GPR submissions (never submitted)

"Cool! Check out this freeware!"

run spirituallife.exe
Install complete. Run automatically in taskbar? Yes.
Reboot.

"Oh, man! Look at that -- this new program's hogging my resources!"

Still a Kansas Girl

We went out for ice cream this evening -- myself, two of my interns, and two lady interns from another intern house. We knew there was a storm blowing in (with possible hail), but we figured we had 45 minutes to get our frozen custard treats and get back home. By the time we got our order figured out at this little outdoor eatery, the lightening display to our west was become slightly more active and the rain was beginning to fall, albeit quite gently.

We were setting up a camera on self-time to snap a photo when we hear the first faint (and I mean faint) rumblings of thunder. There was still plenty of time to enjoy our treats and get back home.

Set the timer, race to get in the picture, run back, check the camera, race back to the picture, freeze, flash, laugh... and just as we were cracking up over the photo, the tornado sirens went off. You Kansas people know what I mean -- the long, sustained note that says (without words), "The National Weather Service has spotted rotation in the radar or a trained weather spotter has spotted a funnel in your county. Take cover immediately."

Being a Kansas girl, I sprang into action, grabbing the camera and barking orders. "Get to the car - now! We're getting out of here." The girls ran screaming for the car as I scanned the heavens, trying to figure out where in the world this tornado was in this peacefully falling rain.

I headed to the closest intern house as fast as we could. I flipped stations on the radio to find the weather, but to no avail. The sirens were still sounding as we scampered into the house, but I still couldn't see any signs of a tornado. We turned on the TV and found the weather man. The storm had dumped golf ball size hail on the Ft. Worth area (45 minutes away) and would be arriving in southern Carrollton in about 15 minutes.

No rotation. Not even a tornado watch. Just a severe thunderstorm. I felt pretty sheepish. I scared everyone for nothing.

The hail? I never saw it. I think we got maybe .3" of rain during the next hour. I'm sure we got the light part of the storm, but still - there was no tornado. There was no reason to leave the pavilion and race to the nearest shelter.

You can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can't take the Kansas out of the girl.

Have you seen my joy?

It feels like I've lost it somewhere.  If you see it, can you send it home?  Thanks!

Praises!

Here's a few praises for you!

• Matt's dad came home from the hospital today!
• Matt is back in the office after being out for close to two weeks!
• Caz - my third intern - finally arrived on Friday evening!!!
• Jes found rollerblades for free at a yard sale!
• Chris the Mac guy at the office answered my iPhoto questions!
• I got 7-8 hours of sleep on Saturday night and Sunday night!
• Co-worker Eric has been a huge blessing to me. He heard today that I was craving almonds, so he bought a bag of trail mix and emptied out everything except the almonds and gave the almonds to me.
  
• Overwhelmed, yet not despairing (at the moment).

Thank you for your prayers!

Draw me nearer

Tonight's out-of-the-blue song in my head:

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Longing to rise in the arms of faith... being closer drawn to him... consecrated to his service by his power... my soul looking up with a steadfast hope... my will being lost in His... resting in peace with Him.

Oh, I long!

Testing Outlook 2007 sans Word 2007

Even I was amused when I got to the end and looked back at the random text I typed while testing grammatical and spelling features.  You probably won't be so amused, but at least you'll know I'm alive.

 

This is the day. :)  Ha-ha!

 

Can you mispell this email?  It can switch letters, but it doesn't unerline.  Let's see if it swaps you’re my documents.  Yep, it did.  Thier love is the answer.

 

GRammatical MIstakes anyone?

Kenya Update

No, I'm not moving to Kenya. :) I was at Rosalie's house on New Year's Eve this year when we saw the news coverage about rioting and violence in Kenya. The breaking news that day was that a mob had burned a church with over 50 people trapped inside. The tallys rose across the country: over a thousand dead, over 600,000 without homes, nearly 400 churches destroyed. The violence died down in the first three weeks of January, but thousands are still living in refugee camps.

I have a couple friends working in Kenya - a college friend and the Chris, the missions pastor of my local church. Both have been involved in various parts of the relief work and it has made the news a little closer to home. Do you ever notice that? News about places you have friends suddenly becomes much more interested. Big K in Afghanistan (welcome back to the US, by the way) or Meg in Morocco or friends in Kenya...

The April 6th edition of the Pentecostal Evangel magazine is entirely covering the Kenya situation. Chris (in the photo) had mentioned on his blog that the photo team had been there, so I was watching for that issue. They interviewed the native pastor of the church that had been burned -- he was rescuing children from the burning building, but then was attacked by the mob himself.

Here's a few links if you want more information:

• The magazine in PDF format: http://tpe.ag.org/2008PDFs/4900_Kenya.pdf
• More photos from the trip: http://world.ag.org

In a sense, the violence in Kenya is like the tsunami that struck Asia. The violence may be gone and the TV cameras with in, but there are still thousands of lives and homes to be rebuilt. I know they would appreciate you prayers.

No foolin'

Things have been crazy hectic around my IT world. Between staff out taking care of parents and at doctor's visits and oversees, we're down quite a few people. And we've had two new staff added to the GFA office this week (just not to IT) and two staff moves so far this week. Those setups are always time intensive for me, so it has been/will continue to be a busy week.

Thanks for all your prayers for our continued strength and guidance and sharp minds. Pray for clear communication, gracious words and hearts, and.... there was something else, but I forgot. I guess that's where the "sharp minds" part comes in, eh?

This isn't making much sense. I'm off to bed.