#EndOfTheWorldConfession

So today marks the long awaited day that the world is supposed to end, or at least so says some people who apparently misunderstood the Mayan calendar. Anyways, it's been a highly anticipated day for a long time, and guess what...Nothing seems to be happening. Is anyone surprised? Hopefully not really. I know that for me personally I didn't really believe that anything was going to happen today, but I must admit, there is a part of me that was kinda hoping for something.

I've said it before, "I want to live in a post-apocalyptic world. I want there to be some sort of societal collapse, and humanity to have to 'start over' in a sense." I think this is why I like the shows Revolution and Falling Skies. And, that is why I was slightly hoping that something happen today.

Here's my questions though:

1. Does anyone else secretly hope for something like this, or am I the only crazy one?
2. Why would I want something like this?

When Religion Becomes a Reason To Hate

I read an article yesterday that made me absolutely livid. It was about the Shooting in Connecticut last Friday, but it wasn't about the shooter or his family, the school, the victims, or the survivors. It was about Westboro Baptist Church and their planned picketing of the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Now, there are a lot of things that make me sad and upset in this world, and the shooting last Friday is definitely one of them. I cannot possibly begin to understand what would possess a human being to shoot 6 and 7 year olds dead, for no reason, and right before Christmas no less. I don't get it, and it infuriates me and fills me with grief. Yet, I can still say, as I have written before, that that man needed God's love and forgiveness as much as anyone else, and I am as devastated over the fact that he took his own life as I am over the fact that he took the lives of 26 others.

When Osama bin Laden was killed I was not gleeful and joyful. I didn't celebrate his death, despite the fact that he was responsible for the deaths of thousands.

In the shooting in Aurora earlier this year, I wrote that the shooter needs forgiveness, and we need to pray for him, just as we need to pray for the victims' families.

All of these men are/were evil and committed unthinkable atrocities, and yet, I find the picketing of the funerals of these victims, these children, to be almost worse.

In response to WBC's announcement, the hacker group Anonymous launched a campaign against WBC with the intention of bringing them down and destroying them. They hacked one of their Twitter accounts, hacked their website, and posted personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, and SSNs. They even successfully filed a death certificate for the "church's" spokesman, Shirley Phelps-Roper.

Thanksgiving IN ALL Circumstances

With Thanksgiving approaching I thought it fitting to write a little bit about giving thanks, but not necessarily in the traditional way. When November rolls around people suddenly get incredibly thankful. You hear people talking about all the things they are thankful for, and Facebook timelines are full of "Day 1: I am thankful for..., Day 2: I am thankful for..., etc..." It won't take you too long to come across all the traditional stuff either: Family, Friends, Jobs, Church, Pets, Homes, Possessions, etc... Almost everyone is thankful for these things in one way or another and post about them. I too, am thankful for all of these things.

However, this month, God has been revealing to me, in several ways, that in addition to all of the obvious blessings in my life, I need to be thankful for the not so obvious blessings, for the way that God works through the hard and difficult times, for what He accomplishes in the midst of agony.

"Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Vampires & Zombies | Suicide & Blood

In honor of Halloween I am going to be writing a bit about zombies and vampires. Now, I traditionally despise Halloween with a passion. I didn't want to have anything to do with it whatsoever: No Trick-or-Treating, no handing out candy, no decorations, no dressing up, I didn't even like church "Fall Festivals." My opinion has changed a little bit, which is a topic for another blog, but for today I am going to fall into the theme of the day embrace zombies and vampires, but not in the traditional way.

A couple years ago I wrote a couple Buzz posts (Do you remember Google Buzz?). Here's what they said.

What if I said you were a vampire, evil & dead to the core & your 1 hope for life, the thing you crave most, blood that's innocent and pure?

 

Would you call me crazy if I said that, in order to live, you must drown, you're a zombie, walking dead, & your 1 hope for life is suicide?

Frankenstorm & Christ, the Storm Whisperer

The East Coast today is facing a major threat from Hurricane Sandy, or Frankenstorm, as it has been nicknamed. It is a major storm, several major storms actually, that are all colliding to result in the potential for serious destruction. There will likely be 11ft storm surges, rain/flooding, high winds, snow, power outages, etc... It is going to very likely be catastrophic.

A few of the quotes from individuals involved highlight the seriousness of this storm:

"This is the most catastrophic event that we have faced and been able to plan for in any of our lifetimes," Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy warned.

"It could be bad," said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Steven Rattior, "or it could be devastation."