My cousin just e-mailed to tell me about it. She's evidently got power, so she's one of the lucky ones. They lost a tree next to their home, but no branches on the house. (God is GOOD!) They live on a golf course, and she said there isn't a hole that doesn't have tree damage. It always makes me sad to see damaged trees.

Hello everyone! I'm back! I've been in the dark since Sunday am at 6:30am. My parents lost their power at 12:30pm. It has been a rough week for us but we have stayed warm and survived. An electric company from Pennsylvannia is working our area to get the power back on and arrived on our property today at 3:30pm. What a glorious sight to see them arrive! Power was restored and it's great to be able to flip a switch in the house and VIOLA! the lights are on. I didn't have a chance to say Thank you to that crew and I do thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they have done and are still doing out there. To leave their homes and family and travel to Oklahoma to help is a sacrifice.

All the approx. 100 trees on our 10 acres have been destroyed but hopefully we can trim them back and save most of them. It will take a couple of years to see the new growth on the trees. Some are split and will probably have to be removed.

My driveway was completely blocked with tree limbs and a downed tree from Sunday to Wednesday. My dad and I cleared the driveway and I was thrilled to be able to get my car out of the garage. I hadn't seen it since Saturday night when I parked it in the garage. When I opened the door it was like opening the time tunnel and finding the Belvedere. There she was without a scratch on her. It was so nice to drive my own car to work and not depend on others for a ride.

Sunday and Monday was scarey. I woke up on Sunday morning at 5:20am to the tune of a big limb falling on my roof. Several fell and sounded like bombs going off. Our place looks like a war zone or an F5 tornado hit it. From OKC through Northeastern Oklahoma it looks the same everywhere. It will take time and a lot of hard work to clean up.

Our God is a POWERFUL GOD and so VERY AWESOME! I have seen His Glory, His Power and His Handiwork everywhere around me this week. I observed people alot while working at my part-time LOWES job this week. Those scrambling and fighting for generators, batteries, flashlights, food and other supplies they needed to survive this storm. While watching them it reminded me of maybe what it will be like when the Lord comes back and the earth will be destroyed. These people were not ready for the ice storm. They were not prepared for what they had to deal with this week and many were desperate and many panicked because they had no heat, no lights, no water and they couldn't get the supplies because our area was short of those needs. I was fortunate that I didn't have to scramble and panic. I was ready. And what I didn't have, God supplied my needs and quickly. (No panic on my point of view). Oh, how I wanted to use this time to tell all these people to please be ready when the Lord comes. He has shown us His Almighty Power this week and I wonder just how many people have given God the credit and recognized that God is speaking to us. How many will listen to Him, study His word and obey His will? How many of them will be ready when the Lord does come. I believe it will be soon. Ummmm...just a thought.

Praising and Thanking God Through Whom All Blessings Flow,

Kathy
from OKLAHOMA

Kathy, it is so good to "hear" your voice!!! I know that must have been quite and experience. Thanks be to God for His loving care!

Thanks so much Mary. It is so good to hear your voice too! The TV report this morning was that under 100,000 are still out of power. It is supposed to start snowing in our area around noon today and the temperature will drop to 19 tonight. Please pray for all those who are still without power and they will find the shelter and warmth they need. Please remember the power and street crews who are out there 24-7 diligently working in the weather. When I talked to the power company yesterday on the phone they said all the Tulsa area power will be back on by Tuesday.

It was wonderful to wake up this morning and enjoy lights in the house and a hot cup of coffee in my easy chair and watch the morning news on TV. I am also doing my laundry and have a refrigerator to clean out this morning. When these luxuries are taken away from us it makes us more aware of our God and appreciate what He has provided for us. Luke 12:25-34 comes to my mind this week. Jesus uses nature's lesson to remind us not to worry that God takes care of us if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

I'm also anxious to attend worship and fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters in the morning. Needless to say, we didn't have worship services last Sunday. We had better attendance than I thought on Wednesday night. We all met in the auditorium for singing and devotional. It was wonderful to be together to pray and praise God in songs.

Have a wonderful week-end and stay warm everyone!

Hugs,
Kathy

Kathy, I'm so glad your power is back on!! Our son, Donald, in Del City, has been in the dark since last Monday and still doesn't have power. Haven't heard from him today. We're praying his water pipes didn't freeze during the weekend to add to the complications. I know there are still many others who haven't yet been reconnected and are facing many challenges. Please continue to pray for them--for patience and endurance, both for residents and those doing the repairs.

Donna
http://donnaparker.w4aw.org