Disaster Relief / Minot, ND

We hadn't gone far on our trip when we began to see the results of flooding.

We began seeing sandbags lining the Interstate to keep the water off the roadway.

Soon we began to run into detours.

The first disaster was ME!  

I couldn't help with the food preparation,

because I couldn't get too far away from the Port-A-Potties!

I began to wonder why I had come!

While I was resting and recovering from my bout of intestinal flu in my "room" in the back of the church sanctuary, my team-mates were busy preparing hundreds of meals to be delivered by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

After the food was delivered to displaced flood victims and the relief workers, the empty cambros were brought back to the disaster relief headquarters for sanitation...  ready to be filled for the next meal.

Over 18,000 meals were prepared by our team in one week! The cambros were amazing to keep the food piping hot until it was served.  Breakfast was fixed for the relief workers.  Lunch and dinner were prepared for distribution to shelters, relief workers, and delivered to some homes by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

       

The smell of coffee and the cooking of breakfast began shortly after 5:00 A.M.  For the first three days, I couldn't stand the smell of food.  Because of that, I was quite happy to be able to  spend a day in the laundry unit.    Relief workers were limited in the amount of clothing they could bring because of limited cargo space in travelling, so a laundry service was provided.  Bags of dirty clothes began appearing at the back of the "laundry camper" before 8:00 AM, and returned clean before the end of the day.  With close to 75 relief workers, it made quite a bit of laundry! 

Piles of dirt and sand could be seen throughout the flooded region.  Some of the piles were ground levees that had been made to try to keep the flood waters out.  Other piles were made from the removal of sand and dirt from the houses that were flooded.  This removal was called "Mudding Out" and was done by one of our disaster relief teams from Kentucky.  Often, the walls had to be torn down all the way to the two by fours in order to preserve the house structure.

It's hard to believe that a river that now looks so calm could be the cause of all this destruction.  Over 4100 homes were destroyed - almost one fourth of the total population of Minot, ND!   Cold weather comes soon to this town close to the Canadian border, and much more work is needed.  Please pray for the disaster relief workers and the people of Minot.

What a week! 

 It was a lot of work,

but so worth the JOY in being able to SERVE!

Linking with:Alphabe-Thursday,

Brag on God Fridays,

and

Spiritual Sundays!

Little Wonders

This Momma Wren has been fussing at me for weeks.

Then I found the reason why:

She had a nest in my aloe vera plant.

I found it when I was watering my plants,

and was afraid that I might run her off.

She didn't give up! 

I watched as she carried tiny bits and pieces of moss,

and found that she made a cave-like nest.

The babies hatched, and are now nearly ready to leave the nest.

Today was extremely hot, with a record setting temperature of 112*F.

While the momma wren was gone looking for food,

I took a look at her babies and grabbed this picture.

There were three of them nestled together.

I hope they survive the heat!

Watching these little wonders reminded me of a Bible verse:

"Look at the birds of the air,

for they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns;

yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.

ARE YOU NOT OF MORE VALUE THAN THEY?

Matthew 6:26

 



"And the LORD sent an Angel..."

"King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz

CRIED OUT IN PRAYER

to heaven about this.

AND THE LORD SENT AN ANGEL..."

2 Chronicles 32:20-21

This morning as I was reading from my

"One Year Bible"

I was reminded of a time when I cried out  

to the LORD for His help,

and I was sure He had sent an angel.

It was on an excursion to one of my favorite places

 -- Buffalo National River.

My husband is not one to back down from a challenge,

...and sometimes I wish he would!

(The picture above was taken not far from where

these events took place. 

I was too busy crying out to God for help

that the thought of taking a picture at the time of crisis

never entered my mind!)

We had crossed the river many times with his Jeep,

but this time we were in his 4wheel drive truck.

The truck started losing traction,

and we felt the current begin to sweep us downstream.

Like King Hezekiah and Isaiah,

I cried out to the LORD for help.

All I could think to pray was,

"LORD, send an angel quick!"

AND HE DID!

We felt the truck straighten up,

 begin to gain traction again,

and we arrived safely on the other side of the river.

It was as if a giant hand had us in its grip.

Hebrews 1:14 says,

"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? "

Do YOU have an "angel story" to share?



Why is there a Temple in Heaven?

Again this year as I have been reading though  "The One Year Bible", I came across the verses in 2 Chronicles 6 where Solomon offered his wonderful prayer to God after completing the building of the temple.  For many years I thought about the phrase that Solomon repeats over and over about God hearing and answering prayers that are directed towards the holy temple where God's presence dwells.  In my heart, I wondered if God still wanted us to face towards Jerusalem when we prayed.  

...And now for my confession - not meaning to sound pious or "holier than thou" or anything - but that is what I have done as I have got down on my hands and knees before God.  Having had bilateral knee surgeries, this was very challenging at times!   Because I couldn't get down on my knees, this  often required an alternate position of lying face down on the floor.

This week as I was re-reading these passages, again I pondered if those were just Solomon's words, or if this act of getting on my knees and facing Jerusalem as I prayed was something that pleased God or affected whether or not He answered my prayers.  In the same daily reading were verses from Psalm 18 about God sending help from His sanctuary or temple.  I thought about Solomon's temple that was destroyed, and the temple that was standing in Jesus' day also being destroyed.  What about churches that appear to be crumbling from the inside out even though the outer structure is still in tact?  If this is the case, how does God send help from His sanctuary?

Then it dawned on me - that's why there's a temple in heaven!   Habakkuk 2:20 says "The LORD is in His holy temple."  Revelation 11:19 says "In heaven the temple of God was opened and the Ark of His covenant could be seen inside the Temple."  And Psalm 18 puts it so beautifully as David cries out to God in verses 6, 9, & 16 - "In my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help.  He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry to Him reached His ears,   ...He opened the heavens and came down, ...He reached down from heaven and rescued me."

Thank God, He never leaves His sanctuary!  He is always available.  I don't have to get down on my knees.  I can just lift my hands and my voice to Him in His holy temple in heaven.  Churches and temples here on earth may crumble, but God is always reachable in His heavenly temple.  And as Psalm 18:19 says, He will lead us to places of safety and rescue us because He delights in us! 

I don't know about you, but this good news was my Joy4Today!


Linking with Spiritual Sundays, Brag on God Fridays, and Heart and Soul Pursuits!

Just an orange?

Do you have any idea what this is?

As I was cutting open an orange for breakfast, I found the design of a flower in the orange.  Isn't it amazing how recognizing a small thing like this can help your day start out good?  The God who put the flower in the middle of this orange knew that I would find it!  This is the same God who says:

"I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you

on the palms of my hands."

Isaiah 49:15,16

Gotta See It To Believe It!

Have you ever noticed the similarities between the personalities of Mary Magdalene and the disciple Thomas?  As I was looking at Scriptures to post for my blog of Rock4Today, I noticed they really were both doubters.  People who "Gotta See It To Believe It."

I guess that's me too often, also.

But they were both also seekers, and when confronted with the evidence and the TRUTH, it transformed their lives.

That's what I desire, a transformed life that shows Jesus lives in and through me.

This song is my prayer:

LET ME REDISCOVER YOU

Thanks to Charlotte and Ginger for letting me link

 with their Spiritual Sundays,

  and Laura of Brag on God Fridays.

Keepers!



As I mentioned in Rock4Today,

 I know God is our Keeper,

but we are also "keepers" of each other!

Cain seems to have realized that when he asked the Lord,

"Am I my brother's keeper?"

When our youngest child was born,

the first words I remember my doctor saying were,

"She's a keeper!"

I can truly say that about each of my children.

They are keepers!

I can also say this for my husband.

He is definitely a keeper!

God gave me a gift when he gave me Gary.

Although our lives are so full,

he often takes time to make sure I feel "kept".

He seems to sense when I need a bit of peace,

like taking me out on the lake in the quiet of the evening,

or for an excursion into our beautiful Ozark country.

After saying this, I am embarrassed to admit that

sometimes I tend to think of "keeping" as negative.

For example,

I often don't see how much "keeping" my husband does for me,

and instead, I focus on how much "keeping" he takes!

It's at those times I have to remind myself

of my wise Aunt Mae's words:

"That's the price you pay for having a man!"

Yes, Aunt Mae, he's a good man,

and certainly worth keeping!

Maybe Aunt Mae's words aren't Scriptural advice,

but they are certainly worth paying attention to!

Check out my Rock4Today blog which gives verses

from the Holy Bible that show

God as "My Keeper."

I am so glad that He never gets tired of being "My Keeper!"

For more interesting blogs check out these links:

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursdays

Charlotte and Ginger's Spiritual Sundays,

and

Laura's Brag on God Fridays!