What Is Going On?

Sorry I missed sharing with you last week. I had the privilege of being in Dallas to share a few days with my two grandsons there. My Mother shared in this trip as Marlys had to work. We had a wonderful time. Weather was ideal - nice and warm! Watched some of two Mavericks games (so happy they won the finals!), attended a Rangers' ballgame (which they won, by the way!), and got to see Ethan play in a ballgame. Even got to take my grandsons to the driving range to hit a few golf balls; I had not hit a golf ball in nearly five years. Felt good, and we had a great time.

So, what is happening in the world? Is the economy any better? Well, that depends upon who you listen to. From the devastation we observed traveling through Joplin, MO and parts of Oklahoma, there should be an increase in construction jobs. But, the price of building materials will probably escalate as well. We saw lots of acres that were not planted yet because of spring floods or spring droughts; that can only mean that food prices will continue to rise. And the worldwide economic crisis continues - Greece appears to be ready to declare bankruptcy as a nation (I can never remember this happening in my life time!). The head of the IMF has been indicted for criminal assault and has been forced to resign, leaving the IMF in a state of turmoil. In our own country, June 30 is looming on the horizon; that date marks the end of QE2 - or simply put, the government stops printing lots of money. When the presses stop, what will that do to our economy? And, unless the President and the Congress agree to a compromise, our government soon will begin to default on its obligations. In my opinion, the news on the economic front does not sound too encouraging to me.

Concerning the Middle East, instability continues to reign. In Libya, Qaddafi continues to hold out against rebel assaults. So far the majority of the military seems to be behind him. In Syria, the Assad regime has turned its weapons on its own people; one can only wonder how long before he does something drastic to pull his nation back together - an invasion and war with Israel might be the trick. In Jordan, King Abdullah is trying to placate those who want reforms; time will tell if those placations will help. The Egyptian government has now officially opened its borders with the Gaza Strip. One can only guess at what is now traversing through into Hamas hands. Meanwhile in Bahrain, the Iranians are trying to pick a fight with the Saudis. And in the midst of all this sits Israel. With cautious eyes Prime Minister Netanyahu observes the actions of those around his tiny nation.

Finally, what about this crazy weather that is happening all over. Snows in the mountains of the West - ski resorts still open as we approach the middle of June. Torrential rains in the Upper Plains, along with melting of last winter's record snowfall, creating unheard of floods along the Missouri River. And those waters will eventually reach St. Louis and the Mississippi River and then begin the journey down to New Orleans. Wildfires burn out of control in Arizona; West Texas is burning up; Northern California has been exceptionally cool. Then there are the volcano eruptions in Iceland and in Chili. I know that weather patterns are cyclical, but I am not sure we have seen the magnitude of weather phenomena as we are today. Could God be trying to tell us something? If so, I am not sure we are listening.

Keep your eyes focused upwards, my friends, as our Redemption is drawing near. These are days of excited hopefulness.