I have learned through many years of pastoral ministry that most people pay closer attention to the gauges of their car than they do the gauges of their life. Sometimes we pay little attention to the gauges of either of these, and are left to suffer the consequences for not doing so.

My wife and I pastored a church in a desert community in central California for nearly ten years. The nearest city to us of any real size, or at least that had more than a few houses and a few run down businesses, was nearly one hundred miles away. Much of our shopping, business and entertainment were conducted in this larger city, which required us to make the three-hour round trip drive every time.