{"id":24367,"date":"2026-05-15T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=24367"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:20:39","slug":"make-every-moment-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=24367","title":{"rendered":"Make Every Moment Count"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As you read this &#8212; Carl and I are flying home with full hearts and grateful souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What began in London carried us to Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork, and yesterday, Portland, England &#8212; plus many more breathtaking places along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We rode taxis, trains, buses, tender boats, and our own two feet &#8212; lots and lots of steps! We laughed with people from around the world, marveled at stunning cathedrals, and were captivated by the extraordinary performers aboard the MS Nieuw Statendam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday marked our final excursion as we visited Portland Castle, a remarkable fortress built around 1541 by Henry VIII. It was constructed to defend England\u2019s coast against possible invasions from France and Spain.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"714\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-in-Weymouth.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24369\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5902209848616669;width:499px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-in-Weymouth.jpg 714w, https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-in-Weymouth-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Its thick stone walls have stood watch over the sea for nearly five centuries. As I walked through its ancient rooms and looked out across the water, I was struck by the contrast between then and now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generations have come and gone, kingdoms have risen and fallen, yet here we are &#8212; alive, healthy, and blessed to enjoy this very moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Standing inside that historic castle made me profoundly grateful to live in the here and now, cherishing the gift of today and the faithful God who holds every age in His hands.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"580\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-Carl-Donna.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-Carl-Donna.jpg 580w, https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Castle-Carl-Donna-181x300.jpg 181w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of our favorite memories from this trip was being chosen to play \u201cThe Love Game\u201d on stage. We answered questions about our marriage and somehow won! Only one question stumped us &#8220;What is the most sentimental gift you gave your wife?&#8221; I answered &#8220;my sunflower necklace.&#8221; We lost to Carl\u2019s unforgettable answer: \u201ca handheld vacuum cleaner.\u201d Oh my!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But beneath the fun was a deeper truth. Time is precious.<br>The older we get, the more we realize that life is not measured by how much we accumulate, but by how deeply we love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTeach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.\u201d \u2014 Psalm 90:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>None of us knows when we will cross over to the other side. But until that day, may we stop and smell the roses. May we laugh often, love generously, and live with no regrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery good and perfect gift is from above.\u201d \u2014 James 1:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our journey may be ending, but the greater adventure continues. Each sunrise is another invitation to cherish the people God has placed in our lives and to make every moment count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why don&#8217;t you join us with letting the people around you see what true love looks like?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you read this &#8212; Carl and I are flying home with full hearts and grateful souls. What began in London carried us to Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork, and yesterday, Portland, England &#8212; plus many more breathtaking places along the way. We rode taxis, trains, buses, tender boats, and our own two feet&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24371,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24367\/revisions\/24371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}