My website, as you will see, is undergoing major revision. My wife and I, after almost eight years, have quit our fabulous time giving lecutures on cruise ships, working for the cruise lines as a Guest Lecturer. During that time, a very different type of web site was required, but now that we are back to normal at home, that web site is no longer necessary. Thus this total revision. Thanks.
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We all get heavier as we get older, and that's because there's a lot more information in our heads.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
From: troy [mailto:vp17cr2ss1@cox.net]
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 10:59 PM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: Walking
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| Richard and Cheryl Holt on Salt Creek Beach between Newport and Laguna Beach, January 2007 |
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In May 2007, my wife and I had to call a halt to our years of cruising and working on the cruise ships as a Guest Lecturer. I was too sick to go on. We had been doing this since 1999. We didn't just make an occasional cruise, we spent over 800 days aboard ships during these years. Lots of cruises!!
During these past seven years, I have maintained a web site that looked a lot like a resume, prepared to give passengers on the cruise ships a brief idea of the background of their Guest Lecturer. In addition to that, the cruise lines also had me maintain a summary of my background that they could edit and put into their on-board newspaper for the passengers. We stopped cruising on May 9, 2007, so that kind of resume/web site is no longer necessary.
The resume that was used by the cruise line companies I have added as the next page on this web site.
Some of you reading my web site during this past year know that I have had a difficult time with my health for a long time. I had major surgery on February 9, 2009 to remove a very large abscess located in my abdomen, who's presence was unknown prior to this surgery. I had been sick for over a year without any idea of what was causing this. The abscess was the size of a softball and had been leaking toxins into my body for a very long time. This surgery resulted in the removal of about 8 inches of my Sigmoid Colon, and in order to let that heal, a "loop ileastomy" was done which has just been removed. Why this huge growth didn't kill me is a wonder. God wanted me alive to do something else with my life.
On Wednesday May 27, 2009, my good friend and neighbor, Dr. Jim Woodburn reconnected my intestinal tract (rejoining the Loop Ileostomy) to again rejoin the small intestine with the large to put my systems back in working order. Why that leaking abscess didn't burst and end my days here on earth God only knows, so I will ask Him that when I reach Heaven, some day. Dr. Jim and his dad, also an excellent surgeon, did both surgeries.
What has helped me through all these physical trials is that I have within me a strong faith and hope in Jesus Christ. "Christ promises us hope not only for eternity, but also for this life. Those times that God does not deliver us from difficulty, we can be sure He is doing a greater work within us. When we finally reach our eternal home, we'll recognize the immeasurable value of the faith He produced in us as we kept our hope in Him." Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries
One of my favorite gospel hymns is called "Through it All", and the words tell the story of my learning process on this earth.
Through It All, through It All,
I've Learned To Trust In Jesus,
i've Learned To Trust In God.
Through It All, through It All,
i've Learned To Depend Upon His Word.
"I, your God, have a firm grip on you and I'm not letting go.
I'm telling you, 'Don't panic. I'm right here to help you'."
Isaiah 41
Dick Holt
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