Category: Weather

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Blogging Driving Food Home Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

I.  This afternoon during the 1 PM hour I returned home safe and sound from my short road trip up to ‘The North Pole’ / ‘The Great White North’ of Florida. I’m talking of course about the Jacksonville area – AKA ‘The First Coast’. I got everything done that I needed to get done (and then some), and I brought back home a lot of great takeaways from all of my various meetings and taskings regarding the legal acquisition of my home up there. I was skeptical / pessimistic before the trip as well as during the drive up, but everything worked out as perfectly as can be. I have a lot less stress to deal with now.

II.  Our long historic cold spell continues here in Florida. This is Day 11, and it’s coming to an end real soon. On Thursday we return back to normal with the long-awaited return of our easterly ocean breezes, maximum late-afternoon temperatures in the mid-70s, and minimum early-morning temperatures right around 60°F (starting on Friday morning). This morning up on Fleming Island in Clay County my car was covered smothered in thick frost. Luckily it started right up, but I pretty much had to sit in it with the heater and the defroster on full blast before I could actually see out of the front windshield to drive it away. It was in the mid-20s early this morning (right at sunrise) as I departed, and parts of the landscape west of St. Augustine looked like a vast winter wonderland with a thick layer of frost whitening the otherwise brown and dead ground.

III.  Is it just me, or do the various service plazas along Florida’s Turnpike look like the’re going out of business and declaring bankruptcy ?  Of course the’re not, but to me they appear to be just a mere shell or skeleton of what they used to look like. The’re still rather busy with people, but it just seems like everyone is wandering around in circles in a long-neglected mall that’s seen its better days. I actually ate a really nice cheeseburger and fries Lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger Express at the West Palm Beach service plaza. It’s located in the former location of Burger King. I guess BK pulled out (or was pulled out) – along with Starbucks and various other former favourites at the various bustling stops along the Turnpike.

Be sure not to miss my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ in just 2 days !

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God People Weather

Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

– It was clearly the coldest Sunday morning in Life Pointe Church history !
– It was 35°F at 8 AM, 36°F at 9 AM, 38°F at 10 AM – with wind chills in the 20s !
– Everyone ran into the movie theatre to get in on some HEAT !
– Lead Pastor Travis arrived all by himself without his wife and kids.
– It was rad to have Trav back on stage for the first time since before Christmas.
– He concluded our long-running “LoveWorn” message series.
– This morning’s message was subtitled “Love Worn In Community”.
– Community is not cheap or easy.
– It is foundational to the character of God.
– God created us in His image.
– He created us for a community-based Life.
– He gave us a purpose to live Life with one another.
– The church should not be a building.
– The church should be the living breathing body of a diverse group of people.
– Racial and financial status should be irrelevant within the church community.
– We must always be the church no matter where we are.
– A Godly community creates Life change and the miraculous.
– Now is the time at Life Pointe where you can take part in such a community.
– Life Group registration is happenin’ now !
– I registered for a Life Group on my connection card at the first service.
– You can also register online at life-pointe.com/lifegroups.
– There are about a dozen Life Groups to choose from on nearly every night.
– Pick one that’s convenient for you, and commit to it.
– It’s a critical part of your spiritual growth following Jesus Christ.
– You can’t walk this fantastic journey alone, and there’s no need to do so.
– Walk this journey with those who follow, believe, trust, and love Jesus Christ.

This morning’s message was based on the following Scripture out of the Good News of our Lord – Acts 2:42-47, Acts 20:20, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 28:3, Genesis 35:11, Hebrews 10:24-25, Philippians 2:4, Psalm 133, Romans 12:9-10, Romans 12:13.

Acts 2:42-47 (NLT, 2ND Ed.)
The Believers Form A Community
42  All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
43  A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
44  And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.
45  They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.
46  They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity –
47  all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Categories
Blogging Driving History Home Music Travel Weather

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Our longest and most severe cold snap in over 20 years continues.
– The last time we saw anything like this was in December of 1989.
– We’ve now had 6 mornings in a row that started below 50°F.
– And on all 6 of those days we never made it to 65°F.
– But you ain’t seen nothin’ yet !
– You’re not gonna believe your eyes this Saturday.
– I’m calling for a cloudy, dark, gloomy, rainy, windy, and frigid day.
– We won’t even get out of the 40s all day long !
– Wind chills will be near FREEZING all day long ! 
– I’m also calling for a possible mix of freezing rain and ice pellets !
– Actual snow flakes could be swirling in the air as far south as Big Lake ‘O’.
– Orlando could see heavy snow at times (no accumulation on the ground).
– I do have some good news for you if you prefer normal winter weather.
– An extended period of sunny and warm(er) weather returns next Tuesday !
– I’m looking at 7 to 10 days of daytime highs inching closer to 80°F.
– That’s gonna feel mighty fine after all of this ridiculous cold air.
– I’m taking a short road trip up to ‘The First Coast’ of Florida this Sunday.
– I’ll be up there on business – personal Real Estate business.
– It will hopefully turn out to be extremely productive.
– This weekend it’s another ‘Moldie-Oldie Music Weekend’ here on the blog.
– I’ve got one of my favourite songs of the entire 1990s on the ‘Retro’.
– It’s from a rock dude who turns 40 this year, but back then he was a mere 23.
– And tomorrow on the ‘Party’ it’s a smooth beat from Climax Blues Band. 
– Be sure to stay tuned to this here blog for fresh new content updated daily.
– You won’t regret it dudes.
– Keep on keepin’ on !

Categories
Blogging Home Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

I.  As other blogs arrive on the scene, gain in popularity, prosper, peak, diminish in relevance, suffer through neglect, and then disappear into thin air one durable and dependable blog just keeps on churning time and time again. That would be this one – thanks to your continued loyalty and support through the years. You can always count on this blog to deliver fresh new content on a daily basis throughout much of the new year. Every Tuesday night you know how we do it with the flagship weekly series of this blog – a garden variety assortment or ‘Grab Bag’ of my personal thoughts since October of 2007.

II.  Our longest cold spell in a couple of decades continues all across America’s Riviera. (Thank You El Niño !) This morning was the 4TH morning in a row where the low temperature bottomed out in the 40s. That won’t happen tomorrow morning – because we’re dropping down to the 30s instead !  There are a few local TV station weather forecasters that are forecasting temperatures in and around Homestead to drop to the freezing mark or even a few degrees below that with wind chills in the 20s !  My forecast is not quite that extreme. I’m looking at an early-morning minimum temperature of 36°F / 2°C between 6 AM and 8 AM. We’ll see what happens, but one thing is certain. It will definitely be bonechilling COLD !  Bundle up my friends and neighbours. Stay warm.

III.  I finally surrendered to the cold air inside my home late last night as temperatures continued to plummet further towards the lower-60s (at least a dozen degrees below normal for my normally air conditioned home). I turned on my ‘fake’ (reverse-A.C.) heater for the first time since last winter. Of course once the lukewarm air hit the dust on the coils it emitted a rather pungent aroma all throughout my home sweet home. It sort of smelled like burnt low-quality microwave popcorn. I proceeded to saturate much of my home with Oust Air Sanitizer spray, and that eventually made the smell of my home a bit more pleasant – like that of hot blueberry pie cooking in the oven. When I awoke this morning I was not shivering. It felt really nice with that lukewarm air floating all around. It felt so nice that I’m cranking it back on again for an encore tonight.

Be sure to check out my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ in just 48 hours !