Our Thoughts and Prayers - Moore, OK

By KISBYTO Team

Yesterday afternoon was like most May afternoons in Moore, Oklahoma –sun was shining, people were hard at work, kids still in school ….and then the skies began to darken, alarms warning on impending danger rang through out the area – people began to find shelter.

Early assessment of this violent Tornado is an EF-5 with winds in excess on 200 mile per hour – the swath of destruction on the ground from one to one and half miles.

The Community hospital totally destroyed! The elementary school where the first through fourth graders seeking shelter in the halls – just as they have practice several times in the past – only this time the walls and roof collapsed.

This morning news is listing 51 known dead – 20 of those children – and anticipating at least 40 additional fatalities. For more details online - http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/terrifying-footage-shows-twisters-tearing-america-heartland-video-article-1.1349229

...worth a 1,000 words ...

May God Bless ...

I HOPE THERE ISN'T ANYONE ON MY E-MAIL LIST THAT WON'T KEEP THIS GOING.

Happy 4th of July!....

Let' s get this started ,NOW!
So it will be out there on the fourth!

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE
FLAG,
OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA ,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR
WHICH IT STANDS,
ONE
NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

KEEP IT LIT!!    KEEP IT LIT!
For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be.
Please
Support all of the troops defending our Country.

And God Bless our Military
who are protecting our Country for our Freedom.
Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July. 

We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have,
of which we should be eternally grateful.

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE !

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.


I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen.'
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea.
Of unmarked graves in Arlington .
NO FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

Enjoy Your Freedom
and
God Bless Our Troops.

When you receive this,
please stop for a moment
and say a prayer for our servicemen.

Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one.

The Mighty Mississippi - to exceeded Great Flood of 1927

by Diane Forrest


The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America.  It begins in Minnesota and ends past New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was named by the Native Americans Misiziibe, meaning Great River.  It has been used for hundred's of years as a source of transportation, be it during the war, for commerce, or relaxing travel aboard a paddleboat.  It has been the subject of movies, books and songs.
    
The River is now is the spotlight again as the source of major flooding along its shores.  We are all in the front row seats as history is in the making.  The depths of the river have exceeded the measurements of the great flood of 1927, and still continue to rise.

    
If you are new to our blog, I am one of the thousands of people who live beside the Mississippi River.  I live in Natchez, Mississippi, however as far as I know, am in no danger from flooding.  We are on the high side of the river.  On the other side, the Louisiana side, however is a different story.   The current level is at 61.5 feet with the crest predicted at 63 feet on Saturday.  Much of the area on that side is under water while people continue to protect the area with flood walls and sand bags.   The water levels are also affecting the Natchez side by causing soil erosion and putting the historic Natchez Under the Hill area at risk.
   

Many areas above us have also seen catastrophic flooding.  Areas like Missouri, Memphis and Vicksburg.  So..where is all this water coming from?  Each year the river rises around Easter due to the melting snow from the northern states.  While it is expected, it hardly ever reaches flood stage.  However, the large amount of snow this past winter combined with the massive amounts of rainfall have cause this epic flood.

What can you do to help?
    

• First and foremost keep the victims of the flood in your prayers.  Many people from several states are being affected right now.  Some have lost their lives, their homes, their businesses.

• Second, if you are able, donate to the Red Cross or Salvation Army to help those once the waters have subsided.

• Third, continue to watch the news to get updates on the conditions in the affected area to learn of the needs and ways you can help.

• Finally, keep negative thoughts to yourself.  I have been reading comments on other sites suggesting that people who live near the river are only asking for floods, and shouldn't be there in the first place.    

Areas along the Mississippi River were settled hundreds of years ago by the Native Americans.  It has been a major source of hunting and fishing along with transportation for centuries.  The river also feeds several tributaries which are also being affected now as well.    There is no place on earth that is safe from natural disaster.  Each area has the potential for catastrophy.  As one poster stated, there is a potential for flood every place the rain falls.
     
So please be understanding, sympathetic to those in need, and help where and however you can.

Check back here Natchez Democrat to the progress of the flood in Natchez, and keep us in your prayers.