Hurricanes, Hysteria, Heat, and Hope

Living in Central Texas, our focus for the past few weeks has been hurricanes. Austin is housing thousands of survivors from Katrina and Rita. Again, please continue to give every month until these people are settled. As Rita crossed the Keys and went into the gulf, Austinites went a little nuts. Across two counties, there wasn't a single bottle of water to be had. People panicked and bought weeks worth of canned food, water, batteries, candles, matches, etc. We also ran out of gas. Literally every station I passed had signs out front that said their tanks were empty, or that they only had diesel left. It was crazy. Thankfully, the Austin area felt only a few strong breezes. Ironically, we could have really used the rain. We are in a heat wave that just won't end. Yesterday, when I had car duty at school, it was a balmy 107 degrees. Today it was about the same. I'd expect temps like this in August, but it's almost October! A cold front is supposed to come in on Thursday and drop the temps into the eighties. What a relief that will be!

My second-mom, Linda, and I went to a women's conference at Shoreline this weekend. The music and the speakers were awesome! If you get a chance to see Chris Caine or Lisa Bevere in person, I highly recommend it. I really got a lot out of the conference. It's always nice to have the change to stop for a few days to take a look at you life and decide what areas need a little work. As usual, the conference stirred up my restless spirit and made me start thinking about what I want to do next in my life. Peace Corps? Missions work? Mercy Ships? writing? Who knows...when I figure it out, I'll let you know.