Shine Bright!

This is it: December 21, 2012. Will the world end today? I don't think so.

Yet, today is a good day to focus on shining our brightest!

Today is the Winter Solstice (or Summer Solstice for those in the southern hemisphere). It's the day the sun reaches the furthest point and begins a journey back (at least from our perspective on Earth). It is a good day to make a change, for the better.

Here are a few of my past tweets that share that concept:

• On darkest day of the year, may we learn as light returns slow, the Light within us must continue to grow.
• On this winter solstice, remember that darkness, no matter how great, will be replaced with Light, that's never been a mistake. 
• Sunrise early on this long day gives me ample time to play and pray. 
• On summer solstice, may God’s Light brighten our lights within to face the darkening days ahead. 
• May the light of this longest day never be forgot. As the days shorten, hold on to the Light in your heart.

 Someone we know has also been sharing a grand idea. If today is the mark of the beginning of a new era of mankind, what we do today may set the precedent for the next period. We can point out all the "evils" of this world, share the bad news, look with fear or hatred on each other, and ... get much of the same.

Or we can focus on sharing the Love and Light that is within us. We can focus on finding the stories of all the kindness, goodness, love and forgiveness happening around us, helping others shine, not just bragging about our own accomplishments. We can also do something big on this day that involves Kindness, Compassion, or Love to kick-start the period in the right direction.

While the news continues to report sad events and tragedy, we should do our best to share stories of goodness that exists in this world.

This is the Season of Emanuel ~ God is with us. Let our focus - our light - spotlight where God is working in the world today, and let it shine for all!

Which would we like to see for the new era?

Which should we focus on now?

And every day of our life?

~ ESA

Final Countdown

We've made it through the first three quarters of 2012, and the world still turns. Will the final half of the final month of the final quarter see the end of the world?

I do not know. And yet... Does it matter?

We don't know what the future holds. We don't know when our final day will be. To fixate on a date gives us the illusion we still have some time.

Yet, the final moment could be this month, or this day, or this very hour... [Cue the spooky Halloween music.]

Humor aside, the truth is that at any given moment, it is the end. If not for the whole world, at least for an individual. That individual could be you.

The extent of my Latin is this:

Carpe Diem!

It means "Seize the Day". In other words, life life to the fullest as though they were your final moments - each day. Tell people you love them. Thank those who touch your heart. Treat everyone with kindness and never hold a grudge.

This could be your final moments.

Are you ready?

~ ESA

Images from the internet; sources are unknown.

Challenging Question

There is a question that should be asked. Whether the end-times will occur in 2012, this afternoon or some point in the distant future, many across several beliefs believe it will happen. Of which, many describe this period as turbulent, including large natural and man-made devastations.

Some fervently hope to escape from these fearful visions of doom and destruction. Many choose to become followers, clinging to the understanding that to follow means to avoid these worldly horrors - to become "raptured."

I find it amusing that there is a similar mindset in the Cthulhu mythos. It's said that the following is a conversation with a follower of this belief:

• "Why do you follow this faith?"
• "So I can be a chosen one."
• "And what do you believe?"
• "When Cthulhu rises, mankind will face horrors beyond knowing, there will be death, destruction, and a period of time when people will BEG to die."
• "And what about the chosen of Cthulhu?"
• "We will be the first to be eaten."
• "WHAT?"
• "Think about it carefully. If all that will follow is true, would you want to stick around for long and have to live through it?"

While it may disgust some of my readers that I parallel Christians with followers of some squid-headed deity, I hope it illustrated the point.

Many will convert just to get the ticket-out-of-hell-on-earth via Rapture.

What if you were asked to stay?

Yes, if you are a good follower with a loving heart committed to Christ, and you were asked to stay behind after the Rapture.

Those left behind would need some guidance.

If the world is going to go through such dark times, one can safely assume a complete disruption in our current technology. Forget about the internet, the phone may not even work - landline as well as cell.

It would be a dark world on many levels...

All that could help people "left behind"... are people, face-to-face and hand-in-hand, particularly those with a loving forgiving heart willing to face a future far more horrifying than Hollywood could conspire to create.

If you were presented the choice to Love God, Love Jesus / Yeshua with such a commitment that you were willing to literally face hell-on-earth for Him, would you?

Or would you flee for the next one selling the easy-way out?

This is a challenging question indeed.

~ ESA