Seriously, what IS prayer?

Given what my family has recently gone through, I have done a lot of praying.

Now, that isn't to say I don't pray everyday; I do!  But during the time of my father's illness, I prayed more than I usually did.  Heck, I think some days I was in nothing BUT prayer, just to get through the day!

Now that my father has passed, and things are "relatively" getting back to normal - or as I tell my clients: there is no normal, only average.

But back to prayer.

At first, I was praying that my Dad would be healed.  That he would gain his strength, be able to have surgery, and get to have him with us for a few more years.  Eventually, my prayers were not so....grand.  They were down to the point of just asking that my Dad have a good night sleep.

As the days passed, after Dad died...I continued to pray...but I didn't know exactly what to pray for.

After all, God knows what's going on.  I'm not telling him anything new.  I'm not giving him any information that he isn't privy to.

Given this, I reverted back to what I do in real times of stress and worry: I pray the prayer Jesus taught us.

"Our Father, who art in heaven..."

You know the rest.

I figure, if Jesus said to pray it - there must be a reason!

But what is that reason?

What is the reason for prayer in the first place?

I know we are supposed to - but why?  Because God wants to hear a bunch of us complain about our lives and ask for help?

I hope not!

I'm sure he'll hear any prayer that we offer to him, but is that truly the purpose?

According to the words of the Lord's prayer that doesn't seem to be the case.

I have heard other teachers say that the Lord's prayer isn't so much a word-by-word prayer we should say, but a guide to prayer.

I believe this to be true - however, I don't see a problem with the word-by-word part.  If it was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for me! And it usually is.

But what is the breakdown of the prayer?  How is it a guide?

I don't exactly know, I have forgotten the sermons I listened to that spoke about it, but I have some ideas of my own.

In the next post I'll take a look at the first part of the prayer.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven.....on earth as it is in Heaven."

If you have any ideas, or opinions or beliefs, or input on how you pray, please share!

Religion and Sci-Fi

If you are a sci-fi (even horror) fan, you might have noticed that sometimes Sci-fi and religion seem to highlight each other - or at least, have similarities.

Why?

Well, if you are interested, there's a great interview, regarding the book Religion and Science Fiction can be found HERE!

I highly recommend reading the interview.  Myself, I will be on the hunt for the book!

God vs. Disease

Last post I looked at the challenge: why doesn't God grow back limbs?

If you would like to read it, it's right below this one!

In this post, I will dive into the world of diseases.

Unlike the last post, this one is very personal...my father passed away in September of mesothelioma.

Did I pray he would be healed?  Yes.
Did I pray for a miracle?  You bet.
Then why didn't God answer?  Good question.

In short: I don't know.

But, I'm not here to provide a short answer.  I'm not here to provide ANY answer, because, like I said, I don't know.

However, I can give a few opinions and thoughts...so that's what I'll do.

When we ask the questions: why didn't God heal (insert name here)?  We are really asking this:  How come other people get healed but I don't? Or how come bad people get healed and my Dad didn't?

See, we are really asking why one thing (us, or our loved one got healed) didn't happen over another (someone ELSE getting healed).

For some reason, WE think we know who SHOULD and SHOULDN'T be healed.  In a way, by asking such a question we are making ourselves better judges than God.

But let's back up.

Some days I am jealous of the folks in the Bible.  They seem to have all these miracles, and conversations with God and Jesus, and well....crap, I can completely understand their faith in that context!

That's about all I'm jealous of, though.

Now, I like camping, and roughing it from time to time, but I doubt my cushioned butt would last very long back in those days.

That and I don't speak ANY of the languages that were prominent then...so, that would be an issue too.

Today, though, to see a miracle is...well, a MIRACLE!

Some folks claim to have seen one, or two...For me, like a ghost - I have never seen a miracle.  At least on par with healings and such.

So now we can come back to our question: why do some people see and get miracles and other people do not?

I wish I knew.

That's faith.

Faith is, in part, knowing that why we DON'T know, there IS a reason.

Faith to know, that in spite of never seeing a miracle or experiencing a miracle...I shall not be jealous of those who have.

For one - like the events of our daily lives, there is much going on that we don't know that ends up effecting our day...like the Butterfly Effect.  Someones spilled coffee on their way out the door to work, leads to them rear-ending us on their way home from work.  In between those two events, numerous, perhaps COUNTLESS events take place.

Like the bumper sticker says: Shit Happens.

How does this relate to diseases?

After all, my spilled coffee didn't lead my Dad to dying from mesothelioma.

No, but asbestos did.

Somewhere along the line, my Dad was exposed to enough asbestos to eventually take his life.  This is such a variable in his life, we can't even pinpoint where or how...and to even continue to try is fruitless, and a waste of time.

But why didn't God heal him?

Like in the real world, in the spiritual world there is more going on that we know of.

Too out there for you?

Huh, you accept God, but not other spiritual entities?  Even Jesus believed in them...if they were real enough for him...I rest my case.

Did Satan cause my Dad to die?

No, life did.  Life as we know know it, that is...not how it's supposed to be.

This is NOT the world God created...we messed it up.  And without going into a rant about the fall, we'll just have to agree - the fall was NOT a good thing.

Sin, evil, you name it abounds! (for now)

The "bad" that we see happen is only the harvest that we have sown...it's the fruit of our labor.  Now, certainly we can't all take "blame" for diseases, but we certainly can take enough blame to go around.  Not every disease is just a random even - there are causes.  Smoking can give you lung cancer - so if you smoke (like I did) you run that risk...can we really blame anyone/anything else?

And can we really get mad at God for not healing us or a loved one then?

And what does it say that we are mad at God because he "failed" to heal us in THIS life, while promising a better one in the NEXT.

Should we wish for death?  Of course not, and to think it is missing the point...

What about my Dad...wasn't he a victim?

Maybe he was, maybe he was completely innocent and did nothing to "deserve" his illness.

What does that mean?

It's only a reflection of the world we have created.  Fairness doesn't inherently exist.

Shit happens. (sorry Mom!)

If my faith then tells me that my father is with my Father...what does it say about me if I were to be angry that my Dad is gone?

Honestly,  that I'm selfish.

I miss my Dad, more than I can express.  But if given the chance, would I "make" my Dad come back to live with me, in this world, rather than be with God?

How selfish is that!?

I know my Dad loves me, and I will see him again WITH GOD.  But to get mad at God for not healing my Dad when there is so much more going on here and in the spiritual world - it just goes to show how short sighted I am.

While I hesitate to say it was God's will and God had a reason to take my Dad the way he did, I do know one thing:  God's will CAN come out of it.

Having faith in God isn't that he will show up and rescue us at the last minute, or that he will stop the tide of trouble...but that if we truly have faith IN HIM that we will get through it, and good CAN and WILL come out of it.

It's not what happens to us in life that matters, it's how we act AFTER.

We will experience all the world has to offer, even us Christians - it offered Jesus no less.  But what matters, what counts, is what do we do when it does...

My Dad is gone...from here.

I can't call him.  I can't hug him.  I can't work on the house with him....

But I can love him.
I can still learn from him.
I can talked to him.

I can still feel him.

And while I still feel the pain of his death...I can't help but think of other people, other boys who grew to be men that didn't have a father.  Especially a father like mine.

For 34 years I was blessed to be protected, loved, cherished, sacrificed for, by this man...in a way, how dare I ask for more, or be mad that it "wasn't enough" when there are far more out there who never HAD or will HAVE what I did...

And I think Dad would remind me of that, if I ever got to selfish.

So why didn't God heal my Dad?

I don't know.

But I do know this: It's okay that I don't.

Why Doesn't God Grow Back Limbs?

One form of recreation I have is listening to debates between atheists and Christians.

During such a debate, the atheist brought up miracles - rather, lack thereof - as disproof of God.  His main contention?  God must have something against people who lose their limbs.  After all, if God can heal a diseased person, why couldn't he just grow back a limb?  Especially one lost to war or other tragedy?

At first thought, it does seem to be a valid question...and a tough one to counter at that.  What is a limb compared to a disease?  Certainly he can do it, right?  After all he is all powerful!

Not to mention all the publicity God would get if someone actually DID have their arm grown back!  Think about it, an Iraq war vet who lost his/her leg via IED and glory of glories their leg grew back, thanks be to God!!!

So, why not then?

Seems reasonable doesn't it?  It did to the atheist.

Perhaps that's the problem though.  It "seems" reasonable.

Clearly we aren't the plum bob for reason, as humans.  Many bad things have been done in the name of "seemed reasonable at the time."

Do we truly think we are more reasoned than God?  Do we honestly think that if it were truly reasonable to do such a thing, God wouldn't?  Sure, at times we think we are more reasonable than God - we try to outsmart him with our reason.  Yet at the end of the day, if we are honest, we know better - reason isn't our strong suit.

So why might God not grow back a limb?  Especially one of a veteran. They would deserve it, right?

Let's get the deserve out of the way.  We deserve NOTHING.  None of us.  And no, not the vet.  Though while they may have served our country - are they any better than any of us who didn't?  Why would a vet be anymore important that a child who lost their leg?  And is that child any more important or special that the pastor who, too, lost their arm?

See where this is going?  We can all make a case for who would "deserve" this special healing.  However, none of us are truly deserving of anything, including the Grace that is given to us.  So what do we value more?  A leg, or Grace?

And that's the crux of the issue.

It doesn't come down to what God can/can't, will/won't do - it's our VALUE.

We VALUE the human BODY more than we should.  Take a look at the newsstand, or watch TV for five minutes, or checkout all the diet/fitness books at the store, or the porn industry - we are obsessed with our bodies.  To the point that we evidently see that someone without a leg, arm, all four limbs as such a less person we want God to "fix" them.

And that's the truth.  We honestly don't value human BEINGS as much as we do human BODIES.

We feel bad because someone doesn't have a leg...yet couldn't care less if they have something to eat, a good home to go to, a loving family, or just a friend...

The truth is: we want God to "fix" them so we don't have to be reminded about how obsessed we are with our BODIES.

Yet we are asking God help us in our obsession?

And a loving God would do as such?

If WE truly loved, honored, cherished, treasured the person - it won't matter what part/s of their body is missing or not working correctly.

Rather than seeing them as someone God could fix.

Is that how YOU would like to be looked at?

On Anger

If we are to be truly honest with ourselves about our feelings, we must admit how selfish they are.

Especially anger.

While we might believe anger can serve a cause for good, most times it's not; it's for us.

Oddly, anger is one of those selfish feelings that does more harm to us than others - depending on the severity of our anger and our subsequent actions.

But for the moment let's keep anger within the confines of ourselves.

It serves no purpose.

Anger is not a feeling hope for, search out - in some cases we do - or wake up in the morning wishing to be angry at some point during our day.

Rather, anger comes upon us.  It "happens" or someone "makes" us angry.  And more and more these days, there are more and more ways we "become" angry.

"Don't make me angry," pre-Hulk would say.  "You won't like me when I'm angry."

Take a quick look around at the bookstore - there are rows and rows of books on how to "beat" stress and "anger."  Why is that?  With all these books shouldn't we be making progress?  Shouldn't there be less books?

Why haven't we figured out how NOT to be angry?

Perhaps because we aren't looking at the right cause of our anger: ourselves.

Of course, a book that blames US for OUR problems might not be a best seller - even if we know it's true, we don't want to hear it.

But it IS true.  Whether we like it our not, we are the cause of most of our problems in life and the anger that follows.

Think of the last time you were angry at someone - most likely they didn't something (big or small) that YOU didn't want/like them to do.

Have you ever gotten angry at someone for ALL WAYS doing what you want them to?  Though I could see how that might be annoying - however that just proves my point as well.

Anger, for us, all ways involves OUR expectations of someone or a situation.  When it doesn't go the way WE want, we chose to get angry.

That's right, we CHOSE to be angry.

Think back to that last time you were angry at someone.  You chose to be angry at them, because you could have NOT been angry at them.  But that's not how you wanted to feel.  You wanted TO BE angry - as if your anger was some form of punishment.  You wanted them to know you were angry.  Why?

Is our anger at someone THAT MUCH of a punishment?


Clearly not as evident by people who know us still "make" us angry...Our wrath is not so fearful.

But why else do we, should we, get angry?  For what purpose might anger serve?  Be useful for? Can it be the "gift" Rage Against the Machine says it is?

What things are good to be angry at?  Is there people that DO deserve our anger?

Injustice?

Sure, I suppose.  But are we angry at the perpetrators of "injustice" or the act itself?  For if we are angry AT the perpetrators, are we not just being selfish again - they aren't measuring up to our expectations of them.

Can we be angry at "something" like injustice?  How do we know when we see it?  When it makes us angry?

Are people ever helped by anger?

Have you ever been thanked for your anger?

Do we fill books with quotes of anger because they are so valuable?

Should we honor anger?

What good can anger bring to the world?

Or maybe anger is not what it seems. There's a feeling, for sure, that things in the world AREN'T the way they are SUPPOSED to be.  We all feel it.  But we can't put our finger on it.  We can't even fully express it.  Anger then becomes a substitute.

I believe that while we say anger pushes us to action - it doesn't.

Does it push us to protest or to protect?

To screaming or soothing?

To hurting back or helping more?

Sparking riots or building communities?

What purpose does anger serve?

I'm not sure I know anymore...if I ever did.

Guest Post!

It's been some time since my last post.  For good reason...which we might get to later on.

However...I will be guest posting over at The Schires Five which (full disclosure) is my sister's blog - which if you take a look around is full of interesting little tid bits from cooking, being frugal, to faith and family!  Check it out and check out my guest post this Thursday!

Take Care.

Who Is To Blame?

We blame.  We blame A LOT.  We blame the ref for a bad call, traffic for making us late, the Democrats for ruining the economy - or wait is the Republicans? Maybe it's both.  We blame the terrorists, we blame the fundamentalists, we blame the atheist, the Christian, the Muslim, the guy down the street who's lawn is always a mess, those people - you know the ones - can't trust them, we blame the mortgage company because WE didn't read the fine print, we blame the kids at McDonald's earning minimum wage for having to wait TWO MINUTES before we could stuff our face with grease and fat, heck we blame McDonald's for making us fat, we blame eggs for our heart attacks and Phillip Morris for our lung cancer,  we blame our boss when we are fired, blame the homeless for decreasing our home value, blame the rich that we don't have money to buy groceries, blame the bleeding heart liberals because our taxes are too high, blame the homosexuals for ruining OUR family values, we blame those wacky Christians that Adam and Steve can't get married, we blame...boy do we blame.  Kid gets hurt?  Who's to blame!  I get sick, it's got to be someone else's fault!  Blame!

Sadly, if we made a list of everything and everyone we blamed for what went on in our lives, well heck, we might just about blame everything and EVERYONE!

Why do we blame?  Because we can.  Especially here in America.  We are a blaming society.  One only has to listen to any given conversation at any given time to hear someone or something get blamed for...(insert problem here).  Heck, we blame others for NOT stopping us from doing something stupid.  Have you ever said, "Why didn't you stop me?"  Yeah, that's called blame.

We blame because it's easy.  9/11? Terrorist of course! See?  Easy.

We blame because we don't want to take responsibility, or think we might have some part in the problem.

In short, we don't want to take the time to understand why something happened the way it did, or why someone acted the way they did.  We want to blame, then we want JUSTICE!  That is, unless someone blames us for something, then we want mercy and understanding.

God is not free from our blame either.  How often have we dug our own holes, so deep we pray for help to get out of it.  And when said help doesn't come, we blame God that we are still in the hole.  After all, he has the power to help us, so it only stands to reason that he should, right?

There is a saying, "When you point a finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you."

Jesus said something similar, "Remove the plank from your own eye, before you help someone remove their speck."

Plank and speck...quite a difference isn't there?

That's the other reason, maybe the main reason we blame...if we didn't, we might have to remember our planks.  And we don't want to do that.

Do we really get to blame?  That is a question we should ask too.  Are we in any position to blame?  To point a finger, to point out a fault, to find a reason to punish in the name of justice?

What does Jesus say?

Something we don't want to hear: Love your enemy.

Say What? (or in those ATT commercials Say Butt?)

Love. Your. Enemy.

Okay, but what does that have to do with blame?

Well, nothing, because if we are loving someone we can't blame them can we?  If we are truly loving someone, and they do something that might hurt us, do we get to blame them for our pain?

Doesn't appear so.

After all, does Jesus point his finger at you and blame you for his crucifixion?

Oh, we know we are to blame, there's no doubt about that...but we aren't blamed.  Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit don't blame us...oddly, Jesus willingly took the punishment (blameLESS as he was) that we deserved, and didn't even want a thank you...only for us to do the same "take up your cross daily."

Love understands, it doesn't, it never blames.

"That which we understand, we can't blame." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.

If we truly love, then we strive to understand.  Love our enemies, means not only to pray for them, but to understand them.  Do we understand why we were attacked on 9/11?  I don't truly think we do.  I don't truly think we want to either, because as unpopular as it might be to say: we might not want to discover that we might have some blame to share.

So, who is to blame?

All of us.  All that is wrong in the world, all the hurt, the suffering, the you-name-it...we are all to blame.  We all in some form or another by what we do or don't do have contributed to it.

And if we are all to blame...well then, perhaps we can put down our fingers, start working on our planks and maybe, just maybe, get some real love spreading through the world.