[williep]

Betty,
You can have lightening rods installed on top of your house. These are connected to thick cables that are buried in the ground. The theory behind these is that lightening is attracted to pointed conductors that are grounded. It likes to follow the path of least resistance which these lightening rods provide. I am not sure of the cost but they can't be too expensive because there is not too much to them. The villa right next to mine has them and they will proberly protect my house also because of the proximity. Also, it is very common to have lightening hit external power connections. This will cause a surge in all of the power lines in the area, so having a surge protector will dampen the voltage spike which can ruin all of your electronics.
Hope this helps,
Bill from Duval & MA