Friday, May 27, 2011

Woop! Woop! It's Friday!

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! YAY!!!  We made it through another week.  This one has been a doozy, too.  The best thing about this weekend is that it's a long one.  Monday is Memorial Day, and I'M OFF WORK!  WOOO HOOO!!!!  Have a good Friday, friends.  <3 <3 <3

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A Time To Mourn

My heart is heavy. There has been so much bad news lately. Tornadoes. Cancer. Devastation. Death.

Even as people from my state have been trying to get their lives back in order after the huge tornado outbreak last month, another devastating tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. I watched on the news last night as they spoke to the school superintendent there. Three schools, as well as their central office, were completely destroyed. Many people lost their lives. Some are still missing. It's just awful. My heart goes out to them.

A dear friend and co-worker has recently found out that her dad has bladder cancer. He is 78. He has refused any type of treatment. My father-in-law, Ray, had blader cancer a couple of years ago, so I can relate. And, while Ray did have chemo & radiation, it was hard to see him lose so much weight and be so weak. He made it through it, though. I'm sure it bought him more time with us, before it finally overtook him just last month. :'( I pray for my friend as she goes through this with her dad. I pray for strength to get her through the rough road ahead. She has a strong faith. She is one of the godliest women I know. But, I know that her faith is about to be tested. May she stand steadfast for the Lord. May He comfort her. Lead, guide, and direct her.

On Saturday, one of my son's classmates drowned at a company picnic down at Lake Guntersville. This young man, a junior in high school, had his whole life ahead of him. He was a member of the high school football team. While trying to remember who he was, Jordan told me that he used to play peewee football with him. This was such a sad, sad loss. It has touched this community so deeply. Tonight they will play a scrimmage game in his honor, with a love offering for the family being collected at the gate. How tragic. Make sure you hug your kids. Tell your family that you love them. You just never know...

With all this sadness, a brighter day has to be just around the corner, right? I'm so ready for a glimmer of hope. But, it made me wonder why things seem so dark at times. But then, I remembered these verses from Ecclesiastes 3   KJV:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Yes. A time to mourn, indeed. But I'm looking forward to that time to dance.

God bless you, friends.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Friday, May 6, 2011

Angels Among Us

I still can't get the recent storms/tornadoes off my mind.  I have heard some horrific things, but amidst all this someone told of this story that was an awesome miracle.  Here it is as it was posted:
One of my coworkers has been going over to Pleasant Grove a good bit to volunteer. And amid all the disaster stories (trust me, there's a lot), one really stood out to me. Some volunteer workers found a 3 year old baby in a cooler. It had been surviving inside for 4 days. They found the cooler, by chance, while pulling it from the rubble of one of the many destroyed houses in the neighborhood.
They got the child out of the cooler and after making sure it was ok they asked, "How did you get in that cooler?"
The baby responded: "The man with the wings put me there."


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

But Many Were Not So Fortunate

View form the Guntersville State Park lodge, the morning of April 27, 2011. Courtesy of WHNT 19.

It happened again, only this time it was much more violent. Last year on April 24, a tornado swept through my city and destroyed several homes and businesses. Thankfully, no lives were lost. Personally, we lost a huge oak tree that was uprooted & in turn, took our central heating/air unit with it. We were without power for about 2 weeks then. And, even though my city escaped the massive outbreak of tornadoes that swept across our state of Alabama last week on April 27, many neighboring cities were not so fortunate. Many, many lives were lost, and several people are still unaccounted for. It is total devastation in many places.

It seems unfair that all it caused us was a few days without power. That alone forced my family to reconnect with each other as we did crossword puzzles and went out into the total darkness at night to see the wondrous stars shining, filling up the night sky. Many people were not so fortunate. We were so grateful when our power was restored, but many people have not been so fortunate. We still have our home, our family, our friends, but many are not so fortunate. My heart goes out to them. My prayers are with them. I pray that God will give them comfort and hold him in his loving arms as they struggle to rebuild their lives.