maybe i am exaggerating a bit, but given a little wider tornado, or a little faster wind, the tornado that hit edmond, oklahoma last night could have been much worse, and many more of my friends could have been in danger.

chris and i live in downtown. we went to bed around 12:30 after it appeared the tornado-producing storms were weakening. an hour later, the sirens went off downtown. i jumped out of bed and turned on the tele.

the only rotation was in edmond, which is where my office is and two of the lifechurch.tv oklahoma city campuses reside. as well as most of my okc friends. like terry. and sunny. and john. and john. and aaron.

i heard on the news that power just went out to the west side of edmond where the storm was. my friends began twittering about the power loss from their phones.

since we were totally in the clear, chris and i stayed up and kept our friends informed of the weather.

tornado on the ground.

over broadway.

even though they were hiding in closets and basements, they could know exactly where the tornado was because of twitter.

and they could know when the coast was clear.

i know twitter is all about friends and fun and updates and random 140 character bits of life, but in situations like this, i wonder how powerful it will be…

what if twitter was around during 9-11? during bigger storms? hurricanes? earthquakes? blackouts?

i think twitter can save lives – and i think it will. (remember, read the tweets from the bottom up in order for them to make sense!)

i’m still working at finishing up the never-ending blogroll (which, if you would like to be on, click here and let me know – i just ask that you link me back!).

i’ve spent this weekend out exploring some new blogs and visiting some old favorites. here’s a list of four blogs i am really digging right now.

1. spence smith - spence lives in nashville and is one of the people from compassion who led our uganda trip. i heart this boy. he has been an encouragement in my life since the day i got to know him. chris got to meet him this weekend when he was in oklahoma city. he thinks similarly to the way we do about church, friends, and chocolate.

2. lynseleanne.com – lynse, lynse, lynse. a birmingham girl, and wiser than any early-twenty-year-old i know. lynse emailed me a couple of years ago asking for some help working through a problem i had some experience in. she drove a few hours to meet me while i was in nashville last year, and again when i spoke in decatur, alabama. and i’m honored to say this coming weekend, i’ll have a role in her wedding.

3. ethos/randy elrod – another dreamer i had the pleasure of meeting on the uganda trip. randy and his lovely wife live outside of nashville. every conversation i had with them on the trip was inspiring and beautiful. randy is fulfilling a dream for artists.

4. ally simpson - this list would not be complete without my irish friend ally simpson. ally lives in ireland. (chris and i want to move to ireland and open a music shop and a hoover repair store – hopefully most of you understand that dream, and if you don’t you are seriously missing out). ally says things i feel but can’t say on my blog. he’s smart. he’s honest. and he’s another dreamer.

any new blogs you are lovin’ right now?

i want you to meet roland. since there are no children in uganda that have been waiting longer than six months, i decided to branch out into other countries.

ROLAND HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU! click here to go directly to roland’s sponsorship page.

roland lives in brazil with his uncle and his mom. i wonder what happened to his dad? is he alive? did he abandon them?

roland’s uncle is sometimes employed as a laborer, but his mother is like many of you – a stay at home mom. roland has two siblings. and he likes playing with marbles. one of chris’ and my sponsor children, abdukerim, who lives in ethiopia, likes playing with marbles too.

anyway, roland has been waiting over six months for a sponsor. i trust that today will be his last day waiting. you can sponsor him now. ROLAND HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU click here to go directly to roland’s sponsorship page.

**unless you are sure you want to sponsor him, please do not hit the “select this child” button on his page. that will make his page unavailable for an hour or more, and someone else that truly does want to sponsor him might miss the chance.**

every child i’ve ever posted on flowerdust.net has been sponsored within a few hours. that’s remarkable. i hope today is no different.

there is a severe weather seminar in our apartment complex’s clubhouse tonight. i am so there. and i am so excited. i’ve had this marked on my calendar for a month.

i love tornadoes. i’ve experienced 28 or so of them up close and personal (and blogged some of them here)

what makes you a nerd?