Tornadoes

I hope this finds everyone doing well. We have been having some rain. And too, I have found a new way to waste my time. I have been watching too many tornado videos online. Have you seen the one of the guy on the interstate that is like right there at a tornado? I mean he could have probably reached out & touched the thing?? It was the one in Rochelle, IL last week.

TOO MUCH for me. I am confident when I say, if my Mama Boyce were here today, in the times of youtube tornado videos, well, let’s just say she probably would not let me watch them. She was terrified of tornadoes. She & my family were in a tornado one time & to say they lost everything is an understatement. We stayed with my grandparents, during the day while Mama & Daddy were at work. Also, we were there after we got off the school bus. And every moment in between, if we wished. We lived right beside them. Since that awful event, every time it thundered, we were at the storm house. Peanut butter & crackers & a water jar in hand, we would make the walk to the edge of the yard to the storm house. My Papa Clyde would go in ahead of us & scare out any mice, rats, snakes, lizards, or whatever had set up shop since our last visit. Spiders & cobwebs were expected. However, since we were not a bunch of barbarians, my Papa Clyde would run out all of the before mentioned like it was his job. If for some reason we were not at their house, she was on the phone calling. Wanting to know when we were going to be at the storm house. This was a serious deal with her & everybody had just better go along with it. She was a worrier. She loved all of us & worried we would not make it to safety in time. However, we don’t have to live in a land of fear & what if’s.

Here are some ways to take worries out of our lives:

Give them to the Lord. Straight out of the shoot, let the Lord handle everything. I Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Pray. We should not do anything without talking to the Lord about it. All day long. All night long. The Lord never gets tired of hearing from you. I Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing,
Forget about it. Time thinking about the negative, robs us of time to enjoy the good things in life. I can’t help but sing the Frozen song in my head when I think of this one. Just “Let It Go”. Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Remember we cannot control all situations. The devil is on his game looking for whoever he can to cause trouble with. Don’t play the blame game & think you could have done something differently to deter a situation. Sometimes you just can’t. I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Be thankful. Who has time to worry if you are using that time wisely? We should be thanking the Lord for the good things in our lives, on a regular basis. There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS something to be thankful for.Psalms 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Trust the Lord. Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

The sun is finally poking it’s head out, this afternoon. I am very glad to see it. Speaking of someone poking their head out, last weekend Mr. Sweetie Pants came to spend the night. His dad picked him up on Saturday. He went non-stop the whole time he was at the house. When asked by his grandfather to please quit pulling the cords on the blinds on the living room window, he reassuredly replied,

“It’s ok Pap. I know what I’m doing.” Well, he is 3 years old you know.

Much of the time he was there was spent with him reassuring us he knew how to do things, him actually going ahead with what he was doing, & then blaming Miss Neenee with it all. And ya’ll after he left I was one worn out Grand! The next day, just in time for lunch, here he comes back. He runs back to the bedroom where I am. He pokes his head around the corner of the door & says,

“Grand, I’m back.”

I would not trade these days for nothing. But for now I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

George Strait on my Pandora. It’s the little things.

photo credits: http://www.gitacoaching.blogspot.com, http://www.lovethispic.com

I am a “Why” person. I like to know “Why” things happen. Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. However, I have learned that sometimes it’s not necessary to know why, but to know how. It’s no secret there was a tornado in Oklahoma City this past week. Some people like to start with the why’s when tragedies happen. “Why did God let this happen?” “Why did this happen to innocent people?” “If God loves us, why did he not keep those people safe?” These are all very good questions, but maybe the answers are outside the box. Some people might get angry at tragedies & ask, “Where was God?” I will tell you where God was. He was in heaven ready to help. The Bible tells us in Psalms 46: 1 He is a “very present help in time of trouble”. All through the Bible, God was there, when people were experiencing a hardship or problem. God was not with these folks to answer their whys. He was there to show them how He loves & cares for them all through hard times.
God was there with Joseph. Early in his life, it would seem that Joseph had problems. His brothers were jealous of him, so they sold him as a slave. They deceived their father Jacob into thinking Joseph was dead. Later in life when his brothers needed him, Joseph responded with kindness. He told them how God was working in his life in a special way. (Gen. 50: 20)
God was there with Moses. When he was placed into the water by his mother to escape being killed, God was there. Through divine providence, Moses ended up being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Later, God chose him as His mouthpiece. (Ex odus 4: 15)
God was there for Jesus. Even though Jesus was despised and rejected by many. (Isaiah 53:3) God was with Him. When He hung on the cross, He was carrying out the plan of God. Jesus was doing the will of the Father. (Luke 2:42; John 6:38)
God was there for the apostle Paul. Paul suffered for the gospel of Christ. Among those problems were being shipwrecked, beaten, and in perils. (II Corinthians 11:23-28). He also prayed that God would remove his thorn in the flesh. (II Corinthians 12:7) Yet through it all God was with Paul. Paul declared, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:10). This strength was not his own. In prison, he stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:13)
The Bible makes the simple point that God does not prevent trouble from happening. He is there in the midst of our troubles. A small child can fall with a parent close by, however, the parent is there to help and pick up the child. God works in the same way. He will be there for us when trouble comes. The Christian has the assurance that, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (I John 5:14) The Bible promises us that, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers.” (I Peter 3:12) God has promised to be with His people (Heb 13:6) When a person is a Christian, trouble may come (II Timothy 3:12), but God is there.
I am so glad you have come by to visit with me today. It just makes my heart happy when you stop by! I have been so busy here lately with kids, Miss Neenee’s softball & school coming to an end. I may have to change my blog to I should be washing dishes because they are about to take over my kitchen! I do have to go now, because I should be washing clothes.
Parts of this article was taken from “The Messenger” from the church of Christ at Marion, IL with Brother Bill Brandstatter