Severe Storm Warning

Well we had our first close call this evening with a severe storm.  No tornadoes or anything but it did have quarter sized hail I heard.  I still stand in awe of the storms in Oklahoma.  We lived there in the early eighties and I well remember looking to the skies with concern as the tornado watches came almost every single evening.  We lived in a little apartment in Tulsa across from a mall that was devastated by a tornado and never finished…sobering.  Here we very seldom get such storms and I’m thankful for that.  My daughter has graduated and the ceremony was really a blessing.  It seems unreal still.  We are going to Florida to stay with family for about two weeks.  By God’s grace we’ll visit Disney World and perhaps another theme park or two.  It’s been a long time since we visited with our Filipino relatives…we are all excited.  It seems a wonderful cap to Danielle’s graduation. 

The weather hasn’t been conducive to photos so I’ll allow for another blast from the past.  Riding elephants is one of the most fantastical things I’ve ever done .  Riding on the head is a lot more difficult then the head but I’m glad I’ve done it at least once.  This was from an elephant trek in Thailand with my friend Andy from the Philippines.  The Golden Triangle is a source for the drug trade but on a clear day looking down into the jungle that’s kind of hard to imagine.  I’ve heard of drug lords with whole private armies protecting them…glad they weren’t around this day.  Our guide was knocked flat when this elephant grew tired of his nonsense.  Our treks often had a lot of walking in the humid jungleand it wasn’t all on elephant back.  The people on the trek were mostly European.  I can almost feel the tropical sun beating down on us still.  The Philippines didn’t have a trek but we did go on trips to see some things.  Here I am with a pastor in a church I preached at.  This is me with a youth group.  Some sights still take my breath away.  Going from island to island on little boats made me feel so alive.  The tropical sunsets always blew my mind.  The last three pictures are a total change of gears.  London and a visit to the HMS Belfast.  The structure of the city after trips to locations in Africa took some getting used tobut I liked the work it did on me.  The last is a Cathedral…I remember the sense of peace inside.  Now the lightning is flashing everywhere around us but still I feel at peace.  Good to know that the greatest temple God ever has had is found in us!