Our Armageddon

What the hell is heaven? Is there hope for the hopeless? Brett Dennen

All around me are familiar places worn out faces...Michael Andrews

These are lyrics from popular songs and the latter even used in an Integris commercial. I like these songs! They speak volumes about what goes on inside our minds. Maybe not 24-7 but the battles of this world are real and we can not help but face them. Turn on the news and you will hear stories of your worst nightmares coming true. Or what you need to look out for and worry about. The news does sell worry and they are very good at it. Now I do know we need to be aware and the news is not the only avenue in which we get informed. But to what extent is it damaging us? Our well-being? Studies show that stress and our nerves wreak havoc on our health. I do not watch the news all the time. I keep up but I do not let it consume me. There is much good to be done and we all are much happier and more productive when we focus on loving others.

A couple of years ago the news reported 'teens killed in a fiery crash' and the story was too close for comfort for me and one of my closest friends. My son was ahead of that crash by only a minute or two and he did not see it. My friend's son was one of the first cars on the scene! What he experienced he will never forget. I had been on the phone with my friend checking on the boys probably at the time of the crash. It was getting late and I knew the boys were heading back to college after a holiday weekend at the lake. Something didn't feel right and I found out that my friend was concerned too. We felt an urgent need for prayer and protection. Little did we know how urgent! We didn't feel peace or calm at that time but Jesus was right there with us both and He was our hope. Hope for the frightened,worried, angry, lost, depressed,... The fear we were feeling that night became a reality for other parents. It affected all of us and everyone else who heard about it to some degree. The point is - no one escapes the battle inside the mind. It is very real, very bloody, nerve-racking, and very catastrophic! Ok now you might be thinking: get to the cure! This is depressing, someone get me a Zoloft! Well, sticking our head in the sand is definitely not the cure either. This is not a fun subject to broach but a most critical one we need to understand. We each face Armageddon everyday and most of it in our thoughts. Maybe we think, thank goodness for antidepressants, they should be in our drinking water like fluoride but it's a coping mechanism not a cure and oh by the way we will worry about the side effects later.

What shows do we watch? Murder mysteries , horror flicks, Americas Most Wanted, Criminal Minds, Law and Order x 3, CSI x 3, Cops, and I could go on and on, NCIS (see what I mean?). The gorier the better at the box office. Gone are the days of the Waltons, Little House On the Prairie, Mayberry R.F.D. In the book, Where's Your Jesus Now? by Karen Spears Zacharias; she writes "We are a nation in repose feasting on fear. We are constantly feeding our insatiable panic addiction. We like having the ever loving day lights scared out of us. Neurosis has become as American as billowing flags and apple pies!" This is not to say even if you blew up the t.v. you could put your head in the sand and go back in time. Times were not perfect then either, looks and sounds better maybe, but many of our so called conveniences today stem from our parents' and ancestors' desire to make things better. Believe it or not it is not all doom and gloom and we too have this desire to make things better. However a word of caution here, sometimes what seems to our society as a step forward has many rippling ramifications. We must face our future with constant prayer, we must practice the presence of God diligently as if our life depended on it! Oh my mistake - it does! If you think it sounds easy just get in your car and start your day. We need so desperately to hear our Shepherd's voice. He is the calm in our storm. Alistair Begg once said in a sermon (and this is not an exact quote) "We should not worry about death or the death of a loved one if we do in fact take God at His word. Has He not ordained the number of our days yet even before we were born? We as humans are not going to do anything to change that! Do you think one day God is sitting up there just reading His morning paper and much to His chagrin says "oh looky here Alistair Begg died! I didn't know He was here, quick go and get him so I can greet him"'. Gotta love Alistair for putting it into perspective in such a wonderful way. If you have not had the pleasure of listening to him think of what I just told you in a Scottish accent! I highly recommend him. You can find him at truthforlife.com.

Anxiety is rampant in the U.S and abroad. My husband sees 4 and 5 year olds with anxiety! As parents we need to address this issue. We need to stop and see what our fears are teaching them, what we watch, let our children watch, what we talk about, what unrealistic things we expect out of our children, what pedestals we put them on... and on and on. Just think what the tapes in the minds of our children will replay when they are adults! We need to be aware and we need Jesus! "trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto your own understanding." " ... and He shall direct my path." We must teach our children well - it is the most important job we have. If we live in fear and anxiety they will indeed learn what we live. "And He walks with me and He talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart." "Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because He lives." Two of my mother's favorite hymns and oh how I love to hear her sing them. What a most precious gift! Practice the presence of God my friend and no matter how hot the furnace we will not burn nor smell like smoke. Choose to have a blessed day in the Lord!

Heavenly Father

Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Your Son Jesus' name I pray. Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)