My Writings. My Thoughts.

Wednesday August 26, 2020

// August 26th, 2020 // Comments Off on Wednesday August 26, 2020 // Daily News

Hurricane Laura is now forecast to intensify to a catastrophic Category 4 as it nears U.S. Gulf Coast

  • Forecasters Hurricane Laura is now expected to rapidly power up into a ‘catastrophic’ Category 4 hurricane — an even stronger storm than previously expected — as it churns toward Texas and Louisiana.
  • Laura’s maximum sustained winds have increased to near 110 mph with higher gusts, forecasters said.
  • More than half a million people were ordered to flee the Gulf Coast on Tuesday as Laura strengthened into a hurricane that forecasters said could slam Texas and Louisiana with ferocious winds, heavy flooding and the power to push seawater miles inland.

Hurricane Laura is forecast to rapidly power up into a “catastrophic” Category 4 hurricane, even stronger than previously expected, as it churns toward Texas and Louisiana, gathering wind and water that swirls over much of the Gulf of Mexico.

Satellite images show that Laura has become “a formidable hurricane” in recent hours, threatening to smash homes and sink entire communities. It has undergone a remarkable intensification, “and there are no signs it will stop soon,” the National Hurricane Center said in an update early Wednesday.

“Some areas when they wake up Thursday morning, they’re not going to believe what happened,” Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, said Wednesday.

“We could see storm surge heights more than 15 feet in some areas,” Stewart said. “What doesn’t get blown down by the wind could easily get knocked down by the rising ocean waters pushing well inland.”

Laura has grown nearly 70% in power in just 24 hours, with maximum sustained winds increasing to 110 mph (175 kph) with higher gusts, forecasters said early Wednesday.

“We are expecting widespread power outages, trees down. Homes and businesses will be damaged,” said Donald Jones, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is near the bullseye of Laura’s forecast track.

“I’m telling you, this is going to be a very serious situation,” Jones said.

A Category 4 hurricane will do catastrophic damage: “Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months,” the weather service says.

 

Today’s Inspiration

Pray and Obey

Some of what God asks you to do will be fun and exciting. Other things He says may not be so thrilling, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work out for your good if you’ll simply follow His instructions. If God tells you that you need to apologize because you were rude to someone, it won’t work for you to reply, “Well, that person was rude to me, too!” If you respond to Him with excuses, you may have prayed and even heard God’s voice, but you didn’t obey, so you forfeited the blessing you would have had.

Looking back at more than three decades of walking with God and being in ministry, I have to say that the simplest explanation for the success Dave and I have enjoyed is that we’ve become quick to pray, hear from God, and then do what He tells us to do. Over the years, as I’ve sought God and pressed forward in what He’s told me to do, I can say that more than anything else, I’ve learned to simply pray and obey. Doing this hasn’t always been popular, but it has worked!

If you want to experience God’s plan for your life, I can give you the recipe in its most basic form: pray and obey. God has given you the capacity to do both, and if you do it consistently, you’ll be moving right along in His will for your life, and His blessing will follow you everywhere you go (see Deuteronomy 28:1-14 NIV).

Prayer Starter:Father, please help me be quick to obey Your instructions. I know You have good plans for me, and I don’t want to miss out on any of them. Thank You for your grace! In Jesus’ Name, amen.

 

Wednesday June 24, 2020

// June 24th, 2020 // Comments Off on Wednesday June 24, 2020 // Daily News

Dow drops 500 points to lows of the day on concern about rising coronavirus cases

Stocks fell on Wednesday as traders grew worried about the increasing number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases, which raised concern about the economic reopening and recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 500 points, or 1.9%. The S&P 500 traded 1.7% lower while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was headed for its first daily decline in nine sessions.

The major averages hit their lows of the day after Bloomberg News released headlines signaling a rise in Florida’s Covid-19 hospitalization rate along with a rise in the state’s number of confirmed cases.

“Markets pause with all eyes on the virus and the reopening heading into the summer months,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates trading at AmeriVet Securities, in a note.  The health side is back front and center as both monetary and fiscal liquidity has been factored in short-term. We have entered a new phase of this crisis.”

A CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found the U.S. 7-day average of coronavirus cases surged more than 30% from a week ago after the total number of cases grew by more than 31,000 on Monday. California is one of the states that has seen a dramatic spike in cases, adding more than 6,000 on Monday alone. In Texas, the Covid-19 hospitalization rate has hit a record for 12 straight days. “We’re going to eclipse the totals in April, so we’ll eclipse 37,000 diagnosed infections a day,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “But in April we were only diagnosing 1 in 10 to 1 in 20 infections, so those 37,000 infections represented probably half a million infections at the peak.”

Overseas, Germany reported a cluster of newly confirmed cases at a slaughter house in Lower Saxony. That’s the latest in a series of coronavirus outbreaks in Germany. Shares of companies primed to benefit from the economy reopening faltered. United Airlines fell 5.9%. Delta, American and Southwest all slid over 4%. Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean were lower by 9.7%, 10.9% and 10%, respectively. Retailer Gap also fell 8%. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday the U.S. is seeing a “disturbing” surge in new Covid-19 cases.“This raises many questions but the most important is the policy direction,” said Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, regarding the spike in cases. “We still see positive risk/reward in stocks and as we have said for some time, equities are in the hands of buyers.” Lee added that if the S&P 500 can stay above its 76% retracement levels, new highs will be hit this summer.

Today’s Inspiration

You’re Stronger than You Think

The enemy likes to fill our minds with thoughts like I can’t, and I’m not strong enough. He wants us to be weak minded so we’ll give up before we even try. It seems that between childhood to adulthood, we receive a lot of messages from the world and other people that make us afraid that we don’t have what it takes. But if you have Jesus, then you have what it takes to do anything you need to do, and anything He wants you to do. And He definitely wants you to be healed from past wounds, and to be able to enjoy Him, yourself, other people, and your life. I encourage you to begin thinking, I am strong.

My mother confessed to me 30 years after I got away from my father’s sexual abuse that she didn’t do anything about what he was doing, even though she knew about it, because she didn’t think she could face the scandal. My mother thought she was weak and so she was. She stayed with a man who regularly hit her and was abusive and unfaithful over and over again. Why? Her own thoughts defeated her. If you see yourself as weak and incapable, you will allow people to mistreat you instead of standing up for yourself. If you have an “I can’t” mindset or feel that you’re simply too weak or not smart enough to do what you need to do, make a decision today to begin thinking strong! Think strong—be strong!

See yourself as the new creation that you are (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), and believe that through Christ you can do whatever you need to do in life. You are far too precious and valuable to allow people to use and abuse you. We all feel weak at times, but when we do, we can go to God and His Word and receive His limitless strength. Isaiah said that God never faints or grows weary (see Isaiah 40:28); He lives in us, and “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Just think about it: The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (see Romans 8:11)!

The strength I’m talking about comes only from our relationship with God through Jesus; we’re not strong in and of ourselves. Jesus said that apart from Him, we can do nothing, but in Him we can do all things (see John 15:5; Philippians 4:13). Learning to lean on Him for everything is one of the first steps that will help your soul begin to heal. You are stronger than you think you are!

Prayer Starter: Father, please help me not to give in to a weak mindset, or the fear of not being enough. Thank You for staying by my side and providing me with all the strength I need today. In Jesus’ Name, amen.