Weekly Uplook - July 31
Dear brothers and sisters,
As you are no doubt well aware, it is HOT in Seattle. The National Weather Service has issued an "Excessive Heat Warning", predicting daytime high temperatures in the 90’s with night time low temperatures in the mid 60’s. What makes this a problem is that the folks in our region are not acclimated or often prepared for such high temperatures because we’re known generally for our moderate/temperate weather.
I chuckle sometimes when people from elsewhere complain about Seattle’s reputation for rain. Interestingly enough, at nearly 38 inches of precipitation annually, Seattle only ranks 32nd among the 50 largest cities in the US. Yet what drives our “rain reputation” is that it rarely rains hard here but instead we have a drizzle which hangs around for a lot of the year. When you measure precipitation by the number of days in which it rains…Seattle jumps from 32nd up to 5th in ranking although I will note that on the West Coast our sister city, Portland, OR has even more. A climatologist named Brian Brettschneider created something called the “Dreariness Index” which factors in total precipitation, number of wet days, and cloudiness. Measuring in this way…Seattle and Buffalo, NY tie at #1 with Portland, OR and Pittsburgh, PA tie for #2.
I only share all of this to remind all of us that in Genesis 1 we read how God created seasons. These seasons vary greatly depending upon where you live, considering longitude and latitude along with elevation and then are greatly influenced by a number of factors including the jet stream, ocean currents, etc. Paul told his young protégé, Timothy to “Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season…” and so Lord willing I’ll encourage you to keep living for the Lord no matter the temperature or precipitation which may come your way either physically or spiritually. The hot weather will soon pass and we'll be back to another season before you know it. Enjoy the sunshine and warmth for "a season" because we will also get our share of clouds, rain, and cool weather soon enough.
Housekeeping notes: We welcome some of our young people home from Youth Camp today and will be thrilled to hear how God as worked during the past week even though very warm. Lori and I depart for South Korea early Monday morning and will be gone for a week to their camp meeting. We would appreciate your prayers for our safety and for God’s blessing there as well.
In Christ,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
As you are no doubt well aware, it is HOT in Seattle. The National Weather Service has issued an "Excessive Heat Warning", predicting daytime high temperatures in the 90’s with night time low temperatures in the mid 60’s. What makes this a problem is that the folks in our region are not acclimated or often prepared for such high temperatures because we’re known generally for our moderate/temperate weather.
I chuckle sometimes when people from elsewhere complain about Seattle’s reputation for rain. Interestingly enough, at nearly 38 inches of precipitation annually, Seattle only ranks 32nd among the 50 largest cities in the US. Yet what drives our “rain reputation” is that it rarely rains hard here but instead we have a drizzle which hangs around for a lot of the year. When you measure precipitation by the number of days in which it rains…Seattle jumps from 32nd up to 5th in ranking although I will note that on the West Coast our sister city, Portland, OR has even more. A climatologist named Brian Brettschneider created something called the “Dreariness Index” which factors in total precipitation, number of wet days, and cloudiness. Measuring in this way…Seattle and Buffalo, NY tie at #1 with Portland, OR and Pittsburgh, PA tie for #2.
I only share all of this to remind all of us that in Genesis 1 we read how God created seasons. These seasons vary greatly depending upon where you live, considering longitude and latitude along with elevation and then are greatly influenced by a number of factors including the jet stream, ocean currents, etc. Paul told his young protégé, Timothy to “Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season…” and so Lord willing I’ll encourage you to keep living for the Lord no matter the temperature or precipitation which may come your way either physically or spiritually. The hot weather will soon pass and we'll be back to another season before you know it. Enjoy the sunshine and warmth for "a season" because we will also get our share of clouds, rain, and cool weather soon enough.
Housekeeping notes: We welcome some of our young people home from Youth Camp today and will be thrilled to hear how God as worked during the past week even though very warm. Lori and I depart for South Korea early Monday morning and will be gone for a week to their camp meeting. We would appreciate your prayers for our safety and for God’s blessing there as well.
In Christ,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
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