Looking Back

Looking back over 2012 brings a sense of excitement over all that I've been blessed with.  This Blog has enabled me to capture much of it, and I thought I'd share a highlight from each month:

January: Winter Beauty

February: Eternity

March: Sanctuary

April: Seeing

May: Becoming Real

June: Conscience

July: Purpose

August: What the World Needs Now

September: Intentions

October: Potential

November: Thanksgiving

December: Good News

May God be made Real to you this coming new year in every corner of your Heart!

Link to scripture:   Hebrews 13:20-21

Take action:  Evaluate your life

Good News!

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." --Frank & Ernest

♫Hark! The Herald Angels Sing♫

Christmas Eve afternoon the snow began to fall.  I knew flurries were predicted but it was quite a surprise to see it stick and start to accumulate.  In the midst of my busyness I noticed there were quite a few birds about the yard, so I scrounged around the garage to locate an old bird feeder I could hang from the bracket outside the screened front porch.... 

I filled it with sunflower seeds.  Ken saw the first Cardinal, a bright-red male, arrive and then herald the new feeding station in the neighborhood....       ♫Cardinal Song♫

When he told me birds started flocking in from all over I couldn't help but think of God's Good News!  The angels heralded the coming of Christ and the shepherds gathered to listen.  

This morning while writing about it I realized the analogy also applies to us who have received the Good News--the Holy Spirit, God in us.  The Bread of Life that feeds us is something we should be singing about as the Cardinal did--not because we have all the answers but because we have a song of love in our hearts.  The Cardinal could not keep it to himself nor should we keep our Good News to ourselves.  

So why is it so hard for some of us to proclaim the Good News?  I think that is the question we each need to be asking ourselves.  As each excuse rises up it should be tossed aside or else we'll never get to the truth of the matter.....even if it means continuing to ask the question every day until you get an answer that leads to a solution.

Father, it's too easy to find reasons for our lapses.  They're all excuses.  You are God of all and in You and through You we have everything we need to unlock our hearts so that we can sing Your song of Love and Peace and Hope.  May I be so present in my life that I am aware of this from moment to moment.

Link to scripture:  Matthew 19:26

Take action:  How to Increase Faith

Our Children

This is my favorite picture of my boys when they were younger.  I framed it along with the quote below and hung it by my bed so I can see it every morning while I spend time reading God's Word and writing in my journal.  It is my reminder that my life (and all that it contains) is not my own....

In light of the tragedy in Connecticut on Friday I wanted to share again Margaret Woods' writings from 1777 that I shared in my June 16th post on Fatherhood....

Here is the rest of the quote....
"We are so incapable of judging with regard to our own happiness, or that of others, that it should lead us to a patient acquiescence in the Divine will:  a resignation which would not only enable us to say, "Thy will be done," but to feel that submission of mind which would preserve us in calm composure.  Things which appear to our present unhappiness and disadvantage have frequently at a future period proved a benefit, and we have been led to acknowledge that the Lord only knows what is best for us.  Suffer us to beseech, O Lord, more and more to enlighten us with divine knowledge, and having made us sensible of thy will, enable us to obey it."

Link to Scripture:  Amos 4:13

Take Action:  ♫God is in Control♫

To Be or Not To Be

"To Be or Not To Be" that is indeed the question.  

Those are the words that came to mind as I thought about my disappointments this morning--a reoccurring theme in my life.  But I am very glad to report that I finally got to the root of it!

I used to think I had a self-esteem problem--that I didn't think highly enough of myself.  I realize now that my self-esteem has been too high and that my disappointments stem from that self-esteem because I had unrealistic expectations for myself....and this then would spill over to other people.  Because I thought too highly of them, I expected too much from them, as well.

So I endeavored to understand what could be done about this problem.  I know the answer isn't to esteem myself or others less.  And just to not have expectations doesn't get to the root.  The answer came in Julia Cameron's little book of affirmations, "Heart Steps--Prayers and Declarations for a Creative Life".  She wrote, "I allow [God] to dream through me, to act through me, to create through me."  In that moment I realized it would be impossible to suffer any kind of disappointment if I just allowed this way of being to be....and the way to allow this is to stop judging myself by what I do or not do.  Instead I am just to be the channel through which God expresses His love.  God's love has many, many different ways to be expressed, and He accomplishes this through people who are open to Him.  Our personal prejudices (which are expressed through the judgments we make) block God's use of us--judgments such as "I can't" or "I'm not good enough" or "they can't" and "they aren't good enough".  

But then I have to go a step further.  I must be on the alert for such thoughts as "I won't".  How often do we passively resist God's Will for us by declaring that we aren't able (can't) to do something when the truth is we just won't do it.

So, the question is am I to be open to God and willing?  Or am I not to be?  That is the question!

Father, too often I lose sight of my own willfulness by hiding behind excuses of inadequacy when at the same time I declare that all things are possible through Christ!  No wonder I feel confused!  May I instead allow You to dream through me, act through me, and create through me.  Amen

Link to scripture:  Mark 9:23

Take action: Trust and Obey
   

Gratitude Part 2

In the Language of Flowers the Campanula symbolizes Gratitude....

One of the first posts I did on this Blog was on gratitude, but I feel a need to revisit this subject.  Alan Cohen has written a piece called "Thanksliving".  His focus is on past relationships.  He writes, "It is important that we hold our past in a sense of reverence, along with the people we have known."  

Recently someone from my past who caused me anguish at the time started coming to the Fitness Center I visit every weekday.  She seemed not to know who I was, and I was not inclined to make myself known to her.  She never looked directly at me, so I didn't feel the need to acknowledge her.  But then God began to bring particular writings into my morning quiet time and it became clear I needed not only to forgive this person but to gain understanding to why her actions still caused me hurt when I thought about them after all these years.  

And I did forgive her...as well as discover why it still hurt....and then was able share what I had learned with someone else who was dealing with a difficult situation.  I was eager to see this person again at the Fitness Center so I could smile at her and re-introduce myself (although, I had the feeling she already knew who I was).  Of course, she wasn't there--for days-- and when she did return I never found her looking my way so I could say "hi".  But, amazingly, it didn't matter any more.  The "work" had been done in me and I was able to have this sense of reverence of how God had used her in my life at the time and was still using her to show me things about myself I needed to see.  Cohen goes on to say, "Assume that everyone who shows up in your life is here to bless you in some way."  He suggests we make a list of significant past events and relationships and note by each the gifts we received from that person or experience.  I guarantee you it will change your perspective and help to heal any hurts that still linger.

Father, I am grateful for everything that has happened in my life because now I can see Your Hand in them, working to bring good to me and to others through me.

Link to scripture:  Romans 8:28

Take action:  Gratitude

Thanksgiving

Since it's Thanksgiving week I thought I should do a post about all the things I'm thankful for and then realized it would take forever to gather all the photos to go along with my list.  Plus, I don't know about you, but expressing thanks for all one has can stir up discontentment in others who do not have (I'm not immune!)....and I don't want to be guilty of that.  Instead, I'd rather talk about what it means to have a thankful heart.  Poetry the Calico Cat knows very well what it means to have a thankful heart.  Stories about her adventures in discovering where thankfulness comes from can be found on her website.

But first, let's start with this video:  Muppet Christmas Carol.  After watching it, please come back here.

Old Mr. Scrooge discovered that if he awoke each morning with a grateful prayer and thankful heart he'd find peace and joy.  It took his being shown his bleak future to wake him up from the nightmare he was living from being so stingy and uncaring.

Our next video, Veggie Tales, we learn that a thankful heart is a happy heart and the way to achieve this is to thank God every day for everything He has given us.

In this Peanuts video Sally gripes about having to write an essay at school because of Thanksgiving.  She definitely does NOT evoke the spirit of a thankful heart.

And last but not least Winnie the Pooh has some wisdom about what it means to have a thankful heart.

Thank you Father for impressing upon me my need for You and for enabling me to have a thankful heart.

Link to scripture:  Romans 8:15

Take action:  ♫Thankful Heart♫

Foreseen Circumstances

"A psychic, seer, or prophet can look down the road and see likely outcomes of actions and attitudes that are currently in motion." --Alan Cohen

In the above photo the power company was removing a tree that had fallen on the power line on Monday afternoon in the early hours of Hurricane Sandy. My husband "predicted" the falling of that tree two weeks ago when he noticed it leaning toward the line and called the power company about it. He is not psychic, but if you use Alan Cohen's definition above then you could say that he is, as we all are when we take the time to look at situations with some thought and reasoning.  

Cohen goes on to say, however, "But at any moment, a human being can make a new decision and alter the course of events."  If the power company had responded to my husband's call two weeks ago and sent a tree cutting crew to take it down then, the power company employees would not have had to come out in the rain and wind on what was to become a nightmare of a night for the region when over 200,000 people were to lose power.  

Cohen's point is that once something is set in motion most of us are capable of predicting the outcome if we've learned from our past experiences.  However, it does not mean the outcome is certain.  Unforeseen circumstances can alter the outcome for or against our favor.  We have much more under our direction than we give ourselves credit for, however.  Sometimes it just involves choosing a different course of action or a different way of viewing the situation.  Depending on God and seeking His Wisdom can make all the difference in the outcome.  We just need to realize that outcomes are not set in stone when we let God have hold of the reins.

Father, help me to let go of the reins so that I can pay attention to You and make the right decisions about my life.

Link to scripture:  Jeremiah 17:10

Take action:  Give Up Control