Violent Video Games, Alcohol & Guns Are a Bad Mix, Even for a Praying Man

Wow, nearly 24 hours since my last entry. Much has been learned about yesterday’s shooter. It seems he was a very disturbed man with a military background who loved violent video games, heavy drink, and guns. That’s a dangerous mix for any person. To exacerbate the problem he had obviously reached out for help after calling emergency services to acknowledge that he was hearing voices through microwave frequencies. I haven’t seen the news today, and gleaned this from a radio news report, but the fact that he called for help leads me to believe that any help he received most likely included SSRI drugs for PTSD.

While in grad school one of my last research papers focused on soldiers suffering from debilitating stress disorders, compounded by alcohol and drug addictions in many cases. Case study after case study revealed how behind closed doors wives and other family members are striving to live normal lives amidst returning soldiers realizing there are no signature jobs with their names on it, and returning to the stark quiet of a college classroom left them unable to function and focus in these settings, thus dropping out in many cases.

Professional counseling sessions left them with prescriptions for hard-core drugs that only compounded their problems, as most served as a numbing agent, forfeiting the ability to coherently address the root of their problems.

So, yesterday morning when I heard on the radio that there was a shooter at a military base in D.C., I have to admit I wasn’t shocked. Unlike previous occasions when a mass-killing event took place, I didn’t bother seeking out a television to watch the reel-in reel-out takes looping over and over. I noticed, too, that the morning show I was listening to did not even mention the event as it unfolded though it was live radio. At first I thought the show was taped, but discussion of current events let me know it was airing in actual time which left me to believe that the host simply chose not to fill her precious three hours of air time talking about something that has happened far too many times in recent months, years.

If anything can be gleaned from the most recent incident, is parents are responsible for what goes into their children’s ear and eye gates. Ironically, I also did a research paper on the connection between mass-shootings and violence in video games, as I am convinced that filling a mind with darkness will eventually penetrate into the light through malbehaviors. I learned in my research that the primary reason video-game manufacturers are not more scrutinized than they are, is because they are a multi-billion dollar industry and have enough money to win legal battles in major court cases.

But let’s face it, this guy knew he was in deep with anger issues, and whatever help he sought obviously wasn’t enough. In my field of counseling, sadly, most clinicians are required to have Ph.D.’s to address people with mental health issues. The statutes on counseling really need to change because in many cases, clients simply need an ear to listen, and compassion to know that the healing they are in need of involves the Great Physician, more than someone in a white lab coat, with a white prescription pad, scribbling Big Pharma drama as the solution.

I couldn’t help but think, what if he didn’t have violent video games in the equation, nor alcohol issues, how his problems might have been more manageable. Oh yes, I must not forget that he was hearing voices. In the days to come, I am sure he was on some anti-anxiety meds for post-traumatic stress.  This guy was a perfect example of what happens when you measure competency by degrees and licenses. One last thing: In my last post I mentioned the need for prayer to return to the public school. I stand by that belief today, despite the fact that I have learned that the shooter was indeed a praying man, as he spent hours at a Buddhist temple. I’m sure it was shoddy reporting, but I could have sworn that someone said he listened to Buddhist chants while playing violent video games. That doesn’t make sense, so don’t quote me on that. But, wow. There’s a lot more I want to say, but I’ll end with this: By now the guy has been given a chance to meet Jesus; Who has given him ears to hear and eyes to see that the way to the Father is by Him. Let's pray that as his knee bowed at this knowledge, mercy was granted, and he found an entrance into heaven's gates with the others who, most likely, lost their lives at the hand of a deranged sniper.

Sadly,Today's Mass Shooting Almost Taken In Stride

Wow, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, this morning’s shooting seemed much like ‘another day; more of the same.’ Is God removing His Hand of Favor from the U.S.? While I’d like to think not so, it seems every new 24 hours brings with it another tragedy, another sorrow.
Just last week we memorialized September 11th, twelve years removed. While it’s hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since that epic drama unfolded before the world’s eyes, I look at today’s America and realize that the primary perpetrator’s goal seems to be succeeding. For those who may not know, or don’t remember, the toppling of the Twin Towers was symbolic of a plan to destroy the American economy. Thankfully my children are old enough to remember the heinous act of that day. And gratefully, they don’t feel the crunch of the economy as much as some, it is clear that the America they live in, in many ways is far removed from the America I grew up in. No, it was not a perfect America even then, no country ever is. But, I grew up in a much simpler time when stores closed on Sundays; a morning prayer was recited in the public schools every day, and girls wore dresses,boys wore pants (really!)
However, today with the inception of the internet, buying and selling is a 24-hour exchange. The talk of praying in school is denied because well, it might offend people who don’t choose to pray. Whether acknowledged or not, our country was founded on the Christian faith. But, that’s not even the largest issue at hand here. The issue is that children cannot pray, no matter what their religious faith is. I remain hopeful that prayer will return to the classrooms of the U.S. even if it means that people of differing faiths pray in mutually exclusive rooms. You see, God says clearly in His Word to us that if we deny Him, ultimately He will deny us.
Decades later we see where locking Him out of the classrooms has gotten us. Evil has been unleashed and continues to grow; as otherwise lifetime teachers leave after a few years, out of fear of losing their sanity, and some their lives. I had the grand experience of teaching for a few years. I watched kindergartners literally bounce off walls, as they were known commonly as ‘crack’ babies. While the praying teachers may not have been able to lead the class in prayer, it did not stop us from silently praying with fervor for the class to not be destroyed by one or two of these children who entered our classes each year.
Yes, I grew up in a time when girls had to wear dresses to school. We wore pants at home and most other places, excluding church; but, dresses were a requisite for girls. Grant it, what a student wears to school matters a lot less than what moral values they come cloaked in. For some children, cursing out the teacher is standard norm; and have parents who blame the teacher for the child acting out. It’d be laughable it wasn't sad.
I realize I have traversed far from the original direction of this entry; however, I can only believe that America and her children would be better-served if something as powerful as prayer was welcomed back in schools. Recently, we rallied a call to our government officials to not vote for an attack on Syria. Today, we would do well to start petitions outside the church doors as people are leaving; to sign in favor of mandating a return to morning prayers in public schools. I will always remember that one lone vociferous atheist who succeeded against the silent majority in casting this treasured tradition outside school walls. And look where that’s gotten us.
I won’t expound any further. Unless you've been living under a rock I think you know how violent video-game obsessions and vulgar music has contaminated the hearts, minds and souls of too many young people. They are allowed to be pumped up with synthetic drugs to calm them down, and then given alternate prescriptions when they’re too dumbed down. We tire them out with a lot of never-to-be-used knowledge, while denying them the very thing in life that helps ground most people: a functioning faith and belief that there is a God of this vast universe who despite modern-day calamities genuinely loves His children.
No single person will bring America to her knees. Her own people will stand accountable at the judgment for not standing for the God they say they believe in. Every time a Christian votes for something that is anti the Word of God, they may as well say they’re asking God to turn His back on America. Today, America is the most free-willy nation she has ever been. Gays can marry. Heterosexuals don’t have to marry, just live together and have multiple ‘baby’ mamas. Smoking weed, though obviously a brain-cell destroyer for the recreational user, has been made legal in several states. And, people get paid to not work under the guise of ‘unemployment’. We won’t talk about how student-loans are the new payday lender for many young people, even if they don’t realize it as such.
Enough said. Another day. Another mass shooting. As sad as it is for everyone involved, and for those not directly involved as well, I am seriously not surprised. Let’s turn it around America. Do your part. Remember, to not be part of the solution is to be part of the, say it with me, all together now, PROBLEM!

Putting Jesus First Caused Me to Forfeit Path of LPC

In 2009 I began working on a degree in counseling at a private Catholic university. After one semester I had to accept that while Freud and countless other theorists were interesting to study, I couldn't imagine spending years learning about them without the benefit of incorporating my beliefs that Jesus and Jesus alone is the ultimate Healer. I am anti meds for the most part, and have come to accept in some cases they serve as a stabilizing force in the lives of clients. However, my purpose for starting the journey was to someday counsel from a Biblical perspective. On researching the amount of time spent on licensure, not to mention thousands of debt accrued, I ended my program with the initial program and enrolled into a Christian university offering sound Biblical requisites.
 In December 2012 I was conferred with a Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy with honors. I will not, in good conscience work from a psychotherapist vantage, though will approach clients with my awareness of these techniques while placing primary emphasis on consulting client issues with a Biblical foundation. I received a special honor for working as a trauma specialist with military personnel. Needless to say, the job market is saturated right now with thousands of newbie grads with student-loan debt to boot. I will not use 3rd-party funding and will set rates at a price conducive to a person's choosing a manicure or beauty shop appointment. The choice will be theirs to nurture their aesthetic beauty or more importantly their mental portrait. Godspeed to all who are struggling today and have poor counselors with wall-to-wall certifications and  triple-digit prices charging, most likely, insurance-paid prices. Helping people work through life issues is a gift. And as the suicide rates of our military men and women attest, there is no amount of licensure in the world that can take the place of someone who gets through to the place of hurting with another human being. Pain is what causes a person to inflict harm on self. Medicating is a panacea more times than a genuine aid. Yes, today I am officially recognizing myself as a Biblical Consultant. The legal ramifications and withholdings of Jesus in session that are associated with Licensed counselors simply does not fit the call on my life. Again, Godspeed all. Godspeed!  

Prescribing Drugs to Drug-Prone Vets Unethical

On the heels of "almost" completing a counseling program, I was alarmed by a recent article that touted giving prescription drugs to war veterans who are returning from duty with alcohol and drug issues. It might not have gotten my attention so readily except for a recent job search turning up pages and pages of job opportunities for drug counselors to treat returning soldiers. Throughout the aforementioned program, students are consistently taught the Hippocratic Oath: "Do no harm to the client." Is it just me, or does it seem unethical to give an addict exactly what he or she is yenning for? Are we setting these returning heroes up for utter demise by giving them more drugs to counter their already addictive behavior. I know prescription writers will blast me for believing that anxiety meds only mask a person's problems, instead of forcing them to lasso what emotionally ails them and begin the long journey to healing. Just as I don't believe that war is the answer; drugs most times are not the best answer either. Any addict who is honest with self, will admit that sobriety first starts with the desire to dry up or out. But, I am concerned that numbing the emotional and physical ravages of war, with synthetic drugs,is far less costly to "taxpayers" than the tedious and time-consuming, and too costly, long-term counseling sessions these soldiers need to assimilate back into civilian life.
Interestingly, my attempt to comment on the article written in USA Today was blocked. Just the same, kudos to the 30-year vet who made the ethical decision to do no harm to himself by declining the offer of drug-addicting synthetic pain killers. We teach our kids to "just say no to drugs" only to send them to war with drugs being the very things we offer them on their return. I wish I could put my finger on it; but, there is something very unethical about this concept.

Suicide Is Never Really The Answer

The news of late is that our soldiers are choosing self-inflicted death over life. It’s not hard to understand, after all they’ve seen firsthand in war, why they may deem this the lesser of two evils. But to any and every one who reads this, please know suicide could never be an end-all; cure-all to life. I’ve lost several dear friends through the years to this desperate act. The first experience was a high-school friend. I remember the dual emotions of sorrow and anger I felt for years after this act. I finally had to shake his spirit off me after having several very dark dreams of his “current” existence. I’ve come to realize that in each instance a person played God and took what was not theirs to take. I do realize they felt as though the pain, whether emotional or physical, was just too unbearable to deal with. I don’t think those left behind (on this side) ever really get over the emotions of losing someone this way. Life’s taught me that suicide is a personal decision that no amount of words or deeds can prevent one who is sternly determined to end his or her life. I’ve talked to exhaustion with people who were desperate to the point of wanting to end it all; usually around the holidays; until I came to the realization in my spirit that there are no words to keep a grown person from doing what they want to do. And that their need for help was far greater than any I could give them if they were beyond processing words of hope. And that the way out of their dark abyss was not the newest anti-depressant; but a closer walk with right living as described in the Word. Thankfully none of the persons, in their dark moments, chose to take their lives. But too often people succumb to suicide as a means of relieving themselves of problems they have to endure or a burden they feel they are to others. To not take the focus off who this article is primarily about, I sincerely believe that just as our soldiers have to endure boot camp training on entering the military, there should be as stringent an exit-style debriefing boot camp that monitors and measures for at minimum six-weeks any abnormal anxieties our girls and guys who’ve served may be experiencing. I also think that giving them mood-altering medications to in any way numb what they’ve experienced should be halted immediately. Anti-depressants keep a person from facing what’s destroying them on the inside. But, the reason I know suicide is a temporary fix is because God tells us in His Word that our lives are eternal. And that we will either live in eternal light or eternal darkness. More people might jump off bridges if there was proof that if we end it, we can sleep til Jesus comes. But realistically God says in His Word that He formed us in our mother’s womb. He knows the plans HE has for us. Somehow taking matters in our own hands and deciding when “it’s over” is amusing and subtly arrogant. To think that God will say it’s okay that you’ve shown up early on the other side and can prematurely walk through the “pearly gates” means He allows us to change His plans. Ummmm; no, I don’t think life’s that simple. Life’s not that cut and dry. To those who have lost loved ones to this act, I do not believe that these souls are damned to hell. God knows we are weak vessels. In fact He knows we’re dust formed into clay vessels. He’s forgiving. People caught up in this moment usually reach a moment of insanity where rational thinking has become so murky that the irrational overrules the ability to weigh the rational. If this demon has risen in your spirit, let me end this by saying: Don’t take your life. Give your life. Rid yourself of everything that’s keeping you from thinking clearly. Seek professional help for weaning yourself off drugs that are giving you dark thoughts. As far as the tape in your head playing over and over and over and over of what war required of you, leave the mental video at the feet of Jesus and know that He already knows. And if you think you need forgiveness. Ask. Consider it a guarantee; so says His Holy Word. Take up jogging or baseball, or tennis. Pretend the ball is your problem. In reality, God put you here for a reason. It’s my greatest fear that to be so bold as to decide when to hit the exit button may mean going back to square one and reliving this entire existence from birth to God’s Divinely Ordained Time for this earthly departure, living an existence 10 times (or greater) more difficult than the current existence. There has to be a consequence for this action. Realistically, who are we to dare “play God.” It’s a far too-risky and un-chartered gamble to take. If you’ve been strong enough to endure a war; there’s no doubt in my spirit, that you are strong enough to tough out the rest of your days. Nothing, including bad times, last forever. Tap into your God-given gift. Are you the next Da Vinci? Are you destined to do missions work in parts of the world others are not gifted to serve? Are you a lobbyist; the voice of the under-served? Checking out is not really an option. It’s just saying a premature farewell to the people you know; who’d do just about anything to keep you on this side. And if they’re not loving folk; then make it your business to sit out at the park til you find someone who cares. People care. And they’re not always therapists who’re paid to care. You might make the choice your own. You might take your chances of learning what happens when we show up “prematurely” to the other side. What if you have to stand in a barren limbo for decades until your God-ordained number comes up? There are just too many “what ifs” to opting to quit before the game is over. In essence; isn’t that what life really is? We all start. We’re given several clear-cut rules. One includes, “Thou shalt not murder.” I do differentiate that from killing for the sake of defending one’s country. Read about the God-ordained wars of the Old Testament. It’s not for us to determine if a war is justified. As a soldier, it is to serve the duties put before you by the leader of the country. I think of Moses’ killing the Egyptian and in time, being used powerfully by God. But getting back to the semblance of life as a “game.” Aside from the rules, we’re gifted to do some task as we journey. Is that picking up cans and witnessing to lost souls? Or is it building homes for the homeless? We’re put on this planet for a designated time for a designated purpose. Quitting this game of life as you know it today doesn’t mean it ends. It simply means you throw the dice into the unknown abyss and risk losing whatever God’s best is for you. Stay with us another day. Pray for a God-speak moment. Jog or walk until you get some tug in your spirit what it is He wants you to do. I’d hate to think you’re a computer tech, needing to go back to school to get certified. The world could always use someone to fix a laptop gone wrong. Let me stop here. Just know that suicide affects not only you; but, all those who were destined to cross your path and be a part of your life on this journey. Whatever your reason for throwing in the towel; as difficult as this is to say, because I know what pain feels like; give it one more go. Let this be a life-changing moment on this side. Trust God to give you a peaceful purpose. He will. I know He will. There is no problem so big that He’s not even bigger still.