The Great Separation

Tropical Storm Fay Gets Strong?!!

You must be kidding?! - Things here in the Tampa Bay area have been very tame weatherwise. Fay jogged enough to the East to land early south of Naples with winds around 60 miles per hour.

The strange part about all this is that the storm really wasn't all that well formed. So when it hit land most folk in know expected it to weaken further and pretty much fall apart till it made its way, if it made its way, back over water.

Only that's not what Fay did. It became more defined as a tropical storm on its way to hurricane status and actually strengthened. At the time of my writing this it was up to 65 miles per hour while moving very slowly over land.

Weird.

Update:
Randy Thomas has some "boring" video of the storm moving into his area. His blog is ETC: Everyday Thoughts Collected.

Update 2:
Here's some news related to the storm - `Boomerang' Fay strengthens over Florida.

Tropical Storm Fay rolled ashore in southwestern Florida on Tuesday without much fanfare, but stubbornly hung around like an unwelcome houseguest, gaining power and threatening — once again — to become a hurricane.

The storm first hit the Florida Keys, veered out to sea and then traversed east across the state on a path that would curve it toward to the Florida-Georgia border. The failure of Fay to weaken meant a whole new swath of the state had to prepare for a worse storm, and meant Florida could wind up getting hit three separate times.

Getting Ready for Fay.

It's that time. - Yep. The hurricane season is in full swing and I find myself getting prepared for yet another wonder of God's creation. Tropical Storm Fay is on her way.

I came inside a while ago for news and lunch and to cool off from getting things ready for this storms arrival. She's moving a bit slow and looks as if she'll slide east of us, but I need to prepare the church and the parsonage for high winds.

Got to love it. Well, I should get back out there.

Cheers!

And So Another TS Year Begins

Thus it begins - Well, technically it already started with the sub-tropical storm we had last month, but Tropical Storm Barry is in my book the first one of the season, being he's "TROPICAL".

Tropical Storm: Tracking Map : Weather Underground.

Doesn't look like he'll amount to much frankly. A good thing. Bit of wind and rain (which we need badly). The wind won't be much of a change. The last couple of weeks have been really windy. In fact I've sat outside thinking to myself they were tropical force. The only problem was they were really dry and sapped all the moisture from everything.

What Dennis Left Behind & Stuff.

Clean up. - First the stuff:

Well, I have to say I just haven't felt like commenting a lot on current affairs. And there are a lot of affairs currently. Thankfully the like of The Narrow, Double Toothpicks, and JackLewis.net all continue to do their exceptional work in commenting on the world's affairs from a Christian viewpoint.

In her post, Disgusted, I think La Shawn Barber touched on part of why I've felt they way I have lately on the key issues of the day.

Mostly though, I think it's because I've focused on needs closer to home and how those needs have kept me in a state of constant prayer.

I started out the week fasting and praying for England and the war on terror. Many joined in that endeavor and I am certain above all else that God was glorified. It is a great blessing to join together with believers around the country and the world in prayer before the throne of the Most High. Can you imagine how awesome it will be when we join together before Him not only in the Spirit but in the flesh?

What an eternity that will be.

The rest of the week as been spent in prayer for family, friends, and even people I don't personally know.

And you know what? It has been a great blessing and really a wonderful privilege. Perhaps that sounds odd. But I don't know how else to describe it. The needs this week have been very burdensome. They still are burdensome. A number of these needs are terrible, but I am certain of God. I know His will is being worked out in each need.

Sometimes it's not the way we want though, or the way we expect. Yet when He sends His answer it often overflows and spills out upon others. I witnessed that today in one family and a great need of theirs. It was a small thing, and I'm not certain they've seen it yet or perhaps realized the full impact, but I saw God move in a way none of us expected and that was such a wonderful experience.

Anyway, I wouldn't call this week a "Mountaintop Experience" because I feel like I'm on the "Battlefront." But it certainly has been a week of witnessing God move in the lives of people.

Now on to what Hurricane Dennis left behind.

Dennis Strikes.

It's wasn't supposed to hit here. - Dennis has a very far reaching arm and is slapping we Floridians around. I went to bed last night late watching the weather, scanning Weather Underground, and thinking that I wouldn't need to worry much about this monster storm which sadly spent more than seven hours over Cuba.

I was wrong.

At some point shortly after six this morning the roar of wind and rain woke me from my dreams of candy land.

Something hit the roof and the side door of the house. The sound of the wind reminded me of the hurricanes from last year.

My immediate thought was for the forty orchids I had sitting out by the lake under a large oak tree. Yeah I know, what a strange first thought. But it's a passion of mine.

Anyway, when I opened the side door I had trouble because of a large tree limb tossed carelessly aside by Dennis. Further out the door I spotted a large tree some twenty plus feet from the house where it now lies on the ground.

Walking between the fallen tree and our large bougainvillea I discovered all but one of the orchids I had sitting in plant stand were in the mud and water. Thankfully the majority which I had hanging from assembled line of Shepherd's Hooks and pipe were fine, though battered.

I had to search through pulls of dark water and mud for a couple of young plants blown out of their pots. One Phalaenopsis I'm watching for a friend on our Church mission trip was also out of the pot and in the mud.

Needless to say it was messy. They are all inside now, here and in the Church youth building.

Discovered another two very large Cedar trees at lake edge broke near the base and now in the lake. That should be a fun clean up.

Several tornadoes touched down in the area and I'm thinking this damage might be related somehow.

Wind right now is really gusty. More so than I would expect. The wind map for where Dennis is right now shows the tropical force winds and hurricane force winds hundreds of miles away to the South. In the picture to the left, I'm in the circled area.

So this is rather surprising. Just goes to show you can never tell with these beasts.

Update:

It appears the tree damage is likely the result of a tornado touching down, or skimming the tree tops. An officer spoke this afternoon with my father (the officer got his car stuck on the Church property while trying to drive across it) and a tornado touched down a little ways from here doing some damage to a building. Under one tree there's a large limb that is driven into the ground and sticking nearly straight up. My pop said the top of the tree looks like it's been in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Haven't had a chance to look at it myself yet.

Kind of makes since that it was a tornado. You could draw a near straight line connecting all the trees that are damaged on one side of the property.

Update: 2005-07-10.

Our prayers go out to those hit by this storm today. Thankfully, from what I'm hearing it could have been worse. The next few days will tell just what this storm wrought.

It Begins Anew!

Line 'em Up. - Storm Number One is on her way.

Last years excitement:
Keep us in Prayer.
Thank You for Your Prayers.
Struggling from Behind.
One of those Weeks.
It's Coming!
The Monster Draws Closer.
Busy Day Ahead of Frances.
Spinning Away.
Long day. Not Much Accomplished. But There is Providence.
Satellite Photo as Ivan Prepares to Unleash.
Here We Go Again... Hello Hurricane Jeanne.
Frazzled, Frustrated, Stretched, Mental, but Alive.

Hurricanes God's Punishment for 2000 Election?!

Shame on you! - Good grief. What silly people there are in the world.

Some silly man named Ben Green from San Francisco sent this into the Tampa Tribune following hurricane Jeanne (italics added):

It seems to me, from my perch here in earthquake country, that perhaps God is telling you Floridians that voting for George Bush is a bad idea. Maybe he is punishing you for inflicting the world with George Bush. The hurricanes you are suffering from seem small compared to the suffering "Dubya'' has inflicted on so many innocent people in this world. Save yourselves and the rest of the world. Vote John Kerry, please.

If this is the case what is God punishing California for with the recent earthquakes? Or what is Haiti being punished for? Or Japan?

And then you have another silly man named Joel Adkins, a columnist for EchoOnline, some Internet arm of Eastern Michigan University, making the same stupid assertion (italics added):

Why, Lord, why must you decimate the great state of Florida?

The answer to this question lies in the past, a very sinister past. Many may recall that in 2000 a controversial election took place. That event was the 2000 Presidential Election; this election is held every four years. It is an election that is voted on by the American people in order to decide the next president of the United States. What’s the connection some may wonder? The controversy started in Florida.

...And thus we have discovered the source of Florida’s plight. Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne were all examples of God’s divine vengeance and will only subside when these traitors have repented of their evil deeds. I, for one, anxiously await the next slew of hurricanes.

These two men are very sad examples, I think, of human beings.

Of course a scripture comes to mind.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1-2 NIV)

Hmm. Ruler of the kingdom of the air? That would be Satan. So perhaps Satan is the one at work attempting to keep Bush from being elected. Or maybe nature is what nature is and it rains on the just and the unjust alike.

Frazzled, Frustrated, Stretched, Mental, but Alive.

From Florida all worn out. - Just to let you guys know I'm alive.

Frazzled, stretched thin, and probably suffering from some sort of mental condition along with the rest of Florida because of all these storms. :-)

We lost our power to the Church and parsonage yesterday afternoon during the storm but thankfully got it back this morning.

Apparently my TV got fried because of it. Also, a tree and part of another fell over onto the Church tool shed (fairly large structure). Thankfully it wasn't damaged. Dad and I cleared it from the roof today with the help of some of the neighborhood kids. We've still got about four other trees to deal with and probably twice to three times that in the form of large limbs.

We're going to be doing that for the next week I guess. Keep us in prayer. It's always dicey with power tools, Dad, and me.

Some Church members are in similar situations. Three families that I can think of off the top of my grey matter are without power. One family is pregnant and due. Another had part of their roof start to roll up in the wind but thankfully it didn't develop too far and can be easily repaired.

I think that's it. I'm a bit muddled at the moment. I feel like I'm forgetting someone or something.

Long hot humid day.

Yesterday we hunkered down in the Church with two families and a couple of neighborhood kids whose parent(s) didn't seem to care a heap about them because they arrived at the Church in the middle of the storm. Anyway, there was one point while playing Skip-Bo that I realized I had reached the storm limit.

I wasn't very happy with the behavior of the neighborhood kids, I couldn't concentrate on the game, and so I attempted to try and find ways to cheer myself up. That meant periodically I would arrange the placement of the Skip-Bo decks just for the heck of it. That caused a few looks, then smiles, and finally it caught on with the others.

We were all storm weary, storm drained, and off and on punchy and touchy.

Oh, and don't get on my case with an, "At least it's nice that the neighborhood kids felt like they could come to the Church." It is nice, but I can be frustrated all the same. And if you've worked with neighborhood kids whose parent(s)/guardian(s) prefer their kids neither seen nor heard then you know why I'm frustrated. Come on people, it was the middle of a category one hurricane by the time it reached us. I should note that the storm was at a lull at the times the kids showed up, but still, it was gusty, raining, and dangerous to be out.

Oh well.

I'm done with these hurricanes.

God, do you hear me? Please, no more.

I have to say I was pretty impressed to see that the power companies in the State sent out a call to the 48 contiguous States in the Union and Canada for power workers. There flying in extra help from as far away as California. Pretty nice if you ask me.

So thank you to all.

Thanks too, Stacy for your comment and prayers, and to all the others who went before the Lord for us on this one.

I guess I'll try to touch base with everyone later. This week is going to be cramped I think.

Here We Go Again... Hello Hurricane Jeanne.

Color Me Weary. - It looks like we will be getting a near head on blow from hurricane Jeanne. Right now it supposed to be just North of the Tampa Bay area come 2:00 PM. As I type it is 6:53 AM.

Didn't do a whole lot to prepare, because... well the boards were still on the windows.

However, we did have a bit of emergency yesterday. While mowing the church I drove the tractor around the privacy fence we have set up on the North side of the Church and found that the Silver Oak that stood some three stories worth was starting to up root.

Apparently hurricane Francis - or was it Ivan? - started to blow it over onto the Church sanctuary side. We were fairly sure that Jeanne would finish the job as winds are coming out of the North, so we called a good friend of our, Robert, who is a lawn and tree guy. He came over immediately and proceeded to surgically put that big tree on the ground.

It was an amazing sight to see him at work climbing up into that tree and picking just the right spots to cut so that nothing fell on the Church or even the fence.

God Bless him. It was a wonderful blessing for us.

He's an awesome Christian man with a great love for the Lord.

Satellite Photo as Ivan Prepares to Unleash.

Perfect Storm? - Not quite the "Perfect Storm," but close with 135 mph winds, Ivan is getting ready to make landfall sometime tonight.

I'm praying the for the people in it's path. Please do the same.

Related Post(s):

Today's Satellite Photo of Hurricane Ivan.
Another Awesome Satellite Image of Hurricane Ivan.
Extraordinary Satellite Photo of Hurricane Ivan.
Another Extraordinary Satellite Photo of Hurricane Ivan.
Spat of Hurricanes Brings Out Crackpot Ideas.