Nope… no attempt at stupid humor with this one. I have a pit in my stomach that I am using as inspiration to pray for those in the path of Gustav (not forgetting the victims already across Cuba and the Caribbean.)
I will be using this post as a hub for information. Please help me out by posting links in the comments to news stories, videos, humanitarian aid, bloggers … anything you think is interesting to note and helpful information and/or relief oriented. Also, if you click on the picture it will take you to the Weather Channel’s log of updates.
The Red Cross is all over the place too and always a sure bet to get your money where it is needed most.
May the Lord bless our neighbors with safety, peace, resilience and miraculous deliverance from devastation. I will be praying that those traumatized by Katrina will not be re-traumatized by this and will instead be blessed beyond anything they could imagine or think.
Again, add any links or information you think is useful in the comments. I will update this post as well. The updates will appear after the jump.
When I heard the Cicadas singing and the birds chirping I knew something had changed. So, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. This video is actually a fun one because my neighbors make an appearance :).
I was writing on my book today and came to a particular section that caused me to pause and pray. While I knew the angle I wanted to go for I didn’t really know what example to use to help illustrate the point being made. The section was on how there isn’t a single person on this planet who isn’t interesting and worth investing in. So, I prayed that the Lord would show me the example to write about. I have met a lot of people. But, within a minute I got a call from a friends mother who was very worried about him. He has a substance abuse problem. I met him through a mutual friend over six years ago and since then we have had a rocky friendship but I do consider him a good friend.
In the spirit of my ongoing efforts to talk storms out of their paths of destruction I must implore you to be reasonable and reverse course, missing all land and then head toward the North Atlantic. I have milk, eggs and chicken in the fridge. I paid good money for all that stuff! I really would like to keep the electricity on to preserve them.
::: horror ::: OMG(osh) if you knock out the power I can’t blog … ::: Iwillnotfreakout :::
Plus, Florida already has a Fay. She’s fun, cute, eloquent, cool, smart … fun. And she doesn’t scare people. Tropical Storm Fay … you scare people.
Did you know that you scare people … little Ms. Tropical Storm Fay? Well … you do.
For example, I went to the grocery store tonight and all the bread was gone. And … hello … Where are the bananas? … anyone? ::: poof ::: gone.
The water aisle was barren and D batteries are being traded in the parking lot for non-perishable luxury items. So what if I got a brand new R2D2 paper weight out of the deal!? People are scared and it’s all your fault Ms. “I wannabe Cat 1 Hurricane” Fay.
Remember the cute Fay I mentioned earlier in the letter? TS Fay … you are not her. Florida only has room for one Fay and we already claimed her. Plus, if you give her a bad name … I don’t wanna’ be you when her Mom finds out.
Just sayin’.
So, Tropical Storm Fay, go away and don’t come back another day. ::: cheesy grin ::: great alliteration huh? :::
“What’s that smell Mommy?” Doris Day looking lady looks down at Little Billy and says, “why honey … that’s what we call fresh air …”
… A recent conversation brought a troubling development into focus. A man told me that he had bought a home with some measure of reluctance, fearing that the location of the house so near to a neighborhood playground would mean too much noise. As it turns out, he needn’t have worried at all. Very few children visit the playground at all.
The troubling development is that many children never play outside. They prefer to play computer games, surf the Internet, or update their Facebook pages. Their parents are increasingly afraid to let them play outside, scared by the constant barrage of news stories about crimes against children. These children and teenagers are accustomed to air conditioning, sophisticated entertainments, and lack of physical activity. They are aliens in the outside world.
I just came out of an emotionally destructive relationship LAST WEEK! WHAT NOW?
My first encouragement would be to slow down your thoughts and sit down with someone you consider to be a wise Christian mentor, support group or professional counselor. It never hurts to get objective feedback. Online/Offline anonymous questions are fine but they will never be anything compared to what you would receive from a caring objective mentor or counselor.
The question doesn’t say whether this was a homosexual or heterosexual relationship, married, familial or friends. It doesn’t say whether this was a long term relationship, friendship or a summer fling. In the end though, I don’t think it matters because destructive relationships are destructive relationships. Here is my general-not-professional-and-just-my-opinion advice (which is all I ever give.)
Along with the glass flowers my Aunt J. sent me, a button found it’s way into the shipment. A button she thought would be appropriate considering this post on the “War Against Whining.”
So with that sentiment. Here is a gratitude list:
I am grateful …
to live in Florida, to work for a cause I am passionate about, that I am not on some reality show … yet …
I love Q & A. We had a Question & Answer session at the Freedom Conference on Saturday morning. We covered a lot but it would have taken days to answer all of the questions. I saved those questions and while I can’t promise to answer every single one here on my personal blog. I will try to pick questions that represent themes I see in many similar or exactly the same questions.
So let’s get to the question for today …
I want to be transparent, but I find myself having to battle some false and serious allegations. This causes me to have to end up in defensive mode but unable to prove innocence. How do you handle false damaging attacks?
There is a lot that could be said with regard to this but what I always come back to is the example Christ set during his trial which eventually led Him to be tortured and crucified. In that poignant moment you see Him sticking to His message, being silent in the face of people lying about Him and yet affirming who He was and the Father’s will.
Well, most of this holiday has been vegging out at home. Last Thursday night was the big fireworks show about two miles away. I went and watched them from the porch of my “ultra liberal Bostonian” neighbors. I use quotes because that is how they describe themselves. Anyway more about that in a minute.
Friday, didn’t do squat. It was awesome. I watched several movies and a concert. The concert was Jill Scott in Philadelphia. I thought several times how I wished to see crowds like that excited about the Lord. There is something very powerful about an “assembly” of people all there in agreement and of like mind.
While I did get a little ponderous about the comparison/contrast of worldly concerts and heavenly assemblies … I spent most of the time just completely enjoying Jill’s voice and lyrics.
Saturday was a semi veg day. I did a lot of cleaning around the house, went and worked out, grocery store and more movie watching. Today was of course church and then a friend came over and we hung out all day.
Nope… no attempt at stupid humor with this one. I have a pit in my stomach that I am using as inspiration to pray for those in the path of Gustav (not forgetting the victims already across Cuba and the Caribbean.)
