This will just be a quick update! (When have I ever done just a "quick update"? But I'll try!).
Thank you all for so many wonderful comments on my last couple of posts. Your words of prayer and encouragement are such a blessing to me. Thank you for taking the time to write and share your thoughts with me.
Just to let you know, it is now a little after 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. We've had mostly light rain all day long, and some light and gusty winds every so often. The real storm isn't here yet. They have moved the time frame up to Milton making landfall on the coast around 10:00 p.m., and it seems to be moving more quickly, so it should work its way across the state by sometime in the morning tomorrow. The "cone" is still wobbling a bit, but it seems to be a tiny bit further south than it was originally expected to be. That is better for us, but not so good for our friends in southwest Florida, so please keep them in your prayers. Well, keep us all in your prayers, because none of us our out of the woods with this storm, but some will have a much worse impact than others.
I took these pictures of Still Waters Pond this morning just after it started raining:
And here it is just a while ago, before it got dark...you can see that the water has come up some, but we are in no danger of flooding here from this pond. Our house sits up quite high, and the pond is not fed by any other lake or river or stream, so it really isn't a threat to us. I am thankful we do not live closer to the St. John's River, as that is notorious for flooding when there is any bad storm, and streets in the city 15 miles from us are already having flood issues because of the high water levels there nearer the river.
Please pray for our daughter in law Rose, who has to go into work early tomorrow morning (at 4:30 a.m.!) at Home Depot! Our son will drive her in his big truck so she doesn't have to drive her little car the 15 miles to work, but still...really? She is essential because she has to take care of the opening procedures for the store, and I guess they think people will need to come looking for things to repair their houses tomorrow once the storm lets up enough. Seems like they could wait and open later, but no...they don't want to lose a dime! Our Walmart actually closed today at noon! I'm not sure when they plan to reopen.
I was having a running conversation on Facebook Messenger with some of my extended family members today, and it was so funny to hear what everyone was doing while waiting for the storm.
I won't put their names on here to protect the "innocent", but I thought you'd get a kick out of what everyone was doing today:
From one friend:
"Just finished all the property:contents videos, so I'm feeling like I'm all set. Have all the necessities: flashlights & battery camp lights / pumpkin pie / chocolate chip cookies 
/ B&J's Cherry Garcia / roasted pork roast / potato salad / chips & dip / lots of coke / etc. ... I'll be fine." Oops, I forgot the most important thing ... a good book!!!" (and this person lives alone! LOL, But I think she is expecting neighbors or friends to pop in apparently!)
And from another family member:
"I did the same thing, probably stress cooking for me. I made an apple crisp, brownies and chocolate chip cookies."
From another:
"So far I've done 2 loads of laundry, one more to go. I'm in the middle of rearranging my pantry so I can find what's in there! Right now, ___is on a telehealth call making teeth impressions for a sleep dentistry study...Like silly putty! Lol"
Here's me...the most boring one of all:
"I’m making hobo stew and corn bread."
But I included pictures:
Here's hubby patiently waiting for me to quit playing around and dish up the cornbread:
I snapped these two pictures in succession. One of these things is not like the other, can you see the difference? LOL.
Yes, if you noticed above there was a mysterious hand reaching for the butter! LOL. I told you he was getting impatient! LOL.
So that is how I entertained myself this afternoon, "chatting" with family and friends, and it really was fun and special. We all connected and wished each other well and told each other to stay safe and that we'd be praying for each other. That's what matters most of all. We also talked to our son Scott, who lives a little ways north of us. He's made all the necessary preparations there...("I've got enough pizza to eat for a few days!") LOL.
If you are a Facebook friend, you may have already seen the beautiful sunset pictures from last night. I will include this one here, along with the verse that came up in my devotional reading for today:
Psalm 57:1-3
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.
2 I will cry out to God Most High,
To God who performs all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah
God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
And with that I will close for tonight. If we lose power, I may not be able to write a post for a few days, but I will try to connect through my cellphone as much as possible...(just gotta keep it charged!) And yes, please continue to pray for all of us here in Florida. It's going to be a very long night for so many, especially those closer to the coast(s). Both the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast are affected because of the powerful winds as they go across from one coast to the other, so everyone is under a hurricane watch or warning with possible storm surges along the coast. Thank you for your prayers. Good Night and God bless you every one!
