The Flood and God

Hello everyone. As most of you know we were not affected by the flooding. We really had no idea how bad it was until the afternoon (the Levee broke at 4AM). To see the footage from the air of 300 plus homes (with our neighbors and friends in them) surrounded by deep water was shocking to say the least. Three different families that we know well had severe damage. One of them is Abigail's preschool teacher. We are all so sad. Friends of ours from church had a basement that was completely filled with water-I mean-up to the top floor. They have been pumping water out all day. Another couple from church with 3 young children had about a foot of water in their home. They, like almost everyone involved, had no flood insurance but came to Church today thankful that it wasn't worse. I am amazed at the courage of these guys. Interestingly our Sunday school study was on Psalm 145.

Ps 145:8
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.
Ps 145:9
The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

I would expect people in this situation to question these verses. But they didn't. They were thankful to be dry and to have shelter, their family, a steady job with an understanding boss, and the provision for the day. We then went over the words of Jesus:

Mt 5:45
"...for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

We are all subject to both the blessings and pitfalls of God's awesome creation. But as Christians they have precious promises:

Ps 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Ps 145:19
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.
Ps 145:20
The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

The sermon today was about Psalm 91

Ps 91:9
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
Ps 91:10
No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
Ps 91:15
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

Praise God our true dwelling place is our Lord! Did I ever mention that I love our Church? :)


I will try to update the blog with pics of the kiddos and our trip to Salt Lake soon. I am so grateful to have the ability to do that at all, when I think of the people that lost their family albums and computers completely. Just about everything that I am able to do seems more precious but I don't think either Erik or I will be comfortable enjoying anything until our neighbors are recovered from this terrible situation.