Over 1 MILLION people are being ordered to evacuate the Texas coast ahead of Hurricane Ike. It is said that the storm itself takes up over 40% of the area that is the Gulf of Mexico, and it is shutting down refineries that will likely send gas prices through the roof. Crude oil prices and the mortgage crisis have delivered crushing body punches to our economy, and it's ribs are bruised and bleeding. We have the election, and oh, did I mention this little thing called the "War on Terror?"

As I watched the news this evening, my mind wandered. I wish we were quicker to prevent devastation before it hits our coastal shores. I would like to see a daily commitment to the elimination of poverty in our country that has the same intensity of the relief efforts that are going on now during the hurricanes. I would like to see us be more concerned about the lives that stand in the path of this storm than the oil refinery that is in Houston. This hurricane is bearing down on millions of people, and we are concerned about the price of oil on the NYSE? You have got to be kidding me! When will we learn to focus on the importance of human life and decent morality and let economics fall by the peripheral? Please pray for those in the path of this gruesome storm, their lives and futures depend on it.

MTV had their annual awards show this week, and something very interesting came out of it. I only saw it on the internet, and it was just in a couple of columns. It was the resurgence of the "promise ring." The Jonas Brothers wear promise rings, proclaiming their resolve to save their virginity until marriage. The host for the night made fun of them for that stance, and several celebrities came to their defense. Jordin Sparks and Paris Hilton were two of the biggest names that came to their side immediately. How many of you heard about this on your evening news?

I love that we take care of our hurting physically, and that is absolutely needed. I just wish we were more interested in offering safe harbor spiritually to those that are hurting. I think that we often miss the boat in that respect. We come to our own rescue to help re-build ravaged lands, and we pour obscene amounts of money into efforts that just bring us back to the state we were in. Offering true comfort to those that are hurting costs us nothing. We don't even have to mobilize concentrated efforts to impact our world in a way that would force peace into a hostile environment. We can offer a room to stay for family of friends that are displaced during this time. We can take blankets to the shelters that will be no doubt slammed for the next week. We can offer up a simple prayer that God will see those through that are in the bullseye of danger. We can just offer a few pennies in God's name to the homeless on the street corner - forgetting our hideously arrogant opinion of what they might do with it. God's word says that if you offer so much as a cup of water to a stranger in the name of Christ, it is like offering it to Christ himself (Matthew 25:34-40.) You can do little things that don't cost a dime, and they become contagious if they are done correctly.


I am playing in an event called "the burn" on Saturday morning at 6. I have been a couple of times, and it is absolutely fantastic. I also hope to go to something called "Soma" on Sunday evening. I have high expectations of each, and I hope to be able to blog about them either Sunday night or Monday - assuming Ike will allow it, of course. I hope to start something like this in Longview. If any of you that read this are interested, let's start praying that God can use us filthy vessels to help reach a community that is struggling to stay afloat. I think that it will be interesting to see what can be done with a few simple acts of God-inspired love.