Anyone notice...

MommyToAshley wrote: Mother Nature sure had been in an uproar already with the earthquakes, the tornadoes, the flooding, and unusual weather everywhere. It really make me wonder if something more isn't going on here.

HuskerMom replied: It has been crazier than normal. I think in the last month we've been in at least 5 or 6 tornado warnings. Usually we only get maybe 1 or 2 in a month. It's been scary.

mckayleesmom replied: Out here its Fires.......there are tons of fires out of control in neighboring towns....our town is sooo full of smoke from it.

Leithan accidentally drove through some today...there were fires on both sides of him

PrairieMom replied: I don't want to talk about it...

Calimama replied: Yep.. all this crazy weather. I kinda wonder if it's a sign of more to come.

Danalana replied: Yep...definitely more to come!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I guess it doesn't seem like much more than normal to me. It seems we always have a slew of thunderstorms and tornado warnings in our area all summer long. It has been pretty rainy this year though.

Danalana replied: We need rain! We were doing well, as far as rainfall, but there hasn't been any in a while. Last year was awful....everybody's gardens burned up. I just hope we get some soon!

mommy~to~a~bunch replied: It' VERY scary, and makes me even more scared of what's to come. It will continue to get worse every year.

The flooding in the Midwest - I'm scared of what that's going to do to already rising food costs if farmers' crops are ruined.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: It seems to me that as long as I can remember the Midwest has flooded every couple of years. I can clearly recall several years of National Guard on the news sandbagging towns to keep the water out. Lastyear here we had more rain than we could handle and now this year we can't catch a drop in a bucket. The weather is scary and it is terrible that so many people have been killed this year but if you look at statistics we are not that far off from previous years...I think anytime we are right in the midst of it- things seem to be the worst it has ever been-KWIM?

MoonMama replied: Yep, DH and I were talking this, this morning actually. Definitely something is up.

holley79 replied: I won't go into it because it can get heated but I seriously believe there is more to it.

cameragirl21 replied: what are some of you suggesting--an act of God or a sign of serious environmental problems?
Or something apocaplytic, which I suppose qualifies as an act of God...?
Not knocking it or trying to start a fight, just curious what some of you have in mind.
btw, if you think it's an act of God, what do you think God is trying to tell us by these various natural disasters?
As for the environment, I think we've been ignoring it for way too long here in the land of plenty and have no idea what is really going on. For example, polar bears have been drowning in the arctic quite a bit more than usual lately, so anyone who thinks global warming is a myth should maybe be reincarnated as a polar bear in his/her next life....

Danalana replied: And so the debate begins

For me, the reason I believe there is more to come is because the Bible says natural disasters and wars will worsen in the last days. Hey, I didn't write it, yall! It's just what I believe

MoonMama replied: I'm honestly not totally sure what I think is/will happening/happen yet....maybe a bit of both.

ZandersMama replied:

cameragirl21 replied: so you think this is a sign of the coming apocalypse then, Dana?
Funny you should say that, my friend, who is Jewish, has always insisted that the Messiah will come in our lifetime.
maybe there is some truth to that afterall....
I personally would have to wonder why any Messiah would want to come to Earth when all we've done is disrespect this planet and each other, as evidenced by all the ridiculous wars going on around the world. jmo, of course.

Danalana replied:
Because He isn't coming to stay
And yes, I definitely believe these are the last days.

cameragirl21 replied: whether he stays or not, I can't imagine he'd be too impressed with the way we've been conducting ourselves as a species.....
what other signs are there of the apocalypse, anyone know?
just curious....

Danalana replied: Israel and stuff with the Middle east in general...It looks like a big thing is getting ready to go down with Israel and Iran, and that's probably going to set off a major war...the US (if it continues to be smart) will side with Israel (since the Bible calls Israel His chosen people) and there we go. Sorry if I'm offending...just answering the question. That's just one answer.

cameragirl21 replied: why would I be offended? I'm a Jew and very pro Israel. With everything else, though, I'm pretty far to the left.
I've heard some people say that scripture says that in the end, all countries will side against Israel, even the US but that Israel will still win with God's help. I think this is the stuff Revelation is made of.
Btw, in all fairness, there have been many wars in the middle east, Israel has been attacked many times in the last 60 years and they've won everytime against all odds.
For example, in 67 they were outmanned and outgunned but not only did they win the territories in question at this time but also they would have marched right into Cairo and Damascus and taken them both if not for the US stopping them.
And in 73, that was just miraculous to say the least, the Soviets were actively helping the Arabs.
all I'm saying is that turmoil in the middle east with Israel at the center of it is not really a new phenomenon.

Danalana replied: If you want, I can get a lot of stuff involving Israel and the Middle East stuff...even in a PM. It's just very involved! And about being offended...some people just get offended if you mention religion or God. It's never my intention to offend, but I will answer questions truthfully

cameragirl21 replied: feel free to pm me with anything if you want, Dana, I'm always interested to hear people's ideas and opinions, even if they don't mirror my own.
so how long is this end of days supposed to take, anyone know?
I mean, do we have years, decades, etc to go or is it even less than that, in other words, when would you expect this all to happen and would it just happen one day, out of nowhere?
seriously, if I sound snotty or whatever, I don't mean to, I'm seriously curious what people think is happening. I see it as an environmental problem but I can't presume to know everything or be right.

Danalana replied: Awesome, thank you.
And as for the last days...it could take years or it could be tomorrow. the Bible describes the return of Christ "like a thief in the night". In other words, we don't know. Not even the angels know!

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
ITA. It's been pushed under the rug too long, and now the world is paying the price. Polar bears are an endangered species now! The world is suffering, and most don't care .

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I'm with ya Dana.

stella6979 replied: I have no idea what's going on, but it sure is scary to think about. It does seem to be getting worse and worse every year.

Crystalina replied: I don't think God has anything to do with it. I think it's us ignorant humans. We were given a beautiful planet and more then enough resources. It's like winning the lottery. The earth was our winning. Some people invest their money and can be rich forever and other squander it away. We are squandering and now we're down to our last few thousand and we're wondering what happened to it all.

I blame Thomas Edison . He invented the lightbulb which eventually let to computers and machines. Mass production and waste. That darn man.

cameragirl21 replied:
ITA!

holley79 replied:

bawoodsmall replied: I know nothing and am not going to act like I do. It is what it is. I just wanted to say I love the heated debates or risky debates because I always learn so much which is why I joined the boards in the first place.

PrairieMom replied:
Its not like he doesn't know... He can see whats going on from up there, so no nasty surprises.

holley79 replied: I think someone and I were just talking about this the other day. If you look back through noaa.gov it is fitting for time frames actually. Every so many years diff regions in the world get hit but the same weather then it calms down for another so many years.

cameragirl21 replied:
I know, T, but that's just it--why would he want to come when he knows about the awful things we're doing down here? It's kind of like spending a day with your kids when their behavior is just atrocious and then getting them the toy they've been asking for forever!

Crystalina replied: I seriously think God is just sitting up there with his cigar (My God is a bit gangster ...not really), sitting back, watching us do what we're doing. He's going to let us stew in our own mess since we're the ones who created it.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Anyone else find it freaky that Babylon (noted to be the most evil place in the world according to the Bible) is said to be where Iraq is? If my memory serves me correctly, Revelations also talks about how Babylon will be destroyed right before the end of times. Eek!

cameragirl21 replied:
I agree with this also but I don't think God is the smoking type. Maybe he's sitting up there with his clean, bottled water and organic fruits and veggies wondering when we'll clean up the mess we've made....
I'm also quite certain he drives a hybrid car!

Crystalina replied:
My God is more of the Frank Sinatra type. Cigar, tilted fedora, pinstriped suit. Unless I'm in church. Then it just feels weird to think of him like John Gotti.

cameragirl21 replied:
Babylon was a city in Mesopotamia, about an hour away from Baghdad...Mesopotamia is now called Iraq and Babylon is still there, it's just in ruins, Saddam was trying to rebuild it. The ancient Babylonian Empire, however, stretched across the entire middle east.
It may very well be allegorical, in which case modern Babylon would be us, the USA, much we like we are considered the modern Roman Empire as Babylon was a powerful empire back in the day as we are a powerful empire today. Some may say we are in fact, declining as our economy goes down the toilet and the dollar is practically worthless as compared to foreign currency these days. I hope it's not true though, I have faith that the USA will change course and return to greatness.

PrairieMom replied:
Because God created us, and loves us, even tho we are all hopelessly flawed.

cameragirl21 replied:
yes, but would he reward us for our wrongdoing or sit back and hope we come to our senses? do you think God is capable of "tough love"?

PrairieMom replied:
He's done it before. He's definitely not above teaching a lesson here or there.
I don't know the answer, I am just trying to live in the best way I can, so when he springs that big pop quiz on me I will be prepared.

I don't think there has been a generation since the beginning of time that didn't think they were the ones that would see the end times.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
That is interesting that you said this, because I found this recently. For Bible readers and believers, this is kind of freaky that it aligns with what is written.

(13:17), God said Babylon would be as when he "overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall neither be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there" (13:19-20). This does not sound like there is going to be a revival of the Babylonian Empire. God said it was finished, forever!

For me, this explains why Saddam was never able to rebuild it.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Yep, I remember when people were all freaked out about the millenium and it was like people thought Jesus was coming at the stroke of midnight!

Crystalina replied:
Yeah, I don't think that man was on God's "Good" list.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I would hate to think that a man like that was setting an example for what Christianity is. Yeah...certainly not on God's, or even Santa's, good list.

cameragirl21 replied:
Saddam wasn't able to rebuild it because we invaded his country and killed him. That doesn't mean it's not in line with that biblical commentary you posted because either way, he wasn't able to rebuild it but his idea to rebuild it came fairly recently...sometime after the launching of the second intifada in 2000 so there wasn't much time between that and our invasion.
Babylon is to Arabs a sign of greatness in their history, even though they can take little credit for it today. Saddam wanted to rebuild it as he wanted to restore the great Arab empire of yesteryear.
Muslims in the ME see our invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan as a modern day crusade. If you look back through history, the middle east has seen a great deal of horrific events taking place. I agree with Tara that probably every generation believed they'd see the end times and probably found a way to justify it with scripture. Ultimately, we'll never know if we're at the end till we get there, I suppose.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
For me personally, it's an answer to to why, being a Bible believing Christian. When God says something will be no more, it's no more, and He will do some pretty crazy things to see to it and work THROUGH others to see to it.

Who knows if it's all a sign or when the end of times will come. I agree everyone during some time has thought that. AND...if Christ will come like a thief in the night like Dana as has he will...I'm not so sure this is "sneaky" like a theif in the night is suppose to be. Um...floods, earthquakes, tornados...not very thief-like to me. I'll just sit back with my margarita and wait by the sidelines.

holley79 replied: Looks like we need a Book of Revelations thread.

Boo&BugsMom replied:

Oh gosh, then I'd have to dig up my Bible because I certainly don't know it front and back.

Oh, and I certainly think God uses tough love. We have to be held accountable for our sins, and He makes sure of that...in a loving way, even if sometimes we may not think of it as love. No different than a parent using tough love on a child...i.e...the reason why he's called "Our Father".

boyohboyohboy replied:
I am with tara

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: To answer the original question, nope, I don't think it means there is more to come. I live in the present. I don't believe in global warming. And I don't think the weather has anything to do with God. I agree with Tara when she said that generations before us, and before that, all felt what some of us are feeling today, about the planet, about where we're headed, etc etc. It's nothing really new in my book. But there will always be people who want to blame.

I try to live my life in the most optimistic way I know how. And that doesn't mean ignoring or sweeping society's mishaps under the rug, but I just can't worry myself sick of what may or may not be lurking around the corner. Life is unpredictable. And if it happens to rain cats and dogs one year and drought the next, I say it just is what it is.

Cece00 replied:
Are you aware there are even MORE polar bears than there were when they first had an endangered species list?

They've only been deemed endangered because environmentalists dont want ppl to drill in ANWR.

Yep, let's save the polar bears...but not the humans Naming them as threatened is actually a HUGE mistake, but oh well...

>>Moreover, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced he was taking a series of steps to short-circuit legal plans by conservation groups to use the polar bear's protected status to block new power plants and other sources of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming.

He said listing the polar bear as threatened "should not open the door to use the ESA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants and other sources. That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the Endangered Species Act. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy."

Kempthorne further stated, "While the legal standards under the ESA compel me to list the polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting. Any real solution requires action by all major economies for it to be effective. That is why I am taking administrative and regulatory action to make certain the ESA isn't abused to make global warming policies."


The first victim of the polar bear’s listing will be oil and natural gas production in Alaska. The listing likely will put an end to chances of opening up a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), estimated to contain 10 billion barrels of oil -- nearly 15 years’ worth of imports from Saudi Arabia.

Alaska is America’s last best frontier for domestic oil and natural gas. Closing off this potential will add to energy prices for decades to come, as well as increase our reliance on imports

Given the lack of any real threat to polar bears, and the decidedly mixed track record of the Endangered Species Act in helping species, there is reason to believe this listing won’t benefit the polar bears. But there’s plenty of reason to believe it will hurt America’s economic future.

The polar bear has rebounded from a worldwide population of 12,000 in the late 1960s to about 20,000-25,000 today. Two-thirds of the bears live in Canada, and several thousand are in Alaska.

Cece00 replied: No, I dont think its a "sign of things to come" in a religious manner since I dont believe in all that religion business.

Its also not global warming.

If you research it, you'd see its not any worse than it has been in the past, these things come and go...some of the WORST natural disasters in history have happened long ago...we see more casualties now because there are many many more people on the planet, and now we have many many more news avenues to cover these things, unlike 300, 500, 1000 yrs ago. I mean if it snows 3 inches in some places they are talking about it on the news

redchief replied: I am religious, but I'm not quite ready to forecast the second coming yet. There is something we all need to keep in mind as we see the natural disasters and man-made idiocy pour out in front of our eyes as it happens. That is that up until recently, that couldn't happen. Between the internet and the imMEDIAte media, we can not only watch these disasters happen in real time, we can talk to people who are being affected in the here and now too.

I'd like to show you all something: http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/floods/papers/oh_2/great.htm

That website discusses record breaking flooding in Iowa and other areas of the midwest. It was "one of the most significant and damaging natural disasters ever to hit the United States." It happened in 1993. Most of you were children. I remember reading about how horrible those floods were.

The earth has always had weather. Some has been bad; some good. There have been ice ages and times of incredible warming. The earth needs weather. God created it so that we could have a place to live. Without weather, and all of the other things that this planet does that makes us all sit up and take notice at times, this rock in space would be incapable of supporting life as we know it. So, is the earth warming? It's fairly obvious that it is. How much of an effect are we having on that warming? That is a question for science to debate; and they are, at length and with venom. I'm no expert on weather or greenhouse gases or belching volcanoes or tsunamis. I'm a guy who fights fires and works to prevent them. So getting into a weather debate seems a little silly to me given my marked lack of real knowledge on the subject. Since I'm really abject to politically biased science (and take whatever side you like, because it seems ALL of the scientists are lined up in their particular political comfort zones), I prefer to take a simpler route to my thinking on global scientific issues. I haven't studied these things my whole life. Chances are that if I had, my salary would be coming from a politically biased source (name me any scientific organization that is neither funded by a government or funded by a corporation or entity with a political agenda).

So, as I said, I look at such things in simpler terms. Should we take care of this planet? Sure we should! God only gave us this one rock to live on. We wreck it and we can't go to the planet dealership and buy a new one. Should we be forecasting the end of time in the here and now? Not unless we want to look silly. The first person here who can tell me they truly understand and have divined the meaning of Revelation is sure to get a call from the Pope, because brilliant theologists have studied all the texts of Revelation for much of their entire adult lives and the Vatican still admits it doesn't understand much of it. So, should be behave ourselves lest we be caught with our proverbial pants down at final judgment? Sure we should, because we know not the time nor the hour.

ETA: The Polar Bears are fine. They are the first animal ever placed on the threatened list because of what might happen. Politics suck.

Cece00 replied:
I know, I just said all of that...I agree...politics SUCK. They made one huge mistake doing that.

redchief replied:
Yeah, I knew you said that. I was just lining up on the side of the people that want to drill holes in the arctic.

Danalana replied: Yay! I'm so proud of everybody for keeping it civil My stomach was almost turning as I came to read the last 2 pages, but it was very adult-like and drama-free I feel so much better!