A Lot Happens in 30 Days

The first picture is a shot of our backyard before the hurricane. The other two are after Hurricane Ike hit. Now most of the tree debris is gone. The tree stumps are not, but we hope to get a stump grinder out to take care of that. Stump grinders are in abundance now and we get daily fliers, business cards and visits from various workers asking to do the job.

The only thing we really need back now is our cable, internet and telephone service. We are pretty much back to normal. Which is a lot more than I can say for many families here in Baytown hit much harder by the hurricane. The storm surge ripped through many homes not far from our house. The houses were flooded with water and sewage making all that touched the flood waters worthless. Piles of furniture, appliances and personal belongings sit on the sides of streets as a reminder of the devastation a hurricane can do.

We lost 3 trees in this storm and our house escaped with minimal damages. We were blessed.

Please keep all the others in your prayers that are having to deal with their greater losses and wondering where they will be in another month.

A lot can happen in just one month.

Fret Not

If you watch CNN or the Weather Channel, you have seen and heard about some fretful matters in our world. A nurse in the Army Reserve talked to me about coming back from Iraq last March and of her upcoming deployment in January. After her four-month long tours, she returns to Baytown and her job at Methodist Hospital. Life back to normal, she didn’t appear to fret over her upcoming return to Iraq. We casually sat at a dining table with a third friend, laughing and talking. I was left to wonder why she wasn’t hiding in her house wringing her hands in the dark? When she told me that her hospital unit had been under attack five times, I asked if she was scared. She readily replied, “yes”. Even the calm soldier frets under the dangers of war in Iraq.

Hurricanes spin their way through warm waters blowing up a storm and disrupting life as it slides across land in its path. Threaten by Gustav; we watched the weather, prayed that Gustav would go away from us and spare poor New Orleans. Our prayers were answered and without even so much as a drop of rain, Gustav turned away. Then, as it made landfall to the east, we wondered how New Orleans could withstand another hit three years after Katrina devastated people’s homes and left others homeless. Our prayers again were heard as the storm slowed coming on land, lessening its hit to Louisiana. Thousands of evacuees exhaled in relief and journeyed back home, many with prayers of thanksgiving on their lips.
Wars and storms will leave us fretting if we allow it. We don’t need to fret if we believe God’s promises.

Psalm 37: 1 says:

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die.

Also, Matthew 24:6 tells us,
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.

Jesus calmed a storm when he …rebuked the wind and raging waters. (Matthew 24:6) Just as the disciples were afraid of drowning even with their Savior nearby, we also fret even though the Father is still nearby. Jesus asked the disciples, “Where is your faith?” Could Jesus be asking the same of us today when we worry and fret over storms out of our control?

When storms persist and wars continue, have faith. He won’t tell you to “buck up” or “get tough.” He’s been where you are. He knows how you feel. The Father is with us to still the storm and calm the soldier. Who’s to say he won’t do the same for you?
(Lucado, Max. Traveling Light, (W. Publishing Group: Dallas, TX, 2001) 101.

Department Store Hell

Have you ever shopped in what I call a "low end discount department store?" What I mean is one that is known for its low prices on name brand items. Sure, you can save a buck, but you have to wade through a lot of crap first. Those clothes may not be this season or even last season, but by golly, they are Name Brand!

Name brands mean nothing to me. I didn't go in that store to find a name brand top to wear under my much too revealing dress. Just about the only name brands I know are Sag Harbor and Bobbie Brooks; one of which is now sold in Wal-Mart. There were too many choices like type, colors, sizes, fabric, solids, floral or patterned, and the clearance items appeared to be mixed in with the regular priced items. It really resembled a garage sale.

Some clothes had fallen off the hangers and were flung across the hanging rack making it an annoyance for anyone moving hangers to see other clothing items. I can only assume that when the item of clothing fell off the hanger, a customer decided they were doing the store a favor by throwing it on top of the rack of clothes, instead of leaving it on the dirty floor. Furthermore, the whole bending, stooping, picking up, and flinging of the garment must have worn said costumer out so much because they didn't even put it back on the hanger. I mean...really. How hard can it be to hang it back on a hanger??

The thing that really disturbs me about walking through a "bargain basement" type of department store, is the people who shop there show no respect for the store, the merchandise or even themselves enough to handle the items with care. The shoe department looks like a war zone of dead shoes strewed up and down the isles and laid out on the shelves minus a mate. I just don't have the patience it would take to find a matching pair of shoes in all of that clutter.

After my dissatisfying trip to the fitting room, I emerged from the hot musty smelling dressing room imagining that this must be what Hell is like. Hot skanky smelling dressing rooms, ill-fitting clothes, messy floors and things of all sorts thrown around like confetti. I felt sleazy as I left the store.

It is amazing to me that places like that stay in business and that people continue to give in to their Siren cries of discounts. What was I thinking when I walked into that "Den of Disarray?" Yet, I must confess, this wasn't the first time I'd ever ventured into such a department store. Oh no, I am a shamed to admit I have attempted to find clothing there before and failed. So, why did I think it would be any different this time?

At least I didn't leave my money with those money changers. Like Satan, I must put that store behind me. I must pray never to be lured through its dank doors again. For now, I have escaped the disorganized, dirty, drab, dismal, Department Store Hell.