Today has been a difficult day, as First Fruits goes. With no congregation meeting, though we celebrated in our own way, I felt rather cheated. My son was having a rough day since he was not accomplishing what he wanted, either. I talked to him a bit about the difficulty we have in meeting our goals and desires, even if they are good ones. I also explained how this problem was nothing new, even the Apostle Paul dealt with it. (Romans 7) We all deal with hating this, and the solution comes from recognizing the truth of Romans 8- We are not condemned, we are free to walk in the Spirit.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms was likely Sunday from Louisiana through the Tennessee Valley, the National Weather Service said. More than 4.5 million people live in the area where dangerous weather was most likely, including Birmingham and Jackson, Mississippi, the Storm Prediction Center said on its website.

The National Weather Service office in Jackson told residents to brace for the possibility of long-lasting tornadoes, wind gusts up to 70 mph (113 km) and tennis ball-size hail through Sunday evening. Storms could continue into early Monday.