A Great Full Grateful Heart

The Thanksgiving sign read "A Greatful Heart".

"Hmm...", I thought," I think they meant to write "A Grateful Heart".  Or did they? 

I've been thinking about what a great, full heart might be like.  "Great" means large in dimensions or number, considerable in magnitude".  "Heart" means the part nearest the center; the most essential part of a body or system; center of activity".  I think many people would agree that the essential part of one's being and the center of their activity should be kept large and full of God.  This can be seen as a definition of both a great, full heart and a grateful heart!  Grateful means "appreciative of benefits received; willing or glad to acknowledge and repay, or give thanks for".  We have a grateful heart when our being and activity are large and full of appreciative acknowledgement of what God has done and is doing.

I still had a puzzle about being grateful.  In Genesis it says that man is created as the "image and likeness" of God.  This means that the God-given qualities that man expresses must also be qualities that God expresses.  If having a grateful heart is natural and good, it must be part of man's identity as the image of God and therefore God must have a grateful heart.

What is God grateful for?  If we think of being grateful as acknowledging and appreciating good, we find a description of God being grateful in Genesis where it says "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."  As God looked at his creation he acknowledged and appreciated the goodness of every part of it.

These thoughts have expanded my sense of Thanksgiving and inspire me to have a great, full, grateful heart everyday:  to make the essential part of my being and the center of my activity to be maintaining a large and full view of everything as made by God and being very good.  This is a grateful heart!

Obedience to the First Commandment - "No Other Gods" - brings healing

When God gave His laws, known as the 10 Commandments, to Moses to share with the Children of Israel, the very first law that he gave was "You shall have no other Gods".  While at some might interpret this to simply mean that we shouldn't worship other gods, the Bible makes clear that God is the only god, supreme and all-powerful.  This commandment can then be seen as a statement or promise to us that there are no other gods.

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer, healer, and author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, writes "The First Commandment is my favorite text".  She counseled that we should always be alert and clear in our thought that there are no other gods beside the one God.  In another of her books, No and Yes, she writes, "God's law is in three words, 'I am All;' and this perfect law is ever present to rebuke any claim of another law."

One night, I awoke with my skin feeling painful.  I turned on the light and found that red spots were welling up on several areas of my body.  Instead of wondering what these symptoms might be called or what course the problem might take, I immediately thought "This is just a claim that there is another god or another law or power that can touch or influence me."

I got out of bed so that I could focus my thought on understanding the truth of one God.  I began studying a weekly Bible Lesson that included the story of Jericho, the fortress city that blocked the route of Children of Israel to the promised land.  Obeying God's direction, the Israelites marched silently around the city once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day.  On completion of the seventh circuit, the walls of Jericho, which appeared to be so strong and massive, fell and the Israelites were able to conquer the city.  This story assured me that now as then, God was supreme and all-powerful.  And because I believed that God makes me healthy, I knew that there was no other god, power, or disease that could make me unhealthy.

Although the physical symptoms had not changed, as a result of my prayer and study I felt at peace, confident that I was under God's all-powerful care, and certain that nothing could harm me.  Because it was still the middle of the night, I went to bed and slept peacefully.

When I woke in the morning, I felt fine.  I looked at my skin and found that it appeared normal and natural.  There was no trace of the symptoms I had experienced the night before.  In fact, the only evidence I had that I hadn't dreamed the whole incident was that I was still wearing the sweatshirt that I had put on when I got up during the night to study.  My obedience to the First Commandment, my refusal to accept any other gods, had brought me a quick and complete healing!


The photograph at the top is a close-up of a portion of the painting "Star Gods" by Navajo artist David Chethlahe Paladin

The Christ shows the way

We were lost....

After two days of backpacking through the glorious autumn colors of the Colorado Rockies, My daughter and I had lost the trail.  Up until a few hours before, the trail had been easy to follow and we rarely had to check our map.  But then we had to cross a stretch of ranch land where the trail wasn't maintained or marked and the cattle had obscured our route with paths of their own making.  We kept heading in the general direction that we thought the trail should be going, but because of the rolling topography, dense patches of trees, and occasional small herds of cattle that we had to circumvent, we had a growing sense that we were wandering.  As the sun began to set, we came to the edge of the ranch land to what we knew was the beginning of a wide stretch of forest.  Although this wasn't an ideal camping spot, we did not want to enter the forest in the waning light and with no trail to follow, so we stopped. 

In spite of our situation, I did not feel panicky or overly concerned.  I had seen proof throughout my life that God takes care of us and I knew that the Christ was always present to guide us.  In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and the discoverer of Christian Science, describes the Christ as "'God with us,' - a divine influence, ever present in human consciousness".  As we prepared to camp for the night, I listened quietly for this divine influence to guide me.  I didn't plead for God to help or show us the way.  Instead I calmly examined my understanding of the facts:  God is good;  God knows me and loves me;  God directs my activities through His Christ, the power of God's presence coming to man.  I understood these facts.  In a little while, I felt the urge to walk a short distance to a spot at the edge of the woods.  There, I found the trail that we had been looking for.  The way to proceed in the morning was clear!

This Christ or "divine influence, ever present in human consciousness" is much more than just a helpful guide for hikers.  The Christ is available and ready to show each one of us the path of life, to guide our daily activities, and to help us find the way that God has laid out for us whether we feel lost in a career, a relationship, or the entire direction of our life.  The Christ is there to guide you!

Stop Swatting Bugs and Experience the Beauty and Harmony of God's Government

Do you want to experience a day where you feel at peace and witness the beauty and harmony of God's government?  Then stop swatting bugs and pay attention!

Let me explain what I mean by describing an experience I had this summer.

The mist in the valley below began to glow softly in the pre-dawn light.  I was sitting on the edge of a high cliff with a friend.  We had risen very early, while it was still dark, and hiked to this spot to get a bird's eye view of the sunrise.  As we sat there, I listened attentively as the wind whispered through the trees and birds began singing.  An owl tooted, frogs chorused, and a woodpecker added some percussion.  Lights twinkled in some of the farmhouses in the valley somewhere below a cock crew.

I was enchanted by the spectacle of the dawning day, but I noticed that my friend wasn't paying attention.  She was busy swatting at bugs!  "When is the sunrise going to happen?" she asked.  "It is happening!", I replied.  My friend swatted bugs for a few more moments and then announced, "I think I'll head back to bed now".  She stood and walked back toward camp.

After she left, the wind strengthened and swirled, causing leaves and branches to dance.  The sun, approaching from behind a ridge, began to paint light across the clouds.  Finally, the sun's orb burst above the ridge like a firecracker.  As I sat watching the growing light, a curious deer peered through the brush at me.

My witnessing of that morning dawn filled me with joy and a sense of God's harmony and beauty being expressed all around me.  I was sorry that my friend had been so distracted by bugs that she had failed to observe and experience this same feeling.

This experience teaches a lesson about how to approach every day.  God's beauty and harmony are always present and active and God's plan of goodness is always going on.  We can witness this, but we will fail to if we let ourselves get distracted by swatting bugs - focusing our attention on human concerns such as feeling that we are personally responsible for the creation of good, complaining or ruminating about the behavior of others, or thinking of ourselves as under attack from powers apart from God.


Just today, many "bugs" clamored for my attention - phone calls, difficult relationships, and too many tasks on my to-do list.  Instead of letting myself get frazzled, I refrained from swatting at these bugs.  I don't mean that I didn't answer the phone, deal with relationships, or do my chores - I did.  But I didn't let these bugs distract me from bearing witness to God's goodness around me - the helpful customer service rep, finding a well of patience when it was needed, progress made on a task.  Each small blessing that I consciously witnessed and acknowledged added to my sense of the presence of God's government.  Recognizing the presence of God's goodness and refusing to "swat bugs" enabled me to finish the day feeling happy and fresh!

A Lesson in Peacemaking

I was working in a camping program for teenagers when I learned a lesson about peacemaking.  One evening, we were going to hold a church testimony meeting around the campfire.  When it was time to start, a camper was joking around and had some trouble settling down and getting serious for our meeting.  I shushed him in what I intended to be a friendly, kidding-way.  He quieted down, and the meeting proceeded.  Later, as we were all heading to bed, I was walking by the camper’s tent when I heard one of his friends say to him, “Colin sure was angry with you this evening.  He glared at you all through the testimony meeting.”  Of course this was not the case at all – I had felt no anger or impatience and had not given the incident any further thought!

As I went to bed, I thanked God for revealing the need to heal misperceptions about this incident.  I prayed that my good intentions could not be misunderstood and that I would have the opportunity to correct the situation.  Two thoughts came to me in response to my prayers: 
        1)   Because God had revealed the need for peacemaking to me, I could trust that God would also supply to opportunity to resolve the situation. 
         2)   I had to be alert to recognize this opportunity and to be obedient and act when God presented the opportunity to me.

The next morning at breakfast, I found myself alone with the camper I had shushed the evening before.  I recognized that this was an opportunity to speak to him, but I also felt hesitant to speak.  I was tempted to remain silent and not bring up the incident.  I found myself thinking: “It’s forgotten and in the past, don’t make a big deal about it”.  However, I remembered that part of the answer to my prayer the evening before had been the directive that I needed to be obedient and act when the opportunity to make peace presented itself.

I was obedient!  I spoke up and told the camper that I was not angry with him, that I had been trying to kid with him  when I shushed him the evening before and that I hoped my words and actions were not misunderstood.  He replied that he had thought I was kidding with him, but that he hadn’t been sure.  Our discussion cleared the air on this incident.  I was grateful that the situation was corrected.

This experience taught me that God reveals to us discords that need harmonizing and that God gives us the opportunity to take corrective action.  In turn, it is our responsibility to be alert to recognize the opportunities that God gives us to be peacemakers and to be obedient in acting on these opportunities.

Praying for Protection from Flu

This morning's news had a story about an outbreak of flu in our country.  The story included maps showing where the outbreak had occurred and where it was predicted to spread. 

Can prayer protect us from this flu outbreak?  Praying can seem like a daunting task if we think of our prayers as pleas for God to do something about a power apart from God that is able to run it's own course.  But effective prayer is possible when we realize that disease isn't what it appears to be and that our prayerful task is the activity of listening intently for God to reveal the truth of God's creation and kingdom.  Let me give you an example of this.

Many years ago, spots appeared and spread over my young son's body.  The school nurse instructed me to keep him away from other children and to call the county health department.  The person I spoke with at the health department asked many questions about the symptoms my son was experiencing.  They declared that this was a disease that was going around the area and described to me all the additional symptoms my son would experience over the next several days.

Rather than simply accept this authoritative prediction from the health department, My wife and I prayed to learn what God would tell us about our son's true condition.  I don't remember the specifics of my prayer, but I recall that I listened quietly and intently for inspiration from God and contemplated the truths I knew about God and man as revealed in The Bible and explained in a book that helps me understand the Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. 

My quiet listening brought me a conviction that God, Good was always caring for my son and no power apart from God could touch or influence him in any way.  I then found this statement of Eddy's to be true: "Be thoroughly persuaded in your own mind of the truth...and you will be the victor."  The spots faded from my son's body and in about two days no trace of them remained.  During this entire period, my son felt fine, played happily, and experienced no other symptoms of disease.

The school nurse examined my son again and said he no longer needed to be isolated from other children.  I also called the health department back as they had requested.  I spoke with the same person that I had originally.  They asked if the symptoms had progressed as they predicted.  I told them that none of the predicted symptoms had appeared.  There was silence on the phone line for several moments, then the person at the health department said, "Well, I guess it wasn't what I thought it was."

The health department worker's statement was more true than she realized.  Disease is never what human opinion thinks it is.  Eddy states: "All disease is the result of education, and disease can carry its ill-effects no farther than mortal mind maps out the way. ... Truth handles the most malignant contagion with perfect assurance."  The Biblical authority for this last statement is Jesus's proclamation, "Know the truth and the truth will make you free."

This experience demonstrates how we can respond to news reports of flu.  Rather than passively accepting human opinions of how this outbreak will spread, we can calmly turn in prayer to listen to the truth that God is revealing to us about His creation.  This sincere, prayerful, listening activity can protect ourselves and our communities.

God and Geology

Sometimes people are surprised when they learn that I am both a geologist and a Christian.  This is because they assume that physical science is somehow in conflict with the idea of God being the only cause and creator.  This blog is not about the theories of creationism vs evolution.  I don't debate ideas.  I only report my personal experience. I have found the laws and theories that the science of Geology is based on to be important to my daily work as a geologist.  But, I have also found in my work that it indispensable to listen to what God is saying about His creation.  Here is one of many experiences I've had during my career which illustrate the advantage of listening to God.

A coal mining company encountered some severe mining conditions in an area of their underground mine.  The conditions were unsafe and costly to mine.  The viability of the mine was threatened.  A consulting geologist visited the mine, but he could not explain the cause of the geologic features or predict the location and prevalence of these features within the remaining mine reserve.

The company asked if I could help them.  Prior to my visit to the mine, they sent me photos, maps, and drilling records of the area where they were encountering the problems.  I examined this information, but my extensive geologic training and experience did not provide any answers.  I put the geologic information aside and quietly prayed.  I did not request anything from God.  In accordance with Jesus's promise, "Know the truth and the truth will make you free", my prayers were an affirmation of the truth as I have learned it in the Bible and another book that helps me understand the Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  I acknowledged that God created and governed all, that God is all-knowing.  Because, as the Bible explains, man is the image and likeness of God, we can always have the information that is humanly needed by listening quietly and humbly to God.

As I sat quietly listening, an idea came.  It was an idea you will never find in a geology text book.  I had never heard of this idea before or since.  God was the sole source of the idea.  I looked again at the information the company had sent me and found that using this new idea, I could have predicted all the areas where they encountered problems.  I then made a map predicting the boundaries of the area of bad mining conditions.

Later that week, I visited the mine and gave them my map and the explanation for their problems.  They were skeptical at first - this was a new idea.  However, when we went into the mine and visited the problem area, it was clear that the idea could be used to correctly delineate the area of severe mining conditions as well as predict where else on their property these conditions could be present.  This explanation not only helped the company mine that area of their property, but allowed them to successfully expand their mine into adjacent areas.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science and the author of the book that I referred to earlier, understood how a knowledge of God could bring practical benefits to any aspect of our human experience.  She wrote "A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man.  It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms.  It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity."
  

Living by God's Word Instead of Turning Stones to Bread

One of the statistics that this blog site records is the word or phrase that visitors were searching on when they followed a link to this blog.  For the past year, the number one search phrase was “turning stones to bread”.

I wondered why so many people were interested in turning stone to bread.  Could it be the state of the economy?  Are people with financial or employment needs recalling that Jesus said something about turning stones to bread and seeing this as a possible solution for their situation?

The idea of turning stones to bread was actually the devil’s suggestion to Jesus when he was in the wilderness without food and feeling hungry (see Matthew, chapter 4).  “If you are really the son of God”, said the devil, “you can quench your hunger by turning these stones to bread”.  Jesus didn’t deny that he was the son of God or that he had the power to turn stones to bread, but he refused to follow the devil’s suggestion.  Instead he said, “Man doesn’t live by bread alone, but by every word from God.”

What did Jesus mean by his response?  Don’t we turn to God in prayer to accomplish some practical healing result?  Are we attempting to turn stones to bread when we pray for our human needs to be met, to have the nutritional and financial resources we need, to have our health and strength restored?  Is this the wrong approach?

I had an insight on this recently when I awoke one night with the symptoms of a cold.  I’ve learned through experience that I can turn to God to restore and maintain my health, so I immediately began praying.  However, my prayer wasn’t a plea for God to restore my health.  Although I didn’t think of it at the time, perhaps praying to turn a sick human body into a healthy human body would have been akin to attempting to turn stones to bread.  Instead, my prayers consisted of quietly contemplating God’s word – the truths about God and man attested to in the Bible.  I thought about the Bible’s assurance that God loves man.  The prophet Jeremiah quotes God as saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I made you.”   As I thought about these and other comforting words of God, the symptoms of a cold disappeared.  The next morning I was strong and healthy and I have remained so.

Could this experience be an example of what Jesus was teaching us when he said that we live by every word that comes from God?  Perhaps he was teaching us to find solutions by letting our consciousness dwell on the promises and truth’s found in God’s word instead of focusing our efforts on changing a human condition.

  

How would a person facing financial problems apply this idea?  Instead of pleading with God to provide a job or money, one’s prayers could acknowledge the continuous abundance of God’s provision for his creation.  In Psalms (chapter 36) it reminds us: “How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.”  As we let our thought dwell on this steadfast love God has for us, God’s guidance and provision for our human needs will appear.  We have no need to attempt to turn stones to bread!

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Follow these links to find additional ideas on turning stones to bread:
Some thoughts on turning stones to bread
Resisting the temptation to turn stones to bread
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The Mystery of Christmas

A friend of mine told me about how she shops at Christmas time.  She refuses to let the hurry and tension of the shopping season get to her.  As she walks calmly around the store, she gives other shoppers a friendly smile and a nod. She hums carols to herself as she stands peacefully in the checkout line.  If someone behind her in line is fidgeting impatiently, she smiles and lets them go in front of her.  "Merry Christmas!", she responds to their grateful, but often puzzled thank-you to her cheerful graciousness.

My friend is a living example of the mystery of Christmas.  Her carol humming is like the angels that sang on Christmas night, heard only by the wakeful shepherds quietly tending their flocks.  Her smiles and nods to strangers and her gracious unselfishness in the checkout line are like the star the wise men followed - in plain view of all, but over-looked, dismissed, or not understood by most around.  Few, if any, "follow" this star - contemplate the basis of these gestures.  Those busy shoppers are so focused on the commercial and social aspects of the holiday season that there is no room at their "Inn" (e.g. in their thought) for the Christ-child, the humble signs of the presence of God's love, to dwell.

And so my starry, angel friend hums and smiles her way meekly through the Christmas season.  Those few that recognize and follow the meaning of her actions behold the Christ, and feel in their hearts the real blessing of that original Christmas. 

Emmanuel: Our connection with God - a protection from false influences

What powers have influence over our lives?  A friend of mine told me that she knew a mental technique that enabled her to go into a room of people that were experiencing anger or anguish and cause them all to become drowsy and go to sleep.  Her purpose in doing this would be to bring peace to the situation in the room, but I could see how a less benevolent person might use the same technique to manipulate people to their own personal advantage.  I could also see how the mental force my friend described is inadvertently being exercised and influencing others anytime someone holds a strong belief or fear about a situation. Mental influence of others' thoughts goes on in our society much more than we realize.

"Does your technique always affect everyone in the room?", I asked my friend.  "No", she replied, "This technique has no affect on a person that has a strong connection with God."

This exchange has caused me to think deeply about my connection with God.  What is my connection with God?  Is is strong?  How can I make it stronger?  What do I need to do to maintain that connection?

Fortunately, we all have a connection with God and the more clearly we understand and acknowledge this connection the stronger it will be in our thought and experience and the less susceptible we will be to other influences.  This divine connection is described in the Bible as Immanuel, Emmanuel, or God-with-us, and is more commonly referred to as the Christ.  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, described this divine influence in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as "ever present in human consciousness, and repeating itself".  Eddy goes on to say that the mission of this influence now is as it was described hundreds of years ago by the prophet Isaiah: "To preach deliverance to the captives [of sense], and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

Christmas time is a celebration of the appearance of the Christ in human experience as Jesus.  The Christmas story tells us how we can experience this appearing of the Christ in our own experience.  We need to have "room at the inn" - a place in our consciousness free from distractions where there is room for the Christ-thought to take root.  We have to follow the guiding star that is always shining in our experience and hear the angel messages that can be discerned by thought that is quietly listening and diligently watching.  And, we need to be open and aware that the Christ can and will come in unexpected ways, like a seemingly helpless baby born to a humble family.

I experienced this connection with God and its protecting power against outside influences last week.  I awoke in the middle of the night sneezing and feeling chills.  I could feel the influence of the popular thought that seasonal ailments were making the rounds and entering our experience.  However, instead of giving in and going along with this influence, I turned my thought to my connection with God.  I thought about how God had made me in His image and likeness and that as God's creation I was now and forever (not just once upon a time) very good.  I acknowledged that the Christ was present in my consciousness and was speaking to me of my God-maintained health.  I went back to sleep with my thought connected to these truths about God and man.  When I awoke the next morning, I had no sign of illness and I have remained healthy and strong.

The Christ is present in the thought of each one of us, not just on Christmas, but every day.  This is our unbreakable connection to God and knowledge of this is our protection from any other influence.

How to Pray? Know the Truth!

Our bird Cocoa enjoys the house too!

A friend and I were talking about prayer.  "If you want a car", she said, "do you ask God for a car?"

My prayers follow the instructions Jesus gave us when he said "Know the truth, and the truth will make you free".  So how does that instruction translate into a prayer that brings practical results?  Let me give you an example.

My family was moving to a new community and we needed a house. We took the human footsteps of contacting a real estate agent and shopping for houses.  The task seemed daunting.  It was a large community that was unfamiliar to us and far from our current home. There were many neighborhoods and houses to choose from, but none seemed to be just what our family needed.  I knew that God could lead us to an affordable house in the right location that would meet the needs of our family.  How could I follow Jesus's direction to "know the truth"?  What was the truth about our family's situation?

Psalms 23 says:  "...I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever".  As I prayed about our house hunting, I acknowledged in my prayers this truth that my family was forever dwelling in the house of the Lord.  What is the house of the Lord like? I made a list of the qualities that I thought would be found and supported in the house of the Lord.  This wasn't a list of physical characteristics such as number of rooms or distance from schools.  These qualities included togetherness, inclusiveness, peace, sanctuary, humility, inspiration, having room for the Christ-spirit, within and overlooking God's kingdom, affordable, humble, fun, friendship, convenience, privacy, community, firm foundation, enduring, and flawless function.

Before each house-hunting trip, I looked over this list of qualities and acknowledged the truth that my family's dwelling in the house of the Lord included and always would include those qualities.  Each time we walked into a prospective home, I'd run through this list of qualities in my thought.  Did I see these qualities expressed in that house?  Even though we didn't seem to be finding what we needed, our search remained pleasant, calm, fun, and stress-free.

One day, the Realtor took us to a house that had just come on the market.  It was in a location we had not been considering, included features that we had not wanted, and was on the high-side of our price range.  Was it right for us?  I ran through the list of qualities and found that every quality was supported and expressed by that house.  We easily made the decision and purchased the house with confidence.  In the days that followed, every time I found myself wondering if we had made the right decision, I would remember the basis for my decision and my confidence would return.

We've lived in the house for over ten years now.  It has proved to be a perfect home for us, including many ways that we did not recognize or anticipate when we made the decision to purchase it.  As our family grows and changes there will come a time when we should move on.  I know that we will always be dwelling in the house of the Lord and that reliance on and acknowledgment of that truth in prayer will lead us to the right human expression of our next home.  As Jesus promised us - knowing the truth is an effective way to pray!

Is Prayer an Effective Action?

There was a recent article in my local paper about the Reverend Sam Childers.  Rev. Childers, who refers to himself as the "Machine Gun Preacher", is a Christian who's ministry involves rescuing orphans and fighting warlords in Sudan's Darfur region.  While Childers' ministry of gun-toting action is thought-provoking, what really caught my attention was a comment by one of Childers' supporters who made a derisive reference to "Christians that just want to sit on their hands and pray".

Just pray? - the implication is that prayer is not enough, that prayer itself is not a complete solution.  Is that so?

While it is true that prayer can lead one to take decisive action, the Bible provides ample proof that prayer alone can be sufficient to solve the most difficult situations.  Elijah won his fire-lighting contest with the prophets of Baal solely through his prayers of humble obedience (see I Kings, chapter 18).  Jesus fed the multitudes with five loaves and two fish solely through his prayer-grounded certainty that God satisfies (see Matthew, chapter 14).  Paul and Silas were freed from prison solely through their prayers and songs of praise (see Acts, chapter 16).

In my own experience, I've witnessed prayer alone resolve conflicts, produce solutions to technical problems, find lost articles, and heal physical injuries and sickness.  My experience has been that prayer alone can be very, very effective.

When we feel led to take human action as a result of our prayers, there is always the risk that we are mistaken.  One need look no further for examples of misguided actions than the many religiously-inspired suicide bombers or those that bomb abortion clinics.  So while I cautiously applaud individuals who sincerely endeavor to put their prayers into proper action, I challenge you with this question:  Why not just pray?

Healing a strained muscle

Just over a week ago, I was playing basketball with some friends when I suddenly pulled a muscle in my leg.  I could walk gingerly, but running was painfully impossible.  Concern flooded my thoughts.  My friends and I were going to do a high ropes course the next day, and rock climbing the following two days.  Would I be able to participate?

I immediately pushed these fears aside and followed some advice that I have found successfully heals apparent injury from accidents.  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and discoverer of Christian Science, writes in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, 'I am hurt!'  Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real.  Now reverse the process.  Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be."

How could I understandingly declare that I wasn't hurt?  I could do this because I have learned that God has made man in His image and likeness and that man is a spiritual being with God-given dominion over all the earth (see Genesis chapter 1).  Psalms 91 says that God gives his angels charge over us so that we can not injure ourselves.  These Biblical truths mean to me that I am subject to God's law of harmony, not laws of physiology that say man can be subject to limitations and flaws of muscles and sinews.  Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, demonstrated these truths when he instantly healed a man that had never walked (see Acts chapter 3).

To understand these points, I had to be thoroughly persuaded of the truth of these statements.  I couldn't just mouth these truths, I had to really feel in my heart that they were true.  I persistently affirmed these Biblical truths of my God-created condition every time I was conscious of pain or difficulty walking.  I was able to complete the activities for that evening.  The next day, after completing the high ropes course, I realized that I had not noticed my leg muscles at all.  There was only a slight stiffness and this was entirely gone and forgotten by the following day.  I enjoyed two days of active rock climbing with no pain or stiffness whatsoever!

Our Wings - The First Commandment

A friend and I were sitting on a log at the edge of a stream. In front of us was a small waterfall. As we sat, we watched a duck apparently playing with the current. The duck would drift slowly backwards towards the falls. Then, just when it seemed about to go over the falls, it would paddle vigorously upstream against the current for a few yards - and then repeat the process. One time though, it got too close to the edge, could not escape the current, and was carried backwards over the falls. However, the duck did not land with a violent splash. Instead, it twisted around, spread its wings, and landed gracefully in the quiet pool below the falls.

My friend commented that life can be like that too. When events seem to carry us out of control over a precipice, we can spread our wings - our spiritual understanding of God - and experience a graceful landing.

I've been thinking about this. What are my wings? I've decided that one of the most important elements of my spiritual wings is the first Commandment - "You shall have no other gods beside me" (Exodus 20, English Standard version).

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and the discoverer of Christian Science, wrote in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "The First Commandment is my favorite text. ... it signifies that man shall have no other spirit or mind but God, eternal good, and that all men shall have one Mind." Eddy goes on to elaborate the benefits that come from realizing this truth that all men have no other spirit or mind but God. She writes, "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love they neighbor as thyself', annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, - whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed."

Just as you have to spread you wings to use them, you have to apply this commandment to your situation, consistently hold to the truth of this law in your heart, and let it guide your actions. I've listed many examples in this blog of healings that result from this simple process. Time and time again in my life, when I find myself seemingly plunging over the falls of life, I have found that by contemplating and really holding strongly in my heart the lesson of this Commandment, I have been able to spread my spiritual wings, arrest my fall, and land safely. You can too!

The Baby Ways of Christ

The Christ, which I like to describe as the power of God's presence and presence of God's power, is always with each one of us. Why aren't we more aware of this Christ-presence in our lives? One reason may be that we don't know what to look for. At the beginning of the Christian era, the Jewish people were expecting a Messiah. But, they were looking for a great military or political leader and so almost no one was aware of the quiet birth of the baby Jesus taking place in a manger in the bustling city of Bethlehem. According to the Biblical accounts, only a few shepherds and three wisemen were aware of this significant event.

The Christ is still appearing to each one of us today in what I call little baby ways - seemingly insignificant signs and occurrences that touch and bless us in ways that we may not be aware of.

For example, recently, after lunch with a friend, I intended to run some errands before I returned home. As I got into my car, I noticed that I had spilled a bit of ketchup on my pants. I thought to myself, "No big deal, I'll run my errands and then go home and clean it up". However, I was filled with a strong urge to go home first and clean my pants. Although this seemed unnecessary and a waste of time, I simply could not overcome that urge, so I drove home without doing the errands. As I walked into my home, the telephone rang. It was an unexpected, important call that required me to take some immediate action. I was so grateful that I was there to take the call.

Some might say that this incident was a fortunate coincidence. I've come to recognize this as one of the baby ways that the Christ touches our lives. In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian author and healer, describes this divine influence as "ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself". As we learn to recognize the baby ways of the Christ we will see more and more of this divine influence in our lives.

One Mind Knows and Governs All

Earlier this week, I had to renew the registration on my vehicle. I paid for the registration renewal, took the new tags for my license plates, and drove home. The next day I realized that I had forgotten to put the new tags on the plates. Where were they? I looked everywhere...in the car, in my office, around the house, in the car again. They were nowhere to be found.

That evening, I prayed quietly about the missing tags. I thought about how God is the one divine Mind that knows and governs all...ALL. Knowing and governing all doesn't mean God knows some things and governs sometimes. I pondered this point and really embraced it with my heart. I still didn't know where the tags were, but felt that I had done all that I could and had to leave the rest to God.

The next day, I drove to the town office to buy another pair of tags. I parked and leaned over to reach down into the glove compartment to pull out the necessary papers. With my face level with the passenger seat, I looked back and saw the edge of my missing tags sticking out of the crack between the seat and the seat back. God, the divine Mind, knew where my tags were and had guided me to find them!

Footprints, Seaweed, Sand …. and Stones

There are many interesting objects and sights on a beach. Each one has a unique story to tell. The ever shifting sand records the footprints of a passing jogger or wandering beach comber. Seaweed washed up by the tide tells of life in an offshore underwater world. Stones spell out an elaborate tale of mountain formation, ancient life, and erosion. Then a wave pours over the scene and the items wash away or vanish altogether and the stories are gone … except for the stones.

Life seems like a beach sometimes. We surround ourselves with friends and possessions, we have joys and accomplishments, and then a wave of misfortune or new opportunity hits us and the scene changes – sometimes into a more interesting scene, sometimes into a seemingly blank stretch of life’s beach.

But the stones always remain.

What are the stones on the beach of life? The things that remain when all else seems to change or pass away? One stone that I’ve come to recognize and cherish is our relationship with God. The Bible is full of ideas about this relationship, each one forming a permanent stone of truth on our beach of life.

Take for example, the Lord’s Prayer (found in Matthew, chapter 5). This prayer starts out with the declaration: “Our Father which art in heaven”. God is our Father. That is a stone that forever remains with us. Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, wrote her spiritual sense of the Lord’s Prayer in her major work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She interprets this first line of the prayer as “Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious”. No matter what happens in life, we are never separated from our all-harmonious Father-Mother God!

Here is the Lord’s Prayer with Eddy’s spiritual sense of it in italics. These are stones that will always be on your beach!

Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,

Hallowed be Thy name.
Adorable One.

Thy kingdom come.
Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know, -- as in heaven, so on earth, -- God is omnipotent, supreme.

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.

Why I Choose Christian Healing

Some things aren't what our physical senses tell us they are. For example, the earth isn't flat and the ocean doesn't, as sailors once thought, flow off the edge of the world at the horizon. But what about our physical health? Is it entirely controlled by matter and best maintained by material, medical practices?

With all the debate about access to modern health care going on, it sometimes surprises people to learn that my preferred form of health care is almost 2000 years old and freely accessible to anyone - Christian healing. By Christian healing, I am referring to healing through an understanding of God, as practiced by Jesus and his disciples. Jesus expected his followers to heal as well. He told them, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free", "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also", and "These signs shall follow them that believe ... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".

Healing was an important part of the early Christian church. Although today, Christians of many denominations experience healing through their own prayers and the prayers of others, Christian healing is widely ignored or regarded as a supplement to medical care. This is largely because few understand how to consistently practice and achieve results through Christian healing.

In 1875, a New England woman, Mary Baker Eddy, published a book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that explained the Science of Christian healing. Throughout my life, I have turned to this Science, which Eddy named Christian Science, to heal physical ills and injuries, as well as difficulties in my work and personal relationships. In my experience, Christian healing has met my needs reliably and effectively. You can read about a few of my healings by following the "Healing" label on the right side of this blog.

Here is one more example of how Christian healing met the needs of my family:

One day, my five-year old son developed a fever and spots appeared on his body. We took him to a Christian Science nurse in our community who gave us practical advice on how to care for our son and advised us to report his situation to the county health department.

The woman I reached by telephone at the county health department asked a number of questions about my son's symptoms. She said that this was a sickness going around in the community and that there was really nothing to do about it other than to keep my son away from other children and let it run it's course. She described to me all the physical symptoms and discomfort I would witness in my son over the next several days and asked me to call her back in three days to let her know how he was doing.

After concluding my telephone call with the county health department, I called a Christian Science practitioner who agreed to pray for my son. My wife and I also prayed as we had learned from our study of Eddy's book. Our prayers were not helpless pleadings for God to heal my son, but conscientious, heartfelt affirmations of the truth about God and His creation, man, as proclaimed by the Bible and explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Among other truths, the Bible tells us that God made man in His image, that God gave man dominion over all the earth, that God loves us, and that now are we the sons of God.

After about an hour of consecrated prayer, I felt calm and confident in God's presence and care. Shortly, the fever left my son and he began playing normally. The next day the spots that had been all over his body faded and disappeared. He was his normal, happy self!

After three days, as directed, I called and spoke with the woman at the county health department. She asked if various, specific symptoms had appeared since our previous conversation. I told her "No", and explained how the fever had left and the spots had disappeared. There was a long silence on the phone. Then she replied, "I guess it wasn't what I thought it was."

Whether or not the illness was what she thought it was, or whether disease in general is what medical science thinks it is, the cure, Christian healing, is something we should all know more about. I continue to explore this method of health care, which, although revealed long ago, continues to be an idea far in advance of the thinking of our times. Christian healing is available for you to explore also. You don't have to wait for Congress to make it available to you!

The Gift of Christmas

The evergreen conifer tree with wrapped gift packages under its boughs is a common symbol of Christmas. To me, a more meaningful symbol would be a grove of aspens. Why the aspen tree? Aspen trees grow in colonies. If we could look below the surface under these trees we would see that each one is a sprout growing from a single massive root system. The aspen is therefore an excellent symbol of our unity with God and one another. This unity is the basis for the brotherhood, hope, and peace of the Christmas message.

The unity of God and man is described by the prophet that, foretelling the advent of Christmas, wrote "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew). Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, described the sign of Emmanuel, or Christ, as "a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself...". The apostle Paul also spoke of this gift of the Christ when he wrote to the Ephesians "God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. ...For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus (New Living Translation)".

Each one of us is forever unified with the Christ, the divine Spirit whose appearance, presence, and activity in the human experience the Christmas season celebrates. In my experience, I find that a conscious recognition and acknowledgment of my own and others' unity in Christ and of the Christ influence present in everyone's consciousness resolves conflicts, enhances receptivity to divine guidance, and brings physical healing. The true gift of Christmas is the revelation of our unity with Christ and this is best symbolized, not by wrapped boxes under a conifer, but by the single root system found under the aspen!

"Before they call, I will answer"

On a visit to Japan, I was intrigued by an incident I observed at a Shinto shrine. The shrine was located in a beautiful Japanese garden. As my family was walking past it, a man came up and placed a food offering on the altar of the shrine. He then pulled vigorously on the shrine’s bell rope, ringing its bell loudly. My son, who had studied Japanese culture, explained that the man was waking up the god that lived in the shrine so that the god would see the offering that had been left for it and respond to the man’s prayers.

This incident prompted me to consider my own interaction with God. How do I communicate with God? Do I have to do something to get God’s attention? Is God asleep and inattentive to or unaware of my needs?

I’m experiencing that God is always aware of and responding to my needs (for examples, follow my blog links on “Healing” and “Guidance and Direction”). I love the prophet Isaiah’s description of God’s awareness of us. He quoted God as saying “Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65)

But what about when we can’t seem to feel God’s presence or God doesn’t seem to respond? The Bible tells us of the experience of Joseph (See Genesis chapters 37 to 47). For much of the first part of his life it seemed that anything but God was in control. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. As a slave in a foreign land, he refused to sin against his master and consequently was lied about and thrown in prison. However, all these seemingly untoward circumstances brought Joseph to where God needed him to be and Joseph was able to serve Pharaoh and save the Egyptian people and his own family from famine.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Divinity is always ready. Semper paratus [always ready] is Truth’s motto.” God is always ready. Perhaps when we don’t witness God’s direction in our lives it is because we are not ready to see it. Or perhaps we don’t need to see God’s direction; we just need to trust that God is unfolding everything according to His plan.

I’ve experienced times too when I’ve wondered where God is and if God hears me. When this happens, I’m learning to resist the temptation to be anxious and bemoan the apparent absence of God’s response. I am recognizing that it is material sense and human will that is impatiently demanding answers and signs from God. These times are a test of my obedience and faith. Humility, meekness, unwavering trust in God, and my willingness to wait on Him are demanded. Psalms says: “Be still and know that I am God”. This is a time to exercise patience – a patience that is a calm trust and steadfast acknowledgment that God is in control. It is a time to exercise humility, and like Jesus, say “Thy will be done”. It is a time to be grateful – to remember my blessings and be grateful for even the smallest ones.

I don’t need to ring a bell to get God’s attention. Like Joseph, I can patiently await the logic of events. Sooner or later God’s hand is apparent and I see that God has always been actively responding to my need.

The Language of the Christ

I was devastated. A person that I had trusted had dealt treacherously with me, effectively sabotaging a month of difficult work and leaving me in an awkward relationship with those that I had been working with. Not knowing what to do or where to turn, I went for a long walk to clear my thought. I knew that I needed more than human advice and comfort. I needed the Christ.

The Christ is God's power and love appearing to us and touching our lives in humanly practical ways that save and heal. Mary Baker Eddy tells us in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures that we don't have to wait for the Christ to come. Instead, she describes the Christ as "...a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself...".

But how do we hear the Christ? In what language does it speak to us? As I walked that day, I listened and listened, but no words came to my consciousness. I stopped walking and in desperation I asked myself, "Why can't I hear the Christ? I know that the Christ is here, speaking to me now."

As I stood there I looked up. It was late autumn, but the trees still had a colorful tint, the sun was shining brightly, white wisps of clouds were being painted across the brilliant blue sky, the air was cool, but comfortable. I gazed at this scene for several minutes. I realized that the Christ was speaking to me at that moment, but not in English, Spanish, Chinese, or any human words at all. It was the language of the Christ. I can't repeat the message - I don't know words that can adequately express the message that I received. I can only tell you that I felt at peace.

Seeing God's Plan for You

In the Bible book of Psalms we read: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Ps 119). I like to think of this passage when I look to God for guidance. God always has a plan of goodness for us. However, this plan may not fit our preconceived ideas of what we want. Sometimes we have to open our eyes (lay aside our preconceptions and move forward with trust) to see God’s plan.

Here is an example. My wife, son, and I were on vacation in Japan. It was late November, the leaves were changing color, and there were signs of the approaching winter. We had planned to go for a hike in the mountains to enjoy the fall colors. The sky was clear when our bus pulled out of Hiroshima and I was excited with anticipation of a beautiful autumn hike. However, as we drove further into the mountains it became overcast and rain began falling. When the bus pulled into the small mountain town where we had planned to start our hike, we saw to our dismay that snow had fallen the night before. A steady light rain was now falling, turning the snow into a sloppy, white blanket.

The bus pulled away, leaving us shivering in the cold rain in this seemingly deserted mountain town. What should we do now? I always feel that God is guiding me, but for a moment this seemed like something had gone wrong with God’s plan. We had several hours to spend before a bus was scheduled to come that would take us back to the city. What should we do? Where could we spend the time? I resisted the temptation to feel discouraged and sorry for ourselves. I knew God was with us – He is always with each one of us. I knew that God was the only cause and causes only good for His children. God has a plan for us every day and we can trust that plan.

“Let’s go take a look”, I suggested. Most of the shops and cafes along the single street of this small town were closed. It was clearly the off-season. Near the end of the street, not far from where we had planned to start our hike, there was an open shop. By the door were three umbrellas on sale – only $5 each. Were they there for us ...? We purchased the umbrellas and continued on.

Arriving at the trailhead, we paused. Alone, staring at the water-saturated, snow-covered path with a steady drizzle falling on our umbrellas, we hesitated and questioned whether we should proceed. The sense that God was guiding us prevailed and we hiked forward up the trail.

What a wonderful day we had!

The trail led up a narrow, wooded gorge. The leaves were at their peak color and starting to fall. White snow, brilliant wet leaves, and swirling mist combined to create a magical setting. Unlike our other walks on this trip, in which we had been consistently accompanied by crowds of other tourists, we had this magical wonderland to ourselves. One of the few people we did meet on the trail kindly offered to take a picture of us with our camera. We hiked all day and arrived back in town just in time to catch our bus.

That was one of the most memorable days on our trip. Yes, the scenery had been beautiful and we enjoyed our time together, but best of all was that affirmation of God’s law of goodness and that experience of opening our eyes to behold wondrous things.