Friday, July 20, 2007

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

Have you ever wondered how Noah must have felt? He had lived over about six hundred years with pretty good weather (Genesis 7:6). Not once had it rained. Then he climbs in the ark with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and the world’s first zoo. I like animals, but I have my limits.

Once Noah and his family and all the animals were in the ark, God closed the door. For the next 40 days it rained. It rained all day and it rained all night. It rained and it rained and it rained.

As I sit here at my computer, it is raining outside. It has rained all day. It has been raining off and on every day for weeks. Occasionally we get a day or two of sunny, but humid weather, but this being South Texas, a storm can pop out of nowhere. In fact they are called popcorn showers. Popcorn showers need the heating of the day to be activated. Today’s weather is due to a tropical wave off the Gulf of Mexico.

Though it has been raining since morning, it hasn’t been that bad, at least not in San Antonio, TX.

Northeast of here, New Braunfels received over 8 inches (20.32 cm) of rain today. The Guadalupe River is just one of many rivers in danger of flooding again. Some of you may remember that just last month Texas was hit by a ton of rain. Many counties were declared disaster areas. Today’s rain is just as bad but mainly effecting South Texas.

Pleasanton, about 36 miles (57.94 km) south of here is just one of several areas that got about 4 to 5 inches (10.16 to 12.7 cm) of rain per hour. That is a lot of water.

The past two summers we were in a severe draught. We couldn’t get it to rain a drop. It was hot and dry. This summer it has been cool and wet. Everyone is complaining. We are getting to much rain. People’s yards have turned into swampland. It is rare to see the sun these days. The local weatherman’s pepper plants have turned to mold. People are joking that we now live in a rain forest. We really need to dry out.

Even though a lot of Texas is water logged, it has not rained continuously. I have managed to run errands without needing my umbrella. It has not rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

I wonder what Noah and Mrs. Noah thought after it rained constantly for a week? Maybe they were still in shock from hearing the screams of people trying to get on the ark?

I wonder what Noah and Mrs. Noah thought after it rained constantly for 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, then 4 weeks? When did the complaining begin? Or were they to scared to complain?

40 days of rain followed by at least a month of waiting for the water’s to go down. Talk about cabin fever.

As I listen to it rain outside, I am grateful that it will be clearing up in a day or two. I pray this rain moves to the west where it is really needed.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Updates

It is hard to believe it has been over 2 weeks since I last made a post. Time sure flies.

Last time I wrote about the newsletter Healing God’s Way. I am pleased to report that just this week another person signed up for the newsletter. I have to wonder how many people tried to sign up when I was using Topica, but failed? If you receive the newsletter, I would like your feedback. I am open to ways to make it better. If you have never subscribed, you might consider doing so. If you don’t like it you can always unsubscribe.

Earlier this week I discovered a wonderful and easy way for AOCCCI to raise funds. GoodSearch.com is a yahoo based search engine that donates about half its revenue (about a penny) is donated to your favorite non-profit. You can make it your homepage or you can download a toolbar. Either way, each time you use GoodSearch for your Internet searches, you are contributing to AOCCCI.

If Alpha Omega Christian Communities For The Chemically Injured does not automatically show up in the Who Do You GoodSearch For? box, please add us.

I spent much of the day making minor changes to AOCCCI’s web site. Mainly I added links to GoodSearch and Amazon. Amazon is another excellent way to give to AOCCCI. When you shop Amazon from the web site or from the link provided on this blog (look under Links), a percentage of what you spend is donated to AOCCCI.

Now for an update on Sphere of Faith Community Church. I first wrote about Sphere in April. At the time we were meeting in a community theater which was in the process of being renovated in between musical performances. When the owner sold half his interest in the theater, we were told we needed to move. The new partner wanted to speed up the renovation. Pastor Bill learned all this on a Friday. Since he is human, panic set in. But God already had a plan for Sphere and by Sunday morning we had a new home to move too. We now meet at the Ruble Center, about 2 miles (3 km) from the previous location. This facility is a huge improvement and a real blessing.

Besides the Sunday evening services, we now meet Thursday evenings for Bible Study. We have a wonderful time. The first Thursday our youngest member, a 14 month old boy, came to the study. We shut him in the room and allowed him to roam freely. He had some giant legos and other toys to play with. One toy played digital music. Just as we adults bowed our heads for a time of prayer, the music toy started playing the Lone Ranger theme song.

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless each person who reads this blog. Amen.