Earthquakes and Hurricanes

As we here in Eastern NC are gearing up for Hurricane Irene, which may be a category 4 by the time it makes landfall on Saturday, we felt the aftershock of an earthquake in Virginia. What a strange feeling to one who is not accustomed to earthquakes!
It's funny, but with all of the crazy weather and earthquakes that we have been experiencing, it is all so clear to me as a believer in Christ that everything that the Bible says will happen in the last days is coming to pass. But, when I try to say this to my unsaved friends and co-workers, they just kind of "hem and haw", give me a funny look, and say that it is just "nature".  Oh, the prayers I put up for those souls who need the Lord, that He would open their eyes before it is too late!
Something else happened that same day which I definitely took as a "teachable moment" for my boys.
When I talked to Nathan after school, he told me something that worried me and had me calling the school to check into.
He told me that they were all told to get under their desks because there was a man outside their school, wearing a mask, just standing there staring at the building. Of course, in this day and age, this is a very real concern. I asked him repeatedly as to whether or not this was just a drill, to which he answered very adamantly that it was not a drill.
Of course, I called the school to verify this. I was pretty certain that it really was just an earthquake drill, but I had to make sure. The school reaffirmed what I thought. It was an earthquake drill.
As I got off of the phone, I asked my son where he had heard this information. It came out that he heard it from one of his friends, who "heard" two teachers whispering loudly. Boys like action, and since I'm sure they didn't feel the tremor, this was a more exciting way to explain the drill.
Well, I took this opportunity to talk about gossip. Even we as adults are guilty sometimes of spreading some news that sounds interesting or exciting about someone before we find out if it's actually true or not. We, as Christians, should not do this. If someone comes up to us trying to talk about another person, we should stop the conversation before it even starts.
Did you know that the Bible says, "A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Proverbs 11:13? The Bible has alot to say about those who gossip and spread stories about others. A Jewish proverb says, "What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth". I also have a saying on my desk that says, "Whoever gossips to you will be a gossip of you." How true!
Lets stop that gossip wheel!
Please keep those of us on the East Coast as Hurricane Irene makes landfall.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)