What we pray for is what we get.

I asked God to teach me love and patience, and he made me a father and a husband.I asked God to teach me humility and to humble me, and he made me to serve the basic needs for other human beings who can not for themselves.I asked God to teach me wisdom and faith, and he gave me a mind and allowed me a free will. Thank ...you Lord for hearing my prayers and for continually creating me into the person and the purpose you would have me become. His gifts are bountiful, amazing and eternal. You will get what you pray for if your prayer is true-hearted. It may come through some great struggles and lessons, but the whole time you are being created to reach your greatest potential in the ways of the Lord. Just open up your heart, your mind, your eyes, and your hands and receive the gifts that are for you.

Happy Earth Day 2010.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb.

We are stewards of God's earth, ruling over that which is not ours. "You [God] made humans ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under our feet: All flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, th...e birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas," Ps 8:6-8.

We are care-takers. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till and keep it," Genesis 2:15. The Hebrew words shamar and abad, usually translated as "till and keep" in this verse, could be just as accurately translated as "serve and preserve." The word shamar is also used in Numbers 6:24: "The Lord bless you and keep you." God desires that we treat the creation in the same way that God treats us.God... is present everywhere in and through the whole creation in all its parts and in all places, and so the world is full of God and God fills it all, yet God is not limited to or circumscribed by it, but is at the same time beyond and above the whole creation. ~ Martin Luther.

Let all regard themselves as the stewards of God in all things which they possess. Then they will neither conduct themselves dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires to be preserved. ~John Calvin

To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin...For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God's creation, for humans to degrade the integrity of the earth by stripping the earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands... for humans to contaminate the earth's water, its land, its air, and its life with poisonous substances...these are sins. ~ Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Orthodox Churches

Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another. ~Juvenal, Satires

Happy Earth Day!

A Christian who believes evolution and creation are compatable.

Theistic evolution and evolutionary creationism are similar concepts that assert that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution.

In short, theistic evolutionists believe that there is a God, that God is the creator of the material universe and (by consequence) all life within, and that biological evolution is simply a natural process within that creation. Evolution, according to this view, is simply a tool that God employed to develop human life.Theistic evolution is not ... See Morea theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to religious belief and interpretation. Theistic evolution supporters can be seen as one of the groups who reject the conflict thesis regarding the relationship between religion and science – that is, they hold that religious teachings about creation and scientific theories of evolution need not contradict. In describing early proponents of this viewpoint, it is sometimes described as Christian Darwinism.

I am a Christian who accepts the scientific theory of evolution. There is a lot of nonsense out there about the theory of evolution coming from both extremes: In one sense that it denies the Virgin Birth, that it denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; and in the other sense that because of a natural process there is no need for God. These ... See Moreideas are blindsided by bias and are far from accepting the rational explaination that God created and continues to create according to natural principles observed by science. Those natural principles (Natural Law in the sciences) are the wonderous orchestration by which God created all things.

It wasn't long ago that the world was still flat and was the center of the universe. It wasn't long ago that a man named Galileo was condemed for suggesting from his scientific observations that the Earth indeed is round and revolves around the Sun. Since that time 350 years ago we have come to take Galileo's ideas for granted. There is no flaw to ... See Moresay that God is real, and that he creates by the method of his creation being the natrual principles which can be observed by the use of the minds that he created us with. Tomas Aquains didn't write the bible, but he did empart us with a 13th century politically correct time-scale of all creation in order to appease his leaders. Galileo dared dispute this with cosmological evidence that suggested otherwise, and now today the new debate between science and theology is no different. There is no real contradiction between observable phenomenon existing in nature and belief in the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ.

A wonderful apple, no matter how ripe, crisp, and delicious; and a very tasty orange, no matter how mouthwatering, juicy, and refreshing will always be apples and oranges. Even if all you ever wanted to eat for the rest of your life was the delightful apple, it would never become the orange. And even if you just wanted to eat only oranges, it would never make the apples disappear or be anything more than apples. Just a simple reflection on an old adage, "one can not reasonably compare apples to oranges, and deduce that an apple is an orange, nor vice versa". Now they may grow together in the same field, be picked by the same harvesters, and even be placed on the same table to enjoy; however, they are unique in their own right. Discluding one to favor the other not only requires one's logic be no greater than that of a two year old child, but it makes for a rather bland tasting when it is time to sit down and eat.

A wonderful fruit in the art of reason is the notion of complement over contradiction. Now while we can never make an apple an orange, nor an orange and apple, we can notice what they have in common: how they complement eachother instead of bashing them into our forheads trying so hard to change them into the other. There are much easier ways to make juice :>) We can notice about apples and oranges that they are both fruit of a tree; that they have their own unique flavor, but both are sweet; that they are both round and have skin, seeds, and pulp; that both provide nourishment unique to their design, creation, and development. Now that we can see that an apple is an apple, and an orange is an orange we can appreciate each for its own unique and wonderful taste. And knowing one from the other also allows us to really enjoy the unique qualities specific to the other; i.e., because the orange is tangy and the apple is sweet, knowing this will allow me to enjoy the sweetness of the apple when that is what I am thirsty for.

Correlations of psychology and christianity (very brief).

This is a topic which deserves an entire volume written on its account. Perhaps I will be the fella to write it. I was thinking about the corelations of psychology and the bible last night, and it occured to me that much of what happens when a person comes to Jesus and dedicates his/her life to change and positive growth, is actually strikingly similar to the processes in what is modernly coined as "cognitive restructuring psychology". For example, realize ... See Morehow your mind isn't working, and take steps to change your beliefs so that it does work. Very interesting correlations. Christ's teachings also include many great virtues which are the cornerstone of the humanist approaches to psychology such as learning to love and forgive. There is definatley strong relationships between modern psychology and Christianity. I think this is because of the connected nature between the spirit and the mind. If you have a healthy spirit, you will have a healthy mind; and, if you have a healthy mind you will have a potentially healthy spirit. What affects one reverberates to affect the other. So, it is the spiritual presence and cleansing of Christ's teachings which affect the positive development of one's psyche when he/ she becomes a Christian and makes those life changes a reality. I think the bible is the greatest book ever written, It is the historical testomony of mankinds relationship with God, Christ's teachings, and spiritual wisdom virtues; but as far Psych books go I would have to say that the two volume work of, Pre-Freudian, philosopher and psychologist William James "The Principles of Psychology 1896" is the greatest Psych text in the history of psychological sciences.

Taking personal assessment.

I think that we can begin to understand the change in our thoughts first by paying attention to how we feel about ourselves and the world; and secondly, when we pay attention to the "happenings" of us, and in our world. For example, when I begin to like who I think I am; and, when things around me seem to be working out. Notice I said "happenings of us" rather than "happenings to us". I say this because our thoughts and the world around us are actually effected by us, and are not things happening to us. This is refered to as "locus of control (LOC)". We either tend to have an internal LOC, which allows us to take charge of our thoughts, actions, and the happenings in our world; thus, resulting in a higher self esteem. Basically internal LOC means we feel in controll to a healthy degree of our thoughts and happenings. Or, on the contrairy, we have an external LOC, which is the feeling that we have little or no control over our thoughts and happenings: that we tend to feel others are continually "doing things to us". When we get stuck in this we begin to continually blame others for the way we feel we are. So the trick is, is to recgonize which LOC you are operating from in any given situation and train your mind toward the internal LOC, and away from the external LOC. I used to utilize mostly external LOC and people were always trying to do me harm. I blamed others from my addiction to drugs and alcohol. I blamed others when I got dumped, etc... I came to a turning point in my life when I had to own up to everything I had ever done. I had to take a personal assessment. This took a few months of serious reflection. I payed attention to the things I thought; the things I felt; the things I said; and the things I did. I noticed if I was feeling like I was in control, or if others were controlling me. My assessment also led to overcoming what is called cognitive distortion. Cognitive disonance happens in our minds when our actions do not agree with our beliefs and morals. I was depressed, and I hated myself because I was abusing alcohol. I tried to play the tough guy routine, but I just started to hate myself even more. Again, when I came to that place where I took assessment, I had to ask myself what I really believed in, and understand that my actions didn't match. That is why I was having so much trouble. There is a long story between point A & B; however, the idea is that we have to get to a quite place in our lives where we can step back and take an objective assessment of ourselves without being afraid of what we see. Then we have to accept what we have been, so that we can accept who we are now. This opens the door of who we want to become. We want to become the person who is in charge of his or her actions, and those are the actions which suit one's personal convictions and beliefs. I would love to elaborate sometime on the amazing things that happened to me that transformed me and freed me from my self inflicted bondage. We are all prone to this kind of suffering, and we are all blessed and able to overcome it. I pray that you can have the courage, strength, wisdom, patience, and love to begin your journey. God Bless you, and keep you.

We are what we think.

We are what we think. All that we may become arises within our thoughts. Essentially, what we think we become; remember however, that thoughts may occur, but we choose which thoughts become the actions which define us.

If you want to change your life first begin by choosing which toughts you will put into actions, and which ones you will not let devour you. Once you can do this, you may begin to change your thought patterns from their very root.