Today I preached a funeral for a 52 year old woman who lost her battle with cancer.  She spent 29 years as an educator for the Nederland School District.  There were around 300 people in attendance.  It was standing room only with an overflow room.  As I looked over the crowd I was struck with awe of how someone could make such an impact in a secular job. 

We often think that people can only make a difference if they are a minister or working full-time in some type of service job.  But the truth is, no matter what vocation we have, we can make a difference.  Being a teacher is a calling.  It is the opportunity to develop young people’s lives.  This dear lady we buried, took her job as an educator seriously.  She had found her calling.  There were dozens of former students who came to pay their last respects to her.

I began to wonder, “How many people would attend my funeral? Have I made an impact on other people’s lives enough for them to pay their last respects when I am gone?  Will I be missed when I have left this world?”  It makes me take more seriously my calling as a pastor and preacher of the gospel.  To want to touch more people.  To want to lead them to life everlasting.

So, how many people do you think will come to your funeral?  What would they say about you when you are gone?  Will you be missed when you die?  Find your calling, whether secular, volunteer or ministry, and touch as many lives as you can.  God will use you in mighty ways if you are willing!

I have been suffering major withdrawals for almost 10 days now.  It has been that long since I have had a Sonic Iced Tea.  Many people have addictions or a crutch, I do too.  I am addicted to Sonic Iced Tea.  Many would scoff at such an addiction, but for all the Starbuck’s addicts, at least Sonic has a happy hour. And while we are on the subject, their coffee is better and cheaper than starBUCKS. 

Back to the withdrawals.  Because of Hurricane Ike and the havoc it has wreaked on our communities, Sonic has been closed.  Not just the Nederland Sonic but all of the area Sonic’s.  Today, the Port Neches Sonic opened back up with a limited menu, but they did have Iced Tea.  Sonya was in Port Neches and noticed they were open so she surprised me with a Route 44 Iced Tea.  Oh the love this woman has for me!  What’s more, she even paid full price for the drink.  Now I truly know what love is.  I couldn’t ask for more in life.  Sonic Iced Tea and a beautiful wife, could life get any sweeter?

When I drive, I have a habit of looking around.  I am an observer.  I look at everything when I drive.  Sonya says I look at everything but the road.  So in our car the phrase, “watch the road” is spoken frequently.  Yesterday as we were driving through Beaumont, out of the blue, Hannah said, “Watch the Road.” 

Now I have three people to tell me how to drive.  Sonya, Josh and Hannah.  I guess I must start paying attention when I drive:)

Last night, Sonya woke up at 2:00am and discovered something beautiful.  Our lights were on.  It has been a week since we’ve had power and what a welcome sight.  It was a good thing because it was a humid night, I was getting hot and having a hard time sleeping.  The first thing we did was turn on the A/C. 

We watched the power crews work all day on the power lines but the lights never came on.  The last thing we expected was for them to come on in the middle of the night.  I am not sure how Entergy’s process for restoring electricity works, but they surprised us with their 2 am wake-up light.  It came on when we least expected it.

There is coming a day when we will be surprised by another great event.  When we least expect it, Jesus will return.  The Bible says that the rapture of the church will happen in the twinkling of an eye.  In a split second.  No man knows the day nor the hour but His return is imminent.  He is coming again when we least expect it.  We must be ready for His return. 

We had some small damage at the church but what intrigued me most was the damage to our sign.  God is an amazing God and finds small ways to speak to people.  Before the storm, the sign read, “Let God calm the storms in your life.”  Our sign was battered for ten hours with winds of 65 mph or more, yet not one letter was missing.  The sign was twisted and mangled but the message stayed the same.  God always calms the storms.

We have now been home 4 days without power and although it has been challenging there are some good things I have noticed about the after effects of Hurricane Ike. 

1.  Life has slowed down tremendously, so our family time has increased.  There are few places open.  We are spending more time at home together.  If we go anywhere, we all go together.  It has been a good bonding time.  When one of us is in the dark, we all are in the dark.  When one of us is hot, we are all hot.  We all sleep in the same room right now.  It has been fun!  How often, it seems that we, in America, have so much to do, that our families suffer from a lack of time together.  I have enjoyed these last few days together with Sonya and the kids.  We are all growing closer together.

2.  There are many wonderful people who live in this great nation of ours.  Many people do not get to see first hand the charitable and hard-working people who volunteer in our nation.  After a Hurricane, people flood our communities to help hand out groceries, ice and water.  They help clean up yards, roof houses, trim trees and lend a helping hand.  They do all of this without seeking anything in return.  This is what true love looks like.  This morning on our street there were several people going house to house, cleaning up the yards.  They were there to help even while the home owners are still evacuated.  The Baptist Men, Maps, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Convoy of Hope and many other organizations share the love of God through service during these times of hardship.

3.  Neighbors help neighbors after times of tragedy.  I have watched our neighborhood work together in many different ways.  In America we tend to live in our own little bubbles and do not interact much with our neighbors.  The foundation of Christianity is to love God and to love our neighbors.  Until the church returns to this principle we will never shape our nation.  It is interesting to me, how my neighbors, who are not all believers, help each other out while we in the church are too busy going to church, that we never interact with our fellow man.  We should endeavor to take time to interact and love our neighbors as ourselves.

4.  I never knew I could miss church so much.  I love church, but when I cannot go I miss it so much more.  Most of our church members are still out of town.  It feels kind of lonesome knowing they are gone.  We must learn to appreciate the church and attend regularly.  You never know how much you miss it until you can’t go.

There are many of our church members who are still gone.  We pray for your safe journey home.  All of Beaumont, Mid-County and Port Arthur are still out of power.  I would love to hear from you, email me at danny@agonline.org.  Our phone service has been spotty, but you can try my cell phone.  Otherwise, email me. The emails go to my Blackberry (cell phone).  You can also comment on this blog by clicking the comment button below.  I would like to hear if you have damage or when you have returned or are planning to return home.  We love you guys.

We will meet Sunday morning at 10:30am at the Sanctuary Building.  This Sunday there will only be a morning service and no Sunday School.

As I went to sleep last night and since we are still without electricity, I began to think of things that I was thankful for in the midst of the after effects of Hurricane Ike:

I am thankful we had a home to come back to. Many people lost everything.

I am thankful that we had a cold front that is keeping us cool at night while we are without A/C.

I am thankful for a generator that allows us some light inside the house and the ability to plug into our internet for a little while.

I am thankful for a gas water heater that allows us to take hot showers and for the gas stove where we can at least cook.

I am thankful that we have water and sewer.

I am thankful for all the people who are providing resources in our community. Market Basket and HEB are giving out free ice and water.  The American Red Cross and other organizations are also helping with the relief efforts.

I am thankful for all of the Entergy personnel working long hours to restore our power.

I am thankful for all of the military, fire and police officers who are keeping us safe and helping with the needs of our communities.

I am thankful that this is only temporary.  Many people in other nations do not have the privilege to live as we do in America.  It is times like these that we learn to count our blessings.

God is good.

We made it back home last night after being evacuated for Hurricane Ike.  Our area has a lot of damage that is typical for hurricanes.  There are alot of trees down, carports scattered and fences down, but that is the majority of damage for Mid-County.  We know that some people have major damage but Nederland was spared.  Our house had almost no damage at all.  A little water got in the back door but that is easy to fix.  The church lost its big awning in the front, also a little siding and some water came through a window but that is all.  We praise the Lord for helping us through the storm.  We still have no power and it could be off for a little while.  We are not sure when we will have it back. Overall we are thankful for God’s protection.