A Moment of Silence

13 years ago today I was teaching a JavaScript programming course at a local college. I remember some students coming up the hallway telling each class that a plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York. By the time I got to the television in the vending area of the hall, another plane hit the second tower on live television. I had so many emotions going through me at the time but the one I remember most is, though it may sound harsh, I am not going to let this promote fear in my life or those around me. I had all the students come back to class and with just a few more interruptions I went on and continued teaching. While I had that luxury, being far from the attack, my mind continually wandered with the remorse or sadness of all those effected directly and indirectly. Inside, my heart was breaking for all the people jumping, burning, and drowning in debris and smoke. Then there was a deeper hurt as I thought about all the children who no longer had parents and parents who no longer had children. At the time I had no idea how this event would even make a change to my life. Please take a moment of silence at some point today and be thankful for all the things you have.

The LORD is my light and my salvation--so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? (Psalm 27:1)

Happy New Year 2014

Dear readers, Thank you for watching this blog despite the few and far between posts these past four years. It is hard to believe it had been that long already. I hardly think three posts over the past year can be considered a blog anymore. What Happened!?

This year has been filled with a lot of reflection, crazy events, and reflection on crazy events. Here are some things to look for next year:

1. No more organic-christian.com domain. This won't effect most readers but during this year organic-christian.com will become organic-christian.blogspot.com full time.
2. More Posts. I hope to share more this year as the blog takes a more personable turn. There will still be Theology but I will also mix it up a bit which brings me to..
3. More Topics. I really don't want to maintain two blogs so I am going to move everything to this one.
4. New Look. This won't be apparent to those using feed readers or email subscriptions but I will let you know when it happens so you can look at it at least once.

Finally, I pray your new year is a great one. I will leave you with one tidbit I picked up from Cody Lundin, "knowledge is very light weight and easy to carry."

5 Thing I Hope to do After Death

A couple weeks ago the grandmother of a great friend passed away and went to be with Christ. This, plus all the talk about Heaven and Hell, got me to thinking about what I want to do when I go to meet Christ myself.

1. Eat Breakfast. My memories of Granny Davis are great ones. She was quick to keep my friend in line when needed and always concerned for my personal relationship with Christ. My friend actually was staying at her house in High School and I remember the first time I stayed there. She yelled up the stairs, "Do you want pancakes for breakfast!?"  I said, "no mam, I am not hungry." She yelled back, without hesitation, "I will make them anyway!" You see, she knew I really did want breakfast but didn't want to trouble her, so about ten minutes later, my friend and I stumble down the stairs as the aroma of pancakes waft up my nostrils... but wait.. that doesn't smell like pancakes.. I get to the table and sit down.. WOW! We have a local diner that serves breakfast on a trash can lid because it is so big... Granny serves it on the entire table top. Sausage gravy, biscuits, toast, waffles, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, jellies, butter, bacon, sausage links, and of course, pancakes! What a way to start the day. Then as I begin to dig in, she asks, "Did you want your egg fried or can I get you anything else?" No granny, you are great. I hope to enjoy a breakfast like this with you again one day in Heaven.

2. Thank People. I imagine sitting around the table are at least four key people outside of my close friends. My granddad, great granddad, Mrs. Hoffman, and Mr. Mudge^[1]. We don't always see the impact we have on peoples lives in the future. These four people directly or indirectly are the reason I am a Christian today. I would live to share with them my experiences with Christ and how He has worked in my life after they were gone. Thank you great granddad for being the greatest theologian ever, thank you granddad for pointing me to someone higher than yourself, thank you Mrs. Hoffman for sharing the gospel with me and for the NT you gave me, and thank you Mr. Mudge for taking time to pour out some of your life and sacrificing some of your time with some high school boys.

3. Dance and Sing. I love to dance and sing but I can't really do either very well. Somehow, I don't think Christ will care if I suck at it since I will be dancing and singing because of the joy he has placed in my heart. I don't know for sure about this, he may change his mind about me at this point just to stop me, I doubt it.. he will probably invite everyone else to join in. Then, like in church, the larger the group of bad singers, the easier it is to blend in. Angels, help me out here!

4. Nap. Yeah, I know we will not grow weary but why not take a nap. I assume the day or rest means you can actually nap the day away and since time is eternal, it will be much easier to put things off till tomorrow, right? So I want to take a nap.

5. Help Prepare a Welcome^[2]. Probably my biggest prayer each morning and evening is that my children are better Christ followers than even I am. I hope they choose to follow him boldly and the doubts and confusion this world provides does not stop them in their faith tracks. So the 5th thing is to prepare a party for them and my beautiful wife when they arrive.

Obviously there are a lot of other things I hope to do but these are 5 of them in no particular order.

[1] depending on when I die, Mr. Mudge may have to join the table later.
[2] also with the assumption that I go first.
[Scripture] Psalm 23:4; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Romans 8:38-39; Revelation 2:11; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 14:13

Where Do I Go From Here? Help?

Okay, It is Tuesday and I have not posted in a while. Let me assure you it is not from a lack of writing. I have stayed as busy as humanly possible, while taking care of my two children, while my wife was out of town. The truth is, due to some positive critics of my blog, I need to make some changes if I wish to keep up with this one plus the three other blogs I maintain and I have simply been planning what and when to say things.

Now, I often would just go into my mind, chart out a plan, write it down, and go forth. I want to do something different this time. What would you, as a reader, like me to talk about on here? What post do you value more than others? Are there things you have been wondering about and I may be able to add some insight into? I understand that only 9% of blog readers actually comment on a blog post, but this one time, would you re-consider and let me know what you think? Just add a comment below.  Please!? If you don't want to comment, would you please use the poll to the right to give me some guidance? Thanks in advance.

Infinity Packs, Infinity Warm!

Yeah, I don't know what that means either but my children seem to think I do.  Every morning my kids drink chocolate milk that has been warmed up in the microwave in plastic cups. So far neither of them has a third eye, third teet, third leg, or third anything. The crazy part is that I get up and make it the same way every morning whether the ask for it and no matter what they say, I get it just the same every time. But that doesn't stop them from saying, "Daddy, Infinity Packs, Infinity Warm, put it in the oven and give it to me." EVERY MORNING! I used to think it was cute and sometimes I still do. Other times it gets a little repetitive and feels demanding but no matter what, I get it just the same. Did I mention EVERY MORNING!?

I think we do this to God sometimes.. no.. all the time. Over and over we are in a dilemma or situation and we want stuff. God just listens to us knowing the overall plan and knowing we are going to do the same things over and over again and make the same bad decision in every circumstance.. but He wants to hear it, He thinks it is cute (Psalm 141:2) but frustrating and painful and EVERY MORNING he provides for what we need regardless of what we ask for or demand (2 Corinthians 12:9). You know, like please don't let my grand-kids be born with a third anything.. or be able to count to twelve on their fingers and 16 on their toes.

Basic 13:  Jesus' sacrifice was a substitution, for us - 1 Pet. 2:24

Metamorphasis of Sorts

I am changing jobs today.  Researches say it is one of the most stressful of situations. I have to agree with them on that one.  It is days like today though that I need to remember I am a child of God and claim His friendship.  My identity is not found in where I work or live or what I drive.  My identity is found in Christ alone.

Maybe you have been going through some stressful times lately.  Maybe through all the turmoil you have forgotten who you are (1 John 5:1).  There is some hope even if it is dim to your sight at times (Job 16:20). God made you special and He loves you very much! Thanks Bob and Larry.

I Know What We're Going to do Today

OK, Phineas and Ferb is by far the best thing Disney has going for it right now.  I sometimes even watch it with my kids.  Basically there are two boys and their sister and during the summer vacation, each day the boys build or do something huge as the sister attempts to get their mom to catch them. There is a lot more to it so those who have not seen it I apologize, ask a friend who didn't take the Disney ban as seriously as you did and they will explain. The show is filled with tag lines that are used in every episode and among my favorites is the first one on almost every episode. The day begins and things are happening and then they get an idea. Then Phineas states, "Ferb, I know what we are going to do today."

My mornings generally start out the same way, no matter how much future planning you do, you can only tackle what is on your plate each day.  Each day may eventually contribute to a major future plan but each individual step along the way is only as important as what needs done on any given day.  Generally for me around 10 AM is the hour I finally realize, I know what I am going to do today.  God, in an effort to not have us worry, only provides what we need on a daily basis (Luke 12:29-32). This also help us rely on His strength and understanding rather than our own (Psalm 107:31, 40-43).

What are you going to do today? Aren't you a little young to be performing a pulmanary surgery?

A New Day to Mess Up!

Woke up this morning like always and reflected on how great the sunshine was. I thought how awesome it is that I get one more day, how wonderful is God's grace.  You see none of us deserve to live another day for the sins we have commited deserve nothing but punishment and death; but then there is the Gospel message, and most of the Bible letters begin with "grace and peace to you."  By His grace alone we can be justified (Ephesians 2:5,8; Hebrews 13:9; Titus 3: 7) and that is such a great feeling, that the God who created the heavens and the universe cares that much for each of us.

Like anything good or bad we an find a way to abuse grace.  Even in the first century this problem existed.

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Romans 6:1-2

Without grace, salvation is impossible (Luke 17:10).  Grace is from the Greek charis, which also means favor.    In the absence of the provision of grace, man would be facing attempting to achieve justification simply by works (doing stuff) of flawless law keeping and such is not feasible (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5).  Grace is a most powerful word and concept that introduces man to the goodness of God.  If my first child would have been a girl, she would have been named Karis, because I love this definition so much.

My son has a calendar we write down all his milestones and accomplishments on. He asked me what it said because the picture of the manipulated cat is funny, when I told him he started laughing and wanted to tell his mom, "Smile, today is a whole new day to mess up!" It actually says, "another chance" but I liked his version better. Thank you God for your Grace (2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Galatians 1:15).

"Well the thing I find most amazing; In amazing grace 

Is the chance to give it out; Maybe that's what love is all about"

    -- Brandon Heath - I'm Not Who I Was

Basic 3: All people have sinned - Rom. 3:23, 5:12

Defining Organic

Perhaps the confusion came in people knowing the actual definition of organic. The term actually has two definitions that were on my mind at the time of questioning.

1. (adj) constituent, constitutional, (constitutional in the structure of something (especially your physical makeup))
2. (adj) of or relating to foodstuff grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides or hormones

The first definition comes from an analysis of the gifts and talents given to us by our awesome Creator God. You see, I can do a lot of things but all of these things are just organic, in other words, they are just a constituent or part of something bigger.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NLT)

So scripture actually calls us to be organic in this sense. The ramifications of this are: 1) An organic Christian needs to know his/her gifts. 2) He/She must use these gifts to build up the church. It is important for everyone reading that considers yourself a "Christian" to know that no matter what gifts you have been given, even if they are not highly visible things, they are needed for the Kingdom to be built up and be what God desires it to become.

The second definition deals with spiritual growth during your Christian journey and the importance of a Biblical foundation.  This is often "where the rubber meets the road" or the point of friction that makes the difference.  Many denominations have had internal battles and many people have had their hearts broken or have been hurt because this foundation was not there and they relied upon tradition (fertilizer)  or doctrine (hormones) entirely when drawing conclusions.  So an organic Christian is one that uses the Bible as the decision maker in every issue that may arise and places high regard to knowing what it says.

Well, I have explained myself to all you doubter and criticizers, I can be done with this blog now but what would be the fun in that. Continue with me to explore organic Christianity, spiritual gifts, and spiritual growth.  I will attempt to use as little pesticide as possible.

Basic 1: There is only one God - Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9

From There to Here

So a few years ago when I started using Facebook (FB) more regularly, I decided to fill out the rest of my profile information.  There was a section in there that asked about my "Religious Views."  To most this may be an easy answer, but for the first time in my life I had found myself in a transition stage between two churches.  The interesting part about this was, there was nothing wrong with the old one, and we were not leaving town.  I was just getting involved with the new church and wasn't totally sure of anything but the core beliefs.  Long story short, my "Religious Views" were not a cut and dry decision.  So what should I put in there!?  I thought about it for maybe a few seconds and typed: Christian - Organic.  I had full intention on changing it eventually but it caused many of my friends to ask, What does that mean?  I also had a couple comments, "it looks like you are part of a cult or something."  So with much question and controversy over what seemed at the time a quick decision, I now am going to leave it there forever or until FB goes belly-up.  I also decided just recently to start this blog to explain my split second decision.  So I invite you, my soon to be readers, to hang on and take this journey of faith with me.

"It will be a hard life but in it you will find out who you are." 

 -- StarWars