Hurricane Land and Being a Father....

No, we haven't been blown into the Gulf of Mexico (yet).

I realize many of you are wondering how we're doing with a Cat4 hurricane coming ashore just East of us. So far no problems today. The weather is dry, and normal temperatures are expected this afternoon (97 will be the high). The strangest thing is that the wind is out of the North, and that almost never happens here in Houston. All the hotel rooms in town are booked full, and I've seen many Louisiana plates on the vehicles.

If you haven't been through a hurricane before, you haven't really seen a storm. The power of these things easily eclipse the blizzards I remember from my Chicago youth. It's scary.

We DID run into some problems on Saturday night, when hurricane induced winds pulled a major system through Houston at 2am. I awoke to see our BBQ grill getting blown across the patio! Cheryl and Brooke saw our patio umbrella begin to spin in its mount, then take off like a helicopter! The wind picked it up and literally blew it OVER our house. We found it in the front yard yesterday morning. I think we were actually hit by a small tornado (no joke). I had to go out in the back yard to save the grill from falling into the pool. Water depth on our patio was about 8 inches, and our street was flooded about 12-15 inches deep. Ahh, just another day in Houston. Minor flooding in our bedroom but other than that, I think we're fine.

Now, onto more important things...
Brooke's birthday party on Friday was quite tiresome but fun. That would be the 29th birthday party we've thrown for our kids. By my calcs, we just have 7 left until the girls head for college. Yikes!

I invested Saturday morning at a great seminar called "Dad the Family Shepherd". I don't think it's ever too late to keep growing as a dad. The statistics surrounding children who had absentee fathers while growing up were absolutely breathtaking: depression, drugs, bad relationships, and (yes) suicide. This seminar reminded me of my responsibility and calling to lead my girls spiritually, to love my girls unconditionally, to equip them adequately, and to model for them how a man is to treat a woman. I am as motivated as ever.

I think I am most focused on this last issue these days. I am trying to model this behavior both in how the girls see me relate to Cheryl, and in the date nights that I take them out on. I firmly believe that if I do this faithfully, my girls will have a much better idea of what to look for in a guy. There are so many other influences out there (MTV, VH1, magazines, music) trying to describe relationships, and I think the fruits of this angle are pretty obvious. I am also blessed with an amazing, wise wife who demonstrates godly living in unbelievable ways. So, if we (with God's help) can demonstrate and communicate the benefits of going after the higher standard, we just might have a better chance for success. I love seeing the awesome young women that our daughters are becoming, but at the same time feel almost overwhelmed by the responsibility before me. It's all a day at a time.

My new "dad" verse:
"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
-- Micah 6:8

greg