Uncommon Grounds

I'm blogging today from Uncommon Grounds, the lone coffee shop in Salado, TX. Believe it or not, Uncommon Grounds closes at 2:30pm everyday. Can you imagine a coffee house in a city staying in business long if they closed at 2:30. Not only that, but Grounds will be closed all next week because the owner/operators are headed out-of-town. Can you believe that? If you were to do that in Houston, you'd have no customers to come back to.

Small town life in interesting.

Salado is three hours from Houston-usually--and where Rochelle and Malia headed while Hurricane Rita was still a category 5 hurricane headed toward Houston. I was in Denton so I met them here Friday morning. Luckily, Rochelle and Malia got out early and only spent 5 hours in the car.

I suppose the traffic heading back into Houston will be much like it was leaving. I've got my laptop and a ton of books here with me, so my work hasn't suffered. In fact, I spent 5 hours last night and 2 hours already today working on an Isaiah study I will be doing for our church's women's Bible study.

It's a good thing to have a job that you enjoy. This week I've spent time at a planning retreat, met with a group of youth ministers in another city, read about early Christian hermeneutics, read and reread the book of Revelation, put together Keynote (that's Powerpoint for those of you who don't speak Apple) presentations, and worked on classes. I would have done all these things had I been in my office but I did them away from the office just because I like to do them.

I love to seek God, both experientially and academically. I'm blessed that the end of the weekend can bring the words, "Thank God it's Monday" to my lips. I hope you can too.
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Please continue to be in prayer for those who have lost loved ones and precious property in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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."

See Ya Soon

A Note: I'm going to be out of pocket for a few days so I will not likely be posting.

I'll leave you today with this quote from Thomas a Kempis:

"The devil sleepeth not, neither is the flesh as yet dead, therefore cease not to prepare thyself for the battle, for on thy right hand and on thy left are enemies who never rest."