Disaster Area, and more

Turns out I live in a disaster area. The entire state of Iowa has been declared a disaster area due to the weather. Where I live in Cedar Rapids, we've had it easy. No power outages. No real challenges other than being stuck in the house. But all around us there's terrible effects of last week's ice storm. I drove down a rural road this week en route to a meeting. There were at least 50 power poles, snapped, toppled by the weight of the ice. Some other poles and trees had a sheet of ice around them perhaps 3 to 5 inches thick! It was bizarre to see! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

Danette had to fly to South Dakota for work and got stranded. When flights got canceled, she decided to rent a big SUV and ride out the storm. Fortunately, she decided to do the right thing and pull into a hotel in a litte town in South Dakota when visibility got too poor. (A lot of highways have been closed due to the strong winds causing white-outs. Apparantly, lots of cars are in the ditches on the side of the road. With travel nearly impossible even to rescue vehicles, volunteers have been taking to the highways on snow mobiles to rescue stranded motorists.)

I'm thankful Danette was smart enough to pull over. It's a bummer that she's stuck in a hotel out in SD, though.

I miss my friend. It has been such an incredible blessing to spend this "recompression time" at her house. She travels a lot due to work, so though I stay at her home right now, she's actually gone more than she's home. In fact, she was stranded in Atlanta, Georgia, just this past weekend due to weather.

It's rare to meet a friend like her, someone with whom your heart connects instantly, who makes you laugh and who challenges you. She's been a huge blessing to me. I've realized that I don't write much about her. For those of you here in Cedar Rapids who know her, you'll agree with some of the things I love about my friend: Her love for God. Her love of life. Her passion. Her smile. Her laughter. Her heart. Her guts. Her giftedness in working with people.

I've been blessed with several amazing friends in my life. Danette stands out as one of the best, a Proverbs 27:17 friend.

Speaking of friends: Pam and I were able to go and see Amazing Grace this evening. (We were supposed to go last Friday but got snowed in.) I absolutely loved the movie! It's truly inspirational. I wholeheartedly agree what Pastor Kim says about the movie!

I found this clip from the movie on Christianity.com. (Click on the link for more clips from the movie.)

The movie truly makes you wonder: What would it take to change the world?