“He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth.’ . . . The breath of God produces ice. . . He stops every man from his labor” (Job 37.6, 10, 7).
This weekend, He stopped us in our tracks. The men’s retreat was cancelled, as well as Sunday services. Some of you were caught away from home. A few have had responsibilities that required them to be out in the weather. Others had their plans changed. (For example, my father and mother-in-law had hoped to go to Owensboro, Kentucky with Uncle Ralph and Aunt Lois to attend the funeral of Ralph and Fredabelle’s brother-in-law. But that wasn’t to be.)
But for most of us, the storm provided a delightful opportunity to do things we don’t often get to do — the building of snowmen, the riding of sleds and the making of snowballs.
I know I’m getting older — or just plain old — because I didn’t participate in any of these activities. But from a number of children I received testimonies about such things that took place in our neighborhood.
But now, the snow is gone, the ice has melted, and our labors resume.
Eric and Boo are in Haiti. I don’t have any details, but we know they need our prayers for strength to minister to those who are ministering to the Haitian people.
The men’s retreat will be held here at the church this Friday evening and Saturday morning (February 5-6). Pastor Steere will be leading. If you’re reading this newsletter and haven’t signed up for the retreat, please come anyway. We can always add water to the soup.
Pastor Steere will be leaving mid-February to spend three weeks in Ghana, helping to lead and direct four leadership conferences. Please, remember him in your prayers, and if you’d like to help underwrite the cost of his trip, just drop a check in the offering plate or mail it to the church made out to CPC, but designated for Pastor Steere/Ghana ministry.
Likewise, I’ll be going to Uganda the first of March to speak for a week (fourteen sessions in five days, March 8-12) at the African Bible University in Kampala. I’ll be going with Ernie Brown and Frank May, who will also be ministering that week in different areas of greater Kampala. Ernie and Frank’s expenses are already covered. But if you’d like to help with mine, you can do so by a check made out to CPC and designated for Pastor Caines/Uganda.
And then, the end of March, our daughter Ruth will be leaving for a year to serve in Cape Town, South Africa. By God’s grace, and through the generosity of some of you, all her expenses for the year have been either met or pledged.
God has granted to us as a church wonderful opportunities to minister around the world. And if He chooses not to send more snow and ice, I’ll see many of you Sunday morning, as we gather to worship the One Who rules over the “storehouses of snow” (Job 38.22) and determines when the waters will “become hard as stone” (38.30).
Pastor Caines