!  Precious, tiny, wears cute clothes and is very loved!

Deborah realized as we were leaving that we hadn’t taken any photos of she and I together so we got this one!

We had no idea that Billy Graham’s Library was in this area.  When I found that out we immediately planned to visit the Billy Graham Library after our visit with Deborah and Aaron and left their home around 3 to head over there.

Wow, wow!

If you are not a Christian you might not appreciate the impact this man’s ministry has had on the world.  He spoke the truth in a way that everyone could understand.  His message was always simple and quite clear about who God is and how we can all come to know Him.

If you are a Christian this may need be on your Bucket List!  I am so thankful we had the opportunity to visit there.

I’ve grown up listening to Billy Graham preach. While walking through the Library (which is not really a Library) I was reminded of all those amazing sermons and the words of God that he proclaimed so well in his Billy Graham way. He was so clear and his messages so simple that the world could grasp the love of God.

The tour is free and we were greeted by two ladies opening the door for us which is very appropriately at the foot of a glass cross at the entrance.

The first photo shows the path the tour takes throughout the building.

Aerial view of the Graham home and the Library

Please note the cross in the front of the building below.  The bottom part is the glass door you enter through. It’s almost chilling walking through that door with what “Standing at the foot of the cross” represents

As you walk up to the library you pass through several beautiful gardens all while listening to Just As I Am playing over outdoor speakers.  I wanted to cry tears of joy it was so special!

The tour is partly tour guided and mostly self guided.  The first few rooms are narrated either by the cow talking, a video on the screen or television. Plenty of places to sit down and rest tired feet in these rooms. 

One of the guided areas we toured was this old time Billy Graham tent revival.  First picture is the new stand outside the tent.

The last rooms were self guided with lots of information and related scriptures on the walls and screens.  Billy Graham reached millions not only in the stadium crusades but on television and radio.  Listening to his interviews with several prominent television hosts was amazing.  His style was always simple and bold! Old time television station set upHour of Decision Radio Studio One room was dedicated to his late wife Ruth Bell Graham who passed away several years ago.  These next photos are from that room.  Her parents were missionaries in China (when she was born) which is why they have a Chinese entrance way featured. Other rooms in the building were the bookstore, restaurant and great country barn scenes

After the Library we went to check out a local Farmer’s Market mostly looking for green peanuts to boil.

They had rows after rows of amazing produce but we were primarily looking for green peanuts to boil.  Several places at the market we saw dry peanuts but only one with green peanuts and they wanted $5.99 a pound.  Even us newbie peanut boilers knew that was way too high so we didn’t buy anything.

We needed a few things at Walmart so we went there and lo and behold we found a box of green peanuts for only $1.98 a pound and we liked the way they looked.  We bought almost 4 pounds worth. I cooked the first batch last night in the crock pot with just a bunch of fresh garlic and no salt.  Very easy on the blood pressure and since peanuts are a brain healthy food I can feast away!!

We are use to people thinking we’re weird for taking photographs in the grocery. I know ya’ll are use to it, so here’s one with Roy very happy finding his beloved Bunny Bread again.  We also found Blue Bell for the first time in months!  We are back in the south for sure! Amen!!!

I plan to write next about Boondocker’s Welcome so if you are an RVer I hope this help you some!

Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!!

Click on the links below to go there!

Wacky Wonderful Wednesdays published on Wednesdays

Some Things I Learned About Dementia published randomly