PRAY FOR RAIN, TEXAS

"WEST TEXAS TOWN TEETERS ON DRYING UP IN DROUGHT"
"TEXAS DROUGHT NOW 2ND WORST ON RECORD"
"DROUGHT REVEALS SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA DEBRIS IN EAST TEXAS LAKE"
"TEXAS DROUGHT COSTING 5.2 BILLION"
"TEXAS DROUGHT WILL HARM WILDLIFE HABITAT FOR YEARS TO COME"

If you google "Texas" right now these are just some of the headlines that will pop up in the first couple of pages. 78% of Texas is in an "exceptional" drought which is the worst category possible and another 12% is in the 2nd worst category. All of the lakes, rivers and ponds are drying up; cities are under water restrictions; trees, plants, flowers and animals are dying and the heat is almost unbearable some days. I can honestly say I have no clue when the last time it rained for more than 15 minutes was (and that was once last week, but before that I think it had been a couple months at least).
For those of you that do not live here, Lake Conroe is a lake about 45 minutes north of downtown Houston...it is the lake where Chris and I got engaged, where we spend every 4th of July and many other weekends in the Spring/Summer...well, it is currently down about 6 or 7 feet. Most people can not even get their boats out on to the lake because there boats are hovering over grass and dirt now instead of water. And if you are able to go out on a boat there are several parts of the lake you can not go to now because the levels are so low. The mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, started enforcing water restrictions in Houston this week and is now having 50 MILLION gallons of water pumped from Lake Conroe every day and brought to Lake Houston. Lake Houston's levels are down even lower than Lake Conroe and Lake Houston is the location of Houston's water purification plant so they must stabilize the lake level for operational needs. The release will be gradually increased to 150 MILLION gallons a day over the coming weeks and months.

Here is a picture of a car that was stolen in 1990 in Houston. It was found yesterday in Lake Houston in a part of the lake where the levels were so low that the top of the car could be seen sticking out-


Here are some other pictures of how the drought is affecting Texas-







This is a drought map of Texas. The dark red is the most severe.



It is really sad and they are saying there is no end in sight right now. We might not go into a "rainy pattern" until November or December and we are going to have a hot Fall.

Here is a prayer for rain that I came across. A pastor here in Houston wrote this-

“God, you send rains in season. It is a season of need in Texas. Send more rain to that parched land and more again across all the thirsty southern states. Find a small and willing cloud sitting bored over some vacant part of the Caribbean, and give it a push toward Houston. Make a Hurricane, perhaps, not strong enough to destroy, but filled with warmed moisture and send it North. We ask you for rain. Let the drought unite many millions to ask you for help. We trust in you. You made the world to need the waters of heaven. You made the world to need the waters of life. You are the source of rain. We ask you. Let it rain. In Jesus name.”

God Bless Texas!