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.

I received a prayer by Tom Victor for the Gulf Coast region.  If you are compelled pray this for our coastal communities.

Call to Urgent, United Prayer for Gustav:

Please join with us in faith as we unite our hearts in prayer. For those in the Gulf Area, you are encouraged to point your hands towards Gustav and pray the following:

The Prayer:

Father, we acknowledge you as Lord over the United States.

You reign above all gods. All power belongs to You.

We thank You for your continual protection and provision.

Using the authority given to us in the Name of Jesus, we speak to Hurricane Gustav and we command the winds and the storm to dissipate.

We ask for the peace of God to still Hurricane Gustav, and we declare that Gustav will not bring harm or destruction to New Orleans, Houston or the surrounding coastal areas.

We also speak to Hanna and the storms lining up following Gustav. We declare peace to these storms and we command them to dissipate and to do no harm.

Lord, we ask You to touch the heart of every believer in this area to pray against this hurricane. Raise up a Spirit of prayer and empower your people to pray effectively.

Father, please forgive our many sins. Please forgive our disobedience, rebellion, unbelief, and any forms of idolatry. Lord, help us to be a nation that is kind and forgiving to others.

Have mercy upon us. Lord, help us to overcome our temptations as a nation, and please deliver us from this impending destruction. We ask You to destroy every satanic assignment against our nation during this season.

Father, in Your great love and compassion we also ask you to protect the peoples of the islands in the path of Gustav, Hanna and these weather system.

Now to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. We ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Thanks for praying,

Tom Victor

 

Everyone on the coast is nervously waiting.  Our trip to Houston wasn’t bad at all.  We took the less used route and there was little traffic.  County authorities have called a mandatory evacuation for tomorrow morning so there will be no services tomorrow.  As most of our people have already dispersed, we anxiously wait.  There is nothing like being hundreds of miles from home and watching the potential of a category 4 hitting your city.  There is a grip of fear in many hearts as we just wait and see.  The predictions show it hitting east of us, but it can waver.  There is nothing sure in this hurricane watching game.  We pray for protection on all communities that are still in the path of Gustav.  We should also be praying for Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba who have suffered immense devastation from this storm.  Tomorrow is Sunday, there is a sense of loneliness knowing that all of our friends from church are in different parts of the Southern US.  God be with us all!

Again, if you need links to vital hurricane information, click here.

It looks like we will be evacuating.  Sonya and I are leaving for Houston in a few minutes.  For those of you who have a cell phone, I will be checking on you in the next couple of days.  Our prayers are that this storm dissolves and that it misses any more land. 

Here are  couple of links for you to check on the weather and area news:

Ira’s Beaumont Weather Page:  Great info

National Hurricane Center

Jefferson County Info: Press Releases

The Weather Channel

Channel Six KFDM

Channel 12 KBMT  

Channel 4   

We love all of you and hopefully we will see you Wednesday night.