Ed Christian's World

We recently completed a six week study on prayer in Bible Study and Church. Yesterday our pastor mentioned that familiarity with the Father tells us we are not sincere with our prayer or are just going through the motions. I’m not so sure I agree with that statement or not because I think God would like us to be as close to Him as we can get throughout our life and to rely on Him for everything. But that got me to thinking about the different phases of life and prayer.

I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 12, about 59 years ago. I remember praying for just about anything, mostly things I wanted and my list was long. God blessed me with just about everything I asked for and what I didn’t receive, I was shown reasons why. God does know what is best for us.

During my 20’s and 30’s my prayer became less about my wants and needs to more about the needs of my family and the needs of our soldiers and Marines on the battlefield in Vietnam. More to the survival of sick, wounded and to bring us back alive from our missions. God continued to bless me with favorable answers for the most part along with some disappointment about those too hurt to bring home. There were times where I questioned why He chose to take them while leaving some of us here, but over the years I’ve come to see He had other plans for me.

Over the past 30 years or so my prayers have been more of a continuous conversation with God asking for His guidance over each and every step I take. I never have any qualms about where He is leading me and know He will protect me from all harm. It is this closeness to Him that has given me continuous peace and comfort in my daily activities and walk. In the Bible Paul tells us to be in continuous prayer with God, relying solely on Him for all things. To me walking daily with God at my side and been the biggest blessing of my entire life. If this is being too familiar with the Father, He hasn’t stopped answering my prayers, rather He has answered each and everyone of them, not always the way I wanted, but always with my needs in mind.

I think the problem of God answering prayer is more that we fail to listen, rather than Him not answering. That brings me back to my childhood when Grandfather told me that God gave me one mouth and two ears for a reason. I am to listen more and talk less. God hears all our prayers and answers everyone of them according to what is best for us. We all need to look beyond what is me and learn to look to what is Him. We are here to Glorify Him and His word. He blesses us to further His Glory. I am truly blessed!

Walk daily with God at your side.

Ed

I normally don’t like to get too involved in politics, but lately I have received about three hate E-mails a day from different ‘friends’ about different parties and candidates. So I decided to write this post.

Many years ago I came to the understanding the biggest difference between a
Democrat and a Republican is the spelling, otherwise there is little difference. Both represent big business and themselves with little regard to the general public. Both give lip service to the people while spending most of their time insuring their respective dynasties and reelection.

I find it amusing when people spend most of their time forwarding e-mails about different politicians without taking the time to fully check out what they are forwarding. A recent one reflected on how one of these parties is following the Hitler papers, sneaking ways to take our guns away and
discharging military leaders who refuse to shoot at American citizens. What the person fails to see is that our Government is more afraid of us than we are of it. Another is that we are the Government. By the way we are not Germany and our people can’t be led by the nose.

A recent poll showed that when you come South of the Mason/Dixon line at least three households out of five have guns in the house and at least one person in the household could be considered. a sharpshooter, not because of military experience but because they hunt deer, squirrel and rabbit. In my neighborhood every household has at least one gun and everyone is a sharpshooter.

The rumor is that the Government has decided that to gain control of the people, it would have to bomb certain metro areas with small cluster bombs. What they don’t realize is that if an order came down to bomb a metro area the planes would be heading to DC to wipe out the Government leaders. We do not kill our own, but Congress would be the first target not the people of the United States. If the order came to confiscate all guns, most police and
sheriff departments would refuse to participate because they would have to
put their life on the line for something against the Constitution. We do not
live under a dictatorship and will not stand for one.

In my humble opinion, it doesn’t matter so much who you vote for, what matters is that you vote. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see the people who pretend to be running our country aren’t doing what we pay them for and we give them a hefty paycheck. So if anyone votes to retain an
incumbent to Congress, they need to have their heads examined. In order to regain control of our country we need to replace every last one of them with someone new, and it doesn’t really matter if they have a “D” or an “R” next to their name. What matters is that they are honest and will enforce the Constitution. We don’t need new laws, we need the laws on the books
enforced. By the way, I am an Independent voter and vote across political lines. I am not particularly enamored by either party. I do take the time to research everyone on the ballot.

After serving 29 years in the Marines and as head of ONI I saw first hand just how corrupt our Government really is and having served under leaders from both sides, I can assure you they both are the same – dirty. What
things are done under the guise of National Security that end up being extreme violations of the Constitution are mind boggling. Absolute power corrupts and all our leaders are corrupt. Our leaders are so corrupt it makes the problems with the NSA look like child play. So don’t let yourself
be fooled into thinking your security or the needs of the country are being met by any one party, the people of this country are the last thing on their mind. Use a little common sense, our Government sure doesn’t.

Then we have the media, the biggest threat to the security of our country. They all have an agenda, divide america and keep the negative in the forefront. Negative sells and fear is their tool. Fear is the mind killer!
The media has built up so much fear in this country about ISSL coming to attack us, to Ebola spreading all around America killing us off, to how really open our southern border is so the enemy can just walk in and take over. They thrive on twisting the facts and misleading us because fear sells news and they are in the business of selling news. Remember what our grandfathers taught us – believe half of what you hear and only a third of what you read in the newspaper. The media has taken it upon themselves to
tell America what to believe and how to live. They treat us like puppets and pull our strings to keep us agitated. It might be interesting to know our northern border is more porous than our southern border and there is no fence.

We also have these so called experts touting themselves on the radio and television pushing hate and discontent. They believe since they have their own show and people watch, everything they say is gospel and if anyone questions them on it, they are the misinformed enemy. Everyone has an opinion and there are differences in opinion. It is these differences that makes good ideas come to the surface. Through discussion of the different
ideas common thoughts come together. It is what has built our country in the past and it is the refusal to discuss these differences that is tearing our country apart today. The refusal to compromise is one of the biggest causes of the dumbing down of America.

Jesus taught us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors as He has loved us. That means all of our neighbors, not just the ones who think, act and believe as we do. He also said if you can’t do that, you certainly can’t love Him.

Thank you and have a blessed day!

Ed

My Grandfather’s goal was to teach me the ways of a healer as I was growing up. To that end, when I graduated out of AYOP school when I was eight, he started training me on the medicine wheel. He taught me how to use my mind and body to help move pain through out my body and how to use my hands to soothe anxiety and resolve pain in others. This training went on for about four years. Grandfather, a Shaman, was pushing hard to have me step into his place as Shaman and had me presented in front of the Tribal Console at the completion of my training. I had just turned twelve and the Console thought I was too young to assume such a responsibility. Grandfather died the following summer and the family moved off the reservation to Ohio.

Over the years I learned more and more techniques from my mother and gained more experience and confidence as I put the knowledge to use. When I turned eighteen she proclaimed me a Shaman. Mom died a few years later.

I never really practiced, other than giving comfort to various family members or a few Marines shot on the front line in Vietnam and for years I just sort of pushed it to the back of my mind. Then one evening, while I was studying for my Masters in Clinical Psychology at UO in Norman, one of my classmates experienced a temper fit with the professor and had a meltdown. Without thinking, I placed my hands on him and calmed his spirit and mind to gently bring him back in control. Needless to say, the professor and the class were astonished to see how I took control of the situation and we spent the rest of the evening discussing my training as a young child on the reservation. Over the next few weeks I taught the class a few techniques on how to calm the spirit and mind. At the request of my professor I wrote my thesis on the various teaching experiences I received while growing up.

I have used my God given blessing, over the years, to calm the storms in many people and cool the fires in the minds of many others. I don’t look at myself as a Shaman or healer, but more as a calming spirit in the mist of the turmoil in our daily life. God has blessed me with this spirit and as a child of God I pass it on to others as needed.

Have a blessed day!

Ed