Now it is time to wait.  The first pictures are coming out about damage in our area.  Bridge City is under water, as well as Orange.  Nederland photos show some damage to Philpott motors and the Old Fellowship Baptist building on 27th.  Moderate wind damage to say the least.  There is nothing like seeing pictures of significantwind damage and then wondering about our own house and church.  Memories of Hurricane Rita are pretty fresh in my memory.  The  aftermath and clean-up from Rita reminds me of the blood, sweat and tears we had after we returned home.  There is an anxious feeling about what to expect when you get back.  You hope for the best but brace for the worst.

The worst part of the whole process is the feeling of displacement.  Although we are at our families house, we are still not at home.  We would go back to Houston to wait it out with my parents so we could be closer to home, but Houston is still reeling from the storm.  Not to mention, my parents had a tree limb fall through their roof and rain poured into one of the rooms.  Power in all of our communities will be off for at least a week.  We anxiously await the approval to come home.

I wonder what it was like for the Israelites to “wander” in the wilderness for 40 years with no place to call home.  We are going on a week and I am ready to find “home” again.  All in all, this is kind of a picture of the believer’s life on earth.  This earth is not our true home.  We are only pilgrims and sojourners going through a temporary land.  This life is temporary and we wait for a permanent home in Heaven.  A believer should at times feel displaced in this life, because we know that we have yet to find our true home.

It has been a while since I have been able to write.  We do not have internet in Oklahoma.  We came to the city and I parked in a hotel parking lot that has Wi-Fi.  Reports from home are good for Mid-County.  Not a lot of major damage but the power is out as well as sewer.  Entergy has estimated 3 weeks to restore power.  Our prayer is that it will come on sooner.  We also pray for the area communities of Port Arthur, Sabine Pass and Orange County who were hardest hit.

If you would like to contact us by email, I can receive mail on my blackberry at danny@agonline.org.  You can also call me on my cell phone.  We hope to see all of you soon.

It is 5:50am and we are heading out.  We have a long drive ahead of us.  Please pray for our safe travel.  I will be disconnecting from the blogosphere (blogging) for a week.  I know that it will be hard for you to not read the life of a pastor for that long.  I am sorry for the inconvenience. May I suggest that if you need something to read try a book on Geocentricity and Physics.  I am sure it will be enlightening:)  Have great week!

When we evacuated last week, we had the opportunity to spend some time with my family.  We stayed at my mom and dad’s house and it gave them alot of time to spend with Josh and Hannah.  It was a good time together with them.  As a pastor it is hard to get away for the weekend because we are usually getting ready for Sundays. 

So it is with our family reunion.  They are usually on Sundays so it is hard to go to them.  I made my first family reunion since pastoring (12 years).  One of our cousins, on the Berman side of my family, had a reunion at her house.  I could make no more excuses, I had to finally go to a family reunion. 

I remember how great family reunions were as a kid.  We got to run around and play, but as we got older it became more awkward.  After marriage, you tend to grow apart from your extended family until eventually you hardly know one another.  I am a people person, but even this scenario is tough.  I am a Christian pastor, at a family reunion for a predominately Jewish family.  Guess who is the odd man out?  My grandfather was a Messianic Jew and my grandmother was a Gentile who loved God.  It was great to talk with my uncles and some of the other family and hear the impact my grandparents made on them.  The legacy of a man who was not afraid to live for Christ, even when much of the family shunned him.  Now, later in life, they testify of how good a man he was.

All in all, it was a good family reunion.  I enjoyed it! I am glad I went.  There is another family reunion coming in the future.  It will happen when we get to Heaven and are reunited with those who have gone before us.  The truth about Heaven is, there will be no feelings of awkwardness.  We will all be there for the same reason.  We are a part of the family of God.  It will be a time of rejoicing and a time to see the splendor of God’s glory. 

It will be a sweet time, but there are some who will make excuses not to be there.  They do not want to be a part of the family.  They choose to walk their own way.  If you have not made the decision to follow Jesus and be a part of His family, do it today.  Follow Him!  The Gospel of John declares that if we believe in Christ, He gives us the right to be called the children of God.

P.S.  Speaking of family reunions, we are going on vacation.  We will see Sonya’s side of the family.  I will be taking a break from blogging for a week.  I will catch up next Friday.

Last night, I was rocking Hannah to sleep.  It was a calm night, no storms or anything out of the ordinary but she looked me in the eyes and said, “Daddy, I scared.”  I asked, “what are you scared of?” and she looked over toward the cabinet.  I am still not sure what she was scared of but she somehow knew that whatever it was that I would protect her.  When she said those words to me, it instantly made me want to fix it or to calm her fears.

In life, there are times that we face frightening circumstances.  Maybe it is a devastating illness or a situation that you fear the outcome.  There is a Father in Heaven that hears your cries.  All you have to say is “Father, I’m scared.”  We can cry out to Him at any time and He wants to calm our fears.  In fact, the Bible records a couple hundred times the simple phrase, “Fear not”.  God said, “Fear not for I am with you.”  The Bible declares that He is Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our banner, our protection.  He is the calm in our storm and we can take refuge under the shadow of His wings.

What are you afraid of?  He is there to take away your fear.

We got back home about 1:00pm.  There was little traffic on the roadways but I am sure that is going to increase as the day goes on.  We came Highway 90 and it was clear all the way. 

We will be having Wednesday night service, which will be an informal service.  Sonya and I will be leaving Thursday morning for vacation.  Brad and Meridith Drake will be ministering Sunday morning.  They always do a great job.  Don’t miss it!

There is a possibility that the county officials will lift the evacuation order this morning.  We are planning on heading back to the Golden Triangle this morning before everyone else.  We will have Wednesday Night service for anyone who is back home.  Hope to see you there.  May God keep you on your travels home.

We have been anticipating the outcome of Gustav.  Prayer must be working, because at this juncture it has weakened to 115mph winds.  Our prayer is that it will continue to weaken before it makes landfall.

As of the last report on kfdm.com, it looks like it will miss the Golden Triangle.  We will get some rain and wind gusts but for the most part we will be safe.  Now we anxiously wait for word when we can return home.  Gustav should make landfall sometime in the morning hours.  May God be with the Louisiana Coastal communities.