More mother nature...flooding

As if the tornadoes and severe weather were not enough, the next big thing around the Mid-South area is FLOODING. As storms have continued to hit up north, that brings rain and flooding along the Mississippi River (which runs super close to my house). Therefore, the Mississippi River is expected to be the highest it has been in something like 500 years. We aren't in danger yet, BUT there is a chance we will have to evacuate this weekend.

Along those same lines...
Below are images from Missouri...both of these are from parts of my territory.
Keep these people in your prayers too...

Doniphan, MO

Right outside of Poplar Bluff, MO

Tornadoes...Alabama on my mind

My heart breaks for all of those effected by the storms this past week. Obviously, Alabama wasn't the only state hit...but it did get the worse beating by far. Words can't describe what's happened. I grew up in Walker County, Alabama...which was in the middle of all the chaos. Look at the map of Alabama above (Walker County is has the #31 in red, with Jefferson County-Birmingham to the bottom right with #63, Tuscaloosa to the left side of that with #39, Cullman to the top right with #50, Phil Campbell in Franklin County #13 top left, Athens in Limestone County at the top of the state)
I have so many ties to these areas...Tuscaloosa, where the U of Alabama is. I grew up going to games there, camps there, it's where my Dad was in the VA before he died. Hackelburg got wiped away (I contacted an old basketball teammate who grew up in this 1 blinking light town...her family was safe, but the town is completely gone). Cullman is an hour from where I grew up, Phil Campbell an hour from home, Arab is a little over an hour from home, Athens where one of my highschool friends live, the Birmingham area (Pleasant Grove and Pratt City) is less than an hour away, Ringold Georgia is outside Chattanooga where I went to college, I have a college friend from Rome Georgia where another one hit, and the list goes on and on.

Above is a map of all the severe weather...crazy day by far.

One image of the Tuscaloosa tornado

I believe this is Pratt City, Alabama

Image from Cullman, Alabama

more destruction

**PLEASE keep these people and families in your prayers...people have lost lives, homes, property, businesses, jobs, and so much more.

Who decides the value of LIFE?

We were outside this evening with the kids, when our neighbor came home. He and his wife are in their late 20's...he has served our country in the military, she is in residency to become a specialty doctor. Somehow, he starts talking about government...which if you've read anything on here, I love getting into those conversations. I like figuring out the way people think and why. So, our neighbor makes the comment, "You would think conservatives would like the idea of the "death panels" so they could figure out where to spend and save money." I paraphrased a little bit, but that was the gist of it. He didn't like the label 'death panels'...but in a sense, that is exactly what it could be in certain circumstances.
As I told him, the government doesn't do anything well...so why would you want them to decide whose life is more valuable. Truly think about that...that is a scary thought. I think back to when my father was dying of dementia, and we had to make some tough choices. I remember the phone calls regarding the DNR (do not resuscitate) and whether we wanted to pursue a feeding tube...or, let him die a natural death (which we chose to do). Here's the deal...my family and I realized that dementia has no cure and we could not turn back the clock. BUT, my family made that decision...NOT THE GOVERNMENT.
It is such a scary thought to see how the government chooses whose life is important...we already see how they value life in the unborn. You should know how I feel about that too. Our life is God-given...it is valuable. Please don't fall into the illogical thinking as I feel like my neighbor is toying with. One day we will be old, or fragile...and I don't want the government choosing if they think I am worth it.

God's AMAZING work...

God is amazing...as if we don't know that, but we often don't think about how HE truly knows our needs, even before we know we have a need. I hope that makes sense, but if not you will see what I mean by the end of this. So, the following is a true story that took place this week...(before I get into this, this is not to pat me on the back in any way what-so-ever...but this is completely meant to glorify our Creator God.) So, I have a friend who is in need...through a series of events, this family has a financial need. God put the thoughts of giving to this family on my heart and mind. My husband agreed and actually named the exact amount of money I was already thinking about...which those exact thoughts had to be God's plan too from the very beginning! Anyway, I sent the money out earlier in the week...only to receive a phone call later this afternoon.

It took a little while to get into the reason for this person's phone call, but it was for a "thank you & what were you thinking" kind of a comment. I explained this..."Our money is God's money. What good does it do us to have it in the bank when I know of Christian brothers and sisters in Christ who truly need it at this very moment." I meant that from the very bottom of my heart. Anything that God has allowed my family to have has all came from Him anyway. God gave my husband and I talents and skills, which have allowed us to make money over the years. All of my possessions belong to God...so in knowing that, we passed God's money along to one of His followers/believers.

Here's where the coolest part comes in...this very same person went in their garage today, only to see fluid on the floor (which had come from their vehicle). Upon checking things out, realized this wasn't a small thing and had to get it checked out by a mechanic. The price from the mechanic...the exact same amount we sent to them! Now if that doesn't rock your world, I don't know what will. God knows our needs before we even know that we have them...God is amazing and deserves our very best. Anything we have is because of Him!

France...Muslim head covering

Sorry for the hiatus, but I'm back...have you heard about France's decision/new law that states the face can not be covered up in public? Obviously, this is a law geared toward extreme Muslims who still cover their face and only show their eyes. Not all Islamic women do this, but some do. I saw part of the story on television tonight, and of course some of the Islamic community is up in arms...
why are they upset?...because of the lack of religious freedom.

Here's the crazy part for me...they (the Muslim community) gets bent out of shape here in the US when people protest the construction of their Mosque (and we do have religious freedom here in the US, so I understand) However, I find it ironic that the Muslim faith complains of religious issues when they don't allow other religions in the majority of Arabic countries. You aren't allowed to have Bibles in much of the Middle East...if you convert to Christianity, you can be killed or your family will disown you. This sounds crazy to us here in America...but there is ZERO tolerance in much of the Middle East where Islam is the mandated religion.

What I've come to realize is this...Christians and the US are considered to be non-tolerant to some, but if these groups would just look in the mirror...maybe they are the ones who aren't tolerant and want things their way too!

JOKE

For the record...the last statement on the previous 'April Fool's Day' blog was a joke.
No, I'm not really pregnant! I just figured it was fitting considering the topic of discussion.

April Fool's

Do you like the pranks of all things April Fool's? I like them, I just figure everybody knows it is April Fool's Day so everyone is on high alert...HOWEVER, I was able to be apart of a few good ones in round about ways.

1. WORK- I attended a "Get Motivated" conference earlier in the week...amazing speakers like Lou Holts, Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani, Terry Bradshaw, Laura Bush, General Colin Powell, and more. 5 of us from work went, 4 of us took notes. So, the guy who didn't take notes got a voicemail (under the impression that this voicemail went to all 5 of us) telling him to fax his notes in...which let me make it clear that he didn't take any. He's pretty new...so I can only imagine him freaking out, writing down notes he didn't take, and actually faxing them in.

2.TELEPHONE-My cousin sent me a text message...upon opening it the message said "Deleting Contacts" and showed movement...pretty believable. Even though I doubted it, I'm not gonna lie...I thought, if this is real then I am screwed. Luckily it wasn't, so I sent it out to my peeps and could only imagine the anxiety of this phone virus!

3.THE BEST OF ALL-THE EX...
part 1...while talking with my brother in law yesterday morning, we thought about getting our spouses with a prank regarding exes. The original plan was that he was going to change my name in his phone to his ex-girlfriend...therefore, when I started texting him, his wife (my sister-in-law) would see it and get ticked off. He didn't have the heart to do it, but I didn't know that and proceeded with the plan anyway.

part 2...when the above happened and they called to tell me it didn't actually work because he chickened out, we thought of ways we could get my husband. Somehow, my brother in law knew of a way to send text messages (by using the computer) from an anonymous phone number. So, he sent a message to my husband "I really need to talk to you about something -Marsha". He also did this to one of his best friends...and of course signed the text message with his ex named Rachel.

Funny enough...his friend did start texting back and freaking out...my husband, never texted back. We were caught when my husband came home late lastnight after a track meet...and I was still on the phone with my brother in law...he didn't know how we did it, but you could see the relief on his face when he realized it was a prank.

Oh, but it didn't stop there...we used the same prank on my husband's uncle. Things progressed and his wife started texting back...then she called the phone number. We all started laughing via the telephone...finally, my brother in law called the uncle and aunt to let them know what was going on...PRICELESS. They were cracking up and are luckily good sports!

*Too bad I couldn't use the "I'm pregnant" joke from years past...because I really am*