A Look At The Severe Weather

Monday night and early Tuesday morning was quite the severe weather event. A total of 7 tornadoes were confirmed with 21 people injured. I have been amazed at seeing much of the video we received from our videographers and reporters who spent Monday night on the scene at many of these locations! Mobile homes looked to have exploded. Some rolled with occupants inside. Well built brick homes were damaged and 18 wheelers were tossed around like toy trucks.

Although I received my share of negative comments from those who thought I did too much coverage and those who thought I didn't do enough, the fact remains how blessed much of Mississippi was. (Some viewers could care less whether or not their neighbors are going to get blown away, as long as it doesn't affect their tv viewing habits.) This map shows why this event was a serious one. The red boxes show just how many tornado warnings I covered--47 tornado warnings!

We will finally get to enjoy some drier this week as others put their lives and property back together.

Severe Weather Monday Night

This is the time of the year when Mississippians are leery of big drops in temperatures. You know what that means--the possibility of severe weather exists.

A strong cold front is barreling through the Midwest and will be parallel to the Mississippi River later today. Thunderstorms will march across the river and winds will increase. This has the potential to be a fairly widespread severe weather event with the possibility for numerous locations to receive damaging winds of 60-70 mph, therefore I cannot pinpoint exactly where the severe weather will occur. Tornadoes will be possible throughout the duration of the evening and into early Tuesday morning with a sizeable temperature drop to follow. Heavy rainfall of 2-3 inches could produce some flash flooding as well as ponding on the roadways.

Areas west of the I-55 corridor are likely to experience the severe weather in the late afternoon through the midnight hour. Areas east of the I-55 corridor will see our fair weather erode after 10pm and possibly linger closer to dawn. Here is NWS' graphical depiction of the event as it describes the event best to non-meteorological types. Find your county and see what is expected for your area.

Please have your weather radio on throughout the afternoon and overnight. This system is a classic late November severe weather event set up, of which Mississippi is known for.

You can also follow my weather updates via Twitter @BarbieBassett or become a fan of the "WLBT First Alert Weather" Facebook page. I'll be with you throughout the night on WLBT and will keep you updated should the weather deteriorate.

Barbie is away from the blog this week and will return Monday. Feel free to read previous blog posts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Are You Leaning Or Standing?

Gracie has been enjoying studying about the medieval time period in her homeschooling. She's become intrigued with the leaning Tower of Pisa, so we've done quite a bit of discovering new things regarding this architectural wonder.

Unfortunately, the tower was built on weak, unstable topsoil which began to shift shortly after they constructed the third level. Instead of trying to shore up the lean, the builders continued to add more floors to the tower over a one hundred year time span. In this case, the foundation was faulty which has impacted the tower structure.

Ephesians 2:20-22 says we are "...build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." The Message translation puts it this way, "God is building a home. He's using us all--irrespective of how we got here--in what he is building."

But you and I can't do what God created us to do if we have a foundation that isn't rooted in God's Word and continually growing in Him. The Tower of Pisa wasn't built to lean; it was built to stand!

The tower is actually a bell tower, built behind a cathedral. Bell towers are built to proclaim news to the townspeople. Get in the Word so you can get the Word out!

Servicing Yourself Or Serving Others

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner! A few words we tend to hear around this time of the year is 'giving' or 'serving others'.

Servants know who they are in Christ. They know they are loved and accepted through grace and don't have a need to prove their worth to anyone. They eagerly accept tasks that insecure people would dub as being 'beneath' them. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he was doing a job we would associate as something a shoeshine boy would do. Have you ever looked at how nasty some people's feet can be? But Jesus knew doing so didn't threaten his self-image. John 13:3-4 says, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God. So he got up from the meal took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist."

Insecure people are always worried about how they appear to others. They're afraid their weaknesses will be exposed. The more insecure you are, the more you will want to be served and the more you will look for the approval of others.

The closer you walk is with the Lord, the less you will need to promote yourself through this season of giving.

(Barbie will be speaking at the Richland Libary today at Noon. This evening, she will be the guest speaker at the First Baptist Church of Richland's ladies dinner. Sold out! Wednesday morning, Barbie will be speaking at the retired law enforcement's breakfast.)

God Uses Rebellion

God can take advantage of our rebellion for His glory and His purpose.

Jonah was a man who fought God's will for his life tooth and nail. The Bible makes it clear just how rebellious Jonah was toward his calling in Jonah 1:3, "Jonah ran away from the Lord."

The Ninevites were a raucous group of people. They worshipped several gods, including one that was named 'Dagon', which had the head of a fish. They weren't going to believe anything Jonah said unless the fish god sent them a prophet. But nothing is too difficult for God, so just imagine how shocked they were when they realized Jonah was spit out on dry land by a fish! After hearing about Jonah's adventures inside the belly of a fish, they believed God and were saved. God spared their city from utter destruction.

Jonah's story of stubbornness only goes to show God's will for our life will not be undermined by what the devil tries to do.

(Barbie will be signing at the Busy Womens Expo in Memphis tomorrow. She will also be the guest speaker at First Baptist Richland's ladies dinner Monday night.)

The Closet Cleaning

My closet is full of things I need to get rid of. It is bursting at the seams with clothes that are too big. Tailoring all of them would cost more than I'm willing to pay. In rummaging through many of them last week, I realized that only about 20% of them fit me now. I don't know why I've been hanging on to them. A part of me is almost afraid of taking them out because I may gain weight one day and need something to wear! But if I leave them in my closet, they are taking up space; space that could be put to good use with new clothes that fit.

There is something God wants to do in your life but He can't because you're not willing to get rid of it. You're so afraid of letting go of what you know and press into the unknown for fear of being left, well, naked!

Job lost everything he had. His cattle, his property, his health, he even lost his children. What an emotional, physical and spiritual roller coaster he had been on until God was ready to pour more blessing into his life. God allowed Job to be purged beyond what you and I would have probably crumbled under. But look at Job 42:12-13 and how God was able to restore blessings to Job: "The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters." Job was so prosperous that he was able to leave a large inheritance to his children. He lived another 140 years and got to see not only his children grow, but his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren and his great-great grandchildren. Now that's a full life!

Are you missing out on new ventures, challenges and opportunities because you're scared of a good closet cleaning? Whether you're hanging on to resentment, bitterness, lack of time for God, or some other stronghold, God can't bring more to you until you take the old out. It's time to make room for Him.

(Barbie will be signing books at the Tylertown Library, Tuesday from 11am-12:00. She will also travel to Memphis this Saturday and Sunday to speak and sign books at the Busy Womens Expo.)

New Way To Look At Your Enemies

Do you have someone who seems to make your life miserable? Chances are, you do. Someone recently shared with me how someone in their life constantly hurts their feelings. She likened them to an enemy in her life. When she felt like she was taking one step forward, her "enemy" would press the right buttons and push her two steps back.

David had an enemy named Goliath. But have you ever realized that Goliath catapulted David from a shepherd boy to a king? Too often, we see our enemies as trying to bring us down and break our spirit when in fact, our enemies may be a door to our next season.

Paul called his enemy a thorn in the flesh. For years, I thought Paul was referring to some sort of temptation he couldn't shake or perhaps a physical ailment. The older I've gotten, I'm beginning to believe Paul was actually referring to a person. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9 says, "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Notice Paul referred to his thorn as a "messenger of Satan". A messenger is defined as a 'person who carries a message'.

You and I will have to endure some enemies. Some of them will keep us grounded as Paul said. God won't remove them for reasons only known to Him. But it's time to look at your enemies as an announcement from God that a new season is coming in your life!

An Election Conviction

In a few short hours, we will be selecting men and women to either stay in their current elected offices or be replaced. I don't always talk politics as I prefer to talk leadership. That's what these positions we are voting for should entail in my opinion.

My mother holds a public office and has done so for than half of my life. It's even been rumored and reported in the media that I was going to run for an elected position!

I've been more convicted than ever before of voting the scriptures. If a person says they are a Christian, everything they do in their personal life and career should bear witness to that. If they aren't willing to boldly speak about Christ and be led by Him in their decision making, I'm not interested in them representing me. Why? Because I want my representative in public office to be a reflection of righteousness.

Proverbs 11:11 says, "Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed." Integrity begins with the mouth. If a person doesn't exercise integrity with their mouth, they will lead their followers down a tunnel which eventually leads to a train wreck.

Paul said it best when he wrote to the Romans as to the importance of being true to the gospel. Romans 1:28-31 says, "Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful, they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless." Does this describe our political make up these days? Verse 32 says, "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Have you and I turned a blind eye to those we have elected in the past? Are we approving "of those of practice" the actions above?

For those who know better, I believe God will hold us accountable for the votes we cast.