Home alone

While my wife and kids are in Colorado visiting my parents, I'm at home. All alone. Things have been awfully quiet around here the past few days. Without my lovely wife, my rambunctious two-year old son, and my energetic 6 month-old daughter (who is usually either laughing or wailing), the house is strangely silent. Tonight, all I hear are the ticking of the clock, the chirping of the crickets, and the distant rattling of our swamp cooler.

With the family gone, I've been able to spend some extra time in the Word and in prayer, to tackle some projects in the garage, and do quite a bit of extra reading. Right now, I'm reading up on strategic planning and church growth as I prepare for a Prayer and Planning Retreat with our church leaders next month.

I've also watched a little more TV this week than usual: a Monk episode, an old MacGyver episode, a Danger Man episode, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Those were nice times to wind down and relax. Peace and quiet around the house has been nice for a time, but I'm definitely looking forward to having the family back home next Thursday.

Natalie asked me on the phone tonight what I thought of McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as VP. I told her I'm thrilled by the issues Palin stands for, but must admit I'm cautious about having a wife and mother serve in such a demanding position while she still has several kids at home. Her youngest, Trig, is only four-months old and has Downs Syndrome (Click here to read Al Mohler's account of this touching story). I guess I have to trust that Sarah and her husband Todd will not let the campaign and the possibility of being vice president get in the way of her even more honorable and God-given duty to her family.

At any rate, I'm sure Palin's spot on the ticket will help keep the public spotlight on abortion and the pro-life movement. The sanctity of life will no doubt continue to receive a good bit of attention in the upcoming convention and debates. And that, I believe, will be a very good thing. Issues like oil drilling, health care, immigration, and even the war on terror, as important as they all are, still pale in comparison to the tragedy of 40 million unborn children being slaughtered in our country since Roe v. Wade.