Hurricane Happenings

I live in an area of Louisiana that is just going to get grazed by Hurricane Isaac. We have giant gusts of wind right now and are expecting a lot of rain tonight and tomorrow, but that's about it. I've grown up in hurricane country. To me this is nothing new. My father helped many of his congregants pick up the pieces over and over again after storms. Sad as it is, it's part of a way of life there. They lose it all, pour bleach on what's left and start all over again. I even had my house flood once and lost everything when I was pregnant the first time. Hurricane Katrina missed us, but her sister Rita ruined most everything I owned. Such is life. It's stuff. Stuff can be replaced. That's just memories....past. I don't live to remember the past. I live to journey toward my future. The promise of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. The parents of a friend of mine are pastors in a low lying area south of New Orleans. They have just lost everything. What are they thinking of? Their people. Especially the ones who chose to stay behind. I'm praying for them today. Not only that they remain strong as the long, long process of cleaning up begins, but that they are able to show their people what really is important in this life. And it ain't a house full of stuff. You probably won't hear too much about them on the news. I read an article today that reported their area as "thinly populated".  I guess if you compare it to New Orleans...


An interesting thing happened as we were preparing for this hurricane. We realized there was not much in our house that did not need to be cooked. We no longer buy prepackaged food apparently. We decided we'd better go and get some ready to eat things just in case we lose power. Roaming around the store my husband and I realized we no longer like these things. We were at a loss as to what to do! We have peanut butter, jelly and bread at home, but there must be more things! We actually ended up getting more carrots and cucumbers. We have apples and bananas. Who says ready to eat means prepackaged? We bought some peanut butter crackers that were prepackaged. This overjoyed the children. In honor of my dad (who knew how to ride out a hurricane in ultimate comfort) we got some potato chips and jalapeño cheese dip. I could not bring myself to purchase the potted meat and vienna sausages though. Ugh. I bought a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce because if we lose power we'll have plenty of meat that needs to be eaten...we might need to have a block party! Then I grabbed disposable plates and called it good. I also figure that if we lose power we'll have to make a whole meal just ice cream so that doesn't got to waste. Seriously though, it was interesting to discover that my tastes have changed so much over time. The only thing I wish I had right now is a ton of chocolate. And I'm glad I don't actually have it because by the time this hurricane is over I would have gained back all 10 pounds that I've lost.....