Y’all are not going to believe the dumb thing I did yesterday. Curtis had the privilege of getting to preach the Sunday services at a local church that is currently in an interim period. (Hello, friends at Humble Area FBC!) Of course, we arrived early to get Curtis settled. While he did his thing, I took Jackson to the kids area (which was amazing) and let him play on their indoor playground until his class was ready to start. After I dropped him off in the “Happy Hippos” room (I kept saying “Hungry Hippos”) I made my way to the sanctuary to find my husband. He was doing something in the sound booth, so I walked to the front and looked to see if his stuff was sitting on a chair.

Indeed, I saw Curt’s blue Bible and his car keys sitting on a chair in the front row. There was no one else seated on the row at that time. So I sat down next to his stuff. Then I thought I would be a good wife and put his keys in my purse so he wouldn’t have to think about them. A couple minutes later a man came over and sat on the other side of Curt’s stuff. He looked at me curiously and then started messing with Curt’s stuff. So I said, “Oh, that’s my husband’s stuff.” Then he kindly told me that, no, that was his stuff! I was so horrified! Then I had to confess to him that I had even put his car keys in my purse! Oh, y’all, I was so embarrassed! He was super nice and laughed with me about it. (Hi, Mitch!) It’s just so nice to make a good first impression, isn’t it? Ha ha!

We loved getting to meet everyone at HAFBC. What a sweet congregation. I cannot say enough about how wonderful their kidzone is! Wow! We met some really neat people and Curt and I discussed on the way home that the number one benefit of being in ministry is simply getting to know people. Despite Jackson’s usual post-church restlessness, we enjoyed getting to have lunch with the Whitakers and hear about their family’s journey with the Lord. You just never know what God has done in another person’s life. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are such treasures and if we slow down long enough to hear one another’s stories, we will be so blessed and want to praise God for His works!

Well, it’s been a while since I updated you on Baby Girl. I am 22 weeks along now, which is just over half way there. Yesterday marked four months until my due date (Feb. 12). I am in that grace period between the first and third trimesters when I feel great and actually look pregnant, but not too pregnant. I’ve been seeing babies everywhere and I’m getting so excited to have this little one join us! She does have a name but (please don’t hate us) we are going to wait until she’s born to announce it. Or at least try. I just know I’m going to slip up!

Happy Columbus Day to all of you and, if you have the day off, I hope it’s a really good one! Blessings!
Love,
Amanda

Last night Curt and I went to pick up Jackson from the babysitter’s house. That would be my mom’s house. We had our dinner 8 group for Sunday school and Bibby was so generous to take Jackson for us. They even went to Chucky Cheese (Chunky Cheese, as we say in our family)! Jackson is so lucky! When we got to her house we were both feeling kind of crummy from a cold. I could see the gears turning in my mother’s mind. She was deciding whether to reveal a secret about herself that could either shock and horrify us or help relieve our stuffy noses. Her mothering instincts overrode her self-protection instincts and she darted into her bathroom and emerged with this thing that looked like a small watering can-slash-tea pot. She said some of the girls at work had started using these things – neti pots they’re called – and she had finally taken the plunge. (You can watch an instructional video here if you dare.) It worked wonders, she said. She may have even used the words “life changing.” Now all of the LPM crew, minus one, are regular users.

We were somewhat amazed as she explained it. Curtis, who is one day more advanced into his cold than I am, not to mention more adventurous, was intrigued. So on the way home we picked one up at Walgreen’s. Once Jackson was in bed, Curtis proceeded to irrigate his sinuses over my kitchen sink. Awesome. He also lost concentration during the process and didn’t control his breathing correctly, which resulted in him losing his dinner in my kitchen sink. Super awesome. Personally, I’ve had enough of losing my breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in the last few months and I would rather not try this neti pot phenomenon. Curtis was sniffling again within 15 minutes. Totally not worth it to me, y’all. I declined using the neti pot. Well this morning when I woke up my head felt like it weighed 40 pounds. I started coughing and wouldn’t you know that my body went into morning sickness mode. Fun times. So Curtis and I can bond over our stuffy noses and weak stomachs. We are a pitiful pair.

(I know, this is the worst post of all time. I was really hurting for something to say.)

So are you a natural remedy kind of person (not that there’s anything natural about pouring water into your nose through a tea pot) or do you reach for the medicine cabinet when you get sick? If you’re a natural remedy kind of person, what is the one thing you’re always trying to get your friends to try?

I would normally sustain myself on DayQuil and NyQuil, but since I’m with child I’m just trying to make it on as little Tylenol as possible, chicken soup, and decaf hot tea. Okay, y’all are not going to believe this, but Curtis just walked in the door unexpectedly. He’s home on his lunch break to use his neti pot again! He is so brave and wild at heart! As for me, I’m going to heat up some soup.

Good morning, siestas. Today is the day my Curtis comes home and I want to thank you for praying for us. I know he had a very powerful experience in India and I can’t wait to hear all the details. I’m sure he will want to share his experience with you, too. Jackson and I did great. We had one 48 hour stretch that was pretty tough, but other than that we did better than I thought we would. God was faithful to meet our needs every day.

I also want to share something that I wrote yesterday. Up until a few days ago we were one of the families with a missing loved one from the Galveston area. Praise God, our loved one has been found. Then I had a dream two nights ago that I was one of the people who didn’t evacuate the island in time for Hurricane Ike and it was so upsetting. God used those things to burn this on my heart.

The National Weather Center issued the stern warning to those living on the coast: “Those living in one or two-story single family homes must evacuate or face certain death.” It was debated whether the wording was too dramatic. For some, maybe it was, but the words were sadly appropriate for what may amount to hundreds of others. Unbelievably large numbers of people did not heed the warning. They wanted to stay with their homes and be able to protect their belongings after the storm. What they didn’t consider was that there would be nothing left to save, regardless of their presence. The hurricane would not make landfall until Saturday, but they didn’t plan on the storm surge reaching the coast as early as Friday afternoon. With the sun still shining, the gulf waters began overtaking Bolivar Peninsula, making a last minute evacuation impossible for hundreds of people. They drank in the sight of water covering the roadways and were forced to swallow the bitter pills of regret and dread. They called for help, but only a fraction could be rescued before the winds became too strong for the helicopters. They called their loved ones and said, “I made a mistake. I’m really in trouble here.” They were helpless. And their loved ones are left traumatized. Emergency operators would receive countless calls for help during the storm. They would not be able to offer any hope. It was too late. In complete and utter darkness, people were swept to sea in their own homes. Their broken, swollen bodies are currently being recovered all along the coast amid debris, alligators, water moccasins, and swarms of mosquitoes. The Houston Chronicle reports that hundreds of people are unaccounted for. You can go to their web site and search the names and faces of missing fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sons and daughters. It is horrifying.

In the midst of this, while many in this region remain mercifully unaware due to lack of power and/or cable TV, our country is on the verge of financial disaster. And while the coast is still cleaning up, we will elect a new president and proceed to change administrations in the middle of a war. Simply put, it is all very scary.

People, look around and see that the storm surge of Hell is rising around us. It is lapping at the Sea Wall. It is beginning to flood the only road off the island. We stand on the decks of our fancy beach homes built on sand and watch the water rising, submerging the pillars we trusted to keep us safe. We’ve already been warned of disaster. Scripture says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Our sin – the thing inside us that makes us do wrong – has earned us spiritual death, an eternity apart from God. Indeed, an eternity in hell. The hell on earth around us now is only a shadow of what is to come when we will reap the terrible harvest of the sin we sowed on this earth. It is a dire message. A terrible thing to have to hear. But true.

My friends, the good news is that we still have time to call the Emergency Operator and ask to be saved. While the Bible says that we deserve death, it also says “But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We can call upon Jesus to save us – from ourselves and from the unquenchable fire of hell that is eager to overtake us all. There is a way out, but there is only one way. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Call on Jesus.

“Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:25-26)

Jesus made a way for us to be saved when He came to earth and lived a perfect life. He was fully man and at the same time fully God. He was completely without sin. He laid down His life for us while we were still doing everything wrong and spitting in His face. He loved us that much. He was tortured, then nailed to a cross and died. On that cross He bore the wrath of God for all of humanity’s sin. He suffered and died in our place.

He was resurrected on the third day and appeared to many men. This is one of the most well documented facts in history. All of time revolves around His resurrection. At this moment He sits on a throne in Heaven next to God. He waits for us to call upon Him for salvation, to surrender our lives to Him, to put our hope and trust in Him. Romans 10:9-12 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'” He waits with open arms for the Saved, the Forgiven, the Rescued to enter into the splendor of an eternity with Him. There, the foundation is solid and there is no fear. There is only joy and the fulfillment of every need of your immortal soul in the presence of the One who created you.

Just like the hundreds of people who died needlessly when they did not heed the evacuation orders on the coast, we will suffer in hell needlessly if we do not take Jesus Christ up on His offer of salvation. What? You think you don’t deserve to be rescued? Well no one does. It is all by grace, no matter how “good” you seemed or how “bad” you were. What? You want to stay in your house and protect all that you’ve gathered for yourself on this earth? It will all be destroyed anyway. What? Your husband won’t go with you? You’d rather stay behind with him and ride it out? How foolish. Take your children and go. Call upon His name before it is too late.

Hurricane Hell is in the gulf. It is churning. It will certainly make landfall for each of us, but we are not given a forecast. We do not know when it will hit, but we do know that it brings with it “certain death.” Will we say the warning is too stern? Or will we call upon the Savior and be rescued?