Last Saturday afternoon I called Sister and B to check in and see how they were faring in the midst of the flooding going on in Nashville. They were doing fine but were just as stunned as everybody else by what was happening in other parts of the city. Sister and I talked again Saturday night, exchanged a couple of emails about an SNL skit that made us laugh, and when I went to sleep an hour or so later, I assumed that all was well at their house. Sister and B assumed the same thing.

Early Sunday morning Sister called and told me they had to evacuate. When B woke up around 6, he saw water lapping across the street that runs next to their house, and then he realized that the river a couple of hundred yards away was starting to fill the backyards of the houses across the street. He told Sister that they needed to move their cars to higher ground – which they did – and not too long after that they got the official news that they had to leave. They threw some clothes in a bag, moved some family pictures to the second floor, loaded a few things in their cars, and by the time they left their house the water was at the top of their front steps.

Sister told me later that as they were trying to walk/swim through chest-high water on the final trip to their cars, flower pots full of pansies floated by.

It’s been almost a week since they had to leave their home. They’ve been staying with friends, and they’ve spent the last five days tearing the first floor of their house down to studs. They lost everything that was downstairs – couches, chairs, tables, appliances, cabinets, TVs, mementos, mirrors – but as Sister has said over and over again, it was just stuff. It can be replaced. They’re going to be fine. They have wonderful friends who have pitched in and gone above and beyond. The kindness of people they know – and in some cases, people they don’t – has been overwhelming. Sister said that seeing that kindness in action has caused many more tears than losing a bunch of furniture.

After all, it’s one thing to think your friends love you. But to know it? To see it in action? It’s a blessing like no other.

The most encouraging part of this flood story – to me, at least – is how the people of Nashville have responded. They have more than risen to the occasion. The city and state governments have cooperated. They’ve worked efficiently. Churches and other local organizations have coordinated massive volunteer efforts, and they have made a huge difference. The work is far from over, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that the work will get done.

Here are two specific ways we can help.

Lindsay has written some incredible posts this week about what she and her family have witnessed this last week. She’s collecting gift cards to distribute to families in need, and I think it would be great if bloggy people jumped on board with what she’s doing. This post has all the details.

Cross Point Church has started a flood relief fund. Every single cent of donations will be used to help families who have been directly affected by the flooding.

Have a great weekend, y’all.

If you’d like to better understand the level of tension I’ve felt since the blog went all kawonky (and that is in fact the technical term) yesterday afternoon, then take your left arm, stretch it across your body, then rotate your left wrist 280 degrees and grab your right foot. And do a backbend.

Then, when your muscles start to spasm uncontrollably, THAT’S IT! THAT’S EXACTLY HOW I’VE FELT!

Thankfully, however, I’ve entered the cool-down mode of my unexpected HTML / CSS / RSS / NEXTTIMEWON’TYOUSINGWITHME work-out. Everything seems to be back in good working order thanks to Anne, Ashleigh, Kat and Melanie, all of whom rushed to my bloggy rescue in some form or fashion.

It takes a village to raise a blog, y’all.

So now that everything is back to some semblance of normal in all possible browsers (even Internet Explorer, which is totally on my list right now, but I’m sure we’ll make up soon), I do want to thank y’all for your incredible response to the Bite Back campaign and encourage you to continue getting the word out (Shalee is doing something cool along those lines on her blog, by the way).

As best I can calculate based on comments and emails, y’all have donated around 125 nets so far (!!!!), and my friend Brian assures me that I’ll be able to get an exact number in a couple of weeks. Y’all really are changing kids’ lives – I cannot thank you enough.

So.

I’ll have my final ASCAP Awards post up in a little while, and also: today I am going to a former professor’s retirement reception at Mississippi State, where I plan to take and then post an endless array of nostalgic pictures (think along the lines of LOOK! THE WINDOW OF THE ROOM I SHARED WITH EMMA KATE! ISN’T THAT SO COOL?!?!?!).

It’s sure to be an experience that will enrich your life in ways you cannot even imagine.

Now do have a lovely Friday.

Last year many of us had the privilege to love on Kelli by providing a love offering for her and her family. The internets came out in full force, and we were able to provide almost $10,000 so that Kelli, who suffers from End Stage Renal Disease, could continue her heath care coverage and hopefully move closer to a live donor transplant.

Over the last twelve months Kelli has dealt with medical problems most of us can’t begin to imagine. Thankfully she’s had the health care coverage that she needs. But her window for a live donor kidney transplant isn’t quite as wide open as it used to be. And Kelli needs a kidney. That’s the bottom line.

So in light of all that, if you have the time – and oh, I hope you do – here are two posts that will touch your heart:

First: Heather writes here about something extraordinary that has happened in the congregation of a church in Mississippi.

Second: Kelli writes here about the latest developments with her condition.

And if you think about it, please spread the word about these two stories on your own blogs. You never know who might be reading; you never know who might feel led to help. I figure it’s worth a shot, y’all.

And I imagine Kelli and her family feel the exact same way.

Heather hit the halfway point in her radiation treatments today (if you don’t know Heather’s story, you can read all about it here). To celebrate, she has thrown herself a little blog party – and all you have to do to participate is to comment and tell her where you’re from.

She has over 770 comments right now – and I think it would be fun if we helped to push her over 1,000. I mean, if we can do this, then surely we can handle a couple of hundred comments. Don’t you think?

Click here to join the fun – I know your comments will make her smile!