Limited Cell Phone Service in Mississippi

For those of you who know my parents and are trying to get a hold of them, let me assure you that they are OK. I just spoke with both of them via their cell phones. I was fortunate that they were able to get through. The cell phone signal was strong for both of them at the time. They were on the interstate. However, my dad said that the cell phone service should be better in the next couple of days. He said that they were bringing in generators to run the cell phone towers. This should give my parents better reception and also allow more calls to get through.

My mom is heading to Houston on Friday. While my original travel plans were to stay only until Monday, I am planning on extending my stay and visiting with my Aunt Lynne and Uncle Don. My mom will be staying with them when she gets in on Friday while I will be at my sister, Jessica's home.

Thank you to all of you for your love and prayers during this difficult time for my family and the citizens of the Gulf Coast Area.

Fresh Manna

For those of you who haven't heard of this concept, let me explain. One of the pastors at our church began journaling his manna (his scripture for the day) many years ago. He began to email it out and still emails it out. If you would like to get added to his distribution list, please visit his website at www.freshmanna.org and join the distribution list.

As his website explains, "God's Word, the Bible, is to be alive to us. It's to be powerful and stir faith within us. It's to revive hope in our heart when we face the impossible. It's to bring home Jesus' promise, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." It's to reveal the multitude of precious promises that God says we have through His covenant with us. It's to be a word to us preparing us to bring encouragement to others. It's to be our daily touch from the throne of Heaven! God wants to give us a fresh word by His Holy Spirit every day. That's why Jesus taught His disciples to pray..."give us this day our daily bread." He went on to explain what that daily bread was. Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Fresh Manna is a touch of that daily bread! Fresh Manna, written by Pastor Tim Burt, focuses on a particular verse of scripture each day helping to bring revelation and insight as well as practical application to our daily lives."

Our church has Fresh Manna groups where we go and share our manna with others and then pray together. My group is a young mother's group. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. We are meeting tomorrow for our first fall session. Can you believe it?

All of this information to let you know about Fresh Manna, so I can share my manna with you today.

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.” Philippians 4:6 Amplified Bible

This is the verse that Pastor Tim wrote his Fresh Manna about today. It really spoke to my heart especially with everything that is going on with my family in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina demolished the city. Instead of fretting and having anxiety, I am going to God. I especially like The Message Translation of the above verse. It says, “Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” This is SO good for me right now because it gives me a direction to go. Instead of letting worries and negative thoughts crowd my mind, I am turning to God and allowing Him to shape my worries into prayers. I am telling God my concerns about my family.

I am so thankful that I serve such a mighty God whom I can bring my concerns to. He cares about what concerns me, and He wants to take care of me and my family. He is such a loving God. I praise you God for your AWESOMENESS, your POWER, your STRENGTH, your MERCY, your GRACE, your LOVING-KINDNESS, and your LOVE. It is because of your love that you sent Jesus down to Earth. It is because of your love that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. It is because of your love that I know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. It is because of your love that I can truly mean the words when I sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

Hurricane Katrina tore through the St. Charles Condominiums and Sadler Apartments in Biloxi, Mississippi.


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I thought I would post this picture to give everyone an idea of the devestation that has occurred along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When the time comes, if you are able to help with the relief and rebuilding efforts, I know that people would be very appreciative. If time is a factor, but you want to get involved, please find a relief fund and send in a donation. I believe that it was the mayor of Biloxi who said that this, meaning Hurricane Katrina, was their tsunami.

Hurricane Katrina

WLOX is the local news station in Biloxi, Mississippi where my family lives. They are unable to broadcast the news because one of their towers is down. Plus, part of their roof came off so they have standing water in their building.



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As many of you know, my family lives in Biloxi. My parents are currently staying with their friends, Matt and Julie up in Vancleave. They are fine because they have two generators there to provide them with power, so they are a lot better off than many people. Unfortunately, my parents' home as well as their small business are no longer in existence. However, their pier (my parents' house was right on the back bay that connects to the Gulf of Mexico) was completely intact, not even one board was missing. I have gotten all this information through my sister, Jessica, who lives in League City, Texas (a suburb of Houston). My other sister, Dawn, her husband, Chris, and my niece, Addison, are with Chris' sister, April, in Atlanta, Georgia. My brother, Travis, and my nephew, Alex, are in Florida. My immediate family is all accounted for. Now it is just waiting to hear about the extended family.

Please pray that everyone will be given supernatural strength to deal with the challenges that lie ahead as they all work on rebuilding their lives. The entire cities of Gulfport and Biloxi were pretty much demolished, so there is a lot of rebuilding that will be going on.

My family has lost a lot, but we are so grateful to God that He kept them safe during this terrible hurricane. They have a long way to go to get their lives "back to normal," so please pray for full insurance claim payment and for no delays in rebuilding.

On The Road Again

It seems like we just got back from vacation, but David and I are gearing up to leave for a mini-trip to Texas. We are leaving Friday evening and coming home on Monday evening. David is going to get to see his Auntie Jessica and Uncle Chris. Plus, he gets to play with cousin Maggie (this is Chris and Jessica's dog). Maggie was officially our dad's first grandbaby!

Auntie has lots of cool things planned for us to do while we are down there. When I get back, I will have to share photos and tips for those of you who plan on visiting the Houston, Texas area. I am going to get one of those disposable cameras that will give me a CD of pictures when I get them developed, so I can post pictures online. We have a scanner, but I don't want to hassle with that if I don't have to. The scanner is downstairs in our garage office while the computer is upstairs. I guess I am all about convenience. :-)

Until next time, be blessed and let God's grace, mercy, and love touch your life!