Life in California

Shortly after 3:00 this afternoon, I had just finished "tea time" with the three little ones, when Ellie and Drew came running in to tell me there was a fire. We all ran out back and to our amazement. . . we saw this. Yikes.

It seemed to have just started spreading, because we came out right as all of the fire-engines and fire-helicopters started arriving. We live on a hill, so you can see by the picture that we had quite a view from our fence. This was a little too close to home for me, but boy the children thought it was cool!
I grew up in Georgia so the only real environmental threats I encountered as a kid were extreme heat (ha,ha), an occasional crazy thunderstorm that might knock over the pine trees around our house, and flying roaches :) My kids, on the other hand, have a few more serious threats that they have to put to rest in their little minds. We actually felt an earthquake yesterday, so that makes two days in a row of "life as we know it" in California!!
Drew prayed at the dinner table tonight, "Thank you that the firemen were able to get the big fire out on our mountain." I am amazed at how trusting my children have been today. They feel safe. They know that they are being taken care of - by their mom and dad, by the local fire-fighters and police, and by their LORD. I pray that my dear husband and I will continually have wisdom as we shepherd their little hearts through the ups and downs of life.
This evening as I made dinner Psalm 73:25,26 kept coming to my mind:

"Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

God IS our strength and our portion. May we always trust Him.