I had a crazy thought yesterday that maybe it might be time to warp up this 'storm-related' aspect of this blog. From here on out, it's just going to be more of the same, right? Unpack, clean, put away, repeat. How much is everyone going to want to read about all of that?
Perhaps God has some other plans for where this will go from here. I'm pretty sure, after today, that I need to attest to the extreme power of intercessory prayer. I have seen the results of it SO CLEARLY in our lives over the last month. I have said repeatedly that we have FELT the prayers of friends and family. I know these prayers were what was carrying us through, because I know there has been an un-explainable peace and calm in the midst of this crazy month. And I know that there have been answers that ONLY GOD could have know about. Prayer has made all the difference in this situation, there is just no two ways about it.
And now, God is clearly calling me to offer it to other's in my life. I have had three direct requests today, to keep specific people in my prayers. Interesting thing is all four of the people involved are young people in single-parent homes. These kids are HURTING and they need our prayers. Unfortunately I am not at liberty to share names, but I would just ask that, if you are reading this, that you lift them up also. You can call them 'K', 'M&M' and 'E'. God will know who you are talking about. All of them are at that tough age, caught between childhood and adulthood and they are needing to make crucial life decisions. Pray that God will have an opportunity to impact their lives in a meaningful way!!
The power of God has been so evident in our lives over the last month. Someone even pointed out the other day, when I was marveling at the power of nature, that it's so amazing the God CAN control THAT too, when He chooses to!! We serve an awesome, powerful, yet SO loving God. He wants to be a part of our lives, SO BAD! He is using events such as the one that hit us, and the floods and earthquakes and even 'smaller' personal crisis' to waken the hearts of men, and HOPEFULLY draw them to Him. I hope that His return is SOON!!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
A month ago today
Well, it's a month ago today. It's hard to believe it has been that long. Feels more like two weeks, maybe. We are working through the various processes. Still waiting for a check from Progressive for the trailer, so we can go buy the van. Also waiting for the truck to be picked up by the salvage company. We still have lots of unpacking (and cleaning of items) to do. There are a few key kitchen items missing, such as waffle irons, so we can have our favorite Friday night supper, hoping to find those on Sunday. We are still jumping through hoops at the SBA/FEMA. I also still need to get connected with some counselors at United Way, so the kids can talk through some stuff - the storm earlier this week made that pretty CLEAR. We are working through all the fun details with Lon's new job, such as getting auto-deposit set up, so that his check arrives a tad sooner every week, since we still seem to run the account right down there, even though so many people have been SO generous (have never over-drawn though - always have just what we need!) People are helping us work on getting new digs built for the chickens and the rabbit. Some new friends from church have been FAITHFULLY coming every day to work on the coop for the chickens, Lon and I got most of the fencing up today. Both the coop and the fence will probably get completed on Sunday. Emma and I will likely tackle the bunny hutch next week some time. We are also going to need to get the guinea pigs' cage set back up too, since they were in a large cage in the school room before. All of those critters have been (are) living in much more cramped quarters than they are used to until we get those projects done. Various kids are still sleeping on mattresses on the floor, they either don't like the options offered (the big girls seem to feel that they have 'outgrown' the girl bunk beds we have - they are beautiful wrought iron white things, with hearts in the head-board - too little girlish for their taste, I guess) or their beds were destroyed (the boys, and Sarah). I need to start listing some items for sale on Craig's list, such as the cover for the trailer, which we won't need any more, since the trailer is gone, apparently (have not been back up to the house since last Friday afternoon, it was supposed to have been picked up on Monday). We also need to get in touch with the land-lord to see what the status is on the house, I'm VERY curious whether it shifted on it's foundation or not, and if it IS going to be demolished, the boys want to watch (ok - I'll admit it, so do I) At some point SOON, we need to follow through on the pot-luck that we promised all the old neighbors that we would have soon. AND, we need to meet the NEW neighbors!! And, last, but not least, we still need to get the storm shelter installed. (we are on their work-order list, but our turn has not come up yet)
Wow - that is quite a to-do list!! It's a good thing GOD is giving me strength for all this!!
It's definitely feeling a bit like a marathon at this point, not a sprint. But we have to stop and count the blessings too. Here are several that I have not mentioned here yet:
There was an opportunity to apply for food-stamp money, based on income and family size. We could potentially qualify for as much as $1200! Another family at church gave us great directions as to what to bring, and when to go. I had the added advantage of having a handicap parking permit, and crutches. So I got let into a MUCH closer parking lot, and I got escorted to the FRONT of a 200-300 person line!! I was there all of 30-35 mintues!! We qualified! The funny thing is, had Adtran (Lon's last job) done his last paycheck correctly, I don't think we would have. They were supposed to with-hold a certain percentage out of this last pay-check to start re-paying the signing bonus that he got - since he wasn't there for at least a year, he had to pay that back - but they were only supposed to keep PART of the paycheck, and still pay him SOME. Well, they with-held ALL of his paycheck, and while coming up several hundred dollars short at that point was not particularly fun God still saw to our needs, and that smaller number to report for income at the food stamp office caused us to stay within the 'income limit' for the month of May (the only one they looked at) and helped us qualify for $1200!! The extra amount that Adtran with-held is not lost, either, it will mean that we have less to pay back later. So, in the end, it was a double bonus.
also;
Back when I was still using crutches (I was allowed to start leaving them behind some, just over a week ago, at my two-week-follow-up appointment - and of course that is JUST what I have done!) but anyway, when I was still needing crutches all the time, I was having a hard time carrying all the stuff I might need to carry, since my hands were busy crutching. I tried using my purse, but it was not staying on my shoulder. One night, just after we moved into the new house, I was thinking how nice it would be if I could find my old 'Norm Thompson' style tear-drop purse. But having not even known for sure where it was for sure, even BEFORE the storm, I didn't even mention that I was wanting it. It wouldn't have done any good to mention it, since most people who were packing us up were just putting all the items that looked salvageable into whatever box, and very little labeling of boxes went on. One evening, just after we were getting all our stuff to the new house, as I was walking into the house from the garage and I saw it laying there, on TOP of some boxes! I was able to use that as my purse for the several weeks that I've been in the boot still and still needing to use the crutches now and then, particularly when I go 'out. It's been a helpful thing, and every time I open it, or pick it up, I'm reminded of God 'helping' me find it. (ok - finding it FOR me!)
OK - WOW - I'm SUPER tired all the sudden. I'll try to write more tomorrow afternoon/evening. Sorry for the typos I'm sure are all through this, as I kept dozing off while I wrote. I wanted to write something profound about the one month anniversary. But I guess "there is still alot of work to do" will have to be as profound as it gets. goodnight.
Wow - that is quite a to-do list!! It's a good thing GOD is giving me strength for all this!!
It's definitely feeling a bit like a marathon at this point, not a sprint. But we have to stop and count the blessings too. Here are several that I have not mentioned here yet:
There was an opportunity to apply for food-stamp money, based on income and family size. We could potentially qualify for as much as $1200! Another family at church gave us great directions as to what to bring, and when to go. I had the added advantage of having a handicap parking permit, and crutches. So I got let into a MUCH closer parking lot, and I got escorted to the FRONT of a 200-300 person line!! I was there all of 30-35 mintues!! We qualified! The funny thing is, had Adtran (Lon's last job) done his last paycheck correctly, I don't think we would have. They were supposed to with-hold a certain percentage out of this last pay-check to start re-paying the signing bonus that he got - since he wasn't there for at least a year, he had to pay that back - but they were only supposed to keep PART of the paycheck, and still pay him SOME. Well, they with-held ALL of his paycheck, and while coming up several hundred dollars short at that point was not particularly fun God still saw to our needs, and that smaller number to report for income at the food stamp office caused us to stay within the 'income limit' for the month of May (the only one they looked at) and helped us qualify for $1200!! The extra amount that Adtran with-held is not lost, either, it will mean that we have less to pay back later. So, in the end, it was a double bonus.
also;
Back when I was still using crutches (I was allowed to start leaving them behind some, just over a week ago, at my two-week-follow-up appointment - and of course that is JUST what I have done!) but anyway, when I was still needing crutches all the time, I was having a hard time carrying all the stuff I might need to carry, since my hands were busy crutching. I tried using my purse, but it was not staying on my shoulder. One night, just after we moved into the new house, I was thinking how nice it would be if I could find my old 'Norm Thompson' style tear-drop purse. But having not even known for sure where it was for sure, even BEFORE the storm, I didn't even mention that I was wanting it. It wouldn't have done any good to mention it, since most people who were packing us up were just putting all the items that looked salvageable into whatever box, and very little labeling of boxes went on. One evening, just after we were getting all our stuff to the new house, as I was walking into the house from the garage and I saw it laying there, on TOP of some boxes! I was able to use that as my purse for the several weeks that I've been in the boot still and still needing to use the crutches now and then, particularly when I go 'out. It's been a helpful thing, and every time I open it, or pick it up, I'm reminded of God 'helping' me find it. (ok - finding it FOR me!)
OK - WOW - I'm SUPER tired all the sudden. I'll try to write more tomorrow afternoon/evening. Sorry for the typos I'm sure are all through this, as I kept dozing off while I wrote. I wanted to write something profound about the one month anniversary. But I guess "there is still alot of work to do" will have to be as profound as it gets. goodnight.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Taking Shelter
Well, we did end up going in the closet for about 20 minutes just after midnight last night. Apparently a tornado had been spotted, on the ground, about 20 miles from here, headed our direction. That rattled the nerves a bit. Before, when we would go down in the shelter, it was just sort of a matter-of-fact thing we did. The basement was large, there were chairs, we just sat, and waited out what ever was (or wasn't) going over. This time, there was a new urgency and a keen awareness of what the storm could hold, and a palpable fear. We had prayer and I played some calming music on my i-pod. The power went out. It was tight quarters, and stuffy. People were half asleep, so not as cooperative as might have been nice, but who is worried about 'nice' at that point? The most frightening thing for me was that just as I was sending half-asleep Mayahna and Tommy into the closet under the stairs, I heard the house creaking! That was a little TOO familiar for MY taste. But I did soon realize that the creaking was just Annie, walking around upstairs, waking Emma and Ricky for them to come down. Ricky was not easy to wake and convince of the need to come get in the closet. He doesn't tend to want to do anything Annie tells him to do, anyway, let alone when he has just been woken up. But we did all get there, and hunker down for about 15-20 minutes, until they gave us the all clear on the phone. With the power out, and thus the internet connection not working, that was a nice feature to have, probably the best four-dollar app I've bought!
We came out just after 12:15, but some were not willing to go sleep in their own rooms, as they wanted to be closer to the closet in case we needed to go in (not sure how that is going to work when the storm shelter is installed in the garage!). Tommy had fallen back asleep, back in the very back of the closet, so we just left him there, to sleep the rest of the night right where he was. He was a tad confused this morning when he woke up in such a strange place. Ricky slept on the couch, just outside the closet. Mayahna and Emma slept with me (the closet door is just outside my bedroom door). We did get to sleep pretty quickly, amazingly, I guess because we knew the phone would wake us up if we needed to go back in. The lights came back on at about 2, I got up, turned everything off that we had left on, and went back to bed and back to sleep.
I looked at the news, briefly, this morning, and didn't see anything about tornado damage that took place last night. Though, when Lon called just now, he said he had heard there were trees down in Limestone county (our new county) I'm guessing it's out in that area west of Athens, where the twister was spotted last night. Glad it was small, and didn't stay on the ground too long. Glad the storm season is almost over. Glad that God answered the prayers of our family and many others who were praying for us, that we did not have to repeat our experience of four weeks ago.
Annie did ask, as we were heading for the closet, "If we get hit again, are we moving back to the NW?" I had to answer honestly: "The thought HAS crossed my mind!" Though, honestly, where is a safe place to be? There isn't one, in case you have not noticed! This world is not a safe place. AND - it is NOT our home!!!
There will be thunderstorms throughout the day today, and into tomorrow. But they are saying it will be nothing 'organized enough' to produce severe weather. It will give us plenty of opportunity to exercise our faith muscles, though! Some of the thunder that happened last night, after we came out of the closet, was pretty amazing thunder - it rolled on and on and on, and it rattled the house. I never could keep my eyes open long enough to watch for the lightening and count to see how far away it was. It's rumbling out there right now, too. I think the rest that Sabbath brings this week, because it will come at the end of two stormy days, will be a VERY welcome rest. Similar to the rest we will receive when Christ comes to rescue us from this mess of a world we live in. Looking forward to that day, more and more!
We came out just after 12:15, but some were not willing to go sleep in their own rooms, as they wanted to be closer to the closet in case we needed to go in (not sure how that is going to work when the storm shelter is installed in the garage!). Tommy had fallen back asleep, back in the very back of the closet, so we just left him there, to sleep the rest of the night right where he was. He was a tad confused this morning when he woke up in such a strange place. Ricky slept on the couch, just outside the closet. Mayahna and Emma slept with me (the closet door is just outside my bedroom door). We did get to sleep pretty quickly, amazingly, I guess because we knew the phone would wake us up if we needed to go back in. The lights came back on at about 2, I got up, turned everything off that we had left on, and went back to bed and back to sleep.
I looked at the news, briefly, this morning, and didn't see anything about tornado damage that took place last night. Though, when Lon called just now, he said he had heard there were trees down in Limestone county (our new county) I'm guessing it's out in that area west of Athens, where the twister was spotted last night. Glad it was small, and didn't stay on the ground too long. Glad the storm season is almost over. Glad that God answered the prayers of our family and many others who were praying for us, that we did not have to repeat our experience of four weeks ago.
Annie did ask, as we were heading for the closet, "If we get hit again, are we moving back to the NW?" I had to answer honestly: "The thought HAS crossed my mind!" Though, honestly, where is a safe place to be? There isn't one, in case you have not noticed! This world is not a safe place. AND - it is NOT our home!!!
There will be thunderstorms throughout the day today, and into tomorrow. But they are saying it will be nothing 'organized enough' to produce severe weather. It will give us plenty of opportunity to exercise our faith muscles, though! Some of the thunder that happened last night, after we came out of the closet, was pretty amazing thunder - it rolled on and on and on, and it rattled the house. I never could keep my eyes open long enough to watch for the lightening and count to see how far away it was. It's rumbling out there right now, too. I think the rest that Sabbath brings this week, because it will come at the end of two stormy days, will be a VERY welcome rest. Similar to the rest we will receive when Christ comes to rescue us from this mess of a world we live in. Looking forward to that day, more and more!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tornado Watch!
So, we are currently under Tornado watch this evening, for the next three and a half hours. I'm not sleeping. Mostly because I don't know that the app that I just purchased on my phone is configured right to wake me up. The weather radio that we used to use is still in a box somewhere.
We don't have a storm shelter installed here yet. We are on the 'work order' sheet for Alabama Tornado Masters, but we are still about three weeks out from installation.
Am I trusting God? You bet. Am I still on edge? You bet. Does that make sense? Probably not. But it's where I am. I do know that God IS in this with us. That no matter what happens, He WILL walk right beside us, just as He has proven Himself to be doing over the last four weeks (hard to believe, four weeks ago today!) But, that does not mean that the thought of going through it all AGAIN does not make my head spin just a bit (no pun intended!)
The kids are all resting peacefully. We received a copy of Gnomeo and Juliette today, in the mail, so we SEARCHED for the box with the DVD player in it, so we could watch it on the big screen. Emma and I found it!! So that was a nice treat. During the middle of the movie I received notice of approaching storms on my computer. I did not tell the kids. They all went to bed after the movie was over and I'm hoping that I don't have to wake them up.
We just up-graded to a 'severe thunderstorm warning' - but the effected areas seem to be just north of us, so that is good. The really good news is that the alerts on my phone DO seem to be working, so, perhaps I should go ahead and see if I can get some sleep. It is pretty nice to be able to narrow down the types of alerts we get. And living on the far EASTERN edge of the county, rather than the far Western edge (we moved just over the county line, into the county just west of where we used to live) makes the notices much more relevant. Before we would get woken up to be told about squalls that had already passed us over!! Or things like 'flash flood warnings' (we lived on a bit of a hill, with NO creeks or rivers ANYWHERE nearby) This will be much nicer, it will only wake us up when we need to get up and go into the shelter! (or the closet under the stairs, as the case may be, for now)
Lon is in Nashville. So I have it set to wake me up if he has stuff approaching too. He'll be home tomorrow night. That will be good.
We don't have a storm shelter installed here yet. We are on the 'work order' sheet for Alabama Tornado Masters, but we are still about three weeks out from installation.
Am I trusting God? You bet. Am I still on edge? You bet. Does that make sense? Probably not. But it's where I am. I do know that God IS in this with us. That no matter what happens, He WILL walk right beside us, just as He has proven Himself to be doing over the last four weeks (hard to believe, four weeks ago today!) But, that does not mean that the thought of going through it all AGAIN does not make my head spin just a bit (no pun intended!)
The kids are all resting peacefully. We received a copy of Gnomeo and Juliette today, in the mail, so we SEARCHED for the box with the DVD player in it, so we could watch it on the big screen. Emma and I found it!! So that was a nice treat. During the middle of the movie I received notice of approaching storms on my computer. I did not tell the kids. They all went to bed after the movie was over and I'm hoping that I don't have to wake them up.
We just up-graded to a 'severe thunderstorm warning' - but the effected areas seem to be just north of us, so that is good. The really good news is that the alerts on my phone DO seem to be working, so, perhaps I should go ahead and see if I can get some sleep. It is pretty nice to be able to narrow down the types of alerts we get. And living on the far EASTERN edge of the county, rather than the far Western edge (we moved just over the county line, into the county just west of where we used to live) makes the notices much more relevant. Before we would get woken up to be told about squalls that had already passed us over!! Or things like 'flash flood warnings' (we lived on a bit of a hill, with NO creeks or rivers ANYWHERE nearby) This will be much nicer, it will only wake us up when we need to get up and go into the shelter! (or the closet under the stairs, as the case may be, for now)
Lon is in Nashville. So I have it set to wake me up if he has stuff approaching too. He'll be home tomorrow night. That will be good.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Keep on keeping on, and LOTS of questions.
So, we've reached the endurance part of the race. Alot of the help has gone back to their own busy lives. Media attention is focused on Joplin, MO and will soon be focused on some town in Oklahoma that is still awaiting their own fate, even as I type, as more storms roll through there today. Life rolls on. People start talking about other stuff, like NFL lock-outs and the latest favorite American Idol singer. But at our house, we are anything but done with this event. We still have stuff to clean, sort and put away. We still have raw feelings and easily upset stomachs. We still have damaged furniture. We still need to work with the insurance companies and FEMA and the SBA. We still have everyday stuff that needs to be done that can't be done because we can't find the cable to our printer. We still have bills to pay, and baby showers to plan, and church duties to fulful. Life rolls on. But it is so different now. I am resting in the knowledge that God IS a God who WILL be with you in the midst of the mess that your life might be in at the moment. I am keenly aware of - and grateful for -friends in my life who have listened to His calling, and have in one tangible way or another, offered to help in ways that only GOD could have known we needed! I am very much tuned in to the fact that MANY people have been praying for us, and that those payers HAVE made a difference, from the very beginning, before the storm even hit, with things being lined up just right for this or that thing to happen just the way it did. For the storm it's self to have downgraded to an EF 3, according to reports (though there are those who differ with that opinion, particularly Nan and Doug, the neighbors across the street!) and not to have sucked the house right off of it's foundation, as it well could have done had it been an EF 5 when it hit us. Right down to today, and encouraging words arriving in my text message box just when I needed them, and friends arriving to finish building the chicken coop that our poor girls (as the chickens are affectionately called) so desperately need. We just so clearly see God here with us in the midst of all of this. I sincerely hope that we never lose that complete trust that we have gained through this.
I do wonder, though, what about people who DON'T feel that? What about people who lost a loved one? What about people who just add this to the list in their mind, of reason why they can't trust God. How do we reach out to them? Is there some way to help them FEEL the essence of God's LOVE for them?
And what about this old world? How much longer can we go on? And what makes us think that, now, just because we are facing these crazy weather events, that we are any closer to some sort of end to the world of pain than any other person in any other place, such as Africa, where they have faced DECADES of weather 'issues' AND political upheaval TOO, on top of that? Sure I want Christ to come and take us all away, but really, what makes us think that a few storms and/or earthquakes means that it is happening any sooner than it was before? And even if it does, somehow, mean that, what does it change in what I do?
Really, it keeps coming back to relationships. To knowing the people around you and loving them. To helping them in any way you can. To taking the opportunity to listen to someone talk about how their day is going, or what struggles they are facing today. To being open to how the Spirit leads you to reach out to those around you that are hurting or searching or even those who are NOT hurting or searching, and just simply getting to know them better. God is a god of RELATIONSHIPS. So much so that He could not be just one being, He had to be THREE beings, in order to have relationship, even within the God-head it's self. He created us to be connected! Connected to Himself and connected to other human beings. If we are not pursuing this connection with those around us, we are missing out on tremendous blessings He has for us, and we are holding that blessing back from those whom we might otherwise be able to bless.
Sorry, stepping off the soap-box now. But it's a blog - so it's a log of my thoughts, and that is what I'm thinking about today.
I do wonder, though, what about people who DON'T feel that? What about people who lost a loved one? What about people who just add this to the list in their mind, of reason why they can't trust God. How do we reach out to them? Is there some way to help them FEEL the essence of God's LOVE for them?
And what about this old world? How much longer can we go on? And what makes us think that, now, just because we are facing these crazy weather events, that we are any closer to some sort of end to the world of pain than any other person in any other place, such as Africa, where they have faced DECADES of weather 'issues' AND political upheaval TOO, on top of that? Sure I want Christ to come and take us all away, but really, what makes us think that a few storms and/or earthquakes means that it is happening any sooner than it was before? And even if it does, somehow, mean that, what does it change in what I do?
Really, it keeps coming back to relationships. To knowing the people around you and loving them. To helping them in any way you can. To taking the opportunity to listen to someone talk about how their day is going, or what struggles they are facing today. To being open to how the Spirit leads you to reach out to those around you that are hurting or searching or even those who are NOT hurting or searching, and just simply getting to know them better. God is a god of RELATIONSHIPS. So much so that He could not be just one being, He had to be THREE beings, in order to have relationship, even within the God-head it's self. He created us to be connected! Connected to Himself and connected to other human beings. If we are not pursuing this connection with those around us, we are missing out on tremendous blessings He has for us, and we are holding that blessing back from those whom we might otherwise be able to bless.
Sorry, stepping off the soap-box now. But it's a blog - so it's a log of my thoughts, and that is what I'm thinking about today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)