Minecraft wiki entry for Survival_in_an_infinite_desert, associated text: Sand is a weak material and subject to gravity which means it fares pretty badly if a creeper manages to somehow get through. Reinforcing the core of your main house should be a priority, after immediate survival, if you need to remain in the area. You need to continue to improve your spawn base, more so than in a normal game, because resetting your spawn point is likely to be difficult and take some time. Until such time as you have the ability to reset your spawn point to a 'safer' place than your spawn-area house, you should keep strengthening that house.