michael elfed

Posted on November 30, 2007

I’m way over the top today to blog about deep stuff. Had major DSL probs that got resolved at 9:40. But, this did make me laugh … this photo is a capture from something Michael and Darrah sent me. Seems Micahel got himself elfed for the holidays. This probably is in lieu of putting up Christmas lights on his house. My boys have issues with Christmas lights … it came from me. They are scarred for life in the manner that I put up and took down Christmas lights the few times that we did that. Fortunately, we have an HOA that forbids Christmas lights and so I won’t have to make excuses for the lack of holiday spirit. It’s not that I am a grinch … it’s just that the hoopla of Christmas is way too commercial for me. I just like being together as a family and enjoying my time away from work and problems.

I’ll be back tomorrow, maybe in full form. Until then … enjoy your day by enjoying being nice to someone.

HG –

exousia

Posted on November 29, 2007

I wanted to put up a link to Darrah’s website this morning. She is my daughter in law and is an extraordinary artist and brilliant game player. Do not let her fool you … she is a killer sleeper at Trivial Pursuit. She will lull you into a pretentious thought of dittsieism and then plunge a dagger into that thought with her keen wit and advanced knowledge of the game. You will want her on your team. You may have a leaning to take Michael if choosing teams … but, he is pretty much all flash and no cash. Darrah is your girl for outstanding art and game strategies.

on to my thoughts ….

I sat with my mouth gapped open as Lori shared with me yesterday about a friend who shared her recent trials. It sparked a thought and study that I did a few years back on the word “exousia”. In the New Testament there are a couple of words for power … one is “dunamis” … where we get our word dynamite. It mainly is used in reference to being anointed. Exousia or authority (rights) is in reference to be sent out to do something. Please understand that this is a very broad stroke definition and not meant to be comprehensive in any way or form. I share it only for this reason. It is God who gives us the right (authority, exousia) to be the children of God. Notice in John chapter one it says … to “be”. It is God who spoke to your heart, called you to himself, saved you and now keeps you. I am the only one who truly knows that I am a child of God. Everyone else will just have to take my word for it … or not. It really does not matter … because you don’t know jack about my heart or the experience I have in knowing God. When I make a statement like that … I am using my “exousia”, my right, my authority …. given to me by my Father to “be” what He says I am … and I believe it. Those are my rights. My authority.

It doesn’t matter what I go through, how I look to other people, how I talk, or what I do. No matter what … I know in my knower that I am a child of God. I know that based on faith and God’s word. No one can tell me that I am not saved because I am not “bearing fruit”! You think Paul was bearing fruit on the back side of the desert after his conversion. Shoot, the other disciples did not even want to accept Paul as an apostle … because he was not one of the top 12. But Paul had the “exousia” to be a child of God.

I know in my knower … that I belong to God’s family. Now sometimes some of God’s bratty children think they are up the food chain from me … but that doesn’t bother me because I know my father and he knows me. End of story. Denominations and church people through history have tried to parlay their exousia into an exclusive snot and snob club reversed for like “snots and snobs”. Poo poo on that idea. That was not ordained or found in scripture at all.

Your adoption into God’s family as a son or daughter is secure. It doesn’t matter if Dr. Bibleboy agrees with you or not. It’s right there bubba. Take your exclusivity for the non-hurting, non-damaged people of our society and remember the words of Christ … “when you did it unto the least of these … you did it unto me. “

HG –

lighter shade of gray

Posted on November 28, 2007

I’ll have to admit, after reading my last few novels (posts) … you might get the picture that my life is pretty dark … or I am in a dark place (as some would say). I’m not really. Rediscovery and change always makes me very consumed in my own head. Like Srewolf said yesterday … “I’m tired of thinking” … yet my brain won’t shut off. Thanks Sonya for the “frosty”. I feel like I’m in a gray place. Not tripping daisies and not fully goth … just gray. I am surprised at the number of people who read this thing. 300-400 a day … go figure. Lots of gray wanderers.

The Bible is still a great comfort to me … it truly is a remarkable, powerful book. Don’t get me wrong … I don’t worship it. I worship the God of the bible. I have to confess … I didn’t read it at all for the last several months … sue me. Hearing God through the bible is a choice every person must make. You can’t force it on anyone … even though yesterday I left a sticky note on the Isaiah passage and instructed Lori and Allison to read it. They knew they should, because there would be questions later. I don’t tell what I read all the time … mainly because it takes a while of meditation to figure out what’s what.

I ride my valk every day to work now. Since moving to the Colony I am only about 10 minutes away. I bundle up and enjoy the peace of the ride. By the way, this is not my bike pictured here … I just loved the sign. It spoke to me … except a lot of times I feel … Six Mile Village = 10 miles. My buddy, Randy in Florida, is enjoying his ride … 82 and sunny when I spoke to him this week. Ahhh … enjoy hurricane season sucka.

The holidays are slamming down on us … this year we are going to OKLAHOMA for our trip. Yes, San Diego it’s not … but it will be fun … we are getting dirt bikes, atvs and maybe paint ball stuff to make it even more interesting.

thanks for entering my lighter shade of gray today … (sounds like Mr. Rogers on cymbalta)

HG –

higher ways

Posted on November 27, 2007

While reading this morning, I became enthralled with Isaiah 55. Especially the … my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways not your ways … vs. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As long as I can remember I always pictured this verse as “God’s way” being this grandiose romantic way of living. Slaying the evil one daily with my jedi Bible sword. Always trying to gain some new truth to excite me to the “higher way”. I know that some may read my words and draw a conclusion as to “God’s way” for me. “Yeah, he’s been hurt, so he is a cynical and bitter old guy.” You would be so wrong in your assessment. See, we never figure that this “higher way” that God has for us may be like this road pictured here. It’s the most dangerous mountain road in the world. It’s found in Boliva. In the past I figured God’s “higher way” was mystical, cryptic, hidden and only found by the most spiritual beings on the planet. Guys that carry crosses across the world or missionaries who fly into uncharted areas to carry the gospel. Actually the higher way has a purpose and it is personal.

These trucks have to pass on this road every day to get their load to a pay day … or families don’t eat. The guy driving that truck is not praying about finding a new truth in which to glean from God so that he might share it with his congregation … his prayer is … help me get up and down this road today without going over the edge.

This is where most Christian live. The “higher ways” truth is found later in the passage … 10 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.” God’s intent for us is not to build some great big church so that millions can enjoy our new coffee bar … but it’s getting you through the day so that you might fulfill your part in His plan for your life. The reward … He desires to bring joy and peace to our lives. What could be greater than that?

I love the gifts of the spirit. I can speak in tongues. I have laid hands on people and felt energies course through my body and into theirs. I have seen people literally fall down from a prayer prayed over them. I have seen people healed by the power of God. Most of the time I see people pray for God’s healing … and the person is not healed and dies. I have seen people pray that a marriage would be restored … and it wasn’t. What would we make of that? I know, I know … you always have to pray the disclaimer … “if it be your will”. Should we stop praying? Absolutely not! Should we stop asking? No! Should we stop believing in healing prayer? … no, not the point. We need to learn that “his ways are not our ways”. The gifts are great … I love them … but most Christians are just trying to figure out how to get over the dangerous road for today.

HG –

follower of christ

Posted on November 26, 2007

Christian or follower of Christ? They are really not synonymous. Some would think that calling oneself or not calling oneself a Christian is the touchstone or identifying character of actually being a Christian. This is not a teaching of Christ. To actually be a Christian … an action of the will … one must be a follower.

Just because someone goes to the building and participates with the activities of that organization … does not really equate to being a follower. Some might even question my Christianity because I am not a member or even a regular attender of a local congregation. Another misnomer from some hand me down tradition. Jesus taught: if anyone desires my fellowship … let him deny himself, pick up his instrument of death (cross), and follow. Never did he say attend your local synagogue weekly or walk an aisle and sign a card … or even … attend these classes — get indoctrinated … then you are a card carrying Christian … member of a local new testament church.

Stop the insanity … being a follower of Christ is an individual decision to die to oneself and take up the action of following. Being part of a local congregation for most is simply a slip shod form of conscience soothing activity to stay “actively involved” in the church. Christ kept trying to pull the disciples away from the group to spend time with them … and the crowds kept trying to pull them back in.

Why do we have this misconception? Simple … it’s easier!

Hey it’s easy to carve out a couple of hours on Sunday to sit through a sermon and a few songs, drop your tithe in, shake the hand of the official greeter at the door and say … see you next week. The church staff can pay their bills and we can feel good that they … the staff … have everything under control … and they will be here next week to crank it up again.

Is that really following Christ’s mandate? What part of denying ourselves does that involve? The two hours? … our money? … our silence while the sermon is delivered? Hecketh No! Do you know how many Narcotics Anonymous meetings there are in a week? Well, at least the one I know about … every day. Yes, every night addicts meet together and go through the same thing … support and recovery. Why? Because recovery never takes a vacation. (thanks A for that quote, I won’t ever forget it). But Christians need to. After all there is little league, planning meetings at church, dance lessons, piano, softball, planning meetings at church, and more planning meetings at church. Who helps the pre-Christian, the addict, the quasi atheist, the sex addict, the victims of violence, the divorced mom or dad? Is it that freaking two hour deal on Sunday morning the only evidence of being a follower of Christ we have?

Go to most church buildings during the week or the weekend and they will be closed. That’s right … millions upon millions of square footage of prime real estate sits vacant each and every week … waiting for the Jesus hour.

It’s a great thing that churches in California have opened their doors to evacuees during these fire tragedies. But I bet someone, somewhere is worried about the carpet being stained by all those people.

Modern day Christianity and New Testament churches have got to begin to open up … literally.

HG

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