Do our modern conveniences sometimes make life too easy?  In the DFW area of Texas where we live, we are finally coming out of several days of shut down caused by a big ice storm.  At one point over 160,000 area residents had lost power and had to find creative ways to stay warm.  Those who ventured to the grocery store (sometimes on skis) were often met with empty shelves, an uncommon site.  Others found themselves disconnected from the world when their cable/internet service was interrupted by the storm…Oh the humanity!.  Losing any of these modern conveniences makes us grateful for them when they are restored.

Our ice covered street.

My wife made a striking observation on Sunday.  Due to the icy road conditions our church leadership decided to cancel morning worship on Sunday.  We had a special 3 p.m. worship service for those who could make it.  My wife and I made the trek over to the church building, bouncing over the “cobblestone ice” and doing a bit of slipping and sliding.

A small group had gathered, about 1/4 of the usual Sunday attendance.  Our preacher gave a short devotional about hardships in life that was perfect for the occasion.  As we were headed home my wife said that the small special gathering for worship was perhaps the most meaningful worship she had been a part of in years.  It wasn’t part of our routine, it required special effort, and helped us to realize the blessing of worship and church family.

Obviously you can’t generate unique events like this, although some try.  Manufactured uniqueness can become routine too.  Sometimes that extra effort, something out of the ordinary,  or a little hardship helps us to realize just how good we have it.

I appreciate events like our ice storm because they challenge us to pause, reflect, and refocus.

Great Information – Raising Good Kids In An ‘R-rated’ World Followup

My friend John did a great write up about some options for families wanting to filter the internet in their homes.  He presented an installable program for computers and mobile devices that is free and offers a wide variety of options for filtering and monitoring.  I especially liked the OpenDNS option that filters out pornographic sites before they can even be accessed…no software required.  And as a bonus, both programs help to filter out the malware and phishing scripts that I clean off so many computers.  You should check out John’s post.

Family Worship Series

A big THANK YOU to those of you who have followed along with the family worship series.  For 2014 I am re-tooling the devotional series and building a series of dinnertime devos.  Each week I will publish 5 quick thoughts that can be looked at throughout the week at dinner time.  For now, there are a few more weeks left in the 2013 family worship series… Week 50 – King Jehu