Halloween Severe Storms

Just a warning to all you trick or treaters out there in central, east& north TX. Looks like that front coming in Monday afternoon will be a cause for concern for some severe storms. The dewpoints shot up today in lieu of a high pressure sitting in the gulf causing some onshore flow which will supply ample moisture. Veering wind profiles will support rotating storms with a solid threat of strong downburst winds and up to golf ball size hail. Instability isn't very good, however, with the warming over the day the sky should get enough umph to break out sometime late afternoon. My guess is around 3:00-4:00PM. So, just a warning to those going out near sunset. Expect storms with the possibility of strong winds and hail within the triangle between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. It should die off into the night with the temps dropping.
Happy Halloween

Fall Weather

It's been a very pleasant October for south Texas so far. I think the lows have been in the 40's most of the past week. The crispness of the air is relieving to the senses. I wish we had leaves that changed color. In Amarillo, there were no trees, and now the trees are all around but they don't change color. It's disappointing. I think I'll have to move to Colorado eventually... well then again Colorado has some ugly girls. Hmm... Texas women or Colorado nature.. that's a real tough pick, but for now I'll go for the Texas women, at least until I'm taken.

Taken. Wow, it's been I think something like 3 years since I had a girlfriend. At times I enjoy it, others I wallow in my pain. Ask me on Valentine's.
I had my fair share of dates/flings in College Station as an Aggie. I really didn't have the time anyway. Getting a degree for Meteorology is probably the hardest to get this side of engineering and medical school. Very time consuming... math, math, physics, and more math. I was too busy trying to figure out the differential equation for the motion of a Rossby wave to date girls.

I have a new girl though. Bad thing is she lives in the Metroplex. I can get there in 4 hours going 85mph, but gas is a killer, even with a celica GT. She was raised like me, in a Pentecostal church. Good spiritual teachness, too much tradition and religiousness. She left just as I did. For different reasons stemming from the same problems basically. We have a real common bond, and we have already build a decent friendship in the 4 times we have seen each other. I'm somewhat intrigued, and ready to commit, but I know better. I'll take it slow, build the friendship. At 22 years of age I've learned a thing or two, and I've matured quite a bit over the past 4 years. Things are different at this age. Different priorities, different perspective. I'll let God run with it. If anything it'll be a long-lasting friendship, something more important now than it used to be.

Anyway, looks like the weather will stay decent for the south with a good looking cold front making it's way for a Monday arrival. I love the fall weather.. highs in the low 70's, lows around 50. Beatiful.. and perfect for my convertible. I couldn't use it all summer, too humid, so I'm pumped that I get to cruise with the top down.

Well it's time to go eat with the friends at good ol Chili's.
I'm gonna go enjoy the crisp evening air.
So for now, nous faisons nos adieux.

A season for change

I've discovered that the weather and my life have quite a bit in common. Most obvious, they both change daily. However, they always stay within a realm of realistic occurences. The temperature never jumps to 180 degrees, just as my life never takes a 180 degree turn. I change everyday, yes, but gradually, as does the climate. They are both a roller coaster of ups and downs, with a season for both.

I'm at a time in my life now where almost everyday something changes. It might be as simple as an eating habit or as complex as a new realm of spirituality that I am reaching. Yet, just as the weather, I find myself in the same patterns weekly. Routinely I go through the motions. What really is changing anyway?

I think that's what I am discovering. God knows that if he wants to change parts of who I am, He has to start small and work up. He might only attempt to alter one thing in my life each day, but hey, that's 365 alterations in a year. Enough to bend but not break me. He molds me, shapes me, and although I feel like I am the same, I am not. I am being conformed into the man God sees and wants. That's the linchpin of my life, finding and living the image of myself that God envisions. That's why I keep going. I keep waiting.. and waiting. God said if I wait on Him good things will come. I have to endure the growing pains to reach that stature. The funny thing is that this answers an entirely different question, a challenging, debatable question.

Why do bad things happen to good people?
It has been said by an author before that either God is all powerful but uninterested... or perhaps loving yet too weak to intervene.

Well... I say neither.

God allows bad things, but He's definitely interested and He for sure loves us all.

So why do we have to endure these hardships?

Think about it for a second. My parents used to spank me as a child, not because they hated me, because they loved me. I had to learn from mistakes, bad choices and upsetting events. Yet I'm still here, stronger than ever.

So really, God does it for two main reasons that I'm aware.
1. He disciplines us in order to receive strength to become what he envisions.
2. He trains us to realize that we must fully rely on Him for EVERYTHING.

If nothing ever went wrong, nobody would rely on Him for anything. When bad things happen, that is when church attendance records are shattered, that's when more prayers are heard, that's when we look to the skies and say, "Lord, I do not have enough to carry on, please be my wings, my strength, and my guide."

So I say to myself now, "Don't fret, God is always in control. His understanding is far beyond mine, so trust Him and rely on Him alone."

So the next time a cold front comes through when you least expect it, relish in the moment, because although you may feel a bit uncomfortable for the time being, it's for a greater good beyond our comprehension.