Throughout 2011, the average rainfall in Texas was just under 15 inches (37.5 cm).  It was also the second warmest year on record.  News reports stated, “The prolonged Texas drought is to blame for devastating agriculture and livestock losses, estimated in the billions of dollars.  The historic drought has killed as many as half a billion trees, not including those that died in wildfires that scorched some 4 million acres in 2011” (Reuters, January 7, 2012).

Those of us whose lifespan goes back to the Great Depression can still recall the image of grown men selling pencils on street corners. The common attitude saw life as a day-to-day struggle for existence. The United States had stalled in its tracks, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a monumental job on his hands seeking to stir up a nation to get out and try. What a contrast from today’s economic difficulties, which seem to bring out a totally different attitude: “You owe me!” and “It’s my right!”

Archaeologists continue to discover more evidence that corroborates clear statements in the Bible.  Israeli archaeologists, excavating near Jerusalem’s Western Wall, recently unearthed what they believe to be a 2,000-year-old clay seal.

The world’s economic system reels from one failure to another, as the Euro-zone nations, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States and others feverishly work to find the means to fund the crushing financial burden of entitlement programs promised to their citizens. What can be done?

Several leading bishops from the Vatican recently visited a “Christian” village in the Gaza Strip.  This event was done in coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Also, in December a Vatican center in Jerusalem hosted a conference with Christian and Muslim leaders entitled, “How to live together in a future Palestinian state?”  (IsraelNationalNews.com, January 11, 2012).