Thursday, September 25, 2008

And the giant came tumbling down

Only a boy named David,
Only a little sling
Only a boy named David,
But he could pray and sing
Only a boy named David,
Only a rippling brook
Only a boy named David,
But five little stones he took.
And one little stone went in the sling,
And the sling went round and round
And one little stone went in the sling,
And the sling went round and round
And round and round,
And round and round,
And round and round and round
And one little prayer went up to God
And the giant came tumbling down.

My daughter and I were driving in the car this week, listening to a children’s Bible song CD when this song started to play. It got me thinking about the story of David and Goliath. I started wondering why David got five stones from the stream. Did he have a crisis of faith? Did he think that God wouldn’t protect him with just one stone? Why five? Why did God feel that it was important to tell us that David took five stones, but killed Goliath on the first try?

This is what David said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Sam. 17:45-47 I don’t think that David was struggling with his faith. David brought the 4 extra stones along in case the rest of the Philistine army attacked. When I think about the fact that he only brought 5 stones to defeat an entire army, it really puts the story in a different perspective.

Think about that as it applies to our daily lives. Do we prepare ourselves for the battle? Do we come against the enemy “in the name of the LORD Almighty?” Or do we hide in our tents like the army of Israel? No matter what battle you are fighting today, fight it in the name of the LORD Almighty and victory will be yours! Blessings to you!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Trust Him

What a difference 2 weeks makes! Two weeks ago, we were facing Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf. People were evacuating and boarding up. The sun was shining and bright, but we walking around with the memories of Katrina and the trepidation of Gustav. As I write this, Ike sits just south of our shores and is churning up thunderstorms, but the mood is light and free. The weather forecasts put Ike’s arrival in Texas and we put our trust in their prediction. The peace that we have this week knowing that the storm may pass by us, but won’t cause the damage of the past.

We trust in the forecasters, because they have proven themselves trustworthy by predicting accurately in the past. Likewise, Christ can be trusted. How often do we forget to put our trust in Him. He is always there. He is always right. He is all we need in the storms of life. Trust Him today!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Louisiana hurricane evacuation routes!

It has been a while since I last blogged. We had to evacuate to Plano, Texas which is where my husband's company sends us when they evacuate. Thankfully, Gustav was not a Katrina and we are home again. No major damage here! The worst part was cleaning out the fridge and freezer. I hated throwing away hundreds of dollars of food, but I'm not a gambling woman when it comes to food poisoning my family.

Along our evacuation, we followed the evacuation route signs like good little evacuees and ended up lost! So I decided, before Ike makes it into the Gulf, I'm going to google various routes and put them up on my blog. Maybe this will help others as they plan to evacuate.

This one I would love to travel, but I'm pretty sure my huband will veto. He doesn't really like going off the interstate. I love back roads though, so here it is.

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This is the all interstate route. Most people know that anyone planing to evacuate on these roads will end up stuck in traffic for hours.

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This was our original plan, but we ended up getting off of I-59 in favor of Hwy 11. This was a good route, but I-59 will be crowded and contra-flow will end in MS way too soon.

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This was the route that we took home. We were able to bypass Jackson, MS. I highly suggest taking Hwy 27 in MS if you like scenic routes! The countryside in Mississippi is beautiful!


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Hope this helps others in the future! I'm sure I'll be looking back at it next time I need to evacuate!