Archive for category Weather

A Harsh Winter in Northeast Pennsylvania

Mar 1

Posted by Mike Stallard in Weather | No Comments

IMG_0263IMG_0259We have had a brutally cold winter this year with more than the average snowfall here in northeast Pennsylvania.  I have provided a picture looking out from my front porch out into my   front yard recently.  We are expecting another heavy snowfall in the next couple of days.    I have friends who love this kind of weather and are into cold, outdoor sports like snow skiing.  That is the way they want heaven to be.  Others want heaven to maintain the four seasons of North America.  For me, I believe there is a demon behind every snow flake.  The picture of palm trees I have provided from my recent trip to Orlando, Florida shows where my allegiance lies.  As a Southern boy, I vote for global warming every time it comes up.

Frigid Winter Has Arrived

Jan 1

Posted by Mike Stallard in Weather | No Comments

Many here in northeast Pennsylvania say they are happy to have four seasons of weather and would not want things to be like the South where I originally come from (Alabama).   When it snowed during my childhood, it was nice, but it was nicer that it would go away in just a few days!!  Here in northeast Pennsylvania, the snow comes and often stays on the ground for several months.  The temperature stays at or below freezing enough to make this happen.   I prefer it warmer so I have said that snow looks pretty on a postcard, not in real life.  So I have provided a winter freeze picture of ice on the rhododendrons just off the front porch of my house — taken a couple of days ago.

Hurricane Irene: God and Calamity

Aug 29

Posted by Mike Stallard in Apologetics, Weather | No Comments

Hurricane Irene, which had downgraded to a tropical storm, came through our area (Scranton, PA area) yesterday bringing a deluge of rain and high winds.  We are a little over two hours west of New York City.   Some areas lost power and there was minor wind damage in the form of tree limbs downed.  However, at my house the lights flickered once and nothing significant happened.  We are grateful for this but join those who mourn for lost loved ones due to this storm.

When I got up this morning, the sky was crystal clear, the clearest blue I have ever seen.  It is as if God used Irene to wash the sky.  It has been a beautiful day.

Last week in chapel at Baptist Bible Seminary I spoke on “God and Calamity” in light of my church’s summer ministry doing tornado relief work in Alabama.  It is part of my gearing up to deal with the apologetics question of how a good God could allow such things as tornados that kill people.  Later that day was the earthquake on the east coast.  Now with the hurricane, my students don’t want to see me preach in chapel any more!

The content of my sermon was based on Jesus’ statements in Luke 13:1-9 which seems to push believers to consider more important matters.  The audio of my sermon “God and Calamity” is available online at http://www.bbc.edu/chapel.asp.  Let me know what you think.

Tornadoes, Fear, Social Action, and Apologetics

May 28

Posted by Mike Stallard in Apologetics, Social Action, Weather | No Comments

I am originally from Alabama, in particular, from Huntsville in the northern part of the state although as a small child I also lived in Eufaula in the southern part of the state.   I watched with horror as the reports came in about the tornadoes that ravaged the state and other states in late April (and in Missouri and other parts just a couple of days ago).  I saw the video of the large tornado going through Tuscaloosa.  After several days of trying to get ahold of my friends in Hunstville (I have no family there any more), I finally talked to some of them the week after.  One of my pastor friends, Rick Johnson, told me that nine tornadoes came through Huntsville that day and he saw two of them himself from his house.  Another close friend, Dr. Sam Wolfe, who helped lead me to Christ in 1974, told me that a subdivision not far from him had been totally demolished.  The picture on the left below is a picture of one of the tornadoes that went through Huntsville.  On the right is a picture of the tornado in Tuscaloosa for which most of the nation saw the video.

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