Texas needs your help!!!

[CrestedGirl]

We were able to get a couple of drops on Thursday, But we also got lots of Lightning too

 

[mom'sfolly]

I live in Texas, and its been mighty dry and hot...but I don't understand the whole "pray for rain" idea. Why would asking God for rain change whatever plan God has in mind? It seems to me that praying for rain is akin to the small child being told that they can't have something, and they beg anyway. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that prayer shouldn't work that way. While Texas needs rain for people to continue the way they have, maybe people should be asking God for understanding, the ability to cope with the changes that drought brings, and the insight to know God's plan. I'm not much of a believer, but it seems to me that there are tremendous hardships and awful things in this world that people have/are praying about. If God is truly omnipotent, they must be allowed by God or created by God, which, to me, means praying to change them is silly. Things like genocide, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc happen in this world. Large numbers of people pray to make them or their effects go away...but these things still happen. So is it part of God's plan? And if so, is prayer for understanding or prayer for intervention the appropriate response?

 

[HHandbasket]

mom'sfolly :

I live in Texas, and its been mighty dry and hot...but I don't understand the whole "pray for rain" idea. Why would asking God for rain change whatever plan God has in mind? It seems to me that praying for rain is akin to the small child being told that they can't have something, and they beg anyway. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that prayer shouldn't work that way. While Texas needs rain for people to continue the way they have, maybe people should be asking God for understanding, the ability to cope with the changes that drought brings, and the insight to know God's plan. I'm not much of a believer, but it seems to me that there are tremendous hardships and awful things in this world that people have/are praying about. If God is truly omnipotent, they must be allowed by God or created by God, which, to me, means praying to change them is silly. Things like genocide, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc happen in this world. Large numbers of people pray to make them or their effects go away...but these things still happen. So is it part of God's plan? And if so, is prayer for understanding or prayer for intervention the appropriate response?

You have made an excellent point which is great food for thought.

Dear God, please help the people of Texas find peace and solace, in whatever way You see fit, Lord. Amen.​

 

[spiritdance]

I.m in Northeast Texas and I've sold off almost all my stock because of the hay situation. It's not only that the hay is almost double what I usually pay for it, it's that decent hay is difficult to find, and you just can't feed horses cr@ppy hay for long without serious health issues. I had six horses and six donkeys this time last year. Thankfully, I've been fortunate enough to rehome to excellent homes all but one horse (our buggy horse), and one donkey (my DHs "bff" Donkie Hotie). I'm down to one goat (a bottle raised whether that thinks he's one of the dogs), my chickens, my turkeys, one pig, and some geese and ducks. I figure if it gets bad enough I can't feed the pig and poultry, they can feed us. I'm pretty sure the goat is too rotten for anyone's grill, and I'm not quite desperate enough or "european" enough to eat the equines (yet!).

As for the wildlife, most of the streams around here that usually provide water are dry. There's one spring-fed lake on the hunt club property behind us that still has water in it, but even it's way down and the water is looking pretty green these days. We haven't seen near the signs of deer, pig, or turkey we usually see on our back 20, and the coyotes are getting pretty brave, suggesting the rabbit/rat/squirrel population is down, too. Us two legged critters will endure as long as it takes, but the animals are really suffering, so whether you think of it as prayer, good Karma vibes, or whatever, we can use all the positive thoughts and energy we can get.

 

[7L Farm]

Its the animals I hate to see suffer.

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

We moved to Texas from California this past March. I lived through two bad droughts in California, in the last 20 years. We were putting 5 gal. buckets in the shower to collect the water to water the plants outside. We were asked to cut back & if you used more than what you were allowed, you were fined (this was in LA County) No watering the grass, sidewalks or cars. That fall we had one of the worst fire seasons, I worked near the LA Harbor, and the fires in Malibu, the ash was blowing down the coast to us, and our cars were covered in it. It was hard to breath, the sky was a constant orange haze.

We now live out in the country, have community water, crunchy dry grass, we only use what we need, just to help conserve. I have seen some homes in my area, that do not have their own well, watering their lawns mid day. I swear I just want to smack them.

HARD!

I think back to the movie Evan Almighty, where God tells the wife, if someone prays for patience, does God give them patience or does give them the the opportunity to learn patience.

My heart goes out to those families who have had to sell their livestock. And to see all the poor animals that have been killed along the roadside, because they were out looking for water. Today I saw a deer along side the road, not far from town.

I too pray for rain, and do my best to conserve water. I am also praying that we get through the fall without any serious fires.

God does answer prayers, but we also need to put forth the effort too.

 

[WyandotteTX]

Made a trip out through some of the Hill Country a couple of days ago. Have never seen so many dead trees....... Lots of Cedar trees which is a blessing in the sense of less cedar but bad because of how bad of a fire danger dead cedar is.
Was reading an article saying that we could be in the middle of the worst drought ever in Texas. Some of the climatologists think we might be in this until 2020. I sure hope not!
My dad bought hay for his cows but had to buy milo stalks because there is not very much true hay out there. I think he had to pay $95 a roll at that for just milo stalks. Crazy stuff. If this pattern continues there wont be many cows left in Texas....

 

[mom'sfolly]

I buy my beef directly from a farmer. She shipped her hay in from South Dakota. It is crazy dry out there. I too fear for the ultra dry cedar, the slightest spark could make huge parts of the Austin area go up in flames. If a fire started some place in West Lake or off of 360, it would be very hard to control. There is too much cedar, too few roads and too many ridgeline homes.

 

[BunnyMomma]

Prayer are being sent up for you! I am a native born Texan. I live in NC now. We have been blessed here this year with plenty of hay. In fact, they mowed the feild behind us last week and they don't have any place to put it because of the excess this year. You should contact the Agricultural Department and see what type of relief efforts might be in effect to help transport hay to your area from some of the neighboring states that have excess hay.
God Bless!

 

[piecemaker]

It is SOOOOOO dry here. Last week the boys were fixin' up the deer feeders and one of them said he was going to put a water trough (sp?) by his stand instead of a feeder!!! We did get 3.1 inches of rain a few weeks ago and things are starting to green up. Between that and the cooler temps, no more 100 plus days. Hopeing for more rain. Have never seen it so dry as it is now. DS rescued a horse 3 months ago now he is looking to give her away. No hay or it cost an arm and a leg. We pray for rain and understanding each day. I know God has a plan for all this crazy weather, just wish he'd speard it around alittle. Some are flooding while others are burning up. Not my job to second guess him though. I will pray for rain and better weather all around