I Lift My Hands

Some of my friends have been sharing this video on Facebook today and I am so glad they did. What a blessing! Thank you so much for sharing!


This is AMAZING! I spent 6 years in a house of prayer in Cairo, a run down town seen throughout this Chris Tomln video. This is what the Lord sings over you, Cairo - Let faith arise!! - Sara Rust

All I can say is wow! Let faith arise! The town in the video is Cairo, IL - a place that I helped to start a House of Prayer in and lived and served for 7 years. God has a vision and destiny for you Cairo! I love that every time this video is watched there is a declaration going out over Cairo - "let faith arise"! God is so unfathomable in the way He works! - Kristy Tillman

I had NO idea Chris Tomlin filmed a video in my beloved town of Cairo, IL. Every time this video is played, life and hope is being declared over this place. LOVE IT. - Jessica McClure












There is no way that Chris Tomlin could possibly know what God has been doing in Cairo or the prophecies that have been spoken about Cairo becoming a city of refuge. To the naked eye, Cairo looks hopeless and beyond repair, but God sees something so much more. To see THOSE words on the GEM marquee - I can't even begin to describe what I felt - BELIEVE - REFUGE - STRENGTH. God is so amazing and He is moving in Cairo! This video is like a declaration from God over Cairo. LET FAITH ARISE!

No Hodgepodge - Just Flood Waters

It's been a frustrating week. We haven't been to school because of water (oh and we have PLENTY of water!). Cairo sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at the bottom of the state of Illinois and is currently in a desperate situation. Voluntary evacuations began on Tuesday. Mandatory could come tomorrow from what I hear. Many people refuse to leave because they see no danger.

It's hard to watch this struggle. Currently, there is an argument about whether or not to intentionally breech the Birds Point Levee. It actually sits in Missouri. I don't know a lot about it, but from what I understand, this levee was built in the late 1920s in case something like this were to happen - it was designed for this very reason. I know that it would flood hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, depositing sand which would impact that land for decades. There are 2 sides to this coin and I don't like either of them and I'm upset with the people who can only seem to see one side - their side. It really frustrates me when people do not consider how others will be affected by doing things 'their way'.

There is a LOT of pressure on the levee at Cairo.I think the Corp of Engineers' biggest concern is not water coming over the flood wall (but as you can see, the level is incredibly high - that's the flood wall and a barge - crazy), but rather, the levee breaking under the pressure of the river.

My biggest fear? The levee will break and many people will have failed to heed the warning to get out. While I was at the flood wall today I saw one of my students in the truck with his dad who said, "that water has a ways to go before it spills over that wall - I don't know what all this fuss is about". Do they not know that if the levee breaks the water will rise so quickly that they will not have time to get out. I just want to scream, "PEOPLE, GET OUT!!!!"

Even if the levee holds and they blow a hole in the Birds Point Levee, I don't think anyone is considering what effect it will have on the backwaters (which are rising faster than the river). As the river recedes, that water has to go somewhere...it just pushes to other places.

SO. FRUSTRATING.

I don't know what is going to happen over the next few days. Please keep flood victims in your prayers. There are some cities that are already flooded. People are loosing their homes and business because it won't stop raining! A local home center had this as their sign:

I firmly believe that God is in control and that He has a purpose in all of this, but it most certainly doesn't make it any less frustrating!