Hurricane Rita is presently bearing down on my home. The family is on the road and pretty prepared for times like this. I times like these, when you have to look around your house and decide what to take and what to leave, that you have to face up to what it is that you believe is truly important. Some things that seem valuable lose their value when you start thinking about the necessities of life.

My wife and daughter got out and that's all that I care about. If they're safe then the world is right. Recently, the three of us were flying back to Houston from Philadelphia. The plane was flying high and faster than usual and we were experiencing a lot of turbulence and it felt like the plane might go down. Rochelle looked at me with a worried expression. I looked back at her and said, "Everything important to me is on this plane."

They are the most important people in the world to me and their safety is all that matters.

May God bless and protect us all as we endure this coming storm.

The Weight of Glory

Whenever I begin to feel a spiritual lull I know that I can always return to the thoughtful commentary of C.S. Lewis. This winter my wife, Rochelle, and I are teaching a class on the life and teachings of C.S. Lewis. I think we might call it "No 'Ordinary' Life" taken from Lewis' "Weight of Glory". Here's a thoughtful little quote from 'Glory' concerning God's expectations and sin.

"Our temptation is to look eagerly for the minimum that will be accepted. We are in fact very like honest but reluctant taxpayers. We approve of an income tax in principle. We make our returns truthfully. But we dread a rise in tax. We are very careful to pay no more than is necessary. And we hope--we very ardently hope--that after we have paid it there will still be enough to live on."