Are you ready?

Dude, where's your blog? I know, I know. It's been a while. Twenty-nine days to be exact. No excuses.

I've been reading a lot lately. Ted Dekker. Mindy Starns Clark. An autobiography about the first black athlete to graduate from Auburn. Terri Blackstock. I know, that list definitely brings to mind the Sesame Street song: "One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just don't belong."

The other night I started the first book in Terri Blackstock's Restoration series entitled Last Light. I've only made it 100 or so pages into the book, but it's already gotten me to thinking.


Basic premise: it's an end-of-times thriller where some supernatural event has knocked out all power. No electricity. Cars don't work. Water doesn't run. Basically, the main protagonists, who live in Birmingham, are shockingly sent back into prehistoric times.


I spent much of my high school years reading The Left Behind Series, a great premise that is essentially the be-all, end-all of end-of-times books, and a series that unfortunately became so successful that it dragged on and on and spawned spin-off books that never should have been written. But the original premise was amazing, and I own the entire series.


I'm not quite sure yet what direction this four-part series will take -- after all, I'm only about a third of the way through the first book -- but it's made me think just how ill-prepared I would be if something like that were to happen to us today or tomorrow or next week.


My life is very routine, and honestly, I like it that way. I get up around the same time every morning, move my vehicle so my wife can head to work, and then I get ready to work. For the most part, I work the same hours every single day (with some variance), and then I come home to my wife and pups, have supper, watch TV and go to back, only to wake up and do it all over again the next day. Sure, there is some variety in my life. Sometimes, I have to work later to cover a night event. I officiate basketball a couple of times a week as a second job. I'm contemplating taking a third job for a few hours a week to pay off some bills and build up some savings. But, honestly, my life is pretty mundane and routine.


Elizabeth and I do not keep our house stocked with perishable food and drink items. We have some candles and a few flashlights and batteries. But we go grocery shopping when we need items, not to keep a pantry full of food.


Much of my life is consumed by electronics. I live on the computer, both at work and at home. Without the convenience of my Buick LeSabre, I don't know how I would survive. Even though Alexandria isn't huge, it's not like I could get around easily if I had to walk everywhere or ride a bike. We watch TV constantly, and TiVo has changed our lives. Take that away, and you take away a major part of our lives.


Much of these characters' reaction has been one of panic and confusion, and I believe that is a natural response when everything that you know and hold dear is snatched away from you in the blink of an eye. No warning. Just one second everything works, and the next nothing does.


Would you be prepared if that were to happen tomorrow? Or if an earthquake struck your city, or a tornado destroyed your neighborhood, or if your state was the victim of the latest hurricane or tsunami? I know I'm terribly prepared, but I also know that I'm not going to do anything to change that either.


With all of the technology advancements that have occurred in the past decade alone, it's easy to become relient upon that. With iPhones and Blackberrys, wireless internet service, and the proliferation of 24/7 news cycles, we have the world at our fingertips whenever we want it. It's hard to fathom all of that just disappearing at a moment's notice. But it could happen. You just never know.