Tornadoes and Hail

Last night was a devastating night in much of the south, including the Tri-Cities. According to a news report, there were 15 killed in the Tri-Cities. They said we had tornadoes and hail here. I did not see or hear a tornado, but I did see the hail! My driveway was covered with hail the size of golf balls, and some even as big as baseballs. The only damage we sustained was to my poor car. The grill right below the front windshield was busted in several places, the roof has dents all over it, and both doors are dented.





I don't know if you can see the dents on the roof. The lighting isn't good as it is very overcast this morning.

We lost power several times, but for only a minute or so each time. Some of my friends are still without power this morning. Taking Sam to school, I saw much devastation in Bristol. Everywhere was covered with leaves, and there were tree limbs and whole trees down in several places. There were a few traffic lights out. The strangest thing I saw was a trampoline wrapped around a light pole. That was something else!

I didn't work yesterday, but I heard from co-workers that the skylights at Walmart were broken by the storm, which let the hail and rain in the store. I went by there this morning after I dropped Sam off at school to see how bad it was, but the store was closed. That let me know that it must be pretty bad!! I'm scheduled to work 5-9:30 tonight. I wonder if the store will be open by then. I'm so not looking forward to going in tonight!

I hope that all of my friends and family who live in areas affected by these horrible storms are all safe and sound.

Bird's Nest

I have noticed a bird flying out from our eaves whenever we go on the front porch, and I saw some twigs up there. Yesterday, Sam took a chair out there so he could reach it because he wanted to find out if there were any eggs in the nest. Well, the nest turned out to be more elaborate than I had imagined, and there were four bright blue eggs in it. I took a picture and told Sam to put the nest back where he got it. He said that that the bird wouldn't come back to it since a human had messed with it, so the eggs will just die anyway. That made me very sad, but I am happy to announce that the bird DID come back to the nest last night. Pretty soon, I'm sure we will hear the cheeping of little baby birds on our front porch.

Conscience

"If you can live happily with unconfessed sin, if you can live and flourish while you've not any real communion with God, then you have the infallible proof that you've never been born again." - Alan Cairns

While Christians don't ever reach sinless perfection, we should not be able to habitually sin without feeling the conviction of the Lord. I see people around me who claim to be born again, yet they can apparently sin over and over without any pangs of guilt or conscience. Of course, we cannot tell how others feel, and they may very well be miserable inside. But, if they are really able to be happy while in a state of sin, they have good reason to doubt their salvation. It is my desire that all my friends and family have a real relationship with God and make certain of their eternal destination.

My Feelings About My Job

I Surrender All

I can remember singing "I Surrender All" as the invitational hymn at the end of many church services when I was young. It was always one of my favorites. As I got older, I started paying more attention to the words of the song. They were very convicting. Many times, I would just hum the song because I couldn't honestly sing the words. I knew that although I freely surrendered most, there was usually one little part of my life that I wouldn't give up. Lately, I have become in awe again of God's great love toward us. He gave us His all; how can we not give Him our all? I have recently given everything back to Him, after holding onto something which I considered too dear to let go for over four years. I feel such a sense of freedom now. I am now free to do what God wants me to do, and I am free to receive His blessings in my life. I hope you will be blessed by this song and that you can honestly sing the words.

Easter Sunday, part 3

Today just kept getting better and better. The ironic thing is I was having a really bad day. I didn't want to go to church this morning or tonight, but I'm so glad I went to both services! I mentioned in my previous post about the wonderful service this morning, but I failed to mention that the auditorium was packed. I heard tonight that there were over 430 there this morning! Praise God!

Tonight, the sign team did a wonderful job. I wish I had gotten pictures of them, but I forgot I had my camera with me. I did remember my camera when the youth group did their skit, though. Below are pictures of that and one picture of the youth group as they sang "Glorious Day" at the end of the service.

Easter Sunday, part 2

Wow! What a wonderful Easter service at my church! Jesus was magnified, and the Gospel was preached. The King's Kids Choir sang and blessed us all. I love it when the children get up and sing praises to God! Then, the adult choir presented the Easter cantata "In The Presence Of Jehovah". The songs were so powerful and moving, I was fighting back tears at the end of it. Our pastor shared the Gospel and offered the opportunity for anyone present who was not a Christian to come to Jesus today and accept Him as Savior. I thank God for my church!