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| Rick at KNWA-TV |
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Rick Katzfey has been watching the weather both professionally and non-professionally for over 40 years. Rick is the former Chief Meteorologist for KNWA-TV, NBC affiliate in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He has gained great knowledge forecasting weather for Northwest Arkansas.
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Rick
became interested in weather when he was only five years old. "We
didn't have the Weather Channel like kids do today. I remember when I
was very young, my brother Larry and I use to go outside where we lived
in Kansas to watch the big storms come through. We would wait as long
we could, or until lightning struck close, then we would get scared and
run into the house. Inside we would see my brother Jerry hiding under
the kitchen table."
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| Rick in 5th Grade |
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Rick was
forecasting weather for his parents and others when he was only 12
years old. "The television weather guys would say one thing but I
remember telling my mom that they would be wrong and a storm would move
through the next day." When he was 14 Rick began his public service
work by calling in rainfall amounts to the local radio station
KLWN-am. From age 14 to age 21 Rick would keep a daily almanac of
local conditions for the local community of Hesper in Eastern Kansas.
"I was really into it... I would keep track of all the highs and lows
and rainfall amounts."
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| Rick at White House with President Clinton, 1988 |
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With over 13 years of broadcast television knowledge and skills, and working hard every day to improve his craft, Rick earned television's highest honor in 1999 by winning the prestigious Emmy AwardŽ for Best Weathercast while in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was nominated again in 2001. Rick was also recognized as one of the top 100 meteorologists in the US and selected to travel to the White House to speak to President Clinton and Vice President Gore on environmental issues and global warming. "It was such and honor to see the worn-out marble in the hallways of the White House and to realize that Winston Churchill and Harry Truman and many other great men and women walked the same steps as I was at that time!"
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Rick has been recognized as the most accurate forecaster in every city he has lived including being named most accurate as part of a science experiment for a local school. He was also recognized as being the most accurate forecaster by the Nebraska Highway Patrol. "It is nice to hear from the Highway Patrol while in Omaha, Nebraska that before they would head out they would "see what Katzfey says"".
Rick is also a storm chaser and has video taped numerous severe storms and tornadoes. He has been within a mile of an approaching tornado learning a great deal of the mechanics of a severe thunderstorm.
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| Sunset |
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God Knocked
Is everyone going to Heaven?
Rick's passion today is not so much severe weather as the Creator of the weather. Rick was lead by the Holy Spirit to come and follow Jesus Christ in 2004. "It was and continues to be an amazing turn in my life when I came to Christ! My testimony is somewhat like the apostle Paul's testimony in that I was arguing against the very same church that I attend today!"
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For the longest time, I know the Holy Spirit was with me while practicing my old religion. I felt His presence. But more importantly, I felt when He left me in 2004! (1 Samuel 16:14) God got tired of guiding me and hanging with me and protecting me and so He left me alone to get my attention! And it worked! And He knew it would.
I began searching the summer of 2004. While in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I went to several churches of which I was raised searching for the one that had the Holy Spirit. I was really getting frustrated with the lack of fire and attention of theses congregations and of the pastors. I knew the religion of which I had so much history and upbringing was no longer the place for me. These churches were going through the motions of just another Sunday service. Some were playing with the kids while others were distracted with what had happened the night before. And I noticed that I could not even get the pastor to make eye contact. Even the prayers were being read or spoken through memorization. I found out later in reading my Bible that God hates those kinds of prayers and will not listen to them. More importantly though, while at these churches, I felt like a hypocrite because I was living with sin and never felt like my confession was being taken seriously by God.
Read what Pastor James McDonald says about: Is Everone Going to Heaven?
During the latter part of the summer and early fall of 2004 I got down emotionally and mentally. I was at a low in my life. I felt like I was going to hell... Well, honestly, I knew I was going to hell! I was bound by sin and was trapped. I told God "I give up!" I thought the best thing for me to do was just continue sinning, stop being a hypocrite, and live out the rest of my life with whatever I wanted to do.
But it was at that exact point in my life that God pushed back and said "Rick remember when you and I used to talk in the 5th grade?" I always felt that I had a relationship with God when I was younger. I made two promises in the fifth grade... To never use His Name in vain again... Or what I thought was in vain... And to never use drugs. I believe God brought me to those feelings of loss desperation to call me. He was basically telling me that he missed me and wanted to talk to me.
I remembered the prayer my wife Donna, whom I love very much, said to me. She said that if you ask the Lord to forgive you and mean it, turn away from your sin with a true heart, then ask Him to come into your life as Lord and Savior, He promises to save you and protect you and send the Holy Spirit to live inside you and guide you and talk with you forever!
Practicing the ways of my old church I would say that prayer over and over. Then one night heading back to the local television station after dinner with my family, I drove over this hill on Highway 45, east of Fayetteville, and asked the Lord one more time to come into my heart. This time I meant it! I told Him that I really needed Him and that I could not make it through this life without Him!
I noticed that it was a beautiful sunset that evening.
I am a well educated person. And my training and nurturing always made me suspicious of these so called Christians. So I was very skeptical when I first became a follower of Jesus Christ because I didn't know what to expect or if the stuff that I heard from so many people was real. I went into this belief system very cautiously.
I was on so many prayer chains around the country for many years! My wife and her family created an army of warriors that surrounded me. And I thank all those who have prayed for me. Even Jesus prayed for me. And he prayed for you. Check out John 17:20. It is awesome to think that Jesus saw me coming at just the right time. And let me tell you about prayers...Something made me change direction.
I didn't tell my wife right away what I had done, because I wasn't sure exactly just what I had done. But I remember she asking me one Sunday if I had gone to my old church that day, because she and the kids were going to their church. I told her that I hadn't been for a couple of weeks. She asked if I would like to come with her and the kids to their church. You should have seen the look on her face when I said yes! Her mouth dropped! She finally felt that the prayers that she and HUGE army of people around the US were finally being answered. I
So I went to church with my wife and family and pastor was preaching from Revelations and was talking about being left behind if Jesus comes tonight. My heart was pounding during the invitation on that first visit. I heard "Come!" but my suspicious mind told me not to get caught up in the emotions. So I didn't go forward to proclaim my faith on that weekend. But I couldn't wait to go back because I felt for the first time in probably over two years or more that the Holy Spirit was present in this congregation and speaking to me.
I went back a couple of weeks later because my job took me out of town for a week. Pastor was still in Revelations and during that invitation to come forward, I couldn't wait. I tripped over three different women and sure that I had cause some runs in panty hoses on that day! I didn't know what to expect or what to do, so I just kind of told my story to the pastor up front about what I had done on the highway a few weeks earlier. That is also the first time Donna had heard it as well.
I really didn't know what was going to happen with me at this point. I didn't have a great light that flashed before my eyes or didn't have a floating experience being carried away to another place, or anything like that. From that point on (and even before) I began to be attacked by the devil. I was going through guilt about the change in religion because my religion had so much tradition and history... I thought no others did. I was having physical pain from stress of worrying about whether I made the right choice and even if I was now going to hell because of what I was doing. But I began to read the Bible for the first time. I read that God called Moses at mid-life to follow Him. And the followers of Jesus were all in their adult life when Jesus called them to follow Him. Not to mention Saul, who was a great threat against those who believed in Jesus at that time and was even responsible for the deaths of many Christ followers. He converted to Christianity after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, became known as Paul, and became arguably the greatest Disciple. All these truths began to strengthen me in my walk with Christ and made me more and more confident each day as I grew to know God more. Romans 12:2 says: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God." This is how my walk has worked. It has certainly been a transformation in my life that has taken place over the years since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.
No I am not perfect and my Lord knows that. But Christ dying for our sins at Calvary has given us freedom from any vise or addiction from satan's world. We now have the power to stop sinning, turn the other way, (repent) and follow the One who loves us! Greg Laurie, a great pastor out of California who visited our church in Northwest Arkansas, says that being a Christian is like trying to climb a greasy pole... If you not trying, then you are slipping. I sometimes slip a little and not get into God's word, the Bible, as I should. And yes, many times I have failed to do what God would want me to do. Christians sin! And a true Christian knows and admits they are a sinner and desperately need God in their lives. Christians are no more perfect than any other person, but knowing that I am now one of God's children and He is my Father in heaven is a great place to be. I now have the Holy Spirit inside me and He guides me day to day and even minute to minute. So now as a believer I want to do the things that will glorify God... not impress man.
I have learned that God does not want us to say the same prayers over and over. He tires of the same ole prayer. And he does not want our good works or the amount we can do more than the next guy. That wouldn't be fair to those who can't do as much. Know this! For those of you who say, "I am living a good life". Or "I am good person." You are missing it! You are taking glory from the perfect sacrifice that God gave to us even while we were sinners. He allowed His only Son to die for us, that we could be called one of God's sons, if we would only admit we are sinners and accept the great sacrifice of Jesus' death on the cross. Because no one can do enough for God. He is too great and we are not good enough. He only wants our relationship. He wants our heart! That's it! He wants us to sing a "new song"! He wants us to talk with him. Would you just talk to Him today?
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| Rick and Wife Donna |
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| Rick with Son Nick |
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