"He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike"

or Panem Nostrum Cotidianum

Oklahoma has had one of its worst droughts in a long time over the last several months. We’ve been through burn bans, wildfires, and poor crops, and everyone has seemed glum about the upcoming harvest. Wheat prices have skyrocketed, because most people won’t be getting very much wheat at all off of their fields. Today, we had our wheat cut. Unbelievably, our yield was not nearly as low as we expected, and we ended up with a decent crop from our small three acre field. Then this evening, the rain came. Sheets of rain, buckets of it: whatever clichéd superlatives you want to add, they apply. The dry ground soaked it up like I had guzzled water earlier this afternoon after several hours in the 95 degree heat.

I heard a particularly good mini-sermon yesterday evening (I rather enjoy my pastor’s sermons) about the way God provides for us even when we’re sleeping. Lately we’ve encountered a lot of problems at once, and it has seemed as if we simply can’t keep up. My dad, however, knows how to practice what he preaches (for those of you who might not know, he’s my pastor), and he has continued to trust the Heavenly Father through everything. As a matter of fact, because he was off work today, we went and played a round of golf. It was only after we returned that we learned about our good crop of wheat, and then after my family watched a movie together (a rather corny one, but still good to watch with my family) the rain began. God knows what we need, and He will provide for us. He loves us and truly wants what is best for us, whether or not it is what we think is best. Only when we learn to relax, stop trying to earn everything for ourselves, and trust Him can we experience everything that He has for us.

Temporarily in my temporal home

Well, I'm back. But not for long. I'm enjoying the dry heat (it's been in the mid-90s), the company (the wackiest family on planet earth), and the food (real home cooking, including my dad's incomparable hamburgers and bbq pulled pork sandwiches). Soon, though, I'll be back on the cool East Coast, learning possibly more than I did this school year. This summer, I have been entrusted with two important responsibilities. I'll be a counselor for 14-18 year old boys at PHC's Teen Camps, with the responsibility to keep them in line and help them learn and grow. While I'm there, I'll also be teaching the junior high boys' sunday school class at my church. I'm trying to work on the lessons now, so hopefully that won't take up too much more time than Sunday mornings.

Please pray that in these positions of leadership I will be a godly role model for these young men. I don't claim to have any special abilities on my own, but I think that God can use me to help these boys learn something about Him.

Randomness

Well, I'm done with freshman year. Had quite an interesting evening tonight. Went to a chili supper/contra dance in a barn near here, but didn't dance (there were far more guys than girls; must have been the promise of food). Climbed in the rafters a lot, climbed on an old stone wall, and climbed all the way to the top of a silo. Then went to St. Pete's with several friends for a bit of swing dancing and just hanging out, then went to McDonald's and walked up to the drive-thru window. Walked down to Food Lion, talked to the lady who was about to close up, then we all came back to campus. Watched a couple of episodes of Get Smart; it had been way too long since I saw that. Now I think I'm going to drag my tired self into bed for the first meaningful rest in a long time. Look for a thoughful post coming soon.

Free Indeed Concert Coming Up

(L to R: Amy, Hannah, Quinn, Kelly, Tiffany, Me, Michael Z. Not pictured: Michael F.)

We look depressed. Oh well, it's a good poster otherwise. You can click to see it full-size.

Of Espionage and Abductions

The chief problem with writing a history paper on Whittaker Chambers is that his autobiography, Witness, is so interesting that I get caught up reading the whole thing rather than focusing on the really important parts. One of the anecdotes reminded me of Benjamin Gibson. Chambers describes a time when he was in hiding from the Communist party and decided to buy a gun for protection.

As we entered Baltimore, I stopped at Montgomery Ward's and bought a shotgun. It looked big enough to fell an elephant and the clerk warned me that the kick might knock me down. "Just what do you want it for?" he asked me. What I wanted it for was so much in the front of my brain that I felt as if I had been caught with my thoughts down and fumbled "Well, I think there are prowlers around the house and a gun might come in handy." His reaction was completely different from what I expected. He was a Southerner with the fine abandon some Southerners have about firearms and related matters. "Well, sir," he said with immense pleasure, "you've bought the right gun. Just hold it in front of you, squeeze the trigger, and, brother, it will be fay-ya-you-well."

On a slightly related note, clandestine activities took place at PHC over the weekend. Five men abducted an unidentified young man to take him to his surprise 22nd birthday party. The abductors grabbed him from his room, duct taped his hands behind his back, put a pillowcase over his head, and stuffed him in the trunk of a black two door coupe. The driver then proceeded to peel out from the school with another abductor riding shotgun, wearing a ski mask and carrying an airsoft carbine. They took the victim to St. Peter's Episcopal Church where the party was being held, and cameras captured their arrival:

This man is believed to be the no. 1 wheelman of the operation:

No further clues as to the identity of the group have been discovered.