Monday, Monday

I was going to post my Sabbath enlightenment, but, as you can see, that did not work out. In summary, Church was fantastic, as expected. I especially appreciated the Sunday School lesson which was on Mosiah Chapter 4. King Benjamin reminds us that we are "all beggars" and that we need to be more generous with the poor. As part of the discussion we reviewed my favorite parable --The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, from Matthew Ch. 25. There are so many things to consider when giving to the poor--existing programs (fast offerings, homeless shelters, etc), judgments on whether or not a panhandler is for real or just trying to scam passers-by, or can I afford to give money now? The discussion reiterated my personal feeling that 1) By the spirit we can discern the validity of various requests for help, and 2) When in doubt, if you can spare some change, do. I have no authority to judge another's stewardship of what the Lord gives, even if I am the vehicle by which it is given.

Speaking of being able to afford spare change (or not) . . . the feeling of being "poor" is becoming a collective reality. Gas prices are insane. In this CNN article, a comparison (which they acknowledge might not be perfect) of gas prices globally is presented. At almost $3.50/gallon, the US gas prices are still relatively cheap when compared to Europe. While, I am still planning some vacation time that involves driving,to the cabin, for example, I am considering making working from home a couple of days a week a regular thing to reduce my gas consumption. To make that effective, I should really keep my errands to on the way to/from work.

It makes me wonder about how little I can reasonably drive in one week. I think I will fill my gas up on the way home and start tracking weekly gas consumption.