Stormy Night.

This past week we have had some crazy weather.  Although it is just the first week of March, we've had a few days of warm, beautiful sunshine with temperatures in the low 70s.  This is totally out of the ordinary!  On the downside, this warm weather when combined with some major wind and rain meant that we had a few days of crazy thunderstorms that were capable of producing tornadoes and hail.  Sounds like last Spring when Knoxville was slammed with treacherous and damaging weather.

Last night we had small group, and even though we were in the midst of major weather conditions, we decided to keep our meeting on.  There was a break in the weather, and we had it timed that if we let out early, everyone would be able to get home safely.  We also had a Prophecy team visiting our group, which we were really excited about, so we didn't want to cancel unless absolutely necessary.  The group was awesome and the Lord was so evident through the ministry of the prophecy team.

Group ended right at nine o'clock, and according to the news, we had about 35-45 minutes before the next major storm system hit our area.  We quickly packed our crew up and headed home because we had about a twenty minute drive.  As we left, it wasn't even raining, but as we got closer to the house, the lightning increased drastically.  The kids were excited at first, but as the lightning increased in frequency, Liam got really scared.  He kept saying, "I'm scared! I'm scared!  Hurry up, Daddy.  Get home quick."

Jonathan turned down the music in the car and prayed for our safe travels and that God would get us home safely.  He prayed that the Lord would calm our fears and protect us during this weather.  It was a great opportunity to talk to the kids about our trust in God.  God made the clouds and the rain and the lightning and the thunder.  He tells them where to go and when to start and stop.  Nora was calm and joined in the conversation, but Liam wasn't sold.  So, we started singing Isaiah 41:10 from a worship cd the kids are very familiar with.  The words go, "Do not fear for I am with you.  Do not fear for I am with you.  Do not fear for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10."

It was so comforting to our souls to sing such truth and promises from the Lord.  We made it inside just in time before the rain began.  We gather the kids in the living room, collected some candles and our flashlights.  I started to get Liam dressed for bed and Jonathan was changing Stella's diaper when all of sudden the power went out.  It was so funny because both Jonathan and I were in the middle of a diaper change, each with a naked-bottomed baby and no lights! 

As the weather increased, we got all the kiddos in the hallway in our "safe spot" and snuggled down between blankets and pillows.  Thankfully, we didn't have much bad weather for too long; basically just strong winds and rain.  Because the power was out and the kids were overly excited with it all, we all snuggled in Momma and Daddy's bed for the night.  Boy, was that an adventure!

Nora wanted by Mommy.  When Liam realized that, he suddenly wanted by Mommy.  We ended up eventually with me between the two of them.  Once Liam finally fell asleep, he started snoring.  And he is everywhere when he's asleep, so he was on his back, legs spread wide and arms open to his sides.  He took up about half the king-sized bed, so Nora and I left the boys and shared her twin bed for the night.  It may not have been the best night's sleep, but it sure was memorable and precious snuggling with our little ones.