A Child Or An Enemy?

With all the recent hate since 9/11, the shooting at Ft. Hood, and lets not forget the war that’s going on, there has been much stress between Muslims and Americans lately. 

I had hoped it wouldn’t get into the grade school realm and affect my children, but it finally has.  And my children have been asking me some pretty tough questions about “Are some religions of the devil?” “Are all people who are this religion bad?” “Daddy, what religion is right and which ones are wrong?”  “Dad, is the world going to end in 2012?” And the lists of questions go on and on and on.  So I though I would address it in my blog and try to sort it all out, even though I have no idea what the right answer to these questions are.  But for the sake of my children, I have to try to answer them.

So, after much prayer for wisdom and knowledge, this is what I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me.  (Yes, there is a Holy Spirit, as well as millions of spirits, demons, and entities in other realms we don’t see).

It seems like every denomination of faith has a belief that people can only go to paradise or heaven, if all people believe in their way, according to their “Bible” or writings.  There is constant fighting and arguing over who is right and who is misguided by a false belief.

Every “religion” can point to “other religions” or beliefs and list pages of evil deeds and actions carried out by people of their belief.  They can also counter by listing pages and pages of good and noble actions that were carried out by people of their own belief.  These different religions can go on forever pointing out good and bad things about each other without ever coming to a conclusion (and we are constantly doing this daily even to this very minute).   I could do this also, but my blog would never end.  So, with just a few examples and comments that I have decided to share with my children, I will share with you. 

In the New Testament in the Book of Acts, a man by the name of Cornelius, who is neither Jewish nor Christian, nor of any “religious brand” other than being a Roman citizen because he didn’t know Jesus even existed, for no one had ever told him about Jesus.  In Acts 10:1-2, it says, “In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer names Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.”

One day while Cornelius was praying he was visited by one of God’s angels and told “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering.”

After Cornelius’s vision the apostle Peter is prompted by the Holy Spirit to go visit him.   Then after Peter visits him, he says, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

Peter then shares the Good News about Jesus with him, “…that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.  Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.” (Acts 10:43-44). 

So, it clearly shows that God hears and pays attention to anyone who prays to him and he notices people who do good deeds and help their fellow man, the poor, and the needy,  even if they have never heard of Jesus or belong to certain named religious groups.

And even Jesus said to his followers and the other people listening, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also.  They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”

(John 10:16)

In Matthew 7:1 Jesus says, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you us in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”

The apostle Paul give an example that shows only God ultimately decides who receives mercy and compassion. Romans 9:15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

So we can argue and throw scriptures and writings from all kind of books and bibles all day long, but when it comes down to the end, God will decide what happens to us.

The message I give my children is that God speaks to individual people, not groups or denominations.  He has children that he has chosen to adopt in every named faith and belief and enemies that belong to every named faith and belief.  I tell them they will have to examine the facts, talk with God, and then decide whether they are a child or an enemy.

The Glass Is Now Half Full

I previously wrote about how my wife and kids always find joy in every circumstance they encounter and how I was going to strive to see things from their perspective.  I think I finally figured out their way of thinking.  It's not really their way of thinking, it's God's way of thinking. They know that God is with them constantly everyday and they trust that he is in control of all things that happen to them. 

I realized something was different about my wife from the first day I met her.  She was living in the worst circumstances, yet she had an attitude of joy and peace I can't even start to describe.  I met her in the finals of a nine-ball tournament in a pool hall and she totally beat my pants off.  Then she was using the money to buy food and things for homeless people in the city of Houston.  I started seeing her at every pool tournament and became friends with her.  As I got to know her I realized she was homeless herself, but she lived, dressed, held herself up like she was the richest person on earth.  I found out that she had been engaged to be married to a prestigious young man who her family picked for her. A magnificent wedding was planned and relatives from all over the country and out of the country flew in for it. Then on the day of this fairy tale wedding, the groom didn't show up.  He had decided at the last minute that he wasn't ready for marriage and he left town.  Her entire family lost face with the community and were shamed.  Her family blamed her, saying the groom bailed out because she wasn't good enough for him or that she had done something to cause him to change his mind.  They banned her from their home and told her she had to leave the household because she had brought disgrace upon them.  With no job, no money, just the clothes on her back and a beat up old Toyota Celica, she drove to the community college she was attending and parked in their student parking lot. A few days later the car quit running and so she walked everywhere she went and slept in her car at night.

But, even with all had happened to her, she was still joyful, smiling, constantly working to feed and help the people living on the street that she said were less fortunate than her.  They didn't even have a broke down car to sleep in like she did, she said.  She was earning enough money from pool tournaments each month to rent a apartment, but she chose to use it to help the less fortunate rather than use it to make her own life more comfortable. 

Then one day I didn't see her at the pool tournament.  She had gotten a job, got her car fixed and was going to college full time now. But she still continued to help the poor and the less fortunate on the street all she could.  This is the girl I fell in love with.  And though she turned down my first three proposals, she finally said yes to my fourth one. 

Now we have a cute little house, a van, and two wonderful children who have the same joy and perspective she has.  And when something bad happens, no matter how bad it seems, they always find the good in it. 

When the hurricane came, knocked out the electricity and water for months, tore part of our house down, and demolished everything that was outside, they rejoiced.  "Now we can try out our new camping equipment and tents!", they shouted.  And for the next two months they were joyous everyday, as they struggled to live, eat, and sleep under the stars.  They spent their time helping the neighbors and looking for other people that needed help.

Even now, out house is still not all in one piece.  The floors are without carpet.  Water leaks through our roof.  Junk is piled up everywhere and most of our things are destroyed.  The insurance didn't pay enough to fix everything that needed repairing.  Yet, my family goes on living like their the most blessed people on the earth.  Like my little girl says, "We still have each other." 

Perspective: Is the glass half full or half empty?

I haven't had a chance to blog much lately (not that anyone's reading them).

It seems like I'm going through one storm after another. And right after I get my wind back after having my breath knocked out of me, I get hit with another punch I didn't see coming and I'm down again.

So I always go and talk to my best friend about my problems (and my only friend right now) this guy names Jesus.  Now sometimes he just puts his arms around me and lets me know everything is going to be alright, but sometimes he laughs at me and says, "Don't take yourself so seriously."

I guess if I could stand back and see my problems from a different perspective, I might laugh to.  But when your in the mist of the storm, your mind is spinning around, and you feel like you might not make it another day, it just seems hard for me to laugh.

On the other hand, my wife and kids are being hit with the same things, and they respond like it's just a joke.  No matter what happens, how bad it is, how much they are hurting, they will find a way to minimize it and go on rejoicing like they had just won the lottery.

So, lately, I've been trying to study them and determine what makes them so resilient to everything.

The answer I think I've come up with is "perspective".

They have a whole different perspective about life.  We are all believers in God and Christ Jesus, but their belief is simple and childlike (of course 2 of them are children and the wife is still really a child who never grew up).

They know that forgiveness of their sins and mistakes are wiped out because of what Jesus did for them, and they respond to that fact with thankfulness and joy.  That's where their joy and uncanny happiness comes from.  For them, it doesn't come from what happens or doesn't happen.  It doesn't come from what they get or don't get.  They rejoice in the fact that their names are written in Gods "Book of Life" and that it can never be erased.  Then they respond with the attitude of "I've got nothing to lose", "If God is for me, who can be against me?"

They live with the expectation that God will provide what I need and want, and that little problems and setbacks in life are just little bumps in the road that are just a part of life.  By happening, they just help them enjoy the blessings that come later even more.

I have a different perspective when we "hit a bump".  My perspective is "I must have done something to piss God off, and now he has left me to reap what I sowed."  I know he forgives me, but I feel like I still must pay for my mistakes.  Then guilt, self-image problems, and "Look out! The sky is falling".

So, I have decided (with the help of God and my family) to try and start looking at things from a different perspective the way they do and see what happens.

And so if anyone is reading this, check back and I will update the situation and let you know what results follow.

Peace Out

Love is a verb???

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Love is a verb and a feeling: 5 questions to ask yourself when your amygdala has hijacked your brain

I thought this was an interesting article about the amygdala, the part of the brain that which manages and controls our emotions and effect our cognitive functions. It does this when a person feels fear, stress, threatened, or hurt in some way.

Now I get it. That's why I tend to get numb and non-emotional when those kinds of things happen. But I just hide it the best I can and "put on a happy face", as the commercial song goes.

But why does my wonderful family genuinely continue praising God and being joyful , always seeing the bright side when those kinds of things happen to them?

I asked my wife that question, and she simply said, "I just choose to." In other words, she has chooses not to let fear, pain, and threats control the ways she feels. And my two precious kids do the same thing. (Probably learned it from Mom).

The concept seems to be true. At times when I feel threatened or hurt, I close down my emotions and focus only on my own needs and feelings, thus, shutting out everyone else, which causes me to shut out and not make an effort to fully relate to my wife and kids (or anyone else) the way I should. Of course, I put on a happy face and attempt to join in the rejoicing, because I don't want to "rain on their parade and put out their joy, because they really have a gift when it comes to overcoming problems and adversity. The worse it gets for them, the stronger their joy.


So as I continue to ask God to change me somehow to be more like them. I worry about things that don't matter and get stressed out over little things that do matter, but I can't do anything about.  So, God, in Jesus name, I ask for your help in this area.  Then maybe I can at least almost keep up with the rest of the family and not spoil their grand illusion of life that they are so good at living.