End of days?

Every time the weather or moon looks different, my mother will call me to remind me that we are living in the final days.

A couple of weeks ago, the moon was full and orange. It was beautiful. But a bit eerie. This evening, there was a green tint in the sky. I thought it was strange looking but didn't give it a second thought until my youngest daughter came and said, "Whoa! Have you looked outside? It is all green-looking."

We all went out and noticed the way the sun was setting and the strange orange and green lights coming from the west. To the east, there was a large rainbow (it had not rained, or at least not in our immediate area - though it was overcast.)

An hour later, my mom called.

"Have you gone outside?" she said. "It's really strange and there is a huge rainbow out there."

Now, that surprised me. I live 40 minutes north of her. I never expected her to see the same rainbow.

She then started talking about the end times and how these were all signs. It is not that I don't believe her, because I too believe we are in final days (if you consider how many thousands of years have already passed) but I tend to find explanations to things she calls mysteries of God.

Yes, I do believe in God. But I also believe that many people, especially uneducated ones, tend to try to give everything a religous twist.

She had heard of the recent tsunami and brought that up. Then she started talking about strange weather patterns.

I almost asked her if she saw "The Day After Tomorrow" but decided it may scare her too much.

I explained that there is a really big monsoon in Arizona right now -- that's what the weather report said last night -- and it was going to bring a bit of moisture and a lot of high humidity our way. But I'm not sure she listened. Her mind was made up.

"Repent. Repent now for the end is near."

No, she didn't say those words. She knows that I'm a good Christian girl. But I do hear her telling others that. I stopped trying to reason with her. Some things, with some people, are just better off left alone.

We have had some very hot weather lately. And I did remind her that by the weekend, they are forcasting 110 and 111-degrees here. I would love it if she would come and stay with me for the weekend. (I worry so much about her when she does not) Nope. But, she promised to keep the a/c on through the weekend. (She's a constant penny-pincher and would almost prefer to sweat it out than turn the thing on -- even though one of my sisters pays for her electricity.)

Anybody else out there experiencing strange weather phenomenons?