A Time For Prayer

While watching the hurricane Katrina aftermath stories on the weather channel and national news stations I am reminded of how important it is during times of tremendous devastation and disastor to simply stop and pray for all of those who were affected and impacted by the unpredictable fury of storms the magnitude of hurricane Katrina. As those of us who recieved minimal to no affects whatsoever reflect on how we might be of assitance to the thousands upon thousands of those who are in dire crisis due to the damage caused by Katrina first and foremost should be giving thanks to the Lord for all of those who escaped death with their lives. As we begin the slow and painful process of search and rescue, feeding and housing, and even relocating survivors of Katrina there will be ample opportunity to provide aid in the form of financial donations to organizations such as the Red Cross and others actively involved in providing aid to hurricane victims. We should not overlook the need to donate blood which will be equally as important as many blood donation centers in the affected areas are not able to operate due to loss of power, flooding, and other aftermath related complications. While we should certainly strive to meet the tremendous physical needs of the survivors we can not overlook the equally important spiritual needs by praying for all of those in the impacted areas all along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The power of prayer can never be underestimated and should be encouraged by anyone and everyone who is able to do so. Pray fervently, frequently, and immediately for all of those who were blessed enough to have survived the horror and life altering trauma of Katrina.

God Bless,

Gas Prices

Ok, I am reading headlines like a penny a day and 40% over this time last year all relating to the ever increasing price of a gallon of precious gasoline. Talk about sticker shock, with the price edging ever closer to the $3 per gallon price I, for one am experiencing budget shock on a grand scale. Now instead of thoughtlessly jumping in the car to pop down to the local video store or to drive down to the local hang out to see which friends are out and about I find myself taking pause and planning every outing much more carefully taking into consideration the distance, time involved, and approximating the gasoline usage. So exactly who is getting fat, dumb, and happy with all the excess profits while those of us in fly over country are fearing the next installment of price hikes which are invariably going to come down the pike and be reflected at the pumps? Who is the villain in this inflated, burdeoning, bloated scheme to bankrupt the little guy at the gas pumps? We are treated to all manner of theory and thesis ranging from supply and demand to increasing price in production and even foreign suppliers intentionally driving up prices to punish the evil infidels in the West. So maybe it isn't some insidious plot designed to disrupt the economy of those of us in the US, so what exactly is the problem here and why are we seeing nearly $3 per gallon gas prices at the pumps and where is it going to end? Frankly, it is scaring me to death and my concern is not just from a financial standpoint. What exactly is going to save us from the dependence on fossil fuels and provide us with a nice, clean, alternative? Talk about being time for a white knight to ride in and save us, the time is definitely now.

Offending those who ...

You know, in my humble opinion, it is just about impossible to not offend someone in today's politically correct society. No matter what you do or how hard you try, it seems that someone is going to take offense to just about anything and literally everything that those who differ from them do. For example, gays are going to be offended by non gays simply because they are not gay. Non Christians are going to be offended by anything having to do with religion or Christianity simply because of their beliefs. Proof of this ridiculous intolerance is evident everywhere and permeates all areas of our society today. Religious symbols can not be displayed in certain places, public schools are working overtime to change the name of seasons to reflect intolerance such as changing Christmas break to Winter break, and even some businesses are forcing emplyees to stop wishing Merry Christmas by changing to happy holidays or other less offensive greetings. For crying out loud, where does it stop? When is it going to end?