Tornadoes and Wind and Snow, Oh My!

Okay, I've lived in the Midwest for a long time, and I have seen a lot of crazy weather phenomena. I remember standing in my yard, dry as a bone, and watching it rain across the street. I've seen tornadoes and blizzards and all kinds of things. The saying in our neck of the woods is, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes." I've never seen that saying be truer than it was today.

The day started out beautifully. It was in the 50s and sunny. It was kind of out of character for January to be honest. Then, all of a sudden, around 4:oo this afternoon, a storm blew up, which is also kind of weird for January. Then, wouldn't you know it, the tornado siren blew. Now, if it was April, May, or June, this would have been no big surprise to me. We have tornadoes all the time around here, but in January, it caught me off guard. So, we went to the hallway, and took all the precautions. And, as it usually goes, as soon as it had begun, it was over. Apparently, a police officer spotted a funnel cloud, and it did do some damage, power lines down and a semi blew over...that kind of thing. There was nothing too serious, and, as far as I've heard, no one was seriously injured.

As I said before, the day started out sunny and in the 50s. After that storm, the temperature dropped into the 20s and the wind is blowing like crazy. Now, they are saying we are probably going to be hit with a big snowstorm!

Ah, the Midwest...I guess it is true. If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes!

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Little Blessings

The Bible tells us over and over that children are a blessing, and they definitely are! I am so grateful that God chose to bless my husband and I with children so easily. We have never had a problem trying to conceive, and with the exception of me miscarrying our first baby, my pregnancies have been easy and without problem. I know what a blessing and miracle this is because it easily could have been different for us. I know this. Now that I've said all that, let me get to the point of this blog.

Any of you with children know that children are a blessing, but there are "those times." You know those times in the store when they start screaming because they don't get what they want, or those times when you have to keep saying, "leave your sister alone!", or when you have to get up at 3 in the morning just to give the baby her pacifier because it fell out of her mouth, or those times when you're in church and they stand in the pew in the middle of your husband's sermon and start dancing around and saying, "shake your booty!" (Okay, I may be personalizing on that last one a little bit.) :o)

Anyway, all I'm saying are, there are those days when you look at your children and think, "Wow, what a wonderful blessing from God!" And then, there are those days that you have to REMIND yourself, "Just remember, they're a blessing from God!" Then, either way you pray. If it's one of the good days you pray to God and thank Him for your children. On the bad days, you pray to God and ask for the strength to make it through without having to be put in a mental institution. :o)

So far, today has been one of the good days. For the most part, my children have been in a good mood, and Isabel has been sharing and being nice to her sister. I thank God for today because I know that tomorrow, I am probably going to have to remind myself, " Just remember, they're a blessing from God! "

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Isn't it amazing how God works? He always seems to give us just what we need just when we need it most.

A few weeks ago, I got in the car to run some errands. I got in, buckled my seat belt, all the same old same old. When I turned the car on, there was a sermon playing. This is not an uncommon occurrence in our car. My husband uses the car most of the time, and he listens to sermons a lot. Normally, I would have flipped off the tape player and turned on the radio, not because I don't enjoy a good sermon, quite the contrary. I just normally do not like to listen to sermons on the radio. I guess I find it boring if I cannot see the speaker. This time, however, I recognized the voice of the speaker as our pastor from Tennessee, Brother Nathan Wilkerson. Brother Nathan is a very good speaker, and I always enjoyed his sermons very much, and as I am a little bit homesick for Parkers Creek Baptist Church (the church we belonged to down in TN) I decided to go ahead and let the sermon play. I am glad I did. This particular sermon was entitled "Turning lemons into lemonade" or something to that effect. Anyway, it was about trials that Christians go through and how we should meet and handle the trials given to us. It was just what I needed!
If you've been keeping up with my life, you know that our youngest daughter, Kayleah, has a cyst on one of her bile ducts. Now, granted, it's not an extremely serious condition. It's removable, but the thought of my baby going through surgery and having to be in the hospital just kills me. Like any mommy would, I definitely worry about it. It's been weighing on my mind a lot because the surgery is scheduled for February 12, which means it just keeps getting closer and closer.

Now, I don't know if David left it playing on purpose, or if he was listening to it because it was something he needed as well. Maybe he was homesick too, and the sound of Brother Nathan's voice made him feel a little closer to home, or maybe it was simply that he picked out the tape and popped it in without really thinking about it. I don't really know. I just know that no matter why he left it playing in the tape player, I am glad he did. And I know that Providence had a hand in it as well. God meant that message for me. He wanted me to hear it, and I am glad that I made the decision to let it play. I needed it, and it fed and strengthened my soul.

God is amazing. He always meets us right where we are, and no matter where we are going, He has already been there. Everything is under His control, no matter how out of control it may seem. I am reminded of a children's song that most people know, "He has the Whole World in His Hands." What a simple song, but what a great reminder to us all. Lately, I am especially fond of the verse that says, "He has the tiny little babies in His hands." It reminds me that when I hold Kayleah, my hands are not the only ones cradling her because God is holding us both. What a comforting thought! When that surgeon has Kayleah on that table, ultimately, he is not in control, the Great Physician is. How awesome that is to know that I don't have to trust only in the doctors this Earth gives us, even though I am sure her surgeon is a great doctor, but I am a child of the Great Physician, the One who created life in the first place and gives it and takes it away. The One who made Kayleah and knows her even down to the number of hairs on her head. How awesome is that?!?!?!?

I don't know how people go through things like this without knowing Jesus. If you don't know Him, my wish is that you would ask Him into your life. If you want to know more about how to do this, go here.... http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp Thanks for reading! May God bless you all in this New Year!