Isn't God Great?

A meteorologist in Jackson and one of my spiritual heroes, Barbie Bassett, has a blog. She mostly uses it for sharing her thoughts and a daily devotion. It's pretty great and inspiring. Check it out here. However, sometimes, since she is a meteorlogist, she blogs about the weather, what is going on, what to watch for, etc. She's been giving updates about Gustav. Today she did the same. But also, she answered a viewer question about how to deal with children who are afraid of the weather. She said she dealt with the same thing with her 5-year-old, Gracie. Then she said this:

"The truth is tornadoes, hurricanes, and storms occur everyday all over the world. When God made this earth, He made it to work in cycles. Although we seem to be more afraid of the damage from hurricanes, the churning of the ocean waters help to "mix up" the water and bring more nutrients closer to the surface so sea creatures and plant life can have more to feed on. We are scared of damage from tornadoes, but tornadoes often have rain that accompanies it. Plants and animals need the rain that comes from these storms. So you see, storms do have a place in this expansive world."

It really made me realize how awesome God is and how He really does have a reason for everything and has everything under control. It's so neat to learn how those things we are so afraid of also do some good in this world. You can always find something in a situation to bring God glory from it.

On another note, my girls (volleyball) beat Auburn tonight, at Auburn, in their own tournament, in three straight games, for the first time in school history. We were 0-4 against them. It was incredible to see. To see these girls turn around from going 6-21 two years ago to 16-13 and having the first winning season in school history, to beating a team like Auburn, was so fun. You would have thought that they won the national championship by the way they celebrated after but I know it was just because they were so proud of themselves and each other. They really worked as a team. No one player stood out among the rest. The burden was never on just one player. They worked together and it was so fun to see them get something good out of it. And the people who needed to step up and be leaders, did so. And it showed.

We have a new coach; he's pretty awesome. Already you can see how hard these girls are working and the discipline they are learning and how that is paying off. Also he's a spitting image of Dane Cook so just being around him is a treat. I cry everytime from laughing so hard.

Anyway, it's almost midnight and I have to get up in about seven hours to get ready for a match at 11:30 and then wait around about seven hours for another one. And then drive back to Birmingham. It's going to be a very long day.

Sidenote: Tulane is evacuating to Samford this week. Let the fight for facilities and practice times begin, especially if it rains all week. Southeastern Louisiana's tennis team is also evacuating to Samford with the possibility of UNO coming as well. Geez, there's going to be a lot of people on campus next week.

And the Saints just evacuated to Indianapolis. Really? Why so far? I guess they are not taking any chances.

Gustav, stay away from NOLA. Please. I don't think it can take much more. Plus, Casey really, really wants to have her bachelorette weekend there. Be kind.