While I was writing this column, there was a storm brewing south of us.

It dissipated and did not affect Northwest Florida, but please pray for the Island of Dominica, which was devastated.

It got me thinking: With weather events, many people worry; others prepare.

For some people, natural disasters are a good reason to visit friends or relatives in other areas. Others believe we are safe and comfortable where we are; they wait it out. 

With meteorology and modern technology, we can react to storms well before they affect us. But natural disasters aren't the only threats out there. Life's storms — financial difficulties, marital problems, struggles at work, and physical and mental problems — also are brewing around us.

But does anything signal life storms?

Yes: God's Word.

We are warned that spiritual storms can, and will, result in physical storms with great damage. Yet God has already seen the approaching storm, and has provided strength, healing and deliverance for us in Jesus Christ's atoning work.

Why would He do this? 

Because we are His creation and He loves us, enough to allow His Son to die that we might have salvation; that we might have a more abundant life. 

There are things we do not understand; events we would rather not face, but who better to depend on than He, who sees all, knows all, and is in all places? 

For years, I struggled with God, not understanding why He took my grandfather with cancer.

One day, I allowed Him to get in a word or two, and He showed me that He had indeed answered my prayer and healed my grandfather, for he would never again face the pain, or see things that I would do that would have hurt him more than the cancer. 

As Paul stated, to be absent in the body is to be in the Lord's presence.

My friend, your storm is being limited by God and your obedience to Him. Make your preparations to meet Him now, not later. 

Get to a place of confidence with Him that when you see your storms, you can know he has prepared you; has a greater plan; and this storm is just an inconvenience to be overcome and brought through. 

Be safe; God is watching over you.

The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: God has prepared us for life's storms

LAUREL HILL — Folks in present-day Okaloosa County have been attending area churches since the early 1940s. One of the earliest churches in the entire state was Yellow River Baptist Church, constituted June 14, 1840, in Oak Grove.

Getting to church wasn’t always easy, for both the faithful and the pastor. Neighbors would load into one another’s wagons, or, if they lived within walking distance, would make the trek on foot.

The advent of the automobile made church-going easier, though no less bouncy, especially over rural Okaloosa County’s rough roads.

In Laurel Hill, countless residents still remember riding to church and Sunday school with “Miss Maude,” who was a devout member of the Presbyterian church.

Throughout the late 1930s, 1940s and until she married and left town in 1957, Maude Campbell drove around the community every Sunday morning, gathering children, packing them into her two-door Ford sedan and whisking them off to church.

KIDS’ GIRLFRIEND

“She was our girlfriend,” the Rev. Donnie Cadenhead said. “At that time she was probably in her fifties, but she was our girlfriend.”

Cadenhead, today pastor of Victorious Life Church on Blueberry Curve north of Crestview, said it was thanks to her and her family that he is where he is today.

“Our parents weren’t active in a church so we most likely wouldn’t have gone to church if it hadn’t been for Miss Maude,” he said. “She had a great influence on us.”

Cadenhead still has fond memories of Sunday mornings packed like sardines in the two-door Ford.

“I think one Sunday we had 23 kids in that car,” he said. “We would all sit in one another’s laps. We didn’t have seatbelts in those days.”

Cadenhead said Maude Campbell wasn’t the only member of her family who influenced many a Laurel Hill child.

“Miss McDonald Campbell and her mother, Miss Christian, and Miss Bertie Ann Campbell, who became a school teacher, had a great influence,” he said. “And there were Mr. Clyde and Miss Louise Campbell, who ironically, didn’t have children of their own.

“The Campbell family really had a lot of influence on us.”

LIPSTICK MEMORIES

Maude Campbell purposely wore a heavy coat of lipstick to leave her mark as she’d give the children affectionate kisses when she’d drop them off after church.

“She made sure we got some of that lipstick on our little cheeks,” Cadenhead said. “We made like we didn’t like it, but we loved that lipstick and wore it home proudly.”

One day in 1957, Archie Champion, a salesman who sold goods to Miss Maude’s grocery section of Campbell Company, won her hand, and legions of young Sunday school children were devastated.

“She got married on us and it broke our hearts,” Cadenhead said.

From then on, Laurel Hill’s children of God were in the loving hands of Miss Maude’s relatives.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: OKALOOSA COUNTY CENTENNIAL: Carpooling to church with Miss Maude

CRESTVIEW — On Friday, Aug. 26, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tracking aimed the storm directly at Okaloosa County. The county emergency management team went into full emergency mode.

But instead, the Category 3 typhoon veered west and another storm hit the area.

Starting that weekend, a steady tide of storm evacuees — and later, refugees — streamed into the county, many of them to the Crestview area.

Residents responded, opening homes, churches, hearts and wallets to people from Louisiana and Mississippi, many of whom had been rendered homeless, jobless or both, literally overnight.

The Crestview Wal-Mart’s parking lot became an impromptu RV camp as Gulf Coast evacuees sought refuge from the storm.

Veronica Myers welcomed more than two dozen New Orleans relatives to her Crestview home, and is about to do so again.

“I had 27 people staying with me then, and they’re coming back next week to celebrate the 10-year anniversary,” she said.

“To me it was a good experience,” Myers said. “I’d come home from work and my house would be cleaned and dinner would be cooked.

“You’d think there’d be arguments and complaints, but everybody worked together and they enjoyed it. I enjoyed the company. And it was fun.”

A MIGHTY ROC

Almost 300 evacuees moved into Central Baptist Church’s Recreation Outreach Center, staying for three or more weeks, Mary Jo Woodruff, the ROC’s facilities manager at the time, recalls.

“Honestly, we received a blessing because we had the opportunity to help them,” Woodruff said. “When they came in there, they were mighty sad people. Many of them didn’t know if they lost their homes or family members.

“They’d get up early and watch the TV we’d set up for them. They’d just cry and say, ‘Oh that’s my aunt or my kinfolks, or their house.’”

A Sept. 3, 2005, News Bulletin article by reporter Ken Nielsen describes an outpouring of help, from daily pastry deliveries by Publix to ERA Realty’s donation of dozens of air mattresses.

Cox Communications hooked up cable service to a TV donated by a Fort Walton Beach appliance rental store, and internet service to a pair of donated computers.

City government under former mayor George Whitehurst, the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce and other area churches joined the relief effort, Woodruff said.

COMMUNITY OUTPOURING

“There wasn’t a church in Crestview that didn’t come forth and help and donate,” Woodruff said. “Even one of the animal societies set up a place for (evacuees’) pets outside.”

“Pastor (Dwight) Baggett from the Macedonia Baptist Church …has sent me over here to…pick up dirty laundry, wash it, dry, and bring it back,” Nielsen reported Mary Jones told Central Baptist’s Rev. Derrick Boring.

Woodruff said many of the refugees pitched in to help their hosts with cleaning, cooking and other chores at the ROC.

“They didn’t just come in and want us to wait on them,” she said.

Woodruff said though volunteers’ tasks first appeared overwhelming, the outpouring of community support made their mission a success.

“The Lord provided everything we needed there,” Woodruff said. “It was almost unbelievable what was done. I still every now and then hear from the evacuees.”

The Crestview hosts vow that if a similar situation arises, they’d do it all over again.

“To this day, if something would happen, we’d still open our doors,” Myers said.” You never know what will happen.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: KATRINA 10 YEARS LATER: Crestview community opened hearts, homes and churches for storm evacuees (PHOTOS)

The summer months are swiftly coming to a close.  With that comes the cooler (hopefully) months of the fall season.

Growing up in the northeast, fall was perhaps my favorite time of the year.  It was wonderful to see the leaves change color, feel the cooling change in the air, smell the burning of leaves as the smoke wafted lazily through the air.

As the fall season wore on, a growing anticipation for winter was building.  I loved snow.  And for some reason, beginning with Thanksgiving Day, I looked out the window each morning to see if the earth had been covered with a blanket of white.

On those days prior to the first snowfall when my checking yielded the same bare ground, sure I was disappointed.  But!  My hope and anticipation remained alive.  I knew it would happen one day, if not sooner, then later.

Anticipation.  Hope.  These kinds of things filled my heart as a young child.  You, no doubt, had similar things for which you anticipated and hoped.  It is one of the things children do best.

No wonder Jesus said we are to approach him as little children.  I believe to a greater degree children know more about hope and anticipation than adults care to experience.  Perhaps it is because throughout the years so many hopes have been dashed to pieces.  Perhaps it is because numerous events or expectations fell through.

But children tend to not lose their wide-eyed wonder.  They accept dashed hopes and dreams in stride – for the most part.  Tomorrow is a new day, and with it comes new hopes and anticipations.

Allow yourself to regain a child-like (not childish!) sense of hope.  God still has great things in store for your life – regardless of your age.  Remember that as long as you are breathing, God is not finished with you yet.  He has something he wants to accomplish in you and through you.

Even as the seasons of life change, hope remains alive.  Anticipation keeps you heart and mind focused on the things coming from God.

Don’t let cynicism or apathy ever creep into your mind or heart.  Those will be self-defeating and close you off to the way God is calling to you.

Remember, you are his child.  He created you.  He still has something in store for you.  Wake up each day and say, “Okay God.  What are we going to do today?”

The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: A sense of hope defeats apathy and cynicism

In 2 Kings we meet a woman from Shunem that the Bible declares was a great woman.

We are told that when Elisha was in the area, she would provide bread and eventually a room for his well-being. Her great desire in life was to have a son, a wish which God does fulfill.

Later her son dies, and through the hand of Elisha, the child is brought back to life.  This is an amazing story that I would like to study a little deeper.

First of all, long before she gives birth to that son, God's Word declared that she was a great woman. It could indicate that she was a woman of financial means. That being the case, she was able to be a blessing to others in this realm and apparently did so with ease.

She chose the prophet of God, and placed no limits and expected no favors from him. My personal feeling is that she was considered great because she had a heart of love for God and those that represented Him. As a result God did give her favor and a specific purpose, to bless Elisha. She proved that His trust in her was well developed.

Secondly, the gift given to her of a son indicates that God was pleased with her. So why did He allow this son to die? Could it be that God was so trusting of her faith in Him that she would be given an opportunity to grow to the next level of intimacy with Him, total dependency upon Him?

She passed the test, and the lad was given back to her. I do not recall ever reading what happened to this young lad after he grew up. Could he have grown up to be a prophet? Perhaps he was able to also bless others as his mother had. We do not have a way of knowing for sure.

 My friend, you too can be a great person and bless others, and have the blessings of God upon your life.

You may have to watch your pennies, may not have a lot of time or ideas, but a willing heart is all it takes to be a blessing to someone else.

Some of the greatest blessings I have ever received were from simple words of encouragement, or just a soft gentle touch, or even a firm strong handshake. Touching a child gently on the cheek can set off fireworks in their eyes that lights up my world — what a blessing! What made that woman a blessing to Elisha and be blessed by God was her heart and willingness to reach out.

Through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, your heart can be changed to an even deeper love for all of those around you, making you a blessing like you were intended to be. Yes, you will go through trials, and yes, you will get hurt. But when He returns, you will see blessing beyond compare. Search for Him today. He can be found in any room in your house, in your car, or at a good local church. Find Him, and be blessed by Him.

The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: How to be a blessing to others