Please join me

In praying for the residents of the Gulf Coast and those who either are, or have loved ones, homes, and other pieces of their lives, in the path of Hurricane Gustav. We all remember the devastation caused by Katrina in this region three years ago - thankfully, it does not sound like this hurricane should be as devastating, as it is at least a Grade below the level Katrina was at, and many, many more residents have been evacuated at this time than they were for Katrina. But that does not mean there are not still people who are in danger, or who will have lives to put back together, people, pets, homes and valuables lost, and so on.

And so I pray for all those affected by this natural disaster. And for those of us who aren't directly affected, I hope we all can learn its lessons; not to let the petty, day-to-day grievances we all let fester affect us so deeply, to take care of the things we value and cherish in our lives, and MOST IMPORTANTLY after such soul-searching, to find our most charitable selves at these times to help those in need.

To that end I encourage everyone to donate to the many agencies currently looking to relieve the storm, either through their specific sites (such as the Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org), or through either of the current US presidential campaign sites (http://www.barackobama.com or http://www.johnmccain.com). Ari and I certainly will be doing so - please join us. And hold those people you love tight. God Bless.