Today's blog post is more somber than usual.

All I can think about this evening is that my heart grieves for our community where the Central Michigan University student shot his own parents this morning.

He has yet to be caught and is somewhere, probably in some woods near campus where they are actively searching.

Police have reported that they found his clothes discarded along the railroad tracks leading north out of campus. His attempt to disguise his identity (he was wearing yellow jeans, those would stand out from a mile away) has now left him alone in the dark and cold with no clothing.

I have a nineteen year old son, too. If this were my son I would grieve for more than just the safety of our community.

I hope they catch the young man for a lot of reasons. The obvious: he's considered armed and dangerous and our community is not safe as long as he is at large.

On a deeper level, he was released from the hospital this morning from a drug-related incident into the care of his now deceased parents. His body is probably not handling drug withdrawals right now.

Another reason is that he's probably very cold and scared. My prayer is that he is apprehended and taken into custody to get medical attention, and warmth, and that our community will be safe and our brave law-enforcement team will also be safe and out of the cold.

Because I can't think of anything but CMU, the only book I could share on my daily blog post had to be one that has CMU as its primary setting, Buxton Peak Book Two: Center Stage. This book also features tragic events brought on by drug use.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all go away. All the drugs. All the shootings. All the pain. I misplaced my magic wand so I’ll just go back to my work and keep a prayer in my heart. May God send His Spirit to be with our world. –Julie L. Spencer