tornado

glory, God, providence, tornado, tragedy, weather

It’s tornado weather

Posted on April 28, 2014 by elizabethprata

I’m working on another blog essay for tonight about not growing weary in the well-doing. But I wanted to pause and pray for a moment. There is a severe weather outbreak in the South and the Plains States of the US. Tornadoes, hail, lightning and severe winds and thunder are wreaking havoc at this hour, and have been since last night. Many people have died and much property is demolished. Lives are forever changed.

Our section of the South, Georgia, will start to get hit later tonight and tomorrow through Wednesday. It is by meteorological accounts, a very severe threat. Tupelo Mississippi just got hammered and there is a great amount of damage.

The Lord told us in His word that He holds us in His hand and the days of our lives are numbered. We never know if this moment will be our last breath or if we have another 20000 days to go. By this time tomorrow I could be dead, injured, or homeless. Or I could be the same- ensconced in my tiny apartment with three happy cats eating fruit and drinking tea. We just never know. However, what I appeal to the Lord for is my attitude. Here is my prayer:

“Lord, may You be glorified if You decide to blast my house in a tornado. May my attitude reflect submission to Your will, exhibit certainty that You are in control, and comfort in the knowledge that You have the bigger picture in mind- because all things work together for good for those who love you.

“If you decide to spare my house, then please may I reflect Your glory in gratitude that You have allowed me to continue unscathed, though, knowing that life’s trials are a sure thing and another one may be around the corner tomorrow. In all, Your will be done.”

“May You be glorified if some of those who have experienced tragedy through this weather come to salvation. Severe storms make a person think about life, family, and mortality. May they also think of You and Your Son, and the afterlife you have prepared for those who love you. May your glory shine brightly in newly converted hearts, even amidst the debris.” Amen

Job Loses his Children and Property
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”…

21He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

22Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
(Job 1:18-19, 21-22)

bad things, disaster, evil, tornado

If God is good, why didn’t He stop the tornado?

Posted on May 21, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

It is admittedly hard to read of news where children are killed or harmed. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newton CT this past December 2012 was surely horrific. Reading about the 20 children who died in the Plaza Tower Elementary school yesterday in Moore OK via a EF-5 tornado is also heart-rending.

At times like these, people often ask, “Where is God?” “How could He allow this to happen?” “Is God good?”

I can put it this way. When a serial killer is placed on death row and eventually executed, we say that justice was done. If a person breaking and entering a home is shot by the homeowner, we often say ‘good! He got what he deserved.’

When Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron, he was rebelling against God. (Numbers 16:3). The LORD told Moses to tell the congregation to separate from Korah, and Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their household and the goods in the household were swallowed up as the earth opened up and took them alive to Sheol. When this happened, we say “God is just and right to do this thing. Korah was performing a moral evil in rebelling against God trough Moses and Aaron.”

When the tornado came and the earth swallowed the children in the bottom of the Plaza Towers Elementary School,” do we say, “God is unjust and bad to do this thing?” No! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8).

What we cannot fathom, we must trust that the Lord is good and His purposes are good. On the one hand, He directly put down a rebellion by performing a supernatural disaster as He did in the Old Testament.

On the other hand, what of the children in the elementary schools which were razed by the tornado? If they are declared innocent by a righteous God, as Deuteronomy 1:39 and Isaiah 7:16 and also explained here, then why did they have to die? Why did God allow a natural disaster to take them?

And that is where I stopped my essay, many hours ago. I was stuck on the answer myself because I was unsatisfied with saying that sin is a blanket cause for all evil, including natural disasters. Though the sin done n the Garden of Eden was indirectly the cause of the weather patterns turning deadly, how and what are we to think of a deadly tornado such as the one yesterday, more specifically? My theology brought me to an understanding of sin as a reason for the general evil in the world, including disasters such as the Oklahoma tornado. But it wasn’t a deep enough answer.

But later today, Dr. Al Mohler wrote today of this exact subject. He said, “But Jesus rejected this as a blanket explanation for suffering, instructing His disciples in John 9 and Luke 13 that they could not always trace suffering back to sin.”

What are we to think, then? As I read the rest of Dr. Mohler’s essay, that more thorough explanation became clear through his precise and mature understanding of theology. He wrote,

However as Dr. Mohler explains that passages in Luke 13 and John 9 show us that “the problem of evil and suffering, the theological issue of theodicy, is customarily divided into evil of two kinds, moral and natural.” [emphasis mine]

The moral problem of evil was exemplified in Korah. Korah’s pride and ambition was his undoing. He committed a moral sin and ended up rebelling against God. Suffering ensued for him and his family.

He says that a discussion of both kinds of evil are included in the Luke 13 passage.

“In Luke 13, the murder of the Galileans is clearly moral evil, a premeditated crime–just like the terrorist acts in New York and Washington. In John 9, a man is blind from birth, and Jesus tells the Twelve that this blindness cannot be traced back to this man’s sin, or that of his parents. Natural evil comes without a moral agent. A tower falls, an earthquake shakes, a tornado destroys, a hurricane ravages, a spider bites, a disease debilitates and kills. The world is filled with wonders mixed with dangers. Gravity can save you or gravity can kill you. When a tower falls, it kills.”

Further, Mohler wrote,

A venerable confession of faith states it rightly: “God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any way to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.”

But if God is sovereign, doesn’t He allow the tornado to occur? How do we reconcile God’s sovereignty and our responsibility? We can’t really. Not with our finite minds. Mohler answers,

God is God, and God is good. As Paul affirms for the church, God’s sovereignty is the ground of our hope, the assurance of God’s justice as the last word, and God’s loving rule in the very events of our lives: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28]

We dare not speak on God’s behalf to explain why He allowed these particular acts of evil to happen at this time to these persons and in this manner. Yet, at the same time, we dare not be silent when we should testify to the God of righteousness and love and justice who rules over all in omnipotence. Humility requires that we affirm all that the Bible teaches, and go no further. There is much we do not understand. As Charles Spurgeon explained, when we cannot trace God’s hand, we must simply trust His heart.

What we do understand is that God is good in having sent His son to die for us. Jesus took upon Himself all sin and exhausted God’s wrath for it, and then died, to be accepted by God as the eternal sacrifice for that sin and raised on the third day. He now imputes His righteousness to His saints who believe this Gospel by faith, and it is by that vehicle we declare His righteousness to those who are afflicted and suffering.

He allows us to be His witnesses, the indwelling Holy Spirit glowing and bringing God glory. If we were to see a visible manifestation of His Goodness, would it be in Christians’ Spirit lovingly racing TO the place of terror, danger, and devastation, to help their neighbor? Like this photo from the Baltimore Sun, with the lens flares I inserted?

As my friend Pastor Phil wrote yesterday, “May our suffering Oklahoma neighbors and friends see the manifest presence of God in the midst of their suffering, especially through the ministries of Christians.”

This is where God is good, and all that Goodness stems back to the only One who is Good, God, who sent His Son. (Mark 10:18).

If we could part the curtain and see His goodness visibly, would it be that we’d see the myriads of ministering angels? Especially at the flattened school? As I try to show with this photo from the Chicago Tribune containing lens flares I put in? (Those aren’t floodlights)

Dr. Mohler said,

“The second great error is to ascribe evil to God. But the Bible does not allow this argument. God is absolute righteousness, love, goodness, and justice. Most errors related to this issue occur because of our human tendency to impose an external standard–a human construction of goodness–upon God. But good does not so much define God as God defines good.”

Yes, we mourn and we cry when we see the terrible calamity of children killed, neighbors dead, homes lost, and businesses smashed. The heart of the matter is not whether God is good or God is bad, the heart of the matter is repentance. A calamity could happen any day. Like in Luke 13, the tower of Siloam fell on 18 workers constructing it and they died. Jesus said, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”” (Luke 13:4-5). Your eternal destiny awaits, are you ready? A tornado could take your life, it is a natural evil that is blind and thoughtless, taking with it into its deadly vortex a child or a sinner or a repented one. Any day, any time. If you do not repent, you shall likewise perish, not just body, but soul

God’s goodness is that He made a way for you to escape eternal destruction, no matter the manner of death. That way is Jesus. (John 14:6). Talk about good! It doesn’t get any better than the Savior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sad day with devastating tornadoes (What God Ordains Is Always Good) Updated

Posted on May 20, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Update– You might be interested in this essay I wrote a day later, looking at the situation a bit more deeply and theologically, called If God is Good, why Didn’t He Stop the Tornado?

————————-

I am recovering from a traumatic spiritual battle as I alluded to earlier in the month. It sapped my strength almost completely.

Our elementary school’s last day is this Friday at noon. So three and a half days left. Most of the kindergarteners thought today was the last day, more than one thought so. Holding these kids down for 7 hours a few days away from summer break saps your strength.

We are having an unusual heat all of a sudden. The temps are in the upper-80s but real-feel temps are in the mid-90s. It saps your strength.

I went grocery shopping after work, the Dollar Store and Grocery store share a parking lot. Walking the buggy back and forth from one side to the other to load the car with heavy groceries saps your strength.

I got home at a low strength point. Kind of weary.

Then I read about the tornadoes in Oklahoma. My strength sapped even further, pooling at the ground around my feet.

A KFOR-TV weather man said the winds from this worst tornado were over 300mph and it was an F5. It was wider than Oklahoma’s worst historic tornado which occurred in 1999. It is at least 3X as worse as the May 1999 historic tornado. It went from nothing, not a cloud, to an F5 inside of one hour, which is the fastest the atmosphere will allow, he said. It caused catastrophic devastation. He said it is the most devastation from a tornado in the history of the world. There are many dead, including 24 children, at least, have died.

When I read about the elementary schools being in the path of a direct hit from this devastating tornado, my strength waned quickly…tears come to my eyes for this old sinful world. Watching anything die is hard, watching the world die is harder.

What to do?

Praise the Lord. It gives you strength. (Psalm 68:35).

Trust the Lord. It gives you strength. (Isaiah 12:2).

Obey the Lord. It gives you strength. (Revelation 14:12).

Hope in the Lord. It gives you strength. (Lamentations 3:25).

What God ordains is always good. I posted this yesterday, I post it again. Because we need it.

hell, tornado, transparent dress

Designer creates dress that turns clear when wearer gets excited

Posted on February 11, 2013 by elizabethprata

Essential reading: Tim Challies on hell

“The Bible warns us that those who do not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).”

Read more at his blog. It is an excellent presentation of this essential doctrine.

I’m so sad at reading of the huge tornado at Hattiesburg MS, but thankfully so far no deaths are reported. The youtube video uploaded immediately after the storms rolled through were jaw dropping. Weather Channel producer Shawn Reynolds tweeted, “Within 48 hrs, I’ve produced separate shows on historic blizzards & tornadoes. If I ever get bored with my job, shoot me.”

And let’s not forget another 6.0-plus quake at Santa Cruz Islands. (M6.3). The big quakes there never stopped. It has been a busy day and it is not over yet. Weather is getting c.r.a.z.y!

As we edge ever closer to the singularity…”A Netherlands-based fashion designer has created a high-tech dress line that turns clear when you get excited. How’s that for being transparent on a date? Called Intimacy — from designer Daan Roosegaarde, founder of Studio Roosegaarde — the project aims to explore the relationship between technology and the body’s interactions.”

A transparent dress? Hm. I guess he never read the end of Forever Amber.

australia, fire devils, tornado, tornado of fire

Rare Fire Devil tornado amazes: "Dance of Giants"

Posted on September 19, 2012 by elizabethprata

Another rare phenomenon occurs, this one in Australia’s outback. Very interesting and cool.

Christian Post has more.

“A fire tornado has hit the Outback of Australia in recent days, creating an amazing sight as it tore through the brush near Alice Springs. North America has had to deal with its deadly wildfire season, as well as a devastating tornado season, often creating amazing yet destructive images. Australia also has its fair share of bushfires that often devastate its wild lands. However, a rare fire tornado was also caught in video footage in recent days, adding to the dramatic and devastating conditions.”

“The fire tornado in this case was seen tearing through the Outback for as long as 40 minutes, sending anyone nearby running for cover. Fire tornadoes, which are also sometimes called fire devils, are rare and occur when heated air from a bush fire rises and rotates. The column of air pulls the fire into it and draws it upwards, offering a spectacular sight.”

“The recent fire tornado was caught by filmmaker Chris Tangey. It has been reported that he was searching out locations for a new film near Alice Springs, and was taking some footage of a nearby brushfire. However, suddenly the fire shot upwards, creating a fierce fire tornado less than 300 meters away from him.”

“Tangey has reported that the fire tornado reached up to 100 foot in the air. According to 7News Tangey reported, “There was no wind but the tornado sounded just like a fighter jet. My jaw just dropped.”

“The fire tornado lasted 40 minutes, which is relatively long compared to other occurrences of this phenomena. In previous incidences of fire tornadoes some have been recorded as being up to half a mile aide, and have produced powerful winds of up to 100 mph.”

tornado, venice italy

Tornado sweeps across Venice Italy

Posted on June 12, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Italy has had it rough lately. The “weird” earthquake in their northern districts has damaged many industries and cost the nation millions. The emotional toll of structures that have stood for almost a thousand years crumbling before their eyes and blowing away as dust in the wind has been heart-wrenching. The economy is sinking rapidly and may also need to be bailed out after Spain. Now this:

A tornado swept across Venetian roofs this morning. Amateur video caught it. Here is a still from the video, located at the UK Telegraph. “Amateur footage has captured a tornado-like whirlwind sweeping across Venice, ripping up trees and scaring local inhabitants along the way.”

The Telegraph reported, “The tornado roared through Sant’Erasmo island in Venice’s lagoon on Tuesday, ripping the roofs off at least 12 buildings, media reports said.A funnel cloud was clearly visible from the centre of the town and from its canals, Youreporter and Venice Municipality video showed.The tornado caused major damage in several islands off the Venice lagoon, including Sant’Elena and Certosa islands, where many trees were uprooted, reports said.Dozens of small sailing ships were smashed in the port of Sant’Elena.No injuries were reported, the Municipality of Venice said.”

A Wikipedia article lists European tornado outbreaks. In the 20th and 21st century in Italy there have been 5. Five. 1930, 1965, 1970, 2008, 2009. Now one in 2012. The article lists four between 1000 and 1899. Then the three in the 20th century and the three in the last couple of years. Not wanting to put too much stock in one article, you notice the progression though. A few in one thousand years, three a few decades apart and now four in rapid succession.

Tornadoes are not unknown in Europe. The UK actually leads Europe in tornadic incidents, having on average 33 per year. This is a far cry from the US average of 1400 per year however. And though tornadoes are not unknown in Italy, they are rare. And when they do occur in Europe, they are not muscular like the US tornadoes, but cause little to no loss of life and low amounts of property damage, according to this article.

So that is some weather news for you, and a bit of context. A tornado in Venice Italy. You never know what each day will bring.

japan, tokyo, tornado

Rare tornado in Tokyo kills one

Posted on May 6, 2012 by elizabethprata

Fox News reports,
“A tornado tore through an area just northeast of the Japanese capital Sunday, injuring at least 30 people, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands more without electricity. Firefighters and helicopter medical teams rushed to the area after the tornado struck the city of Tsukuba, 40 miles northeast of Tokyo. A 14-year-old boy was in serious condition, and 10 others were being treated at hospitals, the local fire department said. Details of their injuries were not immediately available. NHK footage showed rows of houses that had lost roofs, apartment complexes with smashed balconies and shattered windows, and crooked telephone poles that could barely stand. NHK also showed footage of a swirling gray cloud it said was taken by a passer-by. The number of homes damaged was still unknown, it said. Initially, the fire department had said 30 to 50 homes were destroyed. NHK TV reported that some 200 homes were damaged. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said 24,000 homes were without electricity as strong winds and lightning added to the tornado damage. Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which went into multiple meltdowns from last year’s tsunami, was not affected by Sunday’s tornado or storm, TEPCO said. Tornadoes are relatively rare in the Tokyo area.”

In Revelation, Jesus showed John visions of the future. John saw the weather act in ways that defied description. Angels held back the wind so no breeze blew. Hail fell that weighed 100 pounds each. There were droughts and famines and waters turning to blood and mega earthquakes.

In Matthew 24, the disciples asked “when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3). Jesus answered of the things that would happen and they were the same as the things He showed John.

Between His telling us and His showing us, Jesus has taken great care to alert the generation that will see these things come to pass. The purpose is to show the saved the truth of His word and to assure us that our Redemption draws nigh. For the unsaved, it is to let them know God is in control and that He is coming to judge sinners and to punish Israel. In effect, he is speaking to the entire world, because there is only saved, and unsaved.

The normal is becoming extinct as surely as the dodo bird and the passenger pigeon. The new normal is uncertainty, perplexity, and un-safety. Why is no place safe? Just because a place has never or rarely experienced an earthquake does not mean that they won’t. Just because a place hardly or never has tornadoes doesn’t mean they can’t. Just because a volcano in your backyard never exploded doesn’t mean it wouldn’t. Eventually, all these things will affect all people, everywhere.

“And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”” (Revelation 6:15-17).

You are able to stand because of your position before Christ. If you have repented and accepted Him as savior and Lord, you are justified. He, the Judge, has rendered the verdict, and that verdict is PARDON for your crimes (sins). If you have not repented, you are not justified and the Judge will render the verdict GUILTY. What happens to the guilty? They go to jail. In this case it is hell.

“For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”” (Acts 17:31). This verse is speaking of God appointing Jesus as Judge of all mankind.

There will not be a jury of your peers, there will not be a defense lawyer. There will only be you, and the Judge. Can you withstand the wrath of the Lamb? No. But you can escape it by repenting, announcing your guilt and the Judge who is merciful, will pardon you. You must do it before He arrives in the courtroom, though, (before your death) because after that, all is fixed. It will be too late.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Hebrews 9:27).

And because you don’t know the date of your death, you don’t know when the arresting officers will come get you (the death angel), so announce your guilt now and ask the Judge for mercy. And you don’t even have to wonder of the Judge will grant it, because He has already said that He will!

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:15-18)

dallas, tornado

Why is the heartland getting ripped to shreds by super large tornadoes? asks Michael Snyder

Posted on April 3, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A good, fact-filled post by Michael Snyder on The Economic Collapse Blog:

Why Is The Heartland Of America Being Ripped To Shreds By Gigantic Tornadoes That Are Becoming More Frequent And More Powerful?

“In 2009, there were 1146 tornadoes in the United States.
In 2010, there were 1282 tornadoes in the United States.
In 2011, there were 1691 tornadoes in the United States.
In 2012, we have already seen one of the worst tornado outbreaks ever recorded in the month of March in all of American history. As of Tuesday, there had been 326 tornadoes in the United States so far in 2011. That is about twice as many as usual for this time of the year.
In 2012, we are on pace to far exceed the total we saw in 2011.”

At the end of his article, the blog author asks if we have any theories as to why we are getting such enormous storms year after year. My theory? It’s God. He’s coming.

More at link. Below is a screen grab of one tractor trailer tossed hundreds of feet in the air by a tornado that isn’t even present at the location yet. And below that if you can watch video, is the CNN video and narration of what is going on

bible, faith, tornado, trials

Is your praise louder than the tornado’s roar?

Posted on March 3, 2012 by elizabethprata

It is a sober morning as we wake up and as the daylight rises we see the overnight storm damage. I had a sleepless night as storm after storm rolled through, but the house is intact. I’m thankful for the Lord’s protection. Now one may say, ‘what about all those believers who prayed but whose homes were destroyed? Didn’t they have the Lord’s protection?’ Yes, they did.

In my case, I prayed to the Lord for protection of my body and my home from storm damage. I have full faith and trust that He would do it, and He did.

Others who pray the same in full faith but whose homes are now rubble are also under His protection. The effects of sin in this world means that there will be suffering, but those who are suffering have a new opportunity this morning to turn to Him, and think of eternal things. It affords an opportunity for Christian ministries to minister in His name to the lost, the weak, the brethren. Living in a fallen world means bad things will happen.

I prayed for protection last night and I knew He is able to deliver it. But I did not pray, “Protect me, O Lord, for I am one of your children and You are on my side.” That is testing the Lord. I know His will as it is revealed in the Word, but I do not know His will in each specific circumstance of my life. If I was to go through a trial by enduring a lost dwelling and possessions, let it be so. It doesn’t alter my faith at all. When you have an eternal perspective, the temporary circumstances of my life gain their proper position. Now I’m not as strong as Paul who said of his trials, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) but his kind of attitude is my daily goal to seek and try and reach.

I think of Daniel 3 and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing in front of King Nebuchadnezzar, and they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16b-18).

The furnace was a room sized furnace you know. Picture the men shoveling coal into the Titanic’s room-sized boilers, and that was what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were facing. These furnaces were searingly hot. They were so hot that when the King ordered the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter, the men who were ordered to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego inside were instantly killed by the heat.

Facing that, they did not waver. They did not say, “We are faithful and therefore He will not let us come to harm.” Their prayer in the face of a fiery trial was strong, with the proper perspective of understanding that it may not be His will to allow them no harm. It didn’t alter their faith one bit. He knew He would cover them, but if He didn’t, that was OK too. God is still sovereign.

“The proof of conversion is that he who professes faith in Jesus perseveres in faith and grows in sanctification throughout his life.” ~Paul Washer

That proof is the perseverance in faith especially when storms are ripping through, when death or loss or injury come, when we can say of this trial or that one, “Lord grow me in sanctification so that You are pleased with me.” Sing praises to Him who saves, in the calm and in the storm. Their faith was startling to the King, and Nebuchadnezzar replied in a fury. But when God chose to show Himself in the furnace the men said to the King, “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25).

The King then did what? Praised God. “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” (Daniel 3:28-29)

When the storms come, sing louder, knowing that He is sovereign, and all things are working for the good to those who love Him who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Perhaps your purpose in your trial is simply to sing praises to him, louder than the storm, so that others may hear and believe.
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alabama boy, end time, tornado

Miracle of Alabama: Parents watch as eight-year-old boy is sucked into tornado … but LIVES to tell tale

Posted on May 3, 2011 by elizabethprata

UK Daily Mail has a great tornado story with an miracle ending: He is the boy who got sucked up into a tornado – and lived to tell the tale. Eight-year-old Reginald Epps Jr was picked up off his feet and pulled into the swirling darkness when one of the Alabama twisters tore through his home. As his family cowered beneath him he was carried through the air some 30ft before being set down again with just cuts and bruises. When the wind died down his terrified family looked up to see him walking towards them – and were stunned to see he was still alive. Reginald Jr, known as RJ, was at home in Coaling, Alabama when the tornado swept through at 200mph. At home were his father Reginald, 35, mother Danielle, 36, and brothers James and Joel, six and four. Speaking from his hospital bed in the Regional Medical Centre in Tuscaloosa, Mr Epps said that the family were watching the TV when they heard the tornado could be coming towards them. The firefighter said: ‘It was just after 5pm and I was due to be at work an hour later, but I thought I’d wait and see what was going to happen.”

“‘I had just got some flashlights for me and my wife and we were all in the kitchen when we heard the wind pick up. Then the windows at the back of the house blew out, it was like they popped.”

“‘I shouted at RJ to get up and come with us to the bedroom but when we made it in this roar started.”

‘I looked up and the walls and the roof came away and RJ few off with them. ‘It happened in an instant, he just got sucked away from me. I tried to reach up for him but I couldn’t stop him. It was like he was on a bit of string being pulled from behind. ‘Then I got down on top of James whilst Danielle got on top of Joel to protect them. I got hit by flying glass and other stuff and we held on and prayed for our lives. ‘Danielle was saying: ‘God, protect us! God protect us!’ and I said to James in his ear, I will never forget his face: ‘It’s OK buddy, I’m here for you, I’ll protect you’.’After just 30 seconds the tornado passed on, leaving their home utterly destroyed. Mr Epps said: ‘When it settled down I could see this dark silhouette walking towards us and realised it was RJ. ‘I couldn’t believe it.”

“‘I shouted: ‘Hey! Come here’ and he came towards us and we huddled together for a bit longer until I was sure it was over.’ Mr Epps, RJ and James were all taken to hospital and the children were released that day with just cuts and bruises. Mr Epps is still being treated for a punctured lung, three fractured ribs and cuts and bruises.”

The Daily Mail(linked above) has great photos, as usual
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