Today is the day. The day to think about the future. No, not about what I will have for lunch or what I will do tomorrow, or what what I'll do when I get home, or what kinds of jet-packs I might expect to buy in the next 20 years... I mean, of course, the Rapture. When will it come? And what should I do to prepare?

We take time and care to prepare for so much in our lives, for both the expected and unexpected alike. We plan for our daughter's college fund, the new car we want to buy. We make arrangements for accidents. We buy insurance. We stack up cans of beans in case of floods or fires. We keep the visqueen handy. We write our wills and make our trusts. But what about the Rapture? What will we do when the dead rise up? What then? No can of beans can hold off the dead for long.

That's why I'm taking the time to "rapturize" my home. To get ready. When the trumpet rings, and the dead come a-knockin at my door, I'll be waiting.

Clean water is a must (for when all the rest turns to blood), as well as a power generator to survive the Great Tribulation, especially when the sun goes out and stuff. Aluminum foil goes without saying really for any disaster. It'll come in handy for blocking the fierce heat of the sun which will burn the earth, and for repairing holes in the (hopefully well-reinforced) ceiling caused by giant hailstones. I'll have plenty of insect repellent on hand for the giant locusts. I'm also preparing a bunch of chocolate for use as currency and to keep my spirits up, and plenty of anti-oxidants like vitamins C and E to help my immune system and deal with the reduced sunlight.

What really worries me though, is how will people living in places like Iraq know the rapture has come? They already seem to be suffering from many of the symptoms described as the Great Tribulation. In many such places, the water is already undrinkable, the flora and fauna destroyed for profit or through abuse. Violence and corruption reign supreme... in the case of Iraq, they already have an anti-christ... how will they know it's time? Even if we told them, why would they care?

Maybe it would be a relief. At least then they could look forward, at the end of seven years, to some stability.