I am super duper excited for Christmas next week! But something that is honestly different this year than in all the past years is that I have truly been preparing my heart to worship our King. I talked about this with my Sunday School girls a few weeks ago. The wise men had prepared and planned for years and years before that glorious star shone in the heavens. They knew exactly Who that star was for and exactly what they were going to take to Him and how they would worship Him. The Bible says that their joy and excitement was almost too much to contain when they saw the star appear again after arriving in Jerusalem and asking Herod where they could find the new King. Their journey was long, but the King they were going to see was worth it! I am so thankful that Christmas is on a Sunday this year. It gives me an even better chance to worship my King, that same King the wise men worshipped 2000 years ago. I will be able to worship Him with my family and my church family. My heart and mind are prepared to bring Him praise and worship.
Merry Christmas, everyone! God is good!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Adios, Facebook!
While I have loved keeping in touch with friends and family on Facebook, the time has come for me to say good riddance. I have loved being able to read other people's statuses, quotes, verses, daily knowledge, etc, but what I saw today infuriated me to the core of who I am. It made me sad because I know that it was absolutely contrary to what God would want.
Let me explain....
After I finished up my transcription work earlier, I clicked over to Facebook. One of my friends had posted a commented on a picture that was HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE!!!!!! It was the worst image I have ever seen in my life. It was not an ad on the side of the page, but an actual picture that someone posted to get a rise out of people and start a battle. There were over 26,000 comments for the picture by the time I saw it, so that means it had been on there for some time.
I just cannot tolerate this in my house. What if my little girls had been beside me and looked at that??? No way. Not in my house.
I know what some people are going to say...."But FB can be used for so much good." or "I am able to pass along prayer requests so people will pray for whatever is going on." I answer "true" to both of those. But the thing is is that FB was created by someone who is not a Christian and is not regulated by Christians. If I have a prayer request, I am going to go about it the old fashioned way. I'm going to talk to people face to face or give them a call on the ole telephone.
This is not by any means written to try to convince anyone else that they should not be on FB any longer. But the convictions of the Holy Spirit have led me to the deactivation. He made it fully aware to me that it was time to say Adios!
Let me explain....
After I finished up my transcription work earlier, I clicked over to Facebook. One of my friends had posted a commented on a picture that was HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE!!!!!! It was the worst image I have ever seen in my life. It was not an ad on the side of the page, but an actual picture that someone posted to get a rise out of people and start a battle. There were over 26,000 comments for the picture by the time I saw it, so that means it had been on there for some time.
I just cannot tolerate this in my house. What if my little girls had been beside me and looked at that??? No way. Not in my house.
I know what some people are going to say...."But FB can be used for so much good." or "I am able to pass along prayer requests so people will pray for whatever is going on." I answer "true" to both of those. But the thing is is that FB was created by someone who is not a Christian and is not regulated by Christians. If I have a prayer request, I am going to go about it the old fashioned way. I'm going to talk to people face to face or give them a call on the ole telephone.
This is not by any means written to try to convince anyone else that they should not be on FB any longer. But the convictions of the Holy Spirit have led me to the deactivation. He made it fully aware to me that it was time to say Adios!
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." James 4:17
Sunday, October 2, 2011
This was in a BAPTIST church...
This is an excerpt from a book by Bro. G.E. Jones....
"In 1930 I was holding a meeting in a Baptist church at Birdtown, AR. One Monday morning the services began at 10:30. I only spoke about 30 minutes. But the Spirit of God came on us in a mighty way. For about two hours we wept, we shouted, we laughed for joy, we walked the floor and shook hands with each other. One wave of joy would sweep the congregation for 15 or 20 minutes. Then everything would get as quiet as death. Then another wave of joy would come over us an for about 15 or 20 minutes we would again shout, and laugh, and weep for joy, and shake hands. Then everything would be quiet again for 5 or 10 minutes. Then again a wave of joy would sweep the house and we would rejoice as before. It went on and on in this way for about two hours. I guess I must have shouted a dozen times that day, and so did others. A Negro woman nearby came out in the yard to draw water. The power of the Spirit rested on her and she shouted all over the back yard.
If something like this would happen in some of these fine expensive churches the people would be scared half to death. Well, brother, if you can't take shouting, you had better be getting ready to where you can take it. Some day our Lord shall split the heaven open with a SHOUT. He will begin it, and immediately He shall be joined by the shouting of millions of saints whose graves have bursted open, and by the livingt saints who shall be translated. The very heavens will ring with the shouts of angels and the redeemed and with Christ. "Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever SHOUT FOR JOY," Psalm 5:11. Many yet tell me that service we had that Monday morning at Birdtown was the greatest they were ever in. Take your fine church buildings if you want them. I will take a great spiritual service like this every time.
One Sunday morning in a service at the old Mt. Pleasant Church near Plumerville, AR, about 40 lost people came for prayer. I called on the saved to gather at the front to pray for them. They packed the front of that building. For about 10 minutes we knelt and wept. We were too full for anyone to word a prayer. After a while Bro. Trafford, who is now with the Lord, became able to control his feelings enough to word a prayer. As he prayed with fervor and with a choking voice, the sinners began to come out of the altar shouting. They were saved so fast we lost count. Would you like to see such as this again? Well, God has not changed. If we will get back to the old time ways of preaching, living, and holding services then we can see such again. "
WOWZERS. What do y'all think about that? I am open to hearing your thoughts....
"In 1930 I was holding a meeting in a Baptist church at Birdtown, AR. One Monday morning the services began at 10:30. I only spoke about 30 minutes. But the Spirit of God came on us in a mighty way. For about two hours we wept, we shouted, we laughed for joy, we walked the floor and shook hands with each other. One wave of joy would sweep the congregation for 15 or 20 minutes. Then everything would get as quiet as death. Then another wave of joy would come over us an for about 15 or 20 minutes we would again shout, and laugh, and weep for joy, and shake hands. Then everything would be quiet again for 5 or 10 minutes. Then again a wave of joy would sweep the house and we would rejoice as before. It went on and on in this way for about two hours. I guess I must have shouted a dozen times that day, and so did others. A Negro woman nearby came out in the yard to draw water. The power of the Spirit rested on her and she shouted all over the back yard.
If something like this would happen in some of these fine expensive churches the people would be scared half to death. Well, brother, if you can't take shouting, you had better be getting ready to where you can take it. Some day our Lord shall split the heaven open with a SHOUT. He will begin it, and immediately He shall be joined by the shouting of millions of saints whose graves have bursted open, and by the livingt saints who shall be translated. The very heavens will ring with the shouts of angels and the redeemed and with Christ. "Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever SHOUT FOR JOY," Psalm 5:11. Many yet tell me that service we had that Monday morning at Birdtown was the greatest they were ever in. Take your fine church buildings if you want them. I will take a great spiritual service like this every time.
One Sunday morning in a service at the old Mt. Pleasant Church near Plumerville, AR, about 40 lost people came for prayer. I called on the saved to gather at the front to pray for them. They packed the front of that building. For about 10 minutes we knelt and wept. We were too full for anyone to word a prayer. After a while Bro. Trafford, who is now with the Lord, became able to control his feelings enough to word a prayer. As he prayed with fervor and with a choking voice, the sinners began to come out of the altar shouting. They were saved so fast we lost count. Would you like to see such as this again? Well, God has not changed. If we will get back to the old time ways of preaching, living, and holding services then we can see such again. "
WOWZERS. What do y'all think about that? I am open to hearing your thoughts....
Saturday, October 1, 2011
What I want and what I need...
I've been thinking about this a whole lot lately. I have so much in my life that I am so very thankful for! My husband, children, family, church, house, cars, clothes, jewelry, shoes, decorations, washing machine/dryer/dishwasher, a/c and heater, flushing toilets, etc. The list could go on and on and on. But point of the matter is that I do not NEED any of it. Please don't get me wrong in this. Like I said, I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR ALL OF THESE AND MUCH MORE. But I do not NEED it. What I need is Jesus. He is all I need. He is everything. He is.
There are often so many times that I get that thought in my head of "I need this new thing or that new thing." In my daily walk with Christ I have to make it a point to wake up in the morning and say, "Jesus, YOU are my all in all. You are Who sustains me. It's not things, and it's not even the people in my life. It's You."
Jesus tells us in Luke 14:26 "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple." Those are strong words, right? But we must take this to heart. The way we love others in our life can in no way compare to the way and how much we love Jesus. He is our All in All!
We do absolutely no good in people when we allow them to believe that our wants are the same as our needs. Everyone NEEDS Jesus! If we cause people to believe that they need anything other than Jesus, we have done them a great travesty. We must guard our witness among others and be sure to prove that all we NEED is a relationship with Christ. He supplies everything we NEED. EVERYTHING. Philippians 4:19 "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." That's a promise. Jesus is ALL WE NEED.
I think John Piper said it best in his Prosperity sermon...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s&feature=player_detailpage
This is hard to swallow isn't it? As I type this, it is hard. But this is who we are called to be. I choose Christ and all that implies. If God says do it, I choose to do it.
Christ is worth it! He is Love. He laid down His life for me and you. That's not just a story that we have heard at church or on a television program. That's real life! He's real life. He is Life!
There are often so many times that I get that thought in my head of "I need this new thing or that new thing." In my daily walk with Christ I have to make it a point to wake up in the morning and say, "Jesus, YOU are my all in all. You are Who sustains me. It's not things, and it's not even the people in my life. It's You."
Jesus tells us in Luke 14:26 "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple." Those are strong words, right? But we must take this to heart. The way we love others in our life can in no way compare to the way and how much we love Jesus. He is our All in All!
We do absolutely no good in people when we allow them to believe that our wants are the same as our needs. Everyone NEEDS Jesus! If we cause people to believe that they need anything other than Jesus, we have done them a great travesty. We must guard our witness among others and be sure to prove that all we NEED is a relationship with Christ. He supplies everything we NEED. EVERYTHING. Philippians 4:19 "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." That's a promise. Jesus is ALL WE NEED.
I think John Piper said it best in his Prosperity sermon...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s&feature=player_detailpage
This is hard to swallow isn't it? As I type this, it is hard. But this is who we are called to be. I choose Christ and all that implies. If God says do it, I choose to do it.
Christ is worth it! He is Love. He laid down His life for me and you. That's not just a story that we have heard at church or on a television program. That's real life! He's real life. He is Life!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Shipwreck and Mississippi Mud
My Mam-ma and Mama have made these recipes for years and have passed them down to me and my brother and sister. The original recipes came from my Aunt Sudy who was my Great Granny's sister. I have a cookbook she wrote years ago, and it is FULL of YUMMY recipes! Good 'ole Southern cooking at its best. Here are two of the recipes I made today. Both are super easy and super tasty!!!
Shipwreck
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion-chopped
1 medium green bell pepper-chopped
1 small pkg. egg noodles
1 jar (4 oz) chopped pimentos
1 can cream style corn
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
Brown beef, onion, and pepper together stirring over medium heat. Cook noodles according to directions. Drain well. Blend noodles with beef mixture. Stir in pimentos, corn, and soups. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour into 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over top. Continue baking 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
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| This is a very hearty meal! |
Mississippi Mud Cake
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 sticks margarine or butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
Mix together. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a greased and floured pan. Take out of oven and cover with miniature marshmallows. Bring to a boil in a saucepan the following:
1 stick margarine or butter
6 Tbs milk
3 Tbs cocoa
Stir in 1 box powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Spread this over top of cake.
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| This cake is insanely delicious! |
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Me! Me! Me! No... J.O.Y.
Too often we are ME-centered. How can I feel happy? How can I look better? How can I get everything in life I want? Why do these things happen to ME? Why can't anyone understand how I feel? Why is no one calling/texting ME? Why do people care about everyone else except ME? etc etc.
Well, the truth is...this world is not about ME. We were not created to bring happiness to ourselves. We were not created to bring glory to ourselves. We were not created to make a bunch of money and continuously buy, buy, buy and want more, more, more. We are in this world for a specific reason.
God tells us, "You have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11. We were created to bring God glory. We are here to love God and to love others. We are called according to His purpose. We are most like Jesus (OUR SAVIOR!) when we love and serve others, and in doing this we further His kingdom.
John 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
We must have the mentality of a Christ-centered lifestyle. When we know Who we are loving, serving, and bringing glory to, then everything falls into place. When we replace our thoughts of "I need a break from my family" with "How can I better serve my family today", our world changes. Seriously. When we replace "She ate the last cookie" with "I'm glad she got the last cookie", our world changes. When we replace "I have to do all the work around here" with "Thank you, Lord, for a family to take care of", our world changes. When we replace "These kids are driving me nuts" with "For this child I prayed", our world changes. When we replace "I cannot live with that man/woman for one more second" with "Love is patient. Love is kind.", our world changes.
We live a selfish world. The world tells us to look out for #1. But I can tell you this from experience, my world changes every day that I focus less on ME and more on others.
JESUS first, OTHERS second, YOURSELF last. = JOY
And what is absolutely so neat about this is that not only will we have joy as a reward here on this earth, but Jesus has promised a reward in heaven for serving others.
::Hebrews 6:10 "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints."::
::Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." ::
::Hebrews 13:16 "And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased."::
This is my goal every day. In all honesty, it is sometimes very difficulty to put others first. Our nature is to immediately think, "well, what about me?". But I am fighting against that. Satan wants me to think about me. And he will not win this battle. God is good to me, and I want to be good to Him which means serving Him and others. I know that staying close to God through prayer and keeping my head and heart in the Word will help me achieve this daily goal. It's hard, but it's SO worth it. :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Front Door-First Impression
It's that time of year when I'm feeling especially crafty. I love to recreate things around the house, and this week it's the front door. We don't really have much of a front porch, so I just call it the front door. :) It's time for a little sprucing up and cleaning, and THEN some new decorations at a cheap-O price. I've learned to be very frugal as a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mama. I have set a budget for this "front door" project at $15. My goal is to have mums, pumpkins, and a new homemade wreath. Can it be done for $15? We shall see...
Here is a before pic {Ele felt she needed to be in the pic ;)} and I'll post the after later in the week when my new "first impression" is complete!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thankful Monday
Is it possible to have joy on a Monday? Absolutely! I am so thankful for many many things. But at this very moment I am very thankful for my family. God has blessed me way beyond what I deserve, and some of my biggest blessings are Brooks, Tinleigh, and Eleighana Ruhman! They bring me joy every day of my life. Brooks is the best husband ever. He is so supportive, loving, and a great Christian man. He is our leader in every way. Thankful for that man! Tinleigh is my big 8-year-old girl. She has the biggest heart and loves everyone she meets. She cares so much about other people. I love that about her. She is saved and knows what it means to tell others about Jesus. Thankful for this big girl! Eleighana is my 4-year-old baby girl. She is a ball of energy and keeps me on my toes. She is a sweety and a bit shy until you've been around her for about 30 minutes. Thankful for this baby girl! Like I said, God has blessed me far more than what I deserve. And I. AM. THANKFUL!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Praise in the Midst of the Storm
"Please God! Please God! Please God!"
These words tried to overpower the force of the winds that were whipping my body this way and that. The excruciating sting of sand, dirt, hail, boards, glass, sheetrock, tree limbs, rain, 200+ mile an hour winds all beating against me and tossing me around as if I were a ragdoll. Words can hardly describe it....
It was a very pleasant day in January. January 21, 1999 to be exact. I had been in class all day at ASU-Beebe and decided to go over to my boyfriend's townhouse to cook supper for him and one of his roommates. Weatherwise, it was one of those "weird" days. Tornadoes had been popping up all across the state that afternoon. It felt more like spring outside than a dead-of-winter day. The temperatures had been in the 60s and 70s all day, and it had actually been sunny most of the day in Beebe.
My Mama had called earlier in the afternoon and told me to stay put at Jay's because they had already been spotting funnel clouds in Vilonia and she did not want me to drive home and possibly be caught in a storm. Also, Jay's Mama had called to check on us because the state had been having such a significant weather event with all of the tornadoes. Y'all know the kind of day I'm talking about. I love the sense of community that we all feel when our state is hit with "weather". Whether it is a big snow that's coming to rainy weather to yucky 100-degree summertime temps to tornadoes. We Arkansans seem to huddle together and "watch what's next".
Let me give you a bit of a side note to what was going on in my life up to this point. I was 20 years old. Jay had been my boyfriend for a few years and I sincerely loved him. I would have married him in a heartbeat. But a few months prior to January 21 the Holy Spirit began to really convict me about some things that I was doing in my life. He let me know very clearly that I was not living for Christ. So, I started trying to weed out all the junk that I had been doing and started doing what I was supposed to be doing rather than submitting to sin. On the afternoon of January 21, 1999 at 4:30 in the afternoon, I almost stumbled. I ALMOST submitted to that sin again. But I didn't. The reason I didn't was because Jay's roommate, Kirk, came home early. Whew, dodged that one. Or did I? For months I had been able to resist that particular sin, but in a moment I ALMOST messed up again. I would have committed that sin again ONLY if Kirk had not arrived early. God needed to get my attention. And He DID!....
I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat down to study World Lit when yet another tornado warning popped up on KTHV. This time the warning was for our county. That got my attention, but what really got my attention was when I heard the sound of hail outside. Jay had been asleep on the couch while Kirk took a nap in the recliner. I woke Jay up and we went to stand in the front doorway to watch the hail. I had never in my life seen hail, and boy was it coming down! All I could think is that my Dad was going to kill me because i had just dropped my full-coverage insurance down to liability on my car. And my poor Mustang was taking a real beating from all the hail.
The hail was HUGE. It was nuts!
Since this was a row of townhouses, all of the vehicles were lined up right outside of the front doors of the homes. There was a motorcycle parked next to my car, and the owner had turned up the radio so that all the neighbors could hear the weather announcements clearly. Then the hail stopped.
The rain stopped.
The wind stopped.
It was DEAD quiet.
We knew something was wrong.
Jay and I ran inside and woke Kirk up from his nap. I remember looking down at his feet and noticing he only had socks on and no shoes.
We all ran to the half bath underneath the staircase. Jay locked the bathroom door behind us. I assume he thought that would somehow keep the massive monster that was about to overtake us on the outside. Kirk crouched down and wrapped his arms around the toilet. Then I tucked my arms underneath this legs and held on. Then Jay wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed as tightly as he could. Suddenly the water started being sucked down the toilet and then it would fling back up. I'll never forget that sound.
Then my life changed.
I didn't hear a train. I didn't hear a loud roar. I heard the sound of a deep-voiced woman screaming as loudly as I have ever heard anything. That's what it sounded like to me. I have tried to recreate the sound with my own voice, but it is something that I cannot come close to recreating.
The entire townhouse then began to be scooted across the foundation. The actual walls were pushing us across the bathroom floor, then the kitchen floor, and then BOOM! The roof exploded. It sounded like a bomb went off! Then the pain started. All three of us were then separated. Kirk was separated from the toilet; I was separated from Kirk; and Jay's tight grip was not enough to hold on to me. So many thoughts went through my mind. No, my life didn't flash before my eyes. But I did know that I was in the middle of a tornado. I knew that I was feeling pain like I had never felt before. I knew that if I died then I would go straight to heaven. And I knew that if I didn't die then it was possible that I could be left with some major injuries. I imagined my nose being ripped off, or my back being broken so that I would never walk again. I also knew that God was getting my attention....
The wind whipped around me. The rain and hail beat me up. It was INCREDIBLY cold. It felt as though I was being sandblasted. I hurt from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. I couldn't hear anything except the sound of this blackness screaming SO loudly. My body was being whipped opened and closed. My arms and legs were going to and fro. I was up in the air...
...and then I landed.
It had passed. I was on my knees with my hands and head buried in mud. My eyes were closed and I was still screaming, "Please God! Please God! Please God!" The tornado hit around 7:15 so it was dark outside other than the occasional lightning flash. Jay was able to locate me because of my loud cries to the Lord. He ran over and picked me up. We then heard Kirk yelling. That's when I opened my eyes.
Oh. My. Word.
Kirk couldn't see because his face was covered in blood. His head had multiple cuts that required a ton of stitches. Remember his shoeless feet? His feet had injuries too because he had not been wearing shoes. *Side note: I ALWAYS make sure my family and I have shoes on during stormy weather*
My body was warm all over. Strange, huh, since I had just been through one of the coldest things ever. But it was, it was very warm. We made our way to the townhouses across the road. I call the townhouse we went to call our parents the "safe house". It was full of people. The owner let me use his phone to call my Mama and Daddy. Mama answered the phone and I immediately said, "Mama, we were in a tornado!" She didn't believe me because I am a life-long practical joker. So, she thought I was trying to pull her leg once again. I said, "Put Daddy on the phone." I then told him that we really had been in a tornado and he needed to come get me because I had no idea where my car was. Where it once had been parked was now desolate. And the townhouse we had once been eating supper and watching the weather in was completely gone. Only water sprayed up from the pipes where the toilet had once been.
As we waited in the "safe house", the paramedics arrived and asked if anyone needed medical attention. We of course said Kirk did, and they took him away. Right about that time, Jay raised his arm over his head only to reveal an enormous gash across his elbow. The blood started flowing. I still kept thinking, "I'm so warm. Maybe nothing is wrong with me."
Finally, my Dad arrived and drove me back home to Vilonia. Mama was anxiously waiting at the front door. The worry was all over her face. I know I had to have looked like a complete mess. I could still taste the dirt and mud in my teeth. And when I actually made it into my room and looked in the mirror, YIKES! I was a complete mudball. From head to toe, I was covered COVERED in mud. My teeth were black with mud. My sister, Kelli, came in to help me undress and take a shower before heading to the hospital. I had began to get some feeling in my body back. The feeling of warmth was subsiding, and the feeling of extreme pain was taking over. There was still warmth flowing down the front of my right leg though, and I soon discovered what that feeling of warmth was. While my arms and legs had been whipped open and closed by the tornado, my right leg had actually been pulled away from my body. Blood was streaming down my leg. My sister ran in the living room to where my family was and yelled, "She has something sticking out of her." Well, I didn't have anything sticking out of me, but it hurt nonetheless.
After arriving at the hospital, I tried to lighten things up a little with some jokes to make everyone know that what had happened was no big deal. But on the inside, I was in turmoil. I KNEW that God had sent this tornado in my life as a wake-up call. I KNEW He had sent it in my life to lead me to FREEDOM.
Does that sound weird? A tornado means freedom? What in the world?
1999 was a crazy year for me. It started in January with a physical tornado that left me physically hurt but spiritually awakened. Over the next few months, I started to do things that I knew the Lord wanted me to do and also things that I THOUGHT He wanted me to do.
Have you ever done something that you didn't seek the Lord for but just thought, "This has to be what God wants me to do"? I started doing that. I knew I had been left on this earth for a reason a few months prior and had to begin the work God had for me. I almost had a haughty attitude about things. I didn't vocalize my pride, but it was definitely there.
I broke up with Jay. I met another guy. This guy nor his family knew the Lord. I thought, "I must be the one who is going to save this family." I married him December 4, 1999. This was absolutely out of the Lord's will. In my pride, I did not seek what the Lord wanted me to do in this situation. I just knew that I had been left here after going through a terrible ordeal called a tornado, so this MUST be what God wants me to do. It wasn't.
Obviously, I divorced him a year later after some other "tornadoes" that were put in my path. God always makes a way. He is always there with His arms opened wide. He always has a plan. I knew I wanted to be on God's plan and wanted to let Him fulfill His plan for my life.
I completely and totally surrendered to Him. The exact day I did that was the first time in my life that I could feel His arms wrapped around me. God is so good, huh? He has had my life planned since before I breathed my first breath on this earth. I am so thankful that I can now see so clearly God's plan for my life. I released all control. And He has led me to a wonderful place.
Sometimes God has to get our attention before we will surrender to Him. But when we do surrender, oh how precious the relationship with the Lord is!
These words tried to overpower the force of the winds that were whipping my body this way and that. The excruciating sting of sand, dirt, hail, boards, glass, sheetrock, tree limbs, rain, 200+ mile an hour winds all beating against me and tossing me around as if I were a ragdoll. Words can hardly describe it....
It was a very pleasant day in January. January 21, 1999 to be exact. I had been in class all day at ASU-Beebe and decided to go over to my boyfriend's townhouse to cook supper for him and one of his roommates. Weatherwise, it was one of those "weird" days. Tornadoes had been popping up all across the state that afternoon. It felt more like spring outside than a dead-of-winter day. The temperatures had been in the 60s and 70s all day, and it had actually been sunny most of the day in Beebe.
My Mama had called earlier in the afternoon and told me to stay put at Jay's because they had already been spotting funnel clouds in Vilonia and she did not want me to drive home and possibly be caught in a storm. Also, Jay's Mama had called to check on us because the state had been having such a significant weather event with all of the tornadoes. Y'all know the kind of day I'm talking about. I love the sense of community that we all feel when our state is hit with "weather". Whether it is a big snow that's coming to rainy weather to yucky 100-degree summertime temps to tornadoes. We Arkansans seem to huddle together and "watch what's next".
Let me give you a bit of a side note to what was going on in my life up to this point. I was 20 years old. Jay had been my boyfriend for a few years and I sincerely loved him. I would have married him in a heartbeat. But a few months prior to January 21 the Holy Spirit began to really convict me about some things that I was doing in my life. He let me know very clearly that I was not living for Christ. So, I started trying to weed out all the junk that I had been doing and started doing what I was supposed to be doing rather than submitting to sin. On the afternoon of January 21, 1999 at 4:30 in the afternoon, I almost stumbled. I ALMOST submitted to that sin again. But I didn't. The reason I didn't was because Jay's roommate, Kirk, came home early. Whew, dodged that one. Or did I? For months I had been able to resist that particular sin, but in a moment I ALMOST messed up again. I would have committed that sin again ONLY if Kirk had not arrived early. God needed to get my attention. And He DID!....
I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat down to study World Lit when yet another tornado warning popped up on KTHV. This time the warning was for our county. That got my attention, but what really got my attention was when I heard the sound of hail outside. Jay had been asleep on the couch while Kirk took a nap in the recliner. I woke Jay up and we went to stand in the front doorway to watch the hail. I had never in my life seen hail, and boy was it coming down! All I could think is that my Dad was going to kill me because i had just dropped my full-coverage insurance down to liability on my car. And my poor Mustang was taking a real beating from all the hail.
The hail was HUGE. It was nuts!
Since this was a row of townhouses, all of the vehicles were lined up right outside of the front doors of the homes. There was a motorcycle parked next to my car, and the owner had turned up the radio so that all the neighbors could hear the weather announcements clearly. Then the hail stopped.
The rain stopped.
The wind stopped.
It was DEAD quiet.
We knew something was wrong.
Jay and I ran inside and woke Kirk up from his nap. I remember looking down at his feet and noticing he only had socks on and no shoes.
We all ran to the half bath underneath the staircase. Jay locked the bathroom door behind us. I assume he thought that would somehow keep the massive monster that was about to overtake us on the outside. Kirk crouched down and wrapped his arms around the toilet. Then I tucked my arms underneath this legs and held on. Then Jay wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed as tightly as he could. Suddenly the water started being sucked down the toilet and then it would fling back up. I'll never forget that sound.
Then my life changed.
I didn't hear a train. I didn't hear a loud roar. I heard the sound of a deep-voiced woman screaming as loudly as I have ever heard anything. That's what it sounded like to me. I have tried to recreate the sound with my own voice, but it is something that I cannot come close to recreating.
The entire townhouse then began to be scooted across the foundation. The actual walls were pushing us across the bathroom floor, then the kitchen floor, and then BOOM! The roof exploded. It sounded like a bomb went off! Then the pain started. All three of us were then separated. Kirk was separated from the toilet; I was separated from Kirk; and Jay's tight grip was not enough to hold on to me. So many thoughts went through my mind. No, my life didn't flash before my eyes. But I did know that I was in the middle of a tornado. I knew that I was feeling pain like I had never felt before. I knew that if I died then I would go straight to heaven. And I knew that if I didn't die then it was possible that I could be left with some major injuries. I imagined my nose being ripped off, or my back being broken so that I would never walk again. I also knew that God was getting my attention....
The wind whipped around me. The rain and hail beat me up. It was INCREDIBLY cold. It felt as though I was being sandblasted. I hurt from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. I couldn't hear anything except the sound of this blackness screaming SO loudly. My body was being whipped opened and closed. My arms and legs were going to and fro. I was up in the air...
...and then I landed.
It had passed. I was on my knees with my hands and head buried in mud. My eyes were closed and I was still screaming, "Please God! Please God! Please God!" The tornado hit around 7:15 so it was dark outside other than the occasional lightning flash. Jay was able to locate me because of my loud cries to the Lord. He ran over and picked me up. We then heard Kirk yelling. That's when I opened my eyes.
Oh. My. Word.
Kirk couldn't see because his face was covered in blood. His head had multiple cuts that required a ton of stitches. Remember his shoeless feet? His feet had injuries too because he had not been wearing shoes. *Side note: I ALWAYS make sure my family and I have shoes on during stormy weather*
My body was warm all over. Strange, huh, since I had just been through one of the coldest things ever. But it was, it was very warm. We made our way to the townhouses across the road. I call the townhouse we went to call our parents the "safe house". It was full of people. The owner let me use his phone to call my Mama and Daddy. Mama answered the phone and I immediately said, "Mama, we were in a tornado!" She didn't believe me because I am a life-long practical joker. So, she thought I was trying to pull her leg once again. I said, "Put Daddy on the phone." I then told him that we really had been in a tornado and he needed to come get me because I had no idea where my car was. Where it once had been parked was now desolate. And the townhouse we had once been eating supper and watching the weather in was completely gone. Only water sprayed up from the pipes where the toilet had once been.
As we waited in the "safe house", the paramedics arrived and asked if anyone needed medical attention. We of course said Kirk did, and they took him away. Right about that time, Jay raised his arm over his head only to reveal an enormous gash across his elbow. The blood started flowing. I still kept thinking, "I'm so warm. Maybe nothing is wrong with me."
Finally, my Dad arrived and drove me back home to Vilonia. Mama was anxiously waiting at the front door. The worry was all over her face. I know I had to have looked like a complete mess. I could still taste the dirt and mud in my teeth. And when I actually made it into my room and looked in the mirror, YIKES! I was a complete mudball. From head to toe, I was covered COVERED in mud. My teeth were black with mud. My sister, Kelli, came in to help me undress and take a shower before heading to the hospital. I had began to get some feeling in my body back. The feeling of warmth was subsiding, and the feeling of extreme pain was taking over. There was still warmth flowing down the front of my right leg though, and I soon discovered what that feeling of warmth was. While my arms and legs had been whipped open and closed by the tornado, my right leg had actually been pulled away from my body. Blood was streaming down my leg. My sister ran in the living room to where my family was and yelled, "She has something sticking out of her." Well, I didn't have anything sticking out of me, but it hurt nonetheless.
After arriving at the hospital, I tried to lighten things up a little with some jokes to make everyone know that what had happened was no big deal. But on the inside, I was in turmoil. I KNEW that God had sent this tornado in my life as a wake-up call. I KNEW He had sent it in my life to lead me to FREEDOM.
Does that sound weird? A tornado means freedom? What in the world?
1999 was a crazy year for me. It started in January with a physical tornado that left me physically hurt but spiritually awakened. Over the next few months, I started to do things that I knew the Lord wanted me to do and also things that I THOUGHT He wanted me to do.
Have you ever done something that you didn't seek the Lord for but just thought, "This has to be what God wants me to do"? I started doing that. I knew I had been left on this earth for a reason a few months prior and had to begin the work God had for me. I almost had a haughty attitude about things. I didn't vocalize my pride, but it was definitely there.
I broke up with Jay. I met another guy. This guy nor his family knew the Lord. I thought, "I must be the one who is going to save this family." I married him December 4, 1999. This was absolutely out of the Lord's will. In my pride, I did not seek what the Lord wanted me to do in this situation. I just knew that I had been left here after going through a terrible ordeal called a tornado, so this MUST be what God wants me to do. It wasn't.
Obviously, I divorced him a year later after some other "tornadoes" that were put in my path. God always makes a way. He is always there with His arms opened wide. He always has a plan. I knew I wanted to be on God's plan and wanted to let Him fulfill His plan for my life.
I completely and totally surrendered to Him. The exact day I did that was the first time in my life that I could feel His arms wrapped around me. God is so good, huh? He has had my life planned since before I breathed my first breath on this earth. I am so thankful that I can now see so clearly God's plan for my life. I released all control. And He has led me to a wonderful place.
Sometimes God has to get our attention before we will surrender to Him. But when we do surrender, oh how precious the relationship with the Lord is!
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