These are times that are trying many souls

Over the course of the past year or so, we have witnessed catastrophic earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand and Japan.  We have seen a tsunami suddenly kill thousands of people and cause turmoil and anxiety even unto this present hour due to the problems at a nuclear power plant in Japan.  We have seen volcanoes erupt in Iceland and ice storms in places that rarely see them.  Through it all, the United States of America was basically unscathed.

Over the past few weeks, the forces of nature have unleashed their fury upon the very heart of America.  Through wildfires burning in Texas, flooding along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the current incredible outbreak of tornadoes; there is no longer any feeling of invincibility in this land.  As if the current situation were not bad enough, a very active hurricane season looms just ahead.

In due time, all the damage being done by all these natural disasters will act as a financial stimulus as people will find jobs rebuilding houses, businesses, churches and other facilities.  But, in the short term, the current situation is too much for many to bear.  Losing one’s home or business is a traumatic experience that leaves deep scars in someone’s hearts for years to come.  Obviously there are many hurting people around right now.

The frustration people go through dealing with insurance companies, government agencies, financial institutions and employers is hard to understand unless a person has lived through a major disaster or worked with those who have.  People can talk about “trusting God” all they want, but when your home is a pile of debris, your place of employment is demolished and your creditors want payments NOW; the pressure many times literally breaks people and demolishes families.

In 2006 I took a very long and difficult trip to Cameron, a little town on the coast of southwestern Louisiana, which had been utterly destroyed by hurricane Rita the previous year.  The area was a ghost town as it had been literally forgotten due to most of the emphasis being placed on Katrina damage.  As I trudged through the sand looking at the destruction I came upon a few very haggard people hanging around a white tent.

When I inquired as to what was going on, I was told of how there used to be a church ministry that brought food to that tent twice a week but had run out of resources and had to stop.  My heart ached for these poor people who received no aid from FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army or any other group except one lonely ministry who could no longer find the resources to get food to them.

I was not able to do much but the pictures I took of the people and their plight did make their way to some agencies which in due time were able to get some resources down there.  The town had literally fallen through the cracks due to all the other needs.

As people attempt to put their lives back together in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia; I pray that those of us unaffected by the current onslaught of floods and tornadoes remember those whose lives have been turned upside down.

These are very troubled and turbulent times and many of our brothers and sisters are hurting right now.  If ever they needed a friend to lend them a hand or a shoulder to cry on it is NOW.  If there was ever a time to redouble our prayers and “stand in the gap” it is NOW.  If there was ever a time to intercede on behalf of those who are struggling to stay sane and alive, it is NOW.  Truly this is a time to pray for and reach out to all those engaged in the worst battles of their lives.

The incredible journey of faith–an introduction

Between August of 1978 and August of 1980 I served as a minister in Mississippi.  Spending two years in one of the poorest states in the Country after spending two years in California was quite an experience.

During my time in Mississippi I learned to respect and love the simple lifestyle of the poor.  I learned that one does not need a lot of money or things to have a deep personal relationship with God.  In fact, I learned that the people who loved God the most are many times those who have the least.

As difficult as those two years were for me, the lessons I learned have stuck with me for more than 30 years.  To this day, my heart is drawn to those who the world considers “losers” and especially to those who must deal with personal tragedies or calamities.

My dad passed away in 1998 and by 2001 I was more or less my 82 year old mom’s caregiver, even though I lived 6 hours away.  Gradually I became her official caregiver and was so until she died in April of 2006.  My heart ached for her state, not just because she was my mom, but because she spent nearly every waking moment held captive by the relentless pain that buffeted her body.  I am deeply moved by anyone in pain, whether physical, mental or spiritual.

When Hurricane Katrina tore into Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005 every part of me wanted to immediately drive down there and help.  I knew how devastating that storm would be to the poor people who get no publicity and who live off the beaten path.  As much as I wanted to go, I could not leave my mom due to her needs.  All I could was pray and that is what I did.

My mom was not a generous person.  The fear of running out of money in her old age drove her to be frugal and miserly.  She would give a small offering at church once in awhile, but the farthest thing from her mind was the idea of giving any of HER money to some poor person.  She grew up dirt poor and no one ever gave her a penny, so in her mind there was no reason to ever give to someone else who was in need.

In the final days before her death, my mom came to realize how wrong it was to have hoarded all her money awaiting a day that never came.  Near the end of my mom’s life, she made me promise that I would use some of that money to go help those poor people in Mississippi I always talked about.  I gladly agreed to honor her wishes.

For the next year I went to more places, met more people and did more interesting things than I had done the previous 20 years combined.   In many respects, I believe that God gave me that year as a personal reward for the many years of taking care of my mom.

I have always felt I needed to share some of what I saw and learned in the year God allowed me to live in service to others.  As time allows, I am going to break my silence and actually talk about what it means to literally walk with God with no safety net, no network of prayer partners and by faith and not sight.

McCain and Obama both vote FOR Big Money Interests, now we know for sure who OWNS them both

So, here we are, many days after the initial bombshells were dropped warning us of impending doom if the “bailout” package were not passed. In those many days, we have seen the Stock Market go down, then go up, then go down and then go up and then hold steady. What we have not seen is the “end of the world” as we know it.

The United States Senate’s sanctimonious action in passing the insane excuse for an “economic recovery” package proves once and for all that the interests of most elected officials is only in getting re-elected and not in either serving their people or standing upon the Constitution. I applaud the one fourth of voting Senators who had the “guts” to stand their ground and vote their conscience instead of as one of our illustrious Senators from Missouri said; “hold my nose and vote yea”.

If I could sell my house and pack everything up and move, there is no doubt I would head to Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi or Wyoming. Why on earth would anyone want to move to one of these states? These are the only five states where BOTH Senators voted against the Senate Bailout bill.

It is interesting to note that of the 25 Senators who voted “No”; 15 were Republicans, 9 were Democrats and 1 was an Independent. Also interesting is to see the regional breakdown. The only Senator from the Northeast part of the country to vote “No” was the Independent from Vermont. Surprisingly, there were 7 Senators from the western states who voted “No”. To be expected, there were 8 from Midwestern states and 9 from southern states who voted “No”.

Just as in the House vote on Monday, the legislators who oppose the idea of a massive Federal bailout of the banking industry cross party lines and run the full spectrum from the far left to the far right politically. What is very interesting to note is that unlike in the House, where every representative is up for re-election in a month, two thirds of the Senators are not up re-election this cycle.

There is little argument that vast majority of citizens in the United States do not want this bill passed in any way, shape or form. The House members got this message loud and clear from their constituents and that is why the measure failed. All House members must now go through a second round of soul searching to see if they will vote for the approved Senate measure. It will be interesting to see how many of them have the “guts” to stick to their ideals and how many will cave in to the pressure put on them by the President and party leaders in the House.

What choice do we really have in the Presidential election next month? Both Senator’s McCain and Obama along with Sen. Biden all voted “YES” to the bailout bill. Gov. Palin has voiced strong support for the measure. So, when it comes to listening to “We the People” or to their Illuminati or Bilderberg Group bosses—both candidates made it perfectly clear they are controlled by the same powerful money people the current President is sold out to.

Those naïve enough to think either McCain or Obama are anything other than the latest puppets and “yes men” chosen and ordained by those who really run this country and world are sadly mistaken. It makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE who wins the election next month. Whether McCain or Obama, both will continue to sell this country down the river to the interests of those sitting in high places who are only interested in unbridled power and stealing every dollar left in the pockets of the American public.

The agenda of those who really run things is perfectly clear and it does not include anything that will benefit YOU or ME in the long run. Ultimately this country will fall and become nothing but a seething melting pot of angry and beaten down people who stumble around wondering where all their wealth and resources went. Ultimately, once the government takes over all the banking industry and owns the mortgages to all the real estate and has loans extended to every major corporation; then, at last, the silly silent majority of people in this country who sat back and allowed their elected officials to destroy their financial future will awaken. Unfortunately, by then it will be too late.