Sunday, June 30, 2019

Countdown

The time is fast approaching for us to take a short hiatus from the Valley and travel to Arkansas to visit with family and friends and to reinforce our calling from the Lord. Many doors have been closing for us and more are opening up, so we need time to sit back, relax, and listen to the whisper from the Lord.

Last week we had a huge downpour of rain, wind, and hail which flooded large areas around us. We had no flooding here in the park but the frontage road was flooded so bad that before anyone knew it, cars were stranded in the fast moving waters. Many homes and businesses were affected as well. We were without power for 17 hours - most of it at night so we did try to sleep listening to the thunder and wind, watching the flashes of lightening. No damage here in the park except for a few trees down and stuff blown about.

Still very hot - we try to work in the morning and stay in the a/c in the afternoon. When we lived in WI the hottest part of the day was around noon - here in S Texas it is about 4-6 in the evening - so no evening cooling breezes although the mornings are cool. The grass is still green in some spots yet, and the flowers are growing with continuous watering. I don't have many flower as I never really like to mess with plants,, except vegetables in a garden, so we have plants that do no require much attention. I did finally weed out my tiny flower area and wound up in the house later sneezing and coughing. Guess the allergies are getting worse.

The Lord has been so good and granted us us grace so  many times the last few months that I just shake my head and give Himall of the thanks and glory. On day He kept us from a serious accident on the frontage road as a car pulled over and stopped in front of us. Luckily, with quick action on Fred's part, we exited the frontage road, and made it safely to the freeway and continued on down to the next exit. And twice our vehicle quit - once the battery died and then  later that month something broke and made the fan belt break. Both times we were just getting into the park and were in front of our house - not out on the road somewhere. Thank goodness for Triple A as we were towed a couple of miles to our mechanic and both problems were fixed quickly and easily. Just a small speed bump in the road of life.

A question people frequently ask is why do bad things happen to good people? The brokenness of life shatter people's dreams of what  life is supposed to be. We think monsters don't exist but they do. People have evil thoughts and deeds they carry out - really bad things to good people. Why does God not stop suffering? It is the Theodicy Question - an attempt to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people. There really is no answer to this question.  God wants us to love Him, so He gave us free will - the ability to make choices Some people use their free will for evil and wicked things. One day God will come in glory and all of our questions will be answered. Do not allow the Theodicy Question to make you cynical. Don't focus on the pain and suffering or let it get us down. We do not face pain and suffering alone . We can never be separated from the love of God. "And we know all things work together for the good to those who love God,to those who are called according to His purpose". Romans 8-28. God can (and will) turn our trouble into triumph, He can take something ugly and make it beautiful. We can't control how bad things happen to us ( as our vehicle trouble mentioned above) but we can control how we respond to it. Get better, folks, not bitter.

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Happy Independence Day! On this special day here's wishing your dreams of a new tomorrow come true! May your day be filled with patriotic spirit! Today we celebrate the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July celebration -remember what we are celebrating, and please pray for our country!


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