It's a dark and stormy morning around these parts. Very dark and very stormy. So far, I've seen three tornado warnings expire for our county, but another one is issued until 10:45 a.m. You see that big white spot on the map that says "Greatest Risk?" We're right in the middle of it. Fun times.

The good thing about living in a small, one-story house is that no matter what room I'm in, I'm always on the ground level. The bad thing is that we really don't have any interior rooms. Our master closet is the closest thing to an interior room that we have, so, basically, if a tornado hits our house, we're doomed.

I have a long history of fear when it comes to tornadoes. It all started in the fifth grade when an F4 tornado ripped through my neighborhood. I was standing at the top of the stairs when it passed over our house, and I'll never forget what it felt like to have the house tremble around me. By the time I made it downstairs to the bathroom, it was all over. Four people died just down the street from us. My dad helped search for their bodies. It was one of the longest and scariest nights of my life.

That experience left me quite skittish of days like today. I don't want to live in fear, but I do have a healthy respect for such violent weather.

I hope you're all staying safe and dry today. I'll be huddling in a closet before too long, I'm sure.

Until next time, grace and peace.