Music To My Ears...WHIRRRRRRR....

We went to sleep last night by the wonderful sound of a generator, thank you LORD! It's loud, but I've never heard a more beautiful sound. (: Friends of ours, the Bailiffs & Durrenbergers, both passed the generator our way after their power came back on, that's a true neighbor for you ! We're very grateful. We were able to get our next door neighbor hooked up on our power source through an extension cord, so our street is staying fairly powered up through one another's generators. We have to pick & choose what we want to "generate," of course the fridge wins hands down, a few lights, the TV & the computer & cell phone chargers for now.
We woke up this morning to nice cooler weather, the high today is supposed to be 82, what a welcome relief!
Power is coming back on in bits & pieces around the Houston area, from what they said last night, 81% of customers are still WITHOUT power, so it's very slow going. This is a true test of patience in every sense of the word. I ventured out yesterday to get a few grocery items, that was an adventure! Had to wait in a line just to get into the store, they were only allowing a certain number of people in at a time. After getting in, most refrigerated items were gone of course, no milk, no eggs, no ice, etc...we're still good with what we have for awhile though. We're thankful for every bottle of water & every last drop of milk. Gas lines continue to circle through the parking lots of stores unless you get there first thing in the morning, the challenge is just to find a place that has some first, then most people are willing to wait, there's just no other choice. Troy went early this AM to load up on some generator gas.
This whole experience has reminded me of how amazingly blessed we are as a nation. These are just things that we don't often HAVE to experience, I think I'll be much more grateful for the things we have after this is over, I pray that God will help me to remember. I started thinking yesterday, how many times have I just taken ALL of these things so for granted? How often have I stopped to thank God for my refrigerator??? I mean, have you ever? Don't think I ever have to be honest! I do now! What about ice, the garbage disposal, or AC, lights, gas for our cars, a phone line, a roof over our heads (which unfortunately many, many people don't have anymore in this area of the U.S.!). And, how often do we thank Him just for family, for friends, for neighbors? We simply would not, could not, want to endure this alone. I can't even imagine going out to the store without checking first to see if someone else needs something, we're just so depending on one another to get us through this. A dear friend who knows how much I love my coffee sent me a text message yesterday after her power came on to see if she could bring me a cup! Another friend brought over extra gas for the generator when we began to run low. All of our front doors are like revolving doors with kids coming in & out these few days, everyone is playing with everyone else, life just seems so simple for our kids, I'm glad that they seem protected from this stress, thank the Lord for that. We had a street cook out last night with gas grills, we're all just trying to keep each other company & those moments have really actually been fun & bonding, I can see how God is working through this for good.
We are truly blessed in our nation! Take a moment today just to say thank you to God for ALL that He has given us, especially all that we have so taken for granted. He has been so good to us. Please remember to pray for those still in dangerous places, those who are continuing to do rescues & recovery. There are still areas around Galveston that they have not yet been able to even get into, but people were there before the storm.
I read a verse this morning, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Prov. 15:3
That brings me comfort to know that He is watching...that HE is aware, that HE is protecting, that He will bring recovery & healing to our city through time.
love you all, I'll keep posting as I'm able to!