The Likes of Ike

Tropical Depression Ike brought us a stormy night.  The wind blew ferociously from about midnight on.  I heard branches and walnuts hitting the roof throughout the night.  Around 5:00 this morning the wind became quite scary!!  Our power went out shortly after.

We woke up and decided to try to make it to church without power, so I used as little water as possible to wash my face and hair and brush my teeth.  Dave shaved with a cup of water!  I took my blow dryer and flat iron to the church and finished my hair and makeup there.  It was a little frustrating, but it worked.  We sure take our modern conveniences for granted.

On our way to church we saw lots of downed trees.  A large tree had fallen on our power lines along our dirt road and was the cause of our outage.  The power of storms is simply amazing.

I told Dave that I couldn't even IMAGINE the ferocity of the storm that the residents of south-east Texas must've endured, if it was so scary for us after it traveled on land through two states!  Bless your hearts!

But, church this morning was good.  And God had it worked out that The Preacher had already prepared a sermon on enduring the storms of our life... and Job was the subject.  There is so much to learn from the life of Job.  My favorite verse in the text he read from today is Job 19:25 "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth."

It also happens that one of my favorite songs comes from this verse:

It just blesses my heart!  I sing along with this song in my car all the time (loudly), just like I can actually sing!  I like to think by the time it gets to God's ears it has been heavenly remastered for His listening enjoyment.

After lunch we took Ms. Charlsie some vanilla ice cream.  She had just finished a huge lunch.  She says they feed her so big there that two meals a day is just about all she needs.  We did slip her in some pumpkin bread on Friday night... which she loves.

We finished the day today with a special commissioning and Lord's Supper service.  We have a sweet family in our church that are missionaries.  They're leaving this week to embark on the next adventure God has in store for them.  And on Friday, thirteen of our church members will be leaving to go to Nicaragua on a mission trip.  Some of their activities will include working in medical clinics, prisons, and with children.  They will have many opportunities to share Jesus with a needy people.  Please pray for their safety and that God will bless all of them as they answer His call to serve.

I am home now.  Our power is restored.  (Thank you so much to all who work so hard to get us back to normal after a natural disaster, large or small.)  Ms. Charlsie is safe and sound.  I spent the afternoon with my best friend in the world. (Thanks for the tea, Jodi.)  It was a good day.

I love Sundays.  I hope yours was as good as mine!