Evangelism

I gotta be honest, I don't like the word "evangelism". Whenever I hear it I just see that timid youth group kid awkwardly asking me the scripted line off of a clipboard that is supposed to deceive people into thinking they're taking a survey, "If you were to die today, would you know for certain that you would get into heaven?" I then respond with, "Of course! I'm a Christian too. God bless. I will be praying for your ministry." But that answer is not good enough for the chaperone firmly overshadowing this terrified preteen. Convert, CONVERT, CONVERT! So as I turn to walk away I hear, "No, but are you sure you would get into heaven?" I assure you this has happened to me on more than one occasion and the only thing I feel I can do in this situation is turn and walk away.

Now I don't really think "evangelism" should be a word. Just hear me out here. Think of the best restaurant you've ever eaten at. After you ate there, what did you do? Did you go to a class to figure out analogies to explain to people how good that restaurant was? Did you awkwardly stand in the middle of the mall stopping random shoppers asking them if they had ever eaten at that restaurant? No, you told every person you came into conversation with about this restaurant and what you ordered and how good it was and how attentive the server was and so on. Why? Because you experienced something good and you want those who you care about to experience it too. The latter is love, the former sounds a bit more like advertising doesn't it?

Matthew 22:37-39 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

If you feel the urge to evangelize for any other reason than love, just don't evangelize. What you need to work on first is loving, then "evangelism" will come naturally. 

DISCLAIMER:

I am not opposed to evangelism. I am opposed to the flawed practices that some call evangelism that do not advance the Kingdom of God and in times actually hinder it.

I'm back

After talking my wife's ear off for the past few days I've decided I need to start blogging again. I've got a bunch of stuff sitting in my head that's waiting to get out. Unfortunately I must be at work in less than 8hrs so I'll be off to bed now.

Anger

Anger is another emotion that has become widely abused in not only secular society but also in Christian culture. What it is, where it comes from and when, if ever, it is appropriate seems to have become greatly misunderstood.

In my observation I've seen 3 major types of anger abuse (I'm no counselor so these are just my personal observations). The short fuse, the closet rager and the passive aggressive. The short fuse is that guy that just snaps at anything and lets everyone know how mad he is. The closet rager is the gentleman that you couldn't find a single fault in unless you were one of the unlucky few that was closest to him. They usually take they're anger out on immediate family members and live a "perfect" life to the world. The passive aggressive don't seem like they have ever experienced anger in their entire life. They go through life wearing such rose colored glasses it can sometimes be annoying. They tend to mask their anger with passive aggressiveness to keep that fine and dandy character.

So what is anger? It is an emotional reaction to, what we believe to be, an injustice. When someone tells you not to be so angry, they should be telling you to stop acting out in anger. A couple of weeks ago I got in a car accident. The other driver ran the red light and hit us and somehow I received the ticket. Was I angry? You bet I was! There was a clear injustice against me. Did that injustice make me angry? Absolutely not!

I understand if that makes no sense right now. Let me explain. When I become angry, it is my reaction to a situation. I essentially choose to feel anger. No one/thing can take responsibility for what I feel. That's kind of relieving if you think about it. If I do something, without sinning, and someone gets angry about it, I don't have take responsibility for it. That's not to say that you should be insensitive towards others and not try to reconcile. Unfortunately the world doesn't quite have a grasp on that reality yet.

In this example, I will be honest to my readers and tell you that I did in fact sin, but it wasn't purely my anger that was a sin. In Ephesians, Paul tells us not to sin in our anger. When I received the ticket and felt anger for the injustice, I hadn't sinned quite yet. When I got into the back seat of my mother's soccer mom van and started yapping about how stupid that blanking blankety blank driver was, I was sinning. Actually even before I began speaking I was sinning just by thinking those things.

It seems so easy to let anger drive our actions many times. That being said, we need to learn how to take control of that emotion that God has blessed us with and use in a way that it can glorify Him. I love the story of Jesus in Matthew 21 where he walks into the temple to find it turned into a market place and starts flipping tables telling the people that His house is a house of prayer but they turned it into a den of thieves. I'm not saying that you should start flipping tables every time you get upset. What I am saying is that you can use your anger to identify an injustice, rebuke it and correct it. Without feeling anger, I know sometimes I wouldn't even have the drive to correct a wrong doing. Rebuking people is pretty much never easy.

You'll also notice that once Jesus rebukes these people, he goes back to healing people. This is the perfect example of justified anger. Jesus doesn't hold a grudge against these people or let it ruin his day, he goes right back to doing his thing. You know what, I wouldn't be surprised if Jesus' blood paid for the sins of some of those buyers and sellers.

So next time something happens that makes you angry, don't harbor that anger and let it turn to bitterness or let everyone know how angry you are by having an outrage or try hiding your anger and letting it come out in passive aggressive defiance; face it head on, let it surface in a way that glorifies God and then let it go. I know that God glorifying anger seems like an oxymoron and it may be difficult to get over the idea that anger is across the board a sin, but with prayer and dedication, I can see some really cool things coming from some angry Christians.

Your diet and the Gospel

I have a passionate distaste for vegetarianism. No, I do not hate vegetarians (love the sinner, hate the sin). And it's not because I've worked in foodservice since I was 15 and dread having to make special meals for people with "alternative lifestyles." The reason I have such strong feelings for this issue is because of the Gospel.

I bet you're a little confused right now. What does (not) eating meat have to do with the Gospel?! I'll tell you.

Remember that whole story about Adam and Eve? Eve eats the forbidden fruit, Adam chooses to join her, they unsuccessfully try and hide from God, God kicks them out, they're cursed with pain in childbirth and hardship in labor and then God makes clothes of [animal] skin for them. It is safe to say that this animal was killed not only for the well being of Adam and Eve but as a sacrifice for their sin.

So from day one Adam and Eve have embedded in their subconscious that because of their sin, a life must be taken in order for theirs to continue. They have a clear understanding of the Gospel just by watching what God had just done for them. And what they witnessed was prophesy of what was to come, Christ's life being taken in order to save us from eternal death. Now that we are free from having to sacrifice animals, we still have the constant reminder, reality check and reflection of the Gospel in our diet.

I do understand that it is possible to live a bland healthy life without eating animal products, but if you have the opportunity to reflect the Gospel in something you do 3 times a day, why would you choose not to? I admire those who hunt because they get even closer to understanding this parallel. I think that every person should one day kill an animal and eat it for dinner for this very reason.

When I ask people why they are vegetarian, the most common responses are, "animal cruelty," or "I don't like meat." My response to the first quote would be Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

To the second I would ask what things we do regularly for our own good that we don't like doing. I personally hate brushing my teeth, but I do it daily because its good for me. If we do stuff all the time that isn't enjoyable but is good for us then why can't we do something we don't enjoy that is good for the Kingdom.

What if you're not a Christian? Who cares about animal cruelty if you believe in Darwin's survival of the fittest. If you're going to believe in evolution at least live it. And if you don't like the way meat tastes, man up and take one for your species and chow down on some lesser species so that maybe one day we can grow wings and fly, saving our country billions of dollars in air travel and eliminating our dependence on oil (excuse my blatant sarcasm).

Tomorrow morning, throw some unborn chickens and some pig belly on the griddle and rejoice knowing that you don't have to go and kill an animal for your sins since Jesus already died for all of them.

Pastor appreciation month

I want to tell you about my pastor.
My pastor is my friend.
My pastor is a mentor.
My pastor doesn't preach what you want to hear but what you need to hear.
My pastor isn't on a giant projector screen.
My pastor doesn't have stadium seating.
My pastor isn't a comedian (that's not to say he doesn't have a great sense of humor).
My pastor doesn't sway with trends.
My pastor is educated.
My pastor is honest and open.
My pastor isn't a motivational speaker.
My pastor doesn't care about money.
My pastor dedicates 110% to the Kingdom.
My pastor doesn't play politics.
My pastor cares equally for every single person who walks through the door.
My pastor has a radiating passion in all the work he does.
My pastor does not play favorites.
My pastor has dedicated his life to bless others.
My pastor has changed my life.
My pastor is Dr. Norm Wise.

Telling yourself the truth

We are all big fat freaking liars! Whoa, what a way to start out a post, right?! Just bear with me for a minute.

We all tell ourselves our life story as it happens. As you go through life we tell ourselves what we are perceiving. It sounds kind of ridiculous only because it happens so naturally that we don't notice it. Think about it. When something noteworthy happens in your life and you go and tell a friend, you're telling your friend a story of a part of your life. And before telling this story you had to process your experience.

Tell me if you've ever had this experience: you tell a story to a friend and your friend interprets what happened differently than you did and all of the sudden you see the situation in a whole new light. You generally experience an emotional reaction which then affects how you deal with the given situation.

What I'm trying to get at is that we all have the ability to affect ourselves the way the friend affected you in my previous example. It all lies in the story we tell ourselves. We can wake up every morning thinking, "Wow life sucks," and you'll never want to get out of bed or we can think, "Wow, isn't it amazing that God has blessed me with another day on this earth," and I'm sure the results will be different.

The trouble with this is that we've been raised in an ungrateful and cynical society that scoffs at positive thinking. We also feel a little crazy when we actively tell ourselves something that we know we don't quite believe. There's also nothing the people of the US love more than instant gratification. Unfortunately, telling yourself the truth falls into all these things that we don't like. We need to first catch ourselves when we have the urge to be negative and then we need to take that thought and replace it with something realistic and positive.

Now the worst part about this is it takes a lot of time and effort to really have it affect your life. It's a proven fact that the subconscious needs repetition to believe something. There's certain aspects of my life that I'm still trying to get control of, but I know my life would be miserable had I not chosen to take control of what I tell myself.

YAY!

There's finally a Blogger iPhone app. I think I'll be able to update much more frequently now!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Emotions

Being a musician, emotions and feelings are a big part of my life.  Music would be rather bland and pointless if we didn't possess emotions.  I can't tell you how pumped I get in a pile up on a catchy sing-along at a local show.  How great does it feel when you hear a song that can relate to you?  Emotions are such an awesome gift that God has sprinkled into our lives.  Without them we would just be robots.  They allow us to enjoy life and can sometime help us make difficult decisions.  Have you ever found yourself about to make a poor decision and changed your mind because you felt guilty?  I know I have.

Just like all the other blessings God has graciously given us, emotions can be used in ways unintended.  Emotions are great to consider when making difficult decisions, but it seems as if in modern times they have become the sole factor in our decision making process.  Do you think such a vast amount of Americans would suffer from such terrible credit card debt if decisions were based on wise reason rather than rampant emotions?

In order to understand the point I'm making, you need to properly understand emotions (an understanding that most of America lacks).  Emotions are not feelings that just exist with no control or reason, rather emotions are a byproduct of our subconscious.  People tend to think that the emotions that they feel are directly related to their respective circumstances.  This is false.  As we go through life, everything we experience is first filtered through our subconscious and then we are filled with the emotion that our subconscious is trained to respond with.

I'll give you an example.  My father is a musician and my mother is a colored pencil artist (check out her AMAZING work at anitaorsini.blogspot.com!) who grew up in an era filled with self discovery and rebellion of the social norm.  So as I grew up I was always taught to be myself and not care what people thought.  I was enrolled in a private Christian school from Pre-K through 12th grade.  This school had more rules than you could possibly image.  No long hair, no piercing, no facial hair, no tattoos, no flip flops, tuck your shirt in... you get the idea.  So this atmosphere was obviously completely contrary to that which I was raised in.  Therefore, I felt anger towards my school and rebelled by finding any loophole I could in the rules.  Now whenever I am in any atmosphere of legalism, I feel anger.  I feel as if I'm being controlled, changed and dehumanized.  Is this always the case?  Most of the time, no.

Some of my anger may be righteous but when turned to rebellion and discord it is obviously not.  This has been an ongoing struggle in my life.  So who do I blame for my negative feelings and poor reactions?  Myself.  I can't take responsibility for others actions, only mine.  And just because I feel something doesn't make it reality.  Since my feelings are not necessarily reality than it would be foolish to make it reality without serious consideration.

In order to wisely utilize our feelings and emotions we need to learn how to control them by means of controlling our subconscious.  If we let our subconscious run wild then we let our emotions run wild leaving our entire life in chaos and discord.

Marriage: Part 2

If you haven't yet, go ahead and read Marriage: Part 1.

Now how about husbands?  A lot of men enjoy focussing on the first part of Ephesians 5:22-33 and choose ignore the huge paragraph that talks to them.  Let's be honest, it's a lot easier to point the finger and ask someone else to fix themselves rather than take responsibility for yourself.

It starts off by telling husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.  What does that mean?  Christ's entire life here on earth was dedicated to the church.  He loved those who didn't deserve love, He loved without condition, and He loved to the point of torture and death for those completely undeserving.  So as husbands, we are to mirror this type of love.  I find it difficult sometimes to love my wife when she's done something to upset me, but we are called to love unconditionally.  Unconditional love is really the only true form of love and is extremely difficult, requiring much discipline and self control.

What else was Christ to the church?  Christ was, and still is, our leader.  Wives are supposed to submit and follow us as leaders but how can they do so if we don't make ourselves leaders.  That doesn't mean to selfishly dictate and take advantage of our wives.  It means that we need to step up and utilized the tools and resources provided by our Lord to become leaders.  We need to reflect Christ in every way, especially in our marriage.

I heard on Grace FM one time, I wish I could remember who it was so that I could give proper credit, a depiction of the Biblical model of marriage.  We're met with somewhat of a paradox, man and wife are joined and become one flesh (equal) but yet the wife is to submit to the husband seemingly making this balance unequal.  In this model the wife kneels before her husband in love, respect and submission but at the same time the husband lifts up his wife in love, admiration and respect so that they can face one another eye to eye!  I found this to be so poetic and beautiful!  Please read the following from Ephesians with that model in mind, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Doesn't that create such a beautiful and glorious image in your mind?!

This country's divorce rate is not the least bit surprising to me when reading through Ephesians 5.  But my question still remains unanswered, "Why get married if you're not a Christian?"  The only answers that seem to come to mind are to create a stable environment for which to raise children or to create a false sense of a commitment.  Studies do show that homes with both a mother and father produce better functioning children.  As far as commitment goes, marriage just makes for a messy legal breakup known as divorce, which isn't stopping half of America.

So I'm going to conclude this by saying, please don't get married for "tradition" or "because it feels right" or some washed up meaningless reason like that.  Put some freaking work into it and stop turning this beautiful, amazing gift that God has blessed us with into a joke.

Honesty

I'm going to diverge a little bit just to give you a little insight into myself today.

I seem to have been struck with a bout of depression and maybe a hint of anxiety.  I find that when I get depressed it's either a direct cause of something happening in my life or it comes about as though I've caught a cold, I can guess where it came from but it's all just speculation.  I find this particular case to be among the latter as well as the most frustrating.  I've been digging my mind for hours trying to find the source of these debilitating emotions that seem to have latched onto me today.  If I find the source of the problem then I can fix it right?  Sometimes this is true, but even if I can't fix it I feel slightly eased knowing where this is coming from.  

When I was faced with my appendectomy, I was so overwhelmed by the extreme pain in my abdomen.  It was a pain that I had never before experienced.  I was doing ridiculous things like hanging upside down from my bed just to try and ease this mysterious ailment.  When my worried wife and mother finally convinced me to go to the ER and we discovered the source of my agony; I was relieved even though I knew I would soon encounter my first ever surgery.  The words, "You have appendicitis," were more calming than the powerful painkillers they would soon inject intravenously.  Why is this?

It may have something to do with my Mr. Fix It mentality.  Growing up, my father would fix and build everything and much of the time I was by his side helping or watching at least.  Soon after learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, I learned how to fix the chain that I had just popped off the sprocket.  After a hurricane would hit, my dad and I would be out in the backyard replacing the fence that had just been blown over.  It is in my very nature to fix!  Fixing things is part of what, I feel at least, makes me a man.  Therefore I am digging myself deeper in this pit of depression because not only am I depressed, but I can't find the source, meaning I can't fix it which in turn makes me more depressed!  Freakin' catch 22!

I'm pretty sure I suffer from some form of chemical imbalance that can be fixed with some meds.  Now you're probably thinking, "So he tells us to go to a psychologist but he doesn't go himself?!  Hypocrite!"  Yes, I know, I know.  In my defense, my finances aren't quite stable at the moment and, unfortunately, the whole process of becoming properly medicated can be a bit financially draining.  But that is a completely separate rant that will probably be dedicated to its own post later on.  So for now I think I'll wrap this case up by saying that this is the source of a chemical imbalance that will be dealt with when my finances are stable enough to do so.  In fact, just typing this up has made me feel quite a bit better.

I think I'll conclude this with a picture of my recent antidepressants.  Nothing like taking funny Photobooth pictures with the woman of my dreams, my amazing sister in law, Chiara, and the darn coolest puppy ever, Walter:

Marriage: Part 1

This friday my sister-in-law is getting married.  I am extremely happy for her, but in light of all the preparations, I began to think about marriage more strongly.

One question that seems to keep coming into my mind over and over, and that I've shared with my wife, is, "Why get married if you're not a Christian?"  This question may come off as ignorant or elitist but it's not intended.  I have truly been tossing this question around for days.

In Christianity there are many reasons and purposes for marriage.  The one most profound to me is how marriage is a reflection of the Gospel.  It astounds me time and time again to see the way God uses us to reflect himself!

Please take a second and read Ephesians 5:22-33.

In this passage, Paul is comparing the rolls of the husband and wife in marriage to the rolls of Christ and the Church in the Gospel.  He tells wives to submit to their husbands as the Church submits to Christ.  Submit?!  I know, that's a word that doesn't come up in our society too often, and when it does, it isn't very welcome.  But let's step back and realize what he is saying for a second.  How does the Church submit to Christ?  Are we victim to Christ's malevolent, selfish dictations?  No!  We are led by a benevolent, holy, loving, just, wise, perfect Lord who has our best interest in mind.  "Submit" doesn't sound quite so harsh in that context now, does it?

I think I'll pick up with the husband's roll tomorrow.  Exhaustion is beginning to set in.  Good night.

Creating Money Makers: Part 3

If you haven't yet, please read the first parts of this post: Creating Money Makers: Part 1 and Creating Money Makers: Part 2.


Now lets see if I can tame this rabid beast of a blog that I seem to have created!


So where did I get the title for this blog series?  Well, as I mentioned my grade school experience, what was the one thing that I could do with what I had been taught?  Make money!  Therefore it is drilled into my head that my only purpose on this earth is to work and make money.  Is it then not surprising that we, in the US, suffer so strongly from depression, anxiety and exhaustion?  


Where do those who refuse to turn to psychiatrists, counselors, the Church and the Bible go?!  They must latch on to whatever is around them.  I find that my first place to turn is those around me.  This is actually something I would suggest to one with a trustworthy peer group and good sense of discretion.  But where else?  How about advertising?  Thirty second ads in the Super Bowl cost almost $3 million!  If ads had no affect on our decision process, I highly doubt any company would drop that much money in a half minute.  Many just mask life with drugs, alcohol or other addictions.  I know I did for a period in my life.  Even video games can be our answer to problems.  I know when I have a rough day, sometimes I just like to hop on some Call of Duty and zone out of life.  BOOM! Headshot!  But seriously, if not controlled, this is also something that too may become out of hand.


You're probably thinking right now, "Where the frick is he going with all this?!"


We're born, put into school where we learn what's necessary to get a job, maybe go to college and continue, get a job, maybe a family and die.  This isn't our purpose!  Even those of us who are Christians fight through this.  The Bible tells us that we don't fight a battle of flesh and blood.  One of the hardest battles we fight on a day to day basis is against ourselves, our subconscious.  It is what drives us to make decisions on the fly, what we weigh pros and cons on, what gives us that funny feeling about something or makes us understand something in a completely different light than someone else.  The amazing thing is, we have no clue that it's happening!  Every second of every day we experience our subconscious without even knowing it.


In this blog I want to document my experience with the subconscious and how I can use it to glorify God.  Yes, it is possible to take control of your subconscious.  No, it's not always easy.


I recall a story in the Bible where Jesus is answering questions from the Pharisees (aka: haters).  So they were being jerks and trying to trip Jesus up.  One asked Him what the greatest commandment of all is.  Now this guy probably thought he was a genius!  If there's 10 commandments, how can one be greater than the other?!  Jesus responds by telling him that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  If you think about it, that commandment encompasses all the commandments.  WHAT A SLAP IN THE FACE!!!  Jesus' wit amazes me!


"Chris, you were just talking about your blog and then you jumped into a Bible story.  What's going on here?!"


To finally kind of wrap up this 3 part series I started, Jesus tells us to not only love God with our hearts and souls but with our mind!  Many people think that that just means to think thoughts that aren't sinful.  But that's just using the conscious part of our mind.  We need to learn the love God with our conscious and subconscious mind and I'm gonna bring you with me as I learn to do so.

Creating Money Makers: Part 2

If you haven't yet, please read the first part of this post: Creating Money Makers: Part 1.

Now that leaves us with 2 aforementioned topics: the Bible and the church.

I find that when I don't turn to the Bible in times of need it means one of two things, either I don't trust that God has the answer to my problem or I don't know my Bible well enough to know where to turn.  These are both rather common and understandable issues with Christians.  Would I say that you're a "bad Christian" because you doubt? Absolutely not.  Doubting gives us the opportunity to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, driving us back into the Bible.

I find that sometimes I will even have difficulty bringing up the Bible among other Christians.  Why is this?  I have come to realize that I fear being seen as one of those uber-Christian friends that can't talk about the weather without going into some hyper trendy Christian babble (ya you know who I'm talking about).  This is a result of two separate extremes, two separate abuses.  On one hand, Christianity is seemingly suppressed as to not offend others, being real and relatable and still in the world but not of the world.  On the other hand, Christianity is turned into a trend that can easily evolve into the self-righteous regurgitating of feel-good Christian lingo.  I understand both of these very well as I have struggled with both.  We need to find the middle ground, being passionate about the Gospel without making our Christianity just another trendy obsession.

And now for a topic in which I will have difficulty keeping concise: the Church.
I can't tell you how disgusted I am with the way people treat the Church these days.  They walk into a building that they understand as being "the church", sit in a pew (or flip down stadium seat), and see what the church has prepared for them this week.  NO NO NO NO NO!  The Church is NOT and building, it is NOT a source of entertainment, it is NOT made to make you feel good and it is NOT made FOR you it is made BY you!

Please take a minute and read 1st Corinthians 12:12-31.

I can't tell you how sick I am of seeing church turned into a franchise.  It's like McDonalds, it's appealing, it'll fill you up and they're freaking everywhere.  You roll in Saturday night (cause who wants to wake up Sunday morning?!  I mean its my freaking day off!), start off with I nice performance, then you get a few laughs and a Bible verse peppered in here and there, and then one more rockin' song to make you feel good on the way out.  Makes me sick.

The Church is a community and with the way people understand the church these days, it's no wonder that it is so difficult for people to humble themselves and seek guidance from the church.  I've been friends with my pastor's family since I was 5.  I used to eat dinner with them on a weekly basis.  I would play video games with one son almost every day and I've played music with the other for years.  Their daughter used to babysit me.  One time I went into anaphylactic shock and she had to call 911.  Do I feel a sense of community with my pastor?  Of course!  When I need assistance that I know the church can offer and/or was intended to offer, do I have any difficulty turning to my pastor?  Absolutely not!

Well once again this is going longer than I intended.  See you again at Creating Money Makers: Part 3

Creating Money Makers: Part 1

When I was in grade school, they taught me math, science, english, history, art, etc.  What they failed to teach me (and what all schools in the US fail to teach) was how to deal with life.  When I had an emergency appendectomy leaving me out of work for 2 weeks and a $64,000 hospital bill with no insurance, what do I do?  How do I support my wife after losing a paycheck?  Where do I get more than 2 1/2 years wages to pay this bill?  When I find myself in a pit of despair without a hope in the world, how did I get there?  How do I get out?  I didn't learn how to deal with these things, neither did I learn any practical tools to aid me in the situations.


So where do we turn to learn such things?  Did I hear someone say "Jesus!"?  Shut up and stop being a know-it-all.  Many people find different places to go when dealing with life.  Some people go to psychiatrists, counselors, the Bible, the church... these are all great places to turn.  But the problem is, these facets are largely looked down upon in our society and greatly misunderstood.


When my wife and I tell people that we are going to counseling, many will seem to be struck with a look of, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"  That's a terrible response!  We should be met with joy and admiration when telling people such news.  We acknowledge that there are means by which we can improve our marriage and glorify God better in it, AND WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM!!!


Now my beef with the stigma of going to a psychiatrist.  We go to the doctor for our physical health, why not go do a doctor for our mental health?!  I'm not gonna post all the statistics here, but please go a Google how common mental illnesses such as bipolar, depression, anxiety, etc. are.  Many people are apposed to mental health medications due to bad experiences or bad stories they've heard.  What many don't understand is treating chemical imbalances isn't like treating strep throat.  There's no exact formula that works for everyone.  Some have terrible reactions to certain meds and some will perform amazingly on the same.  I have experienced this personally and with people around me.


I'm going to take a break here because this post is getting rather lengthy.  I will pick up with Creating Money Makers: Part 2 at a later time.

Intro

Every day I come to realize the impact our psyche has on our life.  Why is it that 2 people can share similar experiences and yet have complete different responses to them?  Many people will brush that idea aside with a simple answer like, "Jesus," or, "money doesn't buy happiness."  Although these are both valid points, I want to dig deeper.

In this blog I'm going to share those deeper ideas.  I will share with you my journey in understanding how these glorious minds that God blessed us with work and how the slightest thoughts can make the largest impacts.  I'm going to be honest and open with you in the hopes that you can benefit and be blessed through this.  Not only is this for you but it is also for myself, to keep a record of my findings and give myself an opportunity to truly mull over my thoughts.  I apologize ahead of time if my thoughts become scattered or if I fail to be diplomatic in my writing.  I want to share my true thoughts openly and candidly.