Opulent Health: From Organic to Loco!

What is happening to me; I don't know!
Where does this come from? I don't even study this stuff, but it is just flowing in my life these days.

For about a year now I have been really going more and more organic. Organic food. Organic toiletries. Organic, reusable office products.

But that was not nearly enough! No!! Now I want local! And what's even more sick, I am going to encourage you to, also.

Seriously, though, I recently read an article that mentioned that when people eat local food products they are not only eating food that is likely to be more natural, they are also helping the environment.

How?

First, the food items are usually packaged with little or no packaging. If they are packaged, it is typically paper products.

Second, the food travels only 40 miles or less on average. Compare that to the 1,400 miles that food items in a grocery store average! That is hugely different. If a family started eating locally it would be equal to removing approximately 17 cars from the highways each year. Now THAT was the clincher for me.

Last, the local diet, though less fanfare without some magic cooking wand, is far healthier. Local farmer's markets, in my limited experience, rarely carry too many animal products. I am no vegan, but I have been an off-and-on vegetarian and my energy levels are higher, my brain functions are better, and my digestive system is far happier. Farmer's markets force us to get out, communicate with the farmers in our area, and eat healthier.

Here are some tips:

• Check for your local farmers at one of these sites: www.localharvest.org or here.
• Tell your friends about it to generate momentum for the market in your area.
• Keep a reusable canvas bag to shop with instead of using plastic bags, or simply opt for a paper bag.
• Here's an oldy but goody: recycle. It seems we all have fallen off of this habit. Even though we buy reusable products, they usually end up in the garbage just the same. Because it ends up in the garbage doesn't ensure that it gets recycled.

Who am I: Your Identity Part 2

"Who am I?"

What a misleading question some times!!

C.S. Lewis explored this somewhat in 'Mere Christianity'*, noting the uniqueness of the human race to actually ask these questions.

No other creature that we are yet aware of asks "who am I", and looks to the divine as an answer. Modern psychology tells us that the answer to this question is environment; that we are the sum total of our experiences. Mostly this is true, but this would put us on par with a mollusk.

That sounds all well and good, but humans aren't fooled! We know that there is more.

Though there have been many amazing instances of intelligent animals (see the book 'Koko's Kitten'* for an interesting tale of a gorilla expressing love, depression and a recovery to joy with sign language), none that I have heard of yet has questioned its origin and looked to the divine for the answer.

At any Christian college or university, they will tell you of the imago dei* (latin for 'the image of God') which was placed in every man and woman. I believe that this is our ability to create, imagine, and the often-understated quality that always has us turning to the divine to explain origin, purpose and vision.

Traits like these continually point us toward faith in the divine. The good, the bad, and the ugly have all explored these characteristic. Aside from their conclusions, even the agnostic or atheistic have asked these questions.

Who am I? What is my purpose? Where I am going?

All human life has asked these questions. Some have brushed them aside as vain philosophies. Some have answered it in the most conventional means for their culture. Some have answered it by not answering it!

Regardless, turning to the divine for explanation has several implications to me: a) we inherently know that there IS divine, and b) we have an innate knowledge that we cannot get the answer from the material world (though the material world points us to the answer.)

That brings me to a conclusion. The imago dei within us is planted there for a purpose, and without interacting with the divine we cannot understand it. Thus, we cannot truly understand our identity apart from the divine.

This has MANY implications, but how I take that to means is this: to understand ourselves, lets ask our maker!

Let us ask the divine who we are. We are nothing apart from Him. We know nothing more than the other animals of this earth. Our answers are as limited.

This one trait, the imago dei, is what sets us apart and gives us the ability to seek the divine.

Seek and you will find answers. This is the beginning of understanding who we are; knowing that much of the answer lies in the one that created identity. Rest assured, He knows who you are and wants to share it with you.

See also Mere Christianity, Koko's Kitten, and imago dei.

WOAH! Mega-shiftin'!!

What in the world is a "MEGA shift"?! Have you ever heard the term?

Well, its getting some play for sure. I first heard it in the title of a Christian book about a major change that is happening in South America in the Body of Christ. (Megashift: Igniting Spiritual Power.)

(Another great word that they coined was "Leadershift"...I think. If not, then I invented it.)

The megashift is the transition from the old, traditional, stale, religious church experience that the body at large is delivering to the actual, power-filled, miraculous, life-changing move of God.

It is happening in South America. It is happening on the mission field. It is even starting to happen in our homes. (Think of the number of home groups starting in your circles.)

A case in point: a group from the local mega-church, Victory Lakeland, had recently started a satellite church to meet in the movie theaters here. I know, I know! This isn't the first movie-theater church! I am just noting the fact that in a small town like this, a church moving into a movie theater signifies that change is coming. It would be common in metropolitan areas like Denver and LA, but Lakeland is not exactly the center of all things current.

To Megashift or Not to Megashift?

An aquaintance of mine from our old church just CC:ed me on an e-mail that he sent to his local pastor. The letter was SCALDING. In it he wrote some things that were (in my superficial point of view) over the top, but he also had some truly indicting comments, most of which I totally agree with.

Now, here is the question: how far does one go to megashift? Is one out of line when addressing his own pastor like that, or does the megashift call for mega-action?

I guess one has to answer that for themselves (by asking the Lord, of course.) Their own calling will require them to perform different actions. So, I guess its a rhetorical question: how far do YOU need to megashift?

Regardless, Megashift is coming.

Though its slow like turning a cruise ship, it will accelerate. Home groups are on the rise. Church attendance is at an all-time low. Percentages of the population that at least claim to believe in God are sliding. Tithes and offerings are dramatically lower. (Can they actually GO any lower?)

People are still hungry and searching, but the traditional church model is an irrelevant antiquity, not even fit for the museum. Like the VHS tape sitting around our house. We don't want to toss it, so will someone just take it from us?

(See The Barna Group for powerful statistics. www.barna.org)

What will takes tradition's place?

I believe that modern tradition will fall, but an older tradition, the traditions set for by the founders of our faith, will return to its proper place.

I believe that God will raise His Body, His called-out ones, His remnant. I believe that you will see an even greater divide between those who claim to be saved and those who do not. No more wishy-washy. Just straight-at-you answers.

If you don't feel so ready, or are not sure what you think, please see your all-purpose manual on what is coming and how to handle it; the Bible.

Beauty and Strength Strikes Again!

WOW!! Have you read this yet?

Elizabeth Carpenter hits home again. If you have not read today, Friday the 27th's, blog entry. Check it out. In fact, sign up for her e-mail list it rocks.

Add Personality Plus!!

(published on financiallifeconsulting.blogspot.com)


"Do NOT put me in a box!"

This was my first reaction to my friend, Chad, who unwittingly opened up Pandora's Box with me. He presented the concepts of Personality Insights and the D.I.S.C. system with Dr. Robert Rohm.

It all sounded like the standard psychiatrist mumbo-gumbo presented for years and years. Simply put, my experience with profiling was a) bad and b) badder!

However, I must honestly say that today was different and a revelation unfolded for me. The unique community here in Lakeland, created by the genius of Jeremy Harper and drive of Eddy Allen, provided me with an honor I had never experienced nor expected. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear it from the man himself, Dr. Robert Rohm.

Mr. Harper and Mr. Allen brought Dr. Rohm himself to come and speak to our community. And what an honor it was!!

Being a converted closed-minded-anti-profiling person, I gladly joined in. And how Dr. Rohm delivered! He filled many gaps in the teaching that previously caused me to quickly shut down personality profiling.

I thoroughly recommend anything by Dr. Rohm and his illustrious team of people who are seeking to sincerely help organizational management of every side.

Here are the 2 things I want you to take away from this:

1. First, review the personality information! It can only help you improve in your business, in your job, in your relationships, and every nook and cranny in your life where you interact with people.
2. Second, if you have not been able to visit with or be a part of this amazingly opulent community here in Lakeland with us, please try! If you are in the area, come and visit us. Make a call or contact us by e-mail. If you are not in the area, contact us regardless! Let us see how we can help make each other's lives better.

Thank you for stopping by, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Tabernacle, The Temple, and the Temporal

Of late I have found that...yes, in fact, I am in a desert place! And I love it!

I believe that all of us will find ourselves in a desert place once in a while during our Christian walk. Typically when someone mentions the desert place they talk about being lost, lacking blessing in their life, not hearing from God, or life is just "blah."

That is not the type of desert place I am talking about. To me, the desert place is awesome because it is a place of obedience and learning. There is a period where the temporal dies off and that death helps us move into the promise. (Remember, it was a 11-13 day journey. The Isrealites took 40 years because of disobedience!)

Pondering my desert experience I began reading the Exodus account once again. I found something that I had seen, but never was amazed at.

In the desert place, the Isrealites were instructed to build the tabernacle. In the tabernacle was placed the golden ark of the covenant, and all of the golden items. They were placed in the Holiest of Holies and the Holy place.

The tabernacle was built of mostly temporary material; linens and animal skins. This made me think of the impressive temple in Jerusalem built under the guidance of Solomon.

The tabernacle in the desert seemed like ancient rice paper, ready to flitter apart at the touch compared to the columns of marble and large wooden doors of the temple. One so frail and imperfect; the other so strong immovable.

Then, the image of the golden ark and its trappings being transferred from the tabernacle into the temple moved me deeply.

The whole purpose of the tabernacle was to house the "seat of God", the mercy seat. The ark itself was priceless beyond measure for its skilled handiwork and golden exterior. Even more so, it was eternal because God's presence rested there.

All of this going on in the papyrus-like construction of the tabernacle. How temporary! How temporal! How un-eternal!

But this made me think of my own desert experience. Isn't it funny that God saw fit to put his priceless golden ark and eternal presence in a temporary shelter. The temple seems like a resurrected, permanent monument to the tabernacle which has passed away.

This is the desert experience: a place as frail as me where God sees fit to put His very best into. Eventually it will die and tatter away. Yet, soon it will resurrect anew; marble, solid and timeless. And God's presence will be preserved from the tabernacle of our bodies to the temple of our eternal selves.

This is my desert place. Lord, though I tatter with time, place your golden presence within me!!

Focus

Elizabeth Carpenter wrote a phenomenal article today about the entrepreneurial spirit. (Read it here.) It convicted me so strongly that I had to chime in on FOCUS. As we all know, FOCUS stands for:

Follow One Course Until Successful

That sounds simple enough, but if you are like me (born with a brain that acted like it was on a permanent sugar-rush) and have the tendency to be distracted by the bright and shiny then you have wrestled with focus in the past.

I have been part of many numerous businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. For your entertainment, I will list a few:

• a children's book company
• website design and video production (our first client being a horse dentist)
• a biofuel additive that helped increase MPG by 20% (the "pill" in the gas tank)
  
• a rotisserie chicken glaze flavor company (hows that for a niche?)
• land developers
• a travel representative
• a medical savings plan
• a non-denominational church plant (which is more entrepreneurial than anything else I have ever done)
• and healthy coffee (my personal favorite product!)

It has been a wild ride, to say the least. I have learned a TON about myself, about business, and about relying on God!

Focus is VERY important. I learned this lesson with the Travel company mentioned above. I and my mentor, Terry Kruse, and a group of us from the church were involved with this company. It had a decent product, but it just didn't have any momentum. Finally, we tried to take our travel discount cards to Disney World and had to end up finagling to get in. It didn't work that great.

However, just a few years later the company went public on the stock exchange and is doing well despite the rough beginnings.

Would focus have increased our chances at lots of cash, or a stream of income to underwrite ministry? Perhaps.

Common people will tell you to stick with one thing through thick and thin! Press through and it will pay off. Entrepreneurs know better. Some things are just sinking ships, and the first person to the door gets a life vest. If not, we hope you brought your water wings.

The entrepreneur will state "it wasn't moving fast enough" or "the product wasn't that great." Now any smart-alec with sense will reply, "but are you any further along now?"

The answer to this question, and the question of what is worth focusing on as an entrepreneur are subjective.

Am I any further along?
If you ask me: You bet! You should of seen the mistakes I was making BEFORE this! I am so much wiser now. If you ask the smart-alec, they will not see a thriving businesses with x amount of dollars in income a month, so by their standards the entrepreneur is not further along.

WHAT does an entrepreneur focus on? Which course do you follow until successful? If you ask the smart-alec, "just stick with anything!" The answer varies for the entrepreneur. Focus on the product. Or focus on the pay plan. Or focus on the system. Or focus on the trend. The variables are as endless as the number of entrepreneurs on the field! You could focus on any of these!

What Elizabeth Carpenter's article today reminds us of is this: the only thing to stay focused on if you are an entrepreneur (or if you are just breathing) is to focus on God.

Follow the One-and-Only's Course and U are Successful

Can you really go wrong?

You may not always know which business will go public.
You may not always know which system will put the money in your pocket.

But by FOCUSing on God, and what He is doing, you will always know what to do, and the dividends pay out forever!

What is a Hero?

Having listened to a professor from Concordia Seminary during an introduction to Greek the other day, I found the following very interesting thing.

I do not know if it is a historical fact or not, but the coincidence is stunning.

The professor pointed out that the image at right (known as the Labarum and often used in orthodox Christian groups) is made up of two characters of the Greek alphabet: chi and rho. (Seen below.)

Chi:

Rho:

These characters are used on the Labarum because they are the first 2 letters of the word for Christ, or Christos: Χριστός.

It was introduced by Constantine to be worn by Roman soldiers. The politics behind it we will ignore for now, but here is the cool.

The REALLY cool thing is the way he pronounced it.
"kheee-ro"; hero.

Obviously, the word "hero" is not newly introduced by the Labarum. Hero was a female character presented in Greek mythology around 5 BC.

Regardless, thought I, that is entirely amusing that whenever we refer to a hero or use the term, God is also potentially being glorified, albeit in another language. How often we use terms that have so much more significance than we are aware of?

(The history on the Labarum in amazing. Check it here on Wikipedia.)

A Lesson in Obedience

Ok! I have put it off long enough!

I can feel God buckling me down like a parent pulling their unwilling child to Disney World. We all really want to go there, but for some reason we put up a stink.

And God wins. He has been calling me to “write” more and more these days. I have not really fought it. Rather, I have just found so many other things that beg my attention. Instead of fighting it I have let is slip to the background.

To be honest, I don’t know which is worse.

Regardless, this morning I heard Him in the middle of my run. He had me stop in the middle of my stride. Turn around. Walk back to my apartment. I showered, got dressed and plopped down.

So here I sit! And having read all that, what am I writing on? Obedience. How does 'Obedience' interact with answering questions on identity, Grant? Hey! I am glad you asked.

It ties in perfectly with something that I wanted to write about any way. I began a teaching about a week ago filling in some gaps about who we are and our identity. (I believe it was titled ‘Who Am I: Your Identity’, or something like it.)

Without further ado, I will go into it now.

To begin, I want to lay a brief foundation about this. It all goes back to Truth vs. Facts.

For years after receiving what I would call 'The Identity Message', I have been drawing the following teaching on napkins, paper towels, the back of my hand and anything else I could to relay it to my willing (and sometimes unwilling!) recipients.

I will teach it the way I have taught up until now, and then throw a wrench into my own machine to show you my mistakes with this teaching.

So, in a nutshell,

There is Truth and there are Facts...	...which can be understood as spiritual and natural (or unspiritual).
When you get saved, you now have Truth residing in you. You can choose to align with the Facts (say, for example, 'I am sick.') OR you could choose to align with the Truth ('Christ says that I am healed, so I agree.') This sounds foolishness, and it is, but 'He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.' But, it also starts to make theological sense. Follow this...
You are righteous because He says you are righteous in Christ, even though you are unrighteous in the natural.	Again, your healing is a Truth, even though it may not be a Fact yet.

So, in the spiritual, you were made righteous totally and completely by Christ. Nothing can change that or shake that.

In the natural, your body (including your brain and what it tells you about how logical this is or is not) are not yet redeemed. (Read the book of Revelation to find out more about your body being resurrected.)

Faith simply allows what is True in the spiritual to become a Fact in the natural.

You say, "I am sick."
I say, "No, you are healed."

Who is right?

Well, what is your definition of right?

If you believe that the Facts are what is right, then you would be correct. It is a Fact that you are sick. But its not the Truth according to me. I believe that Truth is correct. So even though it is a Fact that you are sick, to me it is not right because it is not Truth.

People who align with Facts are usually prone to simply accept them because, 'Hey! It's a fact. I am sick.'

People who align with Truth are usually prone to reach for more (more healing, more of the miraculous, more of God, etc.) because, 'Hey! God says I can obtain more! I don't have to accept the facts.'

This set me free in a BIG way when it came to dealing with "am I saved or not? Am I going to heaven or not?" I will let you come to your own conclusions here.

I used this concept quite a bit, and it came to be known as "Above the line; Below the line." "Is that 'Above-the-line' thinking, or 'Below-the-line' thinking?" is a phrase I still use often.

And I believe that as an illustration these diagrams can be very useful when understanding the complexity of our spiritual lives, but there is one point I just caught myself on.

I have told people the following when they would talk about knowledge. So many people are so proud of what they know. And I am talking about Christians.

Christians, more than a few, all seem to "know." They "know." They know what God is up to. They have the most accurate knowledge on who God is, and how He operates in the earth. They have the down-low on God. They KNOW. (Just ask them. They will tell you.)

I believe that their heart is wrong in this. It seems to me that they are edifying (idolizing) their brain. They are get their trust from how much they know.

So, my quick and easy retort came to "Well, that is 'Below the line' thinking. I mean, all of your knowledge is not inherently bad. It is good to know all that you know. But it is still wrong."

"Well, how do you mean, Grant?"

"Well, Steve, let's look at the trees in the Garden. What were they?"

"The Tree of Knowledge of Evil, and the Tree of Life."

"Nice try, Steve, but look again. You have the second one right, the Tree of Life. But the first tree, the bad one, is actually the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil."

"What are you saying, Grant?"

That the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is still wrong. God doesn't want us eating from that tree. It's good to know what is good, but its divine (spiritual, righteous, etc. 'above the line') to eat from the Tree of Life.

This is the teaching as I taught it, even as recently as a week or two ago. But it struck me recently that something was wrong here.

What was wrong about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Grant? Why was it bad? I mean, after all, God said that if we ate of it we would be like him, knowing the difference between good and evil.

And we want to be more like Him don't we? So what is the problem?

The problem is obedience.
(You knew I would get back on track, didn't you!)

Obedience is what God was asking for in the Garden. You can call it by a slew of other words:

• submission
• total dependence
• totally receiving His gifts of peace and provision
• surrender
  

So, does the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil go above the line or below the line? I mean, it was in the Garden of Eden, so can it be that bad?

That being a wonderful question, I have simply added this thought to my diagram.

There are several things which obviously align with God: redeemed vs. unredeemed, righteous vs. unrighteous, obedient vs. disobedient.

There are other things which should go on here, which are not so obvious; knowledge vs. foolishness, healed vs. sick, rich vs. poor, etc.

Now, I have chosen personally to have all that God will allow me to have in this earth; knowledge, healings, riches, miracles, etc. I choose it because I believe He has paid the price for it.

But what would make something like knowledge below the line, or disobedient? What have I seen in my Christian friends as described above that would make me be so critical of it?

I believe that I so hastily put knowledge below the line because the true measuring stick of what goes Above the line or Below the line is that which is like God vs. that which is not like God.

The knowledge that I have seen many Christians exhibit is esteemed in a way that is not like God. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil may not inherently be bad (He planted it in the Garden), but man's disobedience in eating it may have caused our use of it to be not like God, thus below the line.

I thank God that He has corrected this thing in me. I believe that the diagram of Above the Line and Below the Line can be used very well to discover if a belief or action or thought is Godly or not. Used correctly, the diagram can be very helpful. Used incorrectly, much like the Tree of Knowledge, it can itself fall Below the Line!!

I hope you got something out of the much-awaited lesson.

God bless, and have a wonderful day.

Yeah, Baby, Discipline!

It is a Monday; a wonderful Monday. This morning has been so subtly amazing so far, I find it hard to articulate anything.

Suffice it to say that only in returning to a life of discipline, spiritual and physical discipline, do I find total peace.

For being a supreme spazz, I find that only when I wake up on a schedule, get my morning run in, journal and pray, eat right, shower, and write do I feel total peace. It is my self-medication for my often-mercurial behavior. However, for the past few weeks I have slept in, showered and ate, threw my clothes on and ran out the door.

Though God gets our attention at times by throwing a wrench in our plans (which is how He did it for me over the past few weeks), I find that people can greatly benefit by returning to their success habits, whatever they may be.

As a side note, I have an article on truth vs. fact to publish. This is a teaching I have taught for years now. But, God really caught my attention this time when I was illustrating it with how my teaching is faulted.

So, I will publish it, along with my own corrections to go with it.

I pray you have a great day! Stay strong! Stay Opulent! And do you absolute all-out best!!

Who Am I: Your Identity

"WHHHHOOOO AAAAAAM IIIIIII?"

Anybody who knows anything about martial arts movies knows this line from Jackie Chan's Who Am I? movie.

First and foremost, the movie is hilarious with great kung fu. Second, the image of Jackie Chan screaming at the top of the his lungs "Who am I?!" is a great image of man from time immortal yelling in question to the cosmos for an answer to life's most prolific question.

The good news: I have an answer. (How cool is that? People have been wondering what the answer was to this questions since the dawn of thought. And I, of all people, have the answer.)

Now, I know what you're thinking. (Besides where you are going for lunch!) You are thinking, 'how on earth can Grant know the answer to who I am?'

Good question. Well, the answer may not satisfy all of your questions about yourself, but it may bring some explanation in some places.

First, some assumptions. All beliefs come from at least one assumption, even science. (Science has one great assumption: that what I see is true.)

My assumption is this: what the judeo-Christian God says is true. That would include the Bible. So, our major assumption is that I believe in God and His Word and all of that.

So, who are we? Well, to take it from the top, who were were when we were born? (I heard a Buddhist say once, 'when you have asked the right question the answer will appear.')

Who we were when we were born was, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, a being with a spirit, a soul and a body. Since we were "born of the flesh" we are flesh (sinful.)

So, the first image on the right shows a person and their spirit, soul, and body. The Body is where their material being shows up. It is the seen. The soul is where we have our unique selves; our mind, will, and emotions. The "sp" is the spirit. Notice it is blacked out. It has not yet been "born." It is dead. It can be said that we have a dead spirit.

From here we get all of our inputs from external sources. Our senses (attached to our body), give our brain (the gateway to our soul) input about who we are.

If family and acquaintances at work or school or home have given audio/visual/sensory inputs that someone is inferior, that person develops a belief of inferiority that affects their day-to-day decision making and self-perception.

This creates well-worn pathways in our brains; synaptic pathways, habits, old files and tapes, facts etc. The electronic impulses begin to travel easier and easier through these well-worn synaptic pathways. This gives one the feeling that they "believe" this particular thing, or that they "just feel" that way.

They say things like "I can't help it. I am just this way." Which is true to a point, but it is not unchangeable.

Basically this is where the statement goes 'its easier to stay the same than to change' becomes a fact. In many cases, it goes against these neurological habit-patterns to think "outside the box", or to begin to believe something new. This creates a friction, and a resistance to believing anything new that conflicts with current thought patterns.

Much more can be said about a being in this state of mind, but you will get a better picture of this thing as I talk about other aspects of our minds.

Let us look forward to who we became when we got saved.

When we got saved, Jesus described it as being "born again."
Nicodemas asked Him what you may have asked the person who spoke to you about God. "Dude, how can one be born again? Can he get back into his mother's womb?"

Of course not, Nicodemas!!
"Well, there must be SOME kind of birth. So what is it?"
Another great question. It is a spiritual birth. BING! (See image at right.)

So, here we have the image of a saved person. They may still have well-worn pathways in their brain. They may still have habit patterns of some sort. But, according to their spirit and the Lambs Book of Life, they are saved.

"Ok, Grant. So who am I? Why am I dealing with all of the stuff I am dealing with? Why don't I always feel saved?"

Another great question. (You certainly have some good ones!)

Well, lets look at this. Before you were saved, you got your inputs from your senses. And, over time since you believed the external inputs, your brain also reinforced those inputs.

Once you became saved, however, a new source of inputs arrived on the scene, an internal source; the Holy Spirit.

Take a peek here:

vs.

So you can see how before you were saved your inputs came from outside, and this created your well-worn pathways and patterns of thought.

Once you were saved your Spirit now offers new inputs.

There are several cool things to understand here:

1. You can now CHOOSE what to align with: the external inputs or the internal inputs, info from the world or info from God
2. You may (not necessarily, but may) experience an internal struggle to believe certain things. This is merely a struggle to create new synaptic pathways. Some people I know can decide to believe in something God says, and align with it immediately no matter how far fetched. Other people I know bounce between that which is rational and that which requires faith.
   
3. It all really resides in the decision; again the CHOICE of which you will align with.
   

This brings up the question: "then what is truth?"
I want to speak about this at length in the next installment of 'Who Am I.'

For now, suffice it to say that what comes from the outside is factual. What comes from God is Truth. They do not always conflict, but many times do.

Check back next time to learn more about Truth vs. Facts.