Anyone who knows me well would likely know mornings are my favorite times. I love rising early, enjoying coffee, reading, and (weather permitting) dawn.

Below was a shot from my old iPhone of one of my mornings this week in Pennsylvania.

Anyone who is honest will admit that we are living amidst a cultural civil war. The values could not be more disparate and opposed to one another. No one can say, “I sure wish I knew where _________ stood regarding [insert issue here].” No, we can tell.

Some folks think we should honor our law enforcement and our military service members; another side demands we defund the police and embrace nihilism and anarchy. Some folks think we should acknowledge reality; other folks demand we bow the knee to insanity, live by lies, and embrace chaos.

Stupidity is not a winning strategy, as is often said, so reality will sink in eventually. But how severe it may all get, and how long it will all last, is another matter for another discussion.

In such a time, I take a few minutes of time near dawn, often with coffee in hand, bow my head in petition to the God who made heaven and earth, and try to say as plainly and viscerally as I am able, “Lord, we need you. Have mercy upon me, a sinner. Lord, thank you for another opportunity to flee to your gospel.”