“Heat, Ma’am!
It was so dreadful here that I found nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones!”
–Sydney Smith, Lady Hollands Memoirs
Tag: tribulation
Weekly Photo Challeng: Hot
It is hot here.
It’s been at or over 100 degrees for weeks.
(That’s right around 40 C degrees.)
This is my grass, which crunches when we walk on it:
These are the two out of three hugs oaks that have died in my neighbor’s field:
That is what comes from being hot. Sighs.
HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR A TORNADO
Know Where to Go
Have a safe place. If you have a basement, that’s the place. Go to the side or corner where the tornado is COMING FROM. (If a tornado lifts the house a bit and then drops it a bit further away, you will not be under it, supposedly. Another somewhat safe place is supposed to be inside any super-reinforced structure, such as a stairway closet, hallway, or shower stall.
Stock the Safe Place
- One fresh gallon of water for each person.
- High energy snacks.
- Up-to-date medications, or copies of prescriptions.
- Flashlights with fresh batteries. Candles and matches in watertight containers.
- Protective headgear for each person. Hail happens during tornados; bricks fall. A bike helmet is better than nothing. A thick mattress is nice, too.
- A radio that works by battery or crank. Fresh batteries.
- Light jackets for everyone. You don’t want to be too hot, but it will probably rain.
- Diapers, wipes, and formula if you have a baby. Renew this as baby grows: keep it current.
- Spare set of car keys.
Have a Plan
- Know where you will meet, if separated. (Choose several places in case one blows away.)
- Know whom you will call (someone outside your area) for an info base.
- Make rules for tornado watches. (Everyone put on sturdiest shoes and jeans. Everyone put one keepsake in the basement. Move cars under hail shelter. Etc.)
- Make rules for tornado warnings. (Everyone stays indoors. Everyone be aware [no headphones on, etc.] Everyone make sure nothing obstructs path to basement, etc.)
- Make rules for take cover. (Go directly to basement, put on your helmet, and get under the mattress, now. Do not stop for anything.)
- Drill your take cover plan, exactly like a fire drill. Practice helps! Also, should you be injured or incapacitated in any way, the children may still know what to do.
- If you can, have a bed or two in your basement and put the children to sleep down there, with shoes on, when the nights are dangerous. This saves endless trouble and worry. If you can add a few toys, they can play down there, too, when the days are dangerous. If you have no toilet in the basement, you may want to add a small pot, too.
Okay, there you have some ideas to get you started.
My siblings and I slept in the basement many nights, to the sound of the radio broadcasting the cities and counties in the path of some tornado. Some nights I remember being lifted down those stairs, still half-asleep. Some mornings I awoke to the sounds of my parents readying for another day, upstairs.
The basement was the one my parents built immediately after that infamous tornado in Ruskin Heights.
RUN! OH, RUN!
I remember my mother’s voice that evening: It warbled.
And though I was only six years old, I knew the warble came from utter terror. We were running as fast as a heavily pregnant woman with three children ages 2-6 could run. She was watching the sky more than the path to the gate, carrying my sister, holding my brother’s hand, and sort of warbling to me, “Oh, run, hurry, RUN!”
I dug my toes into my flip-flops and ran.
I knew it was a tornado up there, whatever a tornado was. I looked up, too, and stumbled.
Mom scolded me sharply. “Don’t look up! Don’t look up! Don’t look up!” She seldom scolded sharply. It hurt my feelings but I knew it was no time for hurt feelings. Her words were like a mantra, a warbled charm against bad omens . . . don’t look up, don’t look up . . .
But, when I had looked up I was puzzled. It looked just like clouds.
Then I had seen a door. And when, disobeying, I looked up again, I saw a tricycle.
We were headed to our neighbor’s house. My mom screamed for them to let us in. We cowered under their huge oaken table, in the dark, with our mother’s arms encircling us. I heard my mom praying, so I prayed too. We cried and pleaded with God to protect us. I did not know what to be scared about, but my mom’s fear was plenty for us both.
The neighbor calmly stood on his front porch and watched the sky. His wife wrung her hands and paced through the house. I remember her shoes and feeling sort of dumb lying on the floor under her table while she walked by. I thought of a Little Rascals episode in which the children hid under furniture.
Then it was over. We went home. My mom talked for days about the foolishness of standing on the front porch to watch a tornado go by, summoning new terror at each telling.
It was over, yes, for us, but for the victims it still goes on. The forty-four dead would be burried. The over 500 injured would tell their stories.
And the RUIN still speaks.
To read a beautiful memorial written for one of the victims, read here.
Well, Which Disaster Do You Want First?
I think I’m back, but my heart hardly knows where to break first . . . .
Disaster #1 – Beloved minister and rescuer of teenage drug captives, David Wilkerson, has died in a car wreck. His wife, Gwen, was with him in the car and is in critical condition. He wrote The Cross and the Switchblade about his early life in New York and how it overlapped the life of Nicky Cruz. After beginning his ministry in Texas, he opened a church in an old theater in New York, where he preached and ministered to whomever dropped in, whether tramp or New York businessman. He was a real modern-day prophet and author of many books, and faithfully published and sent free newsletters (of the postage type) to all who desired to receive them. Listening to his preaching was the first occasion of awakening to the Lord’s call for one of my sons.
Disaster #2 -A beyond-enormous tornado ripped through the Deep South, leaving around 300 dead, at last count.
Disaster #3 -One of the sweetest ladies I know in the world lost her favorite sister to that storm–the sister who stood by her when her son was murdered–gone, along with the sister’s husband.
Disaster #4 – Someone desecrated a memorial to the unborn at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. It was the usual collection of crosses depicting the enormity of the death sentence on the children of our country: 350 white crosses to commemorate the 53 million dead. But the crosses were found turned upside down (a common satanic ritual symbol), spattered with blood-colored paint, and bloody-looking infant footprints appeared on the site. Also in red, on the sidewalk was the phrase, “pro-choice”.
I’m glad to be back with fairly good service available, but cannot process what a sad day it is, out there. It makes our storm seem paltry by comparison (and I KNOW, it’s not a competition and I am glad we do not measure up.)
But tomorrow, Lord willing (I think we need to start saying that more), I will try to bring you a sweet and humorous story from our storm experience.
See ya’.
Huge OOPS!
Oh, did we ever have the storms, yesterday! I JUST NOW am able to get on the Internet and it is intermittent, so will keep this short.
Nothing to say except that is why I am gone and I will do better soon.
Our own property is fine and we are fine, but the whole state has been renamed “State of Emergency”, for a while.
Hope the powers that be will excuse if I do not post-a-day every day.
Pray for us. Supposed to get more tonight. 🙂
Dust to Dust?
- DUST STORM 1968 (Photo credit: expom2uk)
Let’s lengthen yesterday’s list of sins against us:
rape,
lying,
breaking and entering,
laying-off.
Have I hit you yet?
What to do! Outside of calling the police, or suing, which can be legitimate actions, how do we finally get some peace about it?
Forgiveness.
And forgiveness is often the one thing we least understand and least want.
Like bad-tasting medicine.
I know.
Just like yesterday, the first reason is God.
1. God. God requires us to forgive. That is the best reason because when we are wounded and aching on the inside, we don’t understand much—but we don’t even have to think. We just know what He requires and prepare to go there.
He also promises to reward forgiveness with forgiveness, which should highly motivate the honest ones among us.
And like any good father, He teaches by example. He shows us how to do forgiveness, in the most radical way.
2. Man. Man wants and needs forgiveness. Who among us is innocent?
To keep God’s forgiveness, we must be forgiving. Since He has shown us His awesome power to forgive, how can we do less than try to imitate Him? That is His thinking.
Forgiveness also frees us to be able to hear God. Before we forgive, all we can hear from Him is how we ought to forgive. Once we are over that hurdle, He can show us more.
Lack of forgiveness binds us to the sinner we refuse to forgive. This is so scary. What it means is that when we refuse to forgive his sin against us, when we hug it up to ourselves and get it out and look at it every day, we start BEING like that sin.
Look at it this way: With a physical wound, if we treat it correctly, we can greatly minimize the scarring. But if we refuse to remove the dirt, refuse to medicate it, refuse a bandage, and continue picking at it, we make it worse. Bigger. Deeper. Uglier. Longer-lasting. More painful.
With a spiritual wound, we can even pass it down to our children…
3. Satan. Of course, he hates forgiveness, a real no-brainer, right?
The fun thing about this is when we obey God about forgiving, we SHUT THE DOOR TO HIS ENEMY. Oh, how I love this!
We all need to remember, though: when we disobey about forgiving, the reverse is also true.
Well, who is ready to know what on earth forgiveness really is?
Stop by tomorrow and grab Part 3. I promise you, it is WONDERFUL NEWS!
Home's Cool! 