Good-bye Dolly

I think it ended up being a full week without electricity for Mom and Dad. The good news is they were able to come up to Houston for half of that. We benefited from their company and their refrigerator (plus, some lovely dinners out). The bad news is now they have to deal with the after-Dolly clean up and repairs. They lost a lot of shingles and have water damage in the master bedroom from the ceiling caving in (lost shingles + horizontal rain = lots of water getting in). After they deal with all that, they can more clearly assess the rest of the house. Both of them were safe and unscathed, PTL. The cat is grumpy from having to travel to Houston, but we think she's ok, too.

Would love to have some comments here from friends in Reno who are dealing with some natural disasters as well. Everyone riding out those earthquakes ok?

I know it's all part of God's plan, but these kind of things are pretty scary. It does bring up a lot of those why-type questions, which tends to get me back into reading my Bible a little more, so there's the positive spin. It also allows for believers to step up and put their faith into action - reaching out and helping people who are suffering, showing them the love of Christ. That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Not Easy

FYI -
Painting a small white room (i.e. a closet) with white paint sounds like it would be quick and simple. It's not.

Run! Run! Run!

Last night we went to Bible study at White Oaks Baptist down the street. Pastor Michael played a video for us where the leader takes a group of people to a Greek ruin - an arena that sat 40,000 people where they would hold the games. He talked about how the athletes in the games ran for the glory of their gods (and then for Caesar when the Romans adopted the practice and decided the emperor was a deity).

The point was that the apostles (especially Paul) often explain Christianity as a race (see Hebrews 12). And they used this example for the non-Jews because society understood the games. You run to bring glory to Jesus. You don't run to win, you run like you want to win; you do your best - whatever that is. You're cheered on by a crowd of witnesses. The key is passion - don't hold back; give it everything; let go of the things that hold you down. Run! Run! Run!

It was awesome. He also made some interesting references to Elijah. But I'm still pondering it all. Next week they're luring us back with promises of ice cream!

Harmony and mutual affection prevail - mostly

We're moved in and back online. The painting is almost done. Really, we're so close! We've had all kinds of little snags along the way, but I do believe we're going to like the place. And, thanks to hiring movers and having help from the family, our marriage is still intact!

We went to the little church down the road on Sunday. It was good. We enjoyed it and even got invited to lunch! Believe it or not, we actually accepted and had ourselves a great time. Maybe we've found a home. That would be cool.

I've been doing Bible study using a book by Kelly Minter titled "No Other Gods". It's very well written, and it's really helping me see some things about myself that I need to address. For example, I've fallen into a pattern of expecting God to disappoint me - like He's picking on me or something. And I'm afraid to find out what He'll do next. Now, I know this is not correct thinking, but this study has helped me see that I act like it is. Anyway, I'm hoping God will continue to show me the truth and help me get over myself.

There were some specific verses this week that hit me:
Psalm 112:7
Proverbs 3:24
John 14:27
and really bringing it home - 1 John 4:18

Just thought I'd share.