Our Share Of The Record

Well, we did it. Us folks here in north Texas held up our end in garnering record snowfall. It was as if we (Texans) could not stand the east coast getting all the attention from record snowfall so we decided to share in the spotlight and join the fun. Now when they talk about the record snowfall of 2010 they will have to mention Texas as well! It started snowing right before dawn and did not end until 10 p.m. This was the longest length of time for it to snow since I have been living in Texas. Also it was the most snowfall in one pass in the last 70 years. The total amount of snow this year is officially a record! Way to go north Texas.

Of course, the snow does cause us to do strange things. Public school here in Valley View had kids come to school at 8 a.m. only to dismiss them at 10:30 a.m. The benefit of this was it could be counted an official school day. Yippee. One less day to go to school in the spring!

Last night I grilled hamburgers in the 7 inches of snow that are still on the ground. On a whim I invited everyone on my Facebook to come by if they wanted some burgers. Eleven brave souls came by to partake of the fun. Not surprisingly, my Polish, Honduran, and Filipino friends didn't respond to the invite. :)

One of the friends who came over asked if I had ingredients for cookies. She was doubtful I had this kind of supplies in the house. I am proud to say that I had everything she needed to bake cookies. Another youth said he could bake cookies as well so we had two bakers on two separate computers getting their recipes and then meeting in the kitchen to make their choice cookies. Meanwhile the rest of us chowed down our burgers before watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The cookies came out of the oven during the ceremonies. I was content to settle for burgers and chips and got fresh cookies as well! Life is good.

One of my morning meetings today is postponed due to the snow on the ground. This means I can attend the Teen Tea Party in Gainesville in it's entirety instead of scrambling to get two events squeezed into the morning.

One of the youth in our church heads down to Kerrville, Texas Sunday and Monday to give speeches at a speech competition hosted by the American Legion. Parker Luke is one of the four finalists in this competition throughout the state of Texas. If he wins this competition it is on to the nationals in Indiana. Go Parker!

Yesterday I got this computer debugged of about 30 viruses or other creatures that were causing it to run in slow motion. I mean I could literally fix my breakfast (well hot chocolate and heated honey buns) before certain programs would boot up. Now all is back to normal with me able to access two programs at once without it freezing up. Life is good.

Bird feeding in the winter is a blast if you can afford it! The birds are fun to watch. However, birds have a tendency to tell all their fine feathered friends where the nearest food source is and the first thing you notice is the bird population rises exponentially. One finch turns into dozens, one cardinal brings another eight, one chickadee materializes into gazillions. Soon the bags of bird food seem insufficient for the masses. I was in Wal-Mart the other day with nothing in my cart but bird food! I was dreaming of feeding birds during the summer time in the desert - thinking about how little this would cost. Then I remembered the birds of the desert are vultures and they eat dead things! And they, too, never eat alone. They go get their friends too! So if I were to provide the birds of the desert a meal, it would have to be me. Now, feeding the birds in my backyard does not seem to cost near as much. How one's perspective can change. :) Life is good.

Blessings

Snow

Wow! As the dawn brings the first hint of light this morning it reveals it is snowing. And what a beautiful snow it is. For those who have watched White Christmas, it is snowing like the closing scene of the movie. Gently falling snow with no hint of wind makes for a picture perfect scene and lots of fun for the kids who will get to skip school today. And the birds are glad the bird feeders are full

Random thoughts. Today is a great day for Chicken Chow Mein while tonight is a great night to watch some Red Green shows.

This Saturday morning there is a Teen Tea Party in Gainesville at the Court House Square from 10 - Noon. It should be good. This is the 4th Tea Party to be held in Gainesville. Each one has been good. This one should be the best as those hosting it are the ones seeing their future monetary fortunes being spent with no say in the matter. I guess it is similar to the original Tea Party mantra "No taxation without representation".

Today I will learn to use Flicker.

I love these two verses in Psalm 21:1 & 3. "O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad. And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! . . . For You met him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head."

And finally for today it is worth mentioning that God does all things well!

Blessings

Philippines 2010 Remembered

Returning recently from my annual trek to the Philippines where I and two others conduct seminars for Filipino pastors brings pleasant memories to mind. Much was accomplished during the two seminars held on the islands of Leyte and Bohol. The pastors in attendance were challenged, blessed, and inspired (according to the Filipino pastors' own words.) Highlights for me during the seminars were:
1) Seeing physical healing occur. During the two seminars I witnessed or prayed for persons who were healed of a goiter on a neck, breast cancer, leg lengthened, knees healed, pain in stomachs, backs, shoulders vanishing. One of our long time pastor/interpreter friends with us during the seminar on Bohol had pain in his shoulder and back go away during the seminar. At supper following the end of the seminar he mentioned that he noticed the long term, constant pain he had grown accustomed of enduring was no longer there. Without specific prayer for him, but just being in the presence of the Lord, brought about the removal of pain!
2) A pastor from New Guinea attending the seminar testified that his family ancestors killed and ate the first missionaries arriving from Fiji. Then they killed and ate the second group of missionaries coming from Fiji. Still the missionaries came and his family ended up followers of Jesus Christ. He mentioned to us that the last cannibalistic act in new Guinea took place in the 1930s.
3) Establishing new and affirming old relationships with pastors in the Philippines. God has some really neat men and women serving him in the Philippines! Among them are two couples serving as coordinators for the seminars. Art and Hazel Suralta in Leyte, and Fernando and Madeline Impang in Bohol, did great jobs in coordinating the seminars and taking the hassles off our shoulders.

One last side note regarding the trip. This was the thirteenth year I have been going to the Philippines. In all my trips I invariably travel through Manila. Manila (all 13 million people) has always been dirty, grungy, polluted and crowded. But this year Manila was cleaner than I have ever seen it. The air was clean (not smoggy) and the sky was actually blue! What a wonderful change for this city.

Thanks for letting me remember some of the neat things about this Philippine trip.
Blessings