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This morning I am putting together the itinerary for the Route 66 tour coming up in March. \u00a0Actually I started on it last January when I was planning to drive the same trip alone. \u00a0I rarely ever take participants to a place I have not been to, and know well. \u00a0The few times I have, I’ve regretted it. \u00a0So I’m \u00a0not going to make that mistake again! \u00a0I want to get double duty out of this blog post, instructional and spiritual. \u00a0So I will make each of the important points in both planning a physical trip and spiritual journey, in context. \u00a0Physical trip points in ORANGE<\/span> \u00a0Spiritual in BLUE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here is the plan:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. \u00a0Determine a destination. \u00a0 It is pretty hard to map out a plan if you don’t know what your ultimate goal is! \u00a0For the Route 66 trip I know that by Saturday night, I want to be in Henderson, Nevada (just south of Las Vegas). \u00a0I know my starting point for the group will be Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In my spiritual life I have a destination in mind as well. \u00a0When the Lord calls me home I want to be exactly where He wanted me to be, at that moment. \u00a0Planning how to serve Him is a matter of trusting Him daily and taking the instructions given for that day or week. \u00a0Since my eternal home is already assured and all reservations made, I only have to trust Him day to day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. \u00a0Pick a route. \u00a0For our trip on Route 66 we naturally want to stay as close to Route 66 as possible, after all it is a Route 66 tour!!!!! \u00a0Now this is both easy and not so easy. \u00a0Most of the original Mother Road is now integrated into I-40 along the southern corridor. \u00a0Some sections of the actual 66 route are still around and we will drive over a good portion of those, but much of the in between stops driving will be on I-40. \u00a0This is good because a trip down only the existing parts of Route 66 would be a long slow journey, and we do have a time limit of about a week.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our Spiritual route is pretty simple. \u00a0If the goal is to get to the destination, (Eternal life and to share our Lord with others), we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. \u00a0Trust in Him, and let Him guide us moment to moment. \u00a0It seems to simple but it really isn’t, it takes time to learn to know that He is there, and will not fail us. \u00a0We naturally want to work out the plan ourselves, but God doesn’t need our help, and the sooner we can relax in Him the better the journey will go!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. \u00a0Calculate the Timing. \u00a0Before stating \u00a0trip if we know a starting point and the ending point we need to calculate how long it will take between those two points and figure out if our allotted time will allow the trip. \u00a0For the tour coming up, we are in great shape. \u00a0We start in Oklahoma City on a Saturday evening and end a week later (Saturday evening) in Henderson, Nevada. \u00a0That is 1,098.9 miles and we have 7 days to cover it with lots of stops! \u00a0So we only have to cover 181 miles a day!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you are trusting God on your spiritual journey this one is super simple, trust Him with the timing. You know where you are now, He knows where you’re headed and ONLY He knows what He has planned for you between now and then. \u00a0Relax, He got this!!!!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. \u00a0Prioritized your stops along the route. \u00a0On the Route 66 tour there are dozens of things I want my guests to see and get to photograph and experience. \u00a0Since I drove this exact route last year, and have already photographed all those sites, I know all about where to stop, how much time we can spend, and where some of the coolest things are to see! \u00a0Now there are many more things we could stop to see, but there is not time to see everything! \u00a0So, it is imperative that the stops be prioritized. \u00a0it is vital that we stop at the BEST places even if it means sacrificing some less important stops.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On a spiritual journey we need to keep in mind what our priorities are as well. \u00a0Since we will be trusting God with much of that journey, we need to stay close to Him, and that can best be done by time in prayer, (talking to Him and listening for His voice), reading the word, (the instruction manual for the Christian life), and fellowshipping with fellow travelers along this spiritual journey!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. \u00a0Develop a good, workable plan. \u00a0On the Route 66 trip I know that we will have time to see a lot of great things, enjoy some killer food, and experience the rich history of the Mother Road, because we have a good plan, a plan that will allow time to soak it in, and not feel too rushed. \u00a0A plan allows for an overview of how we will use our time.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The most workable plan for a walk with Him, is to trust Him, listen for His voice and always be obedient. \u00a0It is a waste of your time to try and develop a “better” plan! \u00a0Trust me, \u00a0His plan is perfect and the sooner we submit to it, the more peace and joy we will have.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Screen-Shot-2016-01-04-at-8.24.56-AM-580x143.png\" "\\"Screen")
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