I saw the videos on TV and the photos in the Clarion Ledger, and I listened to my sister and others tell about the damage in their neighborhoods, but until I drove down Old Canton Rd. to church this morning and smelled the aroma of broken pines and uprooted giant oaks and heard the sound of chainsaws working furiously to make smaller pieces of the huge trees that no longer stood tall, it was just another news story, not very real to me, at all. Arriving at church and finding out that all our choir members were okay and most of our parishioners had escaped injury to themselves and serious damage to their houses, I felt a real sense of relief. The National Weather Service has confirmed that 5 separate tornadoes blew through this area on Friday.
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Electricity had not been restored at the church, but that didn't interfere with our service. About the only difference it made was that David played the piano instead of the organ and we didn't wear choir robes due to no AC. With the sun being out, we had plenty of light to read by. A healing service had already been scheduled for today, nothing high-tech about "anointing of oil and laying on of hands." I love these occasions when we set aside our pride and independence and bring our needs and vulnerabilities to the altar. The Holy Spirit is so real when that happens, blessing us with its abundant fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Why can't we see it so plainly all the time?

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I've been hobbling around with a limp today following a nasty fall I took last night. I went to my neighbor's house to walk his dogs while he worked late, and I fell on his driveway. My left foot is really sore, but is not swollen, so I don't think anything is broken. The rest of me aches from the severe jarring it got. Excedrin Back & Body tablets work well for this type injury. It allowed me to enjoy lunch with Pam and Jean at Amerigo's and a party this afternoon at the Greenhill's for Jon and Trish, who got married last month in Las Vegas. Congratulations to the lovebirds!

It's only 8:00, but I'm ready to turn in for the evening. Night all!