Travels are over... for now

I've been catching up from a four-day weekend golf trip to Myrtle Beach with 15 other guys, most of whom work in my office. We had a great time and I was blessed with good options every time the group wanted to do something I chose to avoid (bars, clubs, etc...). I was able to show that being Christian doesn't mean being boring, but it does mean making certain commitments to those we love (including God, our spouses and ourselves) and sticking to those commitments. By then end of the weekend I had their respect (they called me "Honest Mike") and we could all be considered friends. It was a great exercise for me in showing love and grace, without making excuses for behavior that I don't condone.

On the funny side, this is the first trip I've taken in a while that I didn't bring fire with me. You may have to read that sentence again as it may have sounded weird. That's OK, read it again. Now I'll explain:

Christmas trip to Kansas City -- our drive home to Houston was stalled and detoured due to massive fires ravaging Oklahoma and Texas. We could actually see the light and smell the smoke from many miles away during our night drive.

Business trip to California -- I went with our CEO and a salesperson on a whirwind four-customer visit over 36 hours. We nearly had to evacuate the hotel due to wildfires in several areas of California.

Business conference in Orlando -- While in a hotel outside Orlando, we weren't sure if we could get to the airport due to... you guessed it... more wildfires.

In all three cases they were formally declared states of emergency. Yikes, it sure was nice to go to Myrtle Beach and end the streak of fiery destinations. At the rate it was going, nobody was going to invite me to their house ever again.