NO TV

So what do you do when the satellite goes offline and you don't have TV??!!??

No World Series tonight - No Office, Survivor, Dancing With The Stars (my wife Denise loves the show) - no football at all this week.

Gives you more time to think...

The fires have devastated so many lives and disrupted life as we know it. We were in between the worst of the fires. All we got was a little smoke and some nervous afternoons looking out at the hills wondering if the wind would shift.

How do you pray at a time like this? "What do your pray?" is maybe the bigger question. I prayed for rain - for the wind to stop. I prayed that people would pay attention and not exhibit stupidity and false bravado. and then tonight while i was walking the dogs i silently wondered to God how he might be honored and glorified in the midst of all the chaos and destruction. And I prayed in particular for the people who follow Jesus (Christians) who are and will be involved in helping people. For the firefighters that God would keep them safe, that the ones who have to make difficult decisions about deployment of men and women and equipment. I prayed for the Christian insurance agents, for the Red Cross workers and all the volunteers who are serving. I thought about and prayed for the people in our local, state and federal government who have to make difficult decisions about how and where the limited money will be allocated.

And then i thought of the families who lost homes in these fires. Of course i pray for quick action and for their comfort and safety. But my biggest prayers have been that they would respond in such a God honoring way - that the people of these cities would maybe see a compelling difference in how people who say they follow Jesus (the one who lived and died and rose again, who we say reigns as King and Lord over the universe) actually respond to tragedy and loss like this.

And then i pray that the winds stay down, that the rain will fall and that the rebuilding will begin quickly.

And my satellite TV still isn't on yet. It will probably come on just about the time i've weaned myself off of it - just in time to get addicted again!!