Clearing the Road!

We had a difficult time getting home Sunday evening. We had spent the afternoon at the church...at a couples Olympics event. None of us there really realized how serious things were. We did lose power at the church, but that was not exactly unusual given the high winds.

Today, at church, one guy came up to me and wondered what we were thinking being out in that wind trying to shoot arrows into a target!

We followed our neighbor down one road and saw two huge trees down across the road. On the other side of the trees we could see people getting out of vehicles with chain saws. Dave and Elias went to help them. They all got to work and cleared the road so we could go home.

Here are three videos showing the guys at work:

A Submerged Boat & High Winds!

This boat is submerged. There were some people on the dock watching it in the water. When Dave asked if they needed rope to tie it back to the dock, he was told that the back end of the boat had been broken out. It was a total loss.









Watch it in these videos. In this one it is being blown along dock:




In this second video, I tried to narrate a bit, but the sound of the wind is pretty loud. Basically, I point out how rough the river is. This river is normally pretty smooth, but here it is very choppy. You can see the white caps and miniwaves.

As I was filming the boat being blown along by the wind, it suddenly dawned on me that the boat was being blown UP river...against the current!

Photos & Video of Trees Down

These are trees by the river.








In the video, you can see that one is broken:

More Hurricane Ike Videos!

Here are some more videos!

This is the Flag at the Post Office:




This is a tree in the backyard of a house near the church we used to go to:

Power & Phone/Internet Back Online!

We have power and phone/internet! Yay!!! Power came back Friday evening and phone/internet Saturday afternoon!

This is a quick video of the tree across from the Post Office. All of our videos have a lot of wind noise in them. Be prepared for loud volume unless you turn it down!




This is looking alongside the Post Office:

Making a Good Choice!

I am really disheartened when I hear people talking about voting for the lesser of two evils. That is voting in fear, rather than faith. Is not our God big enough to do what He wishes...if we will humble ourselves and live in obedience to Him? I have no doubt in my mind that He is.

It is not like there is no one who is righteous running. Dave and I met Alan Keyes in person several years ago. This man has never wavered on his position and what he stands for, unlike McCain and Obama. He is staunchly pro-life, pro-constitution and has the qualifications. We truly believe...and we are far from being alone in this belief...that if God's people who SAY they want a good righteous ruler would actually VOTE for one, God just might relent and put one in.

Yahweh God is able to do anything, but the forces of evil in this world don't want us to believe that. They want us to vote in fear...for the lesser of two evils. We truly believe that, if we all vote for righteousness and evil gets in anyway...it is because it is what this nation needs. It will be His judgment on our nation...to get us to humble ourselves and turn our hearts AND lives over to Him.

I would rather have that judgment come from Him, knowing that I did my best to get righteousness in...than to have it come from my voting for the lesser of two evils (which is STILL EVIL) and getting what I voted for! I don't want to have to say that I voted for evil when there was a better choice!

Check Alan Keyes out. There is a blog where you can watch a video of a speech he made. It is at this link:
Alan Keyes in the Park

It is not all that long and well worth the listen. He pretty well sums up what he stands for. I encourage everyone to listen...all the way through. The future of our country may depend upon it.

If you want to watch it here on our blog, here is the speech. It has five parts and I have put them in order. Start at the top and go down from there.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

Part 5.

Celtic Thunder!

OK...I confess. I happen to like the group Celtic Thunder. No, I don't have any of their cd's. I just happened to catch them one night on PBS. I love celtic music. I had missed the Celtic Women special the week before, but I stumbled onto Celtic Thunder.

Today, I was looking for something and they came to mind. So, yes, I did spend some time browsing their videos on youtube. There is one that I don't remember seeing on the show. I watched it and it really touched my heart. I thought I would share it here with you.

This is the link: Christmas 1915



There is another one they do that I really like. In it there are some Irish words:
A thiarna dean tracaire (Irish for: Lord have Mercy)
A chriost dean trocaire (Irish for: Christ have Mercy)

From the time I first heard it, I had a feeling about the meaning of the words. I did not know until today what they mean. This is the link for the lyrics:
Heartland Lyrics

Here is the link for the video:
Heartland

The video runs into the next song called "Raggle Taggle Gypsy".

Musings on Music!

I have been thinking about music more lately, especially after accidentally discovering some old songs on the internet that I used to listen to. My musical tastes are pretty broad. There are some styles of music I don't like, but not many. Of course, some of the styles that I don't like I am not sure that I would even put in the category of music. *smile* However, that is a discussion for another day.

Today's music is definitely unlike the some of the older stuff. I look at classical and how indepth it is with all the layers upon layers of notes and instrumentations. What we mostly seem to have today is very simple by comparison. Yet, even in its simplicity, it can move the heart and carry us away beyond this mere earth.

I have shared a video about Keith Green. His music has always touched my heart deeply. It has challenge me, convicted me and motivated me. What I want to share with you today, however, is from a different focus.

There was a time in my life where I was barely surviving. Only my closest friends knew anything about it...and even they knew only the surface of what was really going on. To everyone else I tried to put on a brave face. It is nothing short of a miracle of Yahweh God that I survived.

During that period, music really helped to get me through...music I listened to, music I sang, music I wrote, music I played. Within that music, there were some key songs that really spoke to my heart...songs that I clung to...songs that gave me hope. They helped me to get through day by day. This is one of them.

I am putting up two versions. One is a live recording. The other is a video someone made using the recorded version. When I hear this song it takes me back to another time and tears come to my eyes for He has brought me from that place.

For those who recognize the name of the band and think...oh, way too rocky...let me tell you that this is one of their mellow songs.

You can either follow the links, or listen/watch here.
White Heart - Desert Rose Live



Desert Rose off album with video



Desert Rose lyrics