James, Waves, & A/C

  September 22, 2013 - We went to church at Covenant Presbyterian Church again this morning. (Sidenote: “Covenant” has to be in the title of every conservative Presbyterian church.)  Pastor Corey Colravy preached on James, the disciple of Jesus, and delivered a very powerful sermon about the boldness that we should have for Christ and the Gospel.

  We got in the water when we got home and relished in the waves brought in during yesterday’s storm.

We would wade out to where the waves broke.  Then a big wave would come and knock us off our feet and send us head over heels through the wave.

When you experience a force so powerful that not even the strongest man could stand against it – but at the same time a force that is so gentle that it doesn’t destroy you – you can’t help but think about the power of the One who created and upholds the universe with His mighty hand.

As I was flipped and tossed through the water, I couldn’t help but feel like a little boy who’s father tosses him in the air before catching him again. 

The power of God our Father is just so amazing and overwhelming as shown the works of His creation.

A break in the clouds

 

Photos don’t do justice in capturing the powerful rush and roll of the waves 

 

  Lydia checks out a crab                      

    After the storm we had this weekend, our Air Conditioner stopped working and we hadn’t been able to turn on the air.  Apparently it just couldn’t the additional humidity from the storm – in a climate that is already very humid. 

     There was also water dripping from the ceiling in the kitchen – right below where the A/C unit was located.  After replacing the air filter, we noticed that the A/C unit was frozen solid and Benjamin worked very hard with a hair dryer to defrost everything.

Catching water with whatever we have on hand

Water dripping from the ceiling

Storm in the Tropics

September 21, 2013 - A fantastically strong storm burst upon us this Saturday afternoon.  The suddenness with which the winds and rain are very apparent when you’re right on the beach and can feel the full impact of the storm.

Guess who also got caught out in the storm (on their bikes)?

Baseball

     September 19, 2013-Well, this morning started with donuts…

…so maybe out of a sense of guilt we headed to the park for some fun and exercise.

     The Frank Brown Recreational Park has about a dozen fantastic ball fields and hosts the World Softball Championship.  The fields are free to use and are even lit up at night – I so wish we had a place like this back in St. Louie’.

Leadoff batter w/red bat

Not only is he now using a blue bat, but I thought Noah was a right-handed batter…weird.

Benjamin is on the mound and I’m covering…well…1B, 2B, SS & 3B.

Backhand!

Despite the small tropical breeze, it was still a pretty hot day!

Wow, did I bare-hand the ball every time?  You’ve got to love T-balls.

Well, I think most of us enjoyed playing baseball

Winds, Rain, & Waves

  September 17, 2013- Constitution Day!  Today and yesterday we had some pretty good storms blow in from the gulf.  The winds and rain are so much stronger when you’re right on the coast, so the storms were a lot of fun to watch.

Red Flag = Good time to get in the water!

    After the rain blew over, the waves were absolutely enormous and were a lot of fun, though at times a little scary.  We waded out to the waves with our body boards and would ride the crests of the waves back to shore.

Random photo: Comparing Noah’s and Mom’s shoes

Random photo: Lydia – have you seen enough of her yet?

Sunday Service

    September 15, 2013-This morning we attended church at Covenant Presbyterian Church with Kate’s sister, Anna.  One of the greatest parts about traveling is the opportunity to meet other believers and to worship with them.  Pastor Cory Colravy is the pastor of CPC and is currently preaching a series of sermons about each of the 12 disciples.  Today he taught on the apostle, Andrew.

   As part of their service, they read through the Westminster Shorter Catechism and (of course) we happened to come on the Sunday that were about questions 94 and 95, “What is baptism?” and “Who should be baptized?”  God certainly seems to have a sense of humor…Kate and I just exchanged knowing glances, smiled, and conveniently skipped saying the underlined portions of the answers:

Q. 94. What is baptism?

A. The sacrament of baptism is a washing with water in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which is a sign and seal that we are joined to Christ, that we receive the benefits of the covenant of grace, and that we are engaged to be the Lord’s.

Q. 95. Who should be baptized?

A. Those who are not members of churches should not be baptized until they have publicly stated that they believe in Christ and will obey Him, but the infant children of church members should be baptized.

     Presbyterians.  They’re so right on a lot of things but why do they add the words “and seal” and “but the…”? Oh well…

Lydia missed Kate so much while we were gone

Kate cutting up Cacao for some chocolate cake!

Tennis

September 14, 2013-After shopping, those of us who still had energy headed to the tennis courts at Frank Brown park.  Kate’s sister, Anna came along with my brothers and I and my Mom.

     Wow, tennis.  I’m absolutely awful at it.  I thought that with more practice I’d become better, but we’ve played tennis about three times on this trip and I can’t say that I’ve improved.  Hand/eye coordination?  Not my strong point.

Watch for the ball…

…go for it!