I wanted to share you guys my most recent vlog story:

[link]

So I want to explain a little bit about what was going on when I filmed this video because I wasn't really making sense when I was talking, and knowing what had just happened will explain that.

Fact 1: Our church is in transition. We've moved to our new property but can't move into our new building yet so we're still meeting in a tent.
Fact 2: I go to church Friday and Saturday nights and roughing it in a tent doesn't deter me. If I'm in town I'm out there with my friends.
Fact 3: Texas is called the bipolar state because its weather is absolutely volatile.

Last year we got no rain for months on end. This year is probably going to be a flood year, which we've had a handful of since I moved here as a little kid. And if it's going to be a flood year we have gotten off to a great start, as it's rained almost every week since January and this past week has been storm after storm after storm.

There's only one problem with thunderstorms here. I've never been afraid of them, in fact I love storms, but the ones here justify people's fears because they can, in fact, be very dangerous. The winds are super strong (tornadoes aren't unheard of even this far south of the Alley), the hail can do some serious damage, the flash floods are the worst. The terrain is so flat, and the top soil so thin, that you can't really tell you're in a danger zone until the water is after you. NEVER drive through water on a road, no matter how shallow it looks.

So anyway, now you have the facts. The story goes as such:

I was driving to church last night, and to my left I saw this HUGE storm forming. I won't lie, it looked a bit like a tornado was trying to form, though as far as I know no legitimate tornado touched down. The winds did enough damage for one though. All I was thinking when I saw what looked like the tornado is "That's right over where I'm headed. Hmmm."

Still, a little rain isn't going to make me turn back. I'm all hardcore like that. Hahaha! So I turn left on my road and start driving towards it. It's not twisting enough to really be a tornado as of yet and since I know how fast these storms fly through, my guess is I'll pass through the thickest part of it by the time, or shortly after, I reach church.

I have to say, I got more than I bargained for. The rain started to fall, then it became so heavy and dark that I couldn't see five feet in front of me. I put on my blinkers, and everyone around me all slowed to a crawl. People CAN drive smart when they choose to.

I considered finding a place to stop and wait out the rain, but I didn't really know of anywhere I could, and the stubborn side of me won't let any old storm stop me from getting where I'm going. I mean, it's church! XD

I didn't know it then, but about this very moment a member of my congregation looked up and saw rotations in the sky above the church. The storm was so violent that debris was flying everywhere and everyone was huddled in the tent, holding out best as they could, but the rain and wind were blowing horizontally, and the tent was threatening to get ripped away. The man at church began praying for the tornado to not form and the storm to go away. My rabbi and several other members of the congregation were walking around the tent as best as they could, praying for the storm to pass. The water was coming up and the ground was like quicksand.

I'm still in the thick of the storm, and everyone comes almost to a stop as the hail starts to fall, completely obliterating any visibility I had. I was still fairly calm at this point; it's not my first rodeo (sometimes you just do get caught in the storm and like I said, they can't last forever. I figure in ten minutes we'll be fine).

I didn't realize we were quite so low-lying an area until the water started rushing over the bumpers of my car, up to the hood. I knew I was in trouble then. Like I said, flash floods are the killers around here, and I was flat out stuck in one. The last time I had a close call with one, the flood barely clipped my back tires and dragged me several feet over into the other lane before I escaped it.

So being this thick in the water, I found myself instantly thinking "Well, this is an epic way to die…" and kind of mentally preparing myself. I had to admit, while I kind of wanted to stick around a bit longer, it's not so bad, and at least everyone can laugh about the fact I was on my way to church.

But then I got stubborn again. By golly, I was going to church, no matter what the devil through at me. G-d protects his own until he calls them home, and while rain is a blessing, the sheer trouble I was having getting where I needed to be last night was not of Him, and so I found myself more or less shouting over the thunder and hail "Satan, you can NOT stop me from getting to church tonight. If Jesus can calm the storms in Galilee he can stop this now, and by golly in his name, I REBUKE YOU AND THIS STORM!" And with that, I hit the accelerator and started plowing forward through the water (Which I might add had an unusually gentle current. Most of the time that current wipes you out in seconds, but nothing!)

So much drama, you might say, but the same thing was going on at my church, and wouldn't you know it, within ten seconds the rain had all but stopped to a spitting drizzle, the sun was in the sky, and there was my church, twenty feet down the road, waterlogged and tossed about, but everyone was fine, and so was I.

So, you can understand now, a little, exactly what was going on with me when I pulled out my camera when I drove in to the parking lot. Adrenaline, euphoria, the power of the Holy Spirit, and a fair bit of espresso from earlier in the day will make you a little less than coherent.

You can't stay miracles don't happen today! 

Pictures from the storm: [link]