The Dry Hurricane

This has been a weird weather week here in Hendvegas. We experienced what I would call and dry hurricane although it was not quite a category one. We had sustained winds of 60 miles an hour with gusts over 80. It was scary to say the least. It was responsible for two deaths in Henderson County as well as 28,000 without power. Heidi and I were blessed enough to keep power which is unusual for us. During Hurricane Ivan we lost power for 6 days and all our food and during an ice storm last winter we lost it for 4 days. With the amount of trees that came down in Henderson county I could have started my own log cabin factory. The worst for me was the large tree limb that fell on Heidi's car and my mailbox was ripped from its post but other then that we came through ok. Thank you God! This all happened on Monday and all the power in the county was finally back on late Thursday afternoon. Of course, after the power was all back on that'swhen the severe thunderstorms with hail came through. I guess the point is pray for the people of Henderson County, there have been deaths, alot of damaged property and broken spirits.

Church with a Time Limit?

I was surprised to read on foxnews.com about a new church in Florida that was for men only.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,264784,00.html

This article is well worth the read. It seems that men are bored in church these days. (I guess the Bible ain't what it used to be?) This new church for men only features a rock band, and shot clock for the preacher to get out of the pulpit and a one hour guarantee to be in and out of the church. My question is when did church become a drive through? It's not suppose to be a dry cleaners (drop off your husband by 11 and we will have him baptized by 12) Is this what worship as come to? Sure, I have sat through some less then stellar sermons in my day (all of which were better them what I could do) but I the idea of a "shot clock" just ticks me off. I imagine that if Jesus were preaching some morning in that church that the shot clock would be turned off, the rock band would unplug and everyone would listen to what Jesus had to say. Maybe these "men" should consider the source of their preachers material instead of running a two minute drill to see who can get to Golden Corral first. I am not saying that we must all conform to one form of worship and I won't get into the music debate, but unless every member of this church is 6 years old, perhaps they should use some patience, maybe God wants them at church just a little longer.

Heidi and I have been adopted!

So recently at church we have started a program called Adopt a Buster. Basically its an older couple who "adopts" a younger couple to mentor. Heidi and I signed up but we really didn't know what to expect and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to it, it seemed like a program that would get going and then lose it's momentum as so many can. So a few weeks after we signed up we were given our assignments and we were given Lloyd and Mary Cain. We knew Lloyd and Mary, atleast who they were, I had been in a few of Lloyds Sunday School classes but we had never really spent any time with them other then at church and that wasn't much. So the day we got our new mentors we all went out to eat at Golden Coral which I wasn't looking forward to because I try to stay away from the buffet type restaurants. We spent about an hour talking and just getting to know each other and it was nice. So we planned our next meeting, which was dinner at their house on a Friday night. So a couple week later we arrive at their house around 6 p.m. We figured it would last an hour or two and we would go home, little did we know how much fun and how interesting the night would be. After a fantastic dinner we all sat in the living room just chatting, and chatting, and chatting. We learned so much about Lloyd and Mary, all the places he has preached (he is a retired minister) his mission work, all the places they have lived and their thoughts on God, church and the world we live in today. We ended up chatting until 10:30 and we had to make ourselves leave, I think the Cains would have let us sleep there. After spending so much time with them I can honestly say they are our friends now and I look forward to spending more time with them. I think all churches should have some kind of program like this. The knowledge and friendships you might gain are well worth the time. God has blessed Heidi and I with this relationship, it can only help us grow in the church and with God. After this month we actually are suppose to switch mentors and I am looking forward to it because of the opportunity to get to know more people and we get to maintain our friendship with Lloyd and Mary. Just because we will be switching doesn't mean we will stop having dinner with Lloyd and Mary.