Email: You should evacuate [SD]

I'm sorry not to [evacuate] with you, and it's nothing personal, but the important thing is to have a plan that will succeed in getting out of Dodge. By the way, they will be positioning trucks along the highways to get people gas who are running low, so you can still get out if you choose to do so. I continue to urge you to do that. As a Christian, I have to urge you to make the most prompt, responsible decisions to safeguard you and yours. I will pray for you either way, but even harder (since you'll need it more) if you stay. A category 5 storm is nothing to sneeze at. All that Gov. Perry and other officials are saying now is to get out in order to save lives. "We may dodge the bullet in Houston, but we don't know, but I'd rather have you sitting in traffic for a long time than losing your life," he just said.

I hope you did not decide to go or to stay because I was going or not going with you. God will not take that as an excuse if you see him sooner than I do. You are responsible for your own life and your family's; I am responsible for mine. When those two coincide, well and good; when they diverge, I will do what I need to do.

I suggest that we use those strategies that work, instead of focusing on details that are discouraging. Stop talking about factors that don't matter in the big picture but you're using to justify staying. You can get out of town if you want; a path of success exists; open your eyes and find it; today is the time to act. Prayers will not move a tornado out of your way when you have been clearly and frequently told to leave town.

As I often say, trust God after you have done your part. Don't trust him to save you if you haven't made your best effort. There is a story to this effect, where God says "I sent you many messengers; why did you keep praying instead of taking action?"

OK, I have to focus on what I need to do. Everyone does. This is not the time to jibber-jab but to hustle. This is a national emergency. Let's do what we need to do.