Weather Report: "It's goin' be hot, it's goin' be cold."

It's that time of year when everybody in the "northland" wished they lived in Florida. The wind chills in places like Coleman, Michigan or Avon, Indiana are - 30 degrees, schools are closed, roads are blocked by drifting snow, and being outside can be a literal "pain". Here in the Sunshine state right now it is in the high 60s and low 70s, the sky is deep blue, the grass is green, and the oranges are waiting to be picked. It seems, right now, to our northern friends that good old Florida is the place to be. But wait a few months! Now the temperatures in the land of the relentless sun are in the mid to high 90s, the humidity to stifling, and the sever thunderstorms (with the occasional hurricane) are to be expected. Meanwhile, it is the north that has become the desired destination with its' low humidity, temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s, and the fresh, cool, refreshing evenings. Both places have their pluses and minuses.

Whether you prefer to endure the cold and snow for the beautiful summers or you prefer to endure the scorching heat for the mild winters, there is one thing that remains perfectly true for the Christ-follower (you guessed it) THE BEST IS YET TO COME. There will be no discussion of weather, of hot or cold, of ice or hurricanes there....it will be perfect there day in and day out (if there are literal days there). Everyone will somehow be happy with the climate and every day people will say; "It just doesn't get any nicer than this!" But until then...keep your chin up and learn to enjoy what you got, while giving God all the praise for his wonderful creation.

January in America's Tropical Paradise

January in Florida is nice but a January break to the U.S. Virgin Islands is nicer! I now understand why they call them "America's Paradise". Sherry and I just returned from an all to brief four day excursion to St. Thomas where the quiet and peaceful surroundings on Cowpet Bay were just what we both needed.

The weather was perfect with gentle tropical breezes, deep blue skies, soft white clouds, and temperatures always in the 80s. It was 80 when you went to bed and 80 when you got up and with the light but constant trade winds it was as nice as it gets. We got up when we wanted, ate when we wanted, and time was almost irrelevant. We simply enjoyed each other and our beautiful surroundings for four blissful days.

But.....I am now home. Oh, the temperatures are in the 70s (not bad) and we have blue skies and white drifting clouds but it's not quite the same. Nice but different and once again I was reminded that the BEST IS YET TO COME. Don't get me wrong, I love planet earth and plan to thoroughly enjoy my time here but I know there is a better place and day coming where it is as nice as it gets. A place where time is irrelevant and we can enjoy our surroundings forever!

I wonder if John felt this way after his vision of that place. I wonder if after that he kept telling people that the BEST IS YET TO COME.

A New Year and a Vision to be Completed

Sorry about the lack of any blogs in December but for pastors that is one month where there is not a lot of spare time. Add to that trying to keep the construction of our new church facilities on target and thus no blogs. But a New Year has begun and it will be a year filled with anticipation and excitement. 2008 was a year of mixed emotions with the poor economy and all but it was a year when we all learned that "God knows best".

Three years ago when He first impressed upon the church that we should do our relocation and building project debt free it just seemed like the prudent thing to do but now we understand that He knew it was the only thing to do. To incur any new debt with the economy effecting our tithes and offerings would have been disastrous! But He knew!!!!!!!!

His timing in the entire project has been perfect! We sold property at the peak of the real estate run up in Florida, we are building the buildings while contractors are looking for work and the gas prices have dipped to the lowest levels in years! We didn't know these things were going to happen when they did, but He did! So can there be any doubt that THE BEST IS YET TO COME and that 2009 will be another year of His leadership and blessing.