Tornadoes

photo taken by pal cary norton for garden and gun magazine. see rest of the photos here. the one of superman breaks my heart. 

where do you even begin? this past week has been insanely turned upside down and flipped inside out. my last 2 posts were auto-posted and i just haven't been able to bring myself to blog since. not because i've been devastated, lying on the floor, but just because i don't know what to say.

just please keep the state of alabama in your prayers. i feel like everyday brings new stories. we personally had family friends who live in pleasant grove (who were all thankfully unharmed) but since the two women were nurses spent hours upon hours in shock trying to pull neighbors from rubble and save who they could. my own dad's job one day was to drive around and try to recover bodies that may have been thrown miles from their homes. everyone has a story. everyone knows someone who was affected. it is heartbreaking. and after this past weekend volunteering, it seems daunting and impossible.

i have gotten so angry about little things. on thursday morning, someone on twitter said they were sending their positive thoughts to those in alabama affected, and i flew off the handle! it may have been righteous indignation; it may have been self-righteousness but i was so offended and annoyed that someone would say such an empty thing. i wanted to directly ask the person if they were having to dig their family out of a huddle of appliances and cinder blocks if they would appreciate someone's positive thoughts? these people need the presence of a mighty and merciful God! period. they need the peace that only comes through blood of Christ. so, thank you, but you can keep your thoughts.

the other night i was at dinner with a friend and i was telling her how i couldn't stop thinking about luke 13:1-5 and how as much as this all sucks, as terrible as everything is that has happened, our fate would be infinitely worse without the grace of Christ in our lives to save us from eternal torment. no matter what happens to us in this life, the most we have to lose is our physical body, but without Christ's sacrifice a thousand Wednesdays don't even begin to compare with what we would be faced with. and then lo and behold on sunday david spoke on the same passage (as well as job 1). i am so thankful for our church and pastor and the message he gave about tornadoes and the trustworthiness of God (you should definitely click on that and listen to it when you get a chance).

anyway, despite the distraction of the royal wedding and death of osama bin laden, things are still very real here in alabama. so please keep us in your prayers. lastly, check out these awesome t-shirts designed by florence graphic designer maggie crisler. you should all buy one.