What a week. I learned that a missionary friend, age 30, in Uganda was killed in auto accident and one of my former students father, age 52, died from a massive stroke. What a week.

Today was the memorial service for Nicks father. Nick was one of those students I worked with who either was going to be a minister or in prison. I know, I sat in court with him one time. However, prison was not where Nick would end up. There is a God... He is alive.

Seeing Nick today made me feel proud of what this young man has accomplished. However, today, he would bury his father. Fifty-two is to young. It breaks my heart that Nick will be married in 3 weeks and his father will not be there.

Nicks father was an awesome man. I heard it from many.

It made me think. Listening to Nick speak about his father, hearing co-workers sharing about Dale and his employee of the month award which he received for the month of January 2007. All stories of a man who cared for others, laughed and loved life. It made me think...

What will my children say about me? Who will share at my memorial the life they saw me live? How do I live as seen from others? Do I know? Could I stand up and say a few words myself? (of course if I did that would be freaky but pretty cool).

All I know is... There is no promise of tomorrow on this earth. I'm not even guaranteed today but I do have an eternity. What will I leave my family, my friends to hold on to until we meet again? Again? What a blessed thought. Until we meet again.

I hope my legacy is a life of Grace received by a Father who rescued me. He came looking for me when I was hurt and alone.

I'm not sure what I'll leave behind, or what people will think, but I hope it was a message of salvation that lives beyond this lowly shadowland.

peace.
johno~

Just an update on our storm situation... The storm front was "deflated" and our "2nd" wind storm turned into a breeze storm. A true blessing. There are still around 7000 families without power. Many have loss and some lack insurance. I came across this terrible scene... A single mom and her daughter went shopping... when they returned home they found their car destroyed. When I spoke to her she had already been without power for 24 hours. It was warmer outside than in her house, she told me.

It's amazing. May none of us ever forget how a life can be changed in a moments notice.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

For those of you who have been praying for my friend Nir and his daughter... Thank you. I have to say I misread what had happened to Tamar, Nir's daughter. Today, however, she was in her second major surgery for her ankle which was the only thing physically injured in her accident.

Lift her up today, please. Ask God to give her a strong spirit and a body which heals quickly. It is a true blessing she is surrounded by a family who loves her.

If you live in the NW, you might have been a part of the major storm that moved through on Sunday. Here in Central Washington, we had the worst storm since I've been here.

Wind gust up to 73 MPH for 7 hours. As I drove around today, I thought I was back in Louisiana doing Katrina relief work. I have never seen so many trees and fences blown away.

Our home is surrounded by 7 larger trees of which 7 still stand. Amazing. Many others didn't fare so well. Thank you Lord for protecting our home.

We received another report that a similar storm will be here tomorrow. We are stocking water and getting out the candles. Large parts of the city are without power. Again, I'm blessed to be writing this. After the storm, tempatures are said to be dropping low into the single digits. Not good for those of us who rely on electric for our heat. (Note to self... get blankets ready.)

I've included a few shots from my outing today. Most of these shots are from a park near by where I take the kids. Looks like there will be little shade this summer. It's terrible to see so many wonderful large trees destroyed.

Keep us in your prayers.

peace.