The Weather Outside is Frightful...

...but inside it's so delightful...unless you run out of propane...

The recent storm system that spawned tornadoes in other parts of the country, yesterday brought us strong winds and later...snow. Anyone that owns an RV (Note: RV = Recreational Vehicle) knows that unless you have one of those $200,000.00 all-weather units, you should be far south when winter weather sets in.

We have lingered here in northern Minnesota, feeling directed of the Lord to do so. The folks in these cold-country churches must be some of the best on the planet. But their niceness aside, the blessing of the Lord on these services has been absolutely refreshing.

Because we know we are where God wants us and we have His wonderful peace in our hearts, it really did not matter that we ran out of propane last night. Our supplemental space heater is not adequate to heat the RV when it is this cold so it got rather chilly. Bill took one of the tanks to the gas station but had to wait an-hour-and-a-half - until 8:00 a.m. - for a propane technician to arrive. Once Bill got back and installed the propane tank, voila...we were back in business.

I like to mention things like this because people often tell us that they think we must be on a permanent vacation. Our life has hardships and challenges, as everyone's does. Sometimes I think we should call our RV a WV (Work Vehicle) because sometimes it requires a whole lot of work just to maintain it! People who have never evangelized in an RV have no idea of the challenges it presents. They just see us preaching and singing, then driving off into the golden sunset. There is a lot more to it than that. We make big investments in prayer and study to get the mind of God for each service. Then, there is the never-ending paperwork and necessary phone calls. On days when we move our RV, we get little else done because it is so time consuming, even if we are traveling to a church that is only a couple of hours away.

But, you know, with all that said, there is no other life I'd rather have than this one God has formed for us. Just seeing one person receive the gift of the Holy Ghost or being used to encourage one distressed person is worth every flat tire, every leak in the roof (yesterday's plight during the heavy rains), and getting lost in strange cities. So, the honest truth is that yes, the weather outside is frightful but inside it is delighful - even with an empty propane tank!