Pray for Mississippi and other ways to help!

Yesterday, just one day after a devastating tornado in Arkansas, my home state of Mississippi was hit hard by damaging storms and tornadoes. I have written here before about the fear I have associated with storms. It's not pretty and I am trying hard to teach my son about safety without invoking fear in him. It's really hard.

We sat in our hallway last night for a short time with blankets and a mattress over our heads. There was a brief time when our power went out and everything went silent except for the wind and thunder. We then heard a tree snap and to calm myself and in an attempt to not scare Jonah too badly, we sang Jesus loves me and said a little prayer together for protection. The last thing we heard before the power and cable went out was the tornado was headed toward an area just a few miles south of us - so we just stayed undercover until I could find my phone to call my mom, who then told me we were in the clear and it was headed her way. Thankfully, it did not hit her neighborhood, but did hit very close.

During the multiple storms many areas very close to home were hit and people were injured and many lost everything. I returned to work today and saw some tree damage in our neighborhood, but going a few days without cable and internet is just fine with me, when comparing other's situations today. If you would like to/are able to help in anyway here are some ways to help storm victims locally
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/04/29/donate-money-blood-ways-help-storm-victims/8452585/ and you can always donate to RedCross by  texting the word "redcross" to 90999 to make a one-time $10 donation to American Red Cross disaster relief; the charge will show up on your next phone bill. If you can't do anything monetarily to help, I'm sure these survivors would appreciate your prayers for their comfort and guidance. 

You can see damage, survivors, and news by checking out #prayformississippi on social media. Twitter here.

I have to say I am so thankful for the ways you can see communities coming together after something like this and I just pray that the calm sticks around, even with the chance of severe weather again this afternoon. I will be praying for our safety and for the safety of those East of us this afternoon. Stay safe friends!