Ike - One week later

It is hard to believe that a week ago we were fixated on our computer watching Ike bear down on Houston and praying, quite honestly, that it would just go away. The anticipated storm surge and flooding did not reach our neighborhood. The fact that I feel so blessed and thankful that our damage was minimal in comparison to others is kind of a quandary. Does this mean that those who lost their homes and suffered damage are not blessed and do not have a reason to be thankful? I guess it is a reminder that stuff is stuff that we are not to store up here on earth, and we are to look for God's blessings regardless of circumstance daily.

Our church is still without power and my act of service was my first "tagging" job spray painting the sign. We have still been blessed with cooler than normal weather and pray that it will hold true through services on Sunday. We also received the all clear on our water and can now drink from the faucet. Our neighborhood is back to full power as of last night. About half of Houston is still without power though.

I am still trying to put the house back together - a task that is taking me much longer than I anticipated. The nerves of everyone seem a bit frayed. We have not returned to life as normal now that we house seven. School isn't starting until September 29th because of damage to the schools - I know everyone is anxious about going back and wondering if this means two weeks longer to the school year.

And so we start a new week.