Month: March 2018

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Blessings

Another gray day, and cooler. I do feel sorry for the folks who are here this week. More northeast winds and drizzle turning to real rain coming. But I saw my first osprey in Duck for the season, hovering over our cove. And I heard birdsong when I got back home, an hour or so before dusk thanks to Spring Forward time. So what would You say to me tonight?

Quit apologizing for My blessing. Quit being embarrassed over My largesse. You are so grateful for small, for little, for glimpses. Be grateful for large, for big, for vistas. You hold back telling of your blessings out of fear of others’ judgment. You think they’ll think you are ostentatious, that you are boasting, that you are snobbish. No one who comes to know you will ever think that. Anyone who believes that doesn’t know you. You’ve been faithful over little. Just rejoice and receive the “much” that is the fulfilling of My promise. Much opportunity, much blessing. It is okay to be astonished, but not to feel embarrassed, as though you do not deserve My blessings. You are getting a glimpse of this truth: everyone does. So model this.

 

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How does Your Garden grow?

Lord, I keep coming back to the third letter of John, in which he pray that his readers would be in good health and prosper, even as their souls prosper. I find so much depth in that thought! Our soul prospers when we are fully connected. Like a garden prospers in the right soil and in the right mix of light and water for whatever the particular plants require to thrive. So that brings up a question–since this is not a cookie-cutter planet, and we aren’t cookie-cutter people, and You aren’t a cookie-cutter God, You relate to us differently, don’t You? I’m hearing Ding-Ding-Ding in my head.

Yes! You understand! This could be the real gift of denominations, and “religious practices” — acknowledging that some humans are shade-loving while others need full sun and still others need a mixture. Some humans, like sea oats, thrive in what other humans would label drought, because those other humans require a lot of water. I Am certainly Big Enough to encompass within Myself every human need. It is only natural that like would gather with like. You don’t berate a hosta plant for wilting atop a sand dune! You plant it in the shady conditions that are most suitable for it to thrive.

But what do you humans do? You gather to yourselves others like you and then you make dogma. You decide that yours is the best–or only valid–location in the Garden. You discount others’ experiences as less-than, or flat-out wrong. Meanwhile, those others are harboring the same thoughts and judgements about your group! And all of you think you are the only ones growing to suit the Master Gardener!

So what are we to do, then?

Make room in your heart for all kinds of plants. Let Me be God over the whole Garden. Learn from one another and respect one another enough to allow those different from you to find their way, their perfect spot. Most of all, love one another. Love one another as I have loved each of you, all of you. Love seeks the other’s best. Love rejoices when the other thrives. Love sees the whole garden and each plant in it as beautiful and essential.

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Perspectives

Lord, I think I need to talk about perspective. Somebody could come along tonight and ask, how was your day? And depending on my perspective, on what particular aspect or moment I want to focus on, I would answer in any number of ways! I might say, great! I might say, exhausting. I might say, tense. I might say, overwhelming. I might say, truly wonderful. And all of those things would be true! 

You remember the proverb, as someone thinks, so someone is? So what is your dominant emotion right now?

Joy. Gratitude.

And why is that?

Well…we had some difficulties today with the move, no doubt. But they all resolved in the end–or are close enough to being resolved that I don’t have to fret over them. Pete is no longer frustrated or anxious and that helps me, too, it does. And overarching any difficulties was my gratitude for all the help, the moving guys, Phyllis’ trojan efforts over the past days to get us ready, and her vision and Pete’s vision for the new space as well. Then there was the synchronistic serendipity of the two gals who “just happened” to wander in, and right at the time we could talk and connect. Honestly, that was huge. Encouraging that fledgling artist, I say fledgling only because that is what she might, if she were being generous, name herself, when actually she is full stature and doesn’t see it yet, but encouraging her was a highlight of my week so far. I had a brief conversation with a grandson and his voice always brings me joy. I connected with several friends over the past couple days. It has been good.

So your perspective acknowledges all the realities of your day. You aren’t ignoring the difficult parts or pretending they did not happen. You lived through them and felt the weight of them in real time. The difference is, you did not allow them to overtake your overall perspective, of life being basically good, and of seeking–and therefore finding–places to connect and ways to bless. Your perspective shapes your reality. It does.

 I have had this happen, actually, in a photograph, where the perspective was skewed because of my lens choice. And what my lens saw and the reality my eyes saw were very different.

If you can keep holding on to your chosen perspective, to live a life centered in Love, in Gratitude, in Peace, that does not mean you will not encounter any difficulties. It does mean you have tools to navigate through them, and beyond. It also means at the end of the day, like right now, when you look back on your day, you do so from this position your perspective offers.

When you look back on your week, this time tomorrow, and when you look back on your year, at the end of the season, and when you look back on this chapter, and when you eventually look back on your life, you will see clearly the valleys you walked through, but you will also see how they did not predominate your life’s landscape. Instead you will see the shining reality your perspective created for you and those around you, over and over, just as today–a reality of beauty and hope, of centering and encouragement, of joy and peace and love. Remember, if you want to change something in your outward reality, have a good close look at your perspective.

Ok, God. I hear You. And God…thank You.

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Seek Fullness for Balance

Now, God, I have minutes. What would You Who are Timeless, what would You speak into my minutes?

Why do you think I Am a Trinity?

Uh, I have no idea.

I modeled humans after Myself.

But Lord, we are limited. I mean, we have bodies.

Yes, so there is the Second Person of the Triune I Am. Jesus.

Okay, so here is a question. Jesus entered time, so to speak, limiting Himself in a physical sense to our limits. But if He always was, this is hard to convey in words, if He always existed before His birth, He was, what? Not separate from You as Father–but different? Same Essence, same values…like twins? I get confused. We people, we get confused!

Think about a 3-legged stool. I Am Balance within Myself. You need balance within yourself. You need to tend to your needs in three areas:

Your body–your health. That means what you eat and drink. That also means exercise and movement, it means how you treat yourself. Even your outward appearance to others, clothing, all of that, comes under the heading of your body.

Your mind and emotions–what you learn, how you learn, what and how you think, the thoughts and feelings you generate either proactively, like affirmation or gratitude, or in reaction to others or to circumstances.

Your spirit–this is where your core values are, and is the seat of your creativity too. This is the well, the deep spring, that feeds and waters your mind and emotions, which in turn prompt action–your body’s responses. You need all three, and you need balance among them.

Lord, whole studies have been done on the Trinity. I read one time that a way to think about it is the roles even we people play. How one man can be, at the same time, a grown son, a father himself, and a husband. Who he is, who he appears to be is different depending on the relationship. Factor in other relationships like employee or boss or co-worker, or friend or coach or…whatever…every person will have a different perception of that man, depending on the relationship they share. 

Yes, this is perceptive. Yet it is only part of the truth. The relationships each has with that man are also lived in different arenas, so to speak. The relationships at work might be based more on sharing information and thoughts, perhaps (depending on the job) even sharing creativity. The relationships at home, if they are healthy and complete, will include all aspects.  There might be friendships, like a sports league, that are based more on sharing a physical connection, like bowling or golf.

So what does this have to do with anything?

Humans tend to compartmentalize their relationships, including their relationships to themselves, and their relationships with Me. Some approach Me only mentally. Emotions are kept under wraps unless they are sanitized to be what people think I will accept–like the Ted Talk you heard tonight on emotional rigidity versus emotional agility. Some approach Me only when they have a great need that affects their body, like an issue with their health or finances, some crisis. Some have their entire relationship built only on their negative feelings, coming to Me only when they feel empty or sad or alone, but essentially ignoring Me or My Presence when they feel no real need, when life is going well. How long do you think a marriage would last, if one partner approached the other only under restricted, regulated conditions? Yes, I call Myself Father — but your scripture also names Me the Bridegroom. And a truth of the Incarnation is this–when you allow the Holy Spirit to join with your spirit, what can be birthed in and through your life, creatively and emotionally and then physically, can literally change the world. Not just your world, the world at large. This is how great ideas and innovations come into being. Sparks of ideas take fire in the imagination and are forged into reality through concentrated action.

So when I say I Am, I intend to be all of these to you. To humanity.

I Am Father. Think of what that means to a young child, assuming the Father is faithful to his role. That child will grow up to feel safe in the home, will be taught responsibility, will be encouraged to grow and explore, will have a source of wisdom to look up to and draw from. In short, that child will be well-nutured to become his or her very best self.

I Am One of you. Think of a spouse, think of a partner, think of a best friend, think of a twin. Think of a sibling that goes through life alongside you, that mirrors back to you through the lens of shared experience truths about yourself you might otherwise not recognize. Think of what you have felt empowered to do, when you know you have been deeply loved and supported, having someone right beside you who believes in you and your best.

I Am Spirit flowing through you. Like your breath, I animate and fill your very being, whether you know Me, name Me, recognize Me, partner with Me, or not. But the choice to participate in My flow in your life opens you to greater and greater creative expression, in all ways. Do you want to accomplish great things, have ideas that will help and bless and encourage others? Embrace the I Am Who is Spirit, Who is Holy. Holy means My impulses are pure, of highest motive and intention. My Holy Spirit will help you gauge any time or any area where your own ideas or ideals are falling short–not to scold you, not to punish you, but to encourage you to aim higher, to achieve greatness. Anyone can be great in Love. Anyone can be a champion in Compassion and Peace. Anyone can be judged Joyous and Grateful. Anyone can be awarded for Truth.

So I can have all these relationships with You?

You can and you must, if you wish to be all you can be here on this earth. This is more than a matter of balance, even. This is about fullness. Go back to that three-legged stool. What happens if one leg is radically shorter than the others?

Oh, I have had that happen with my tripod! It is disastrous! If I don’t catch it, fix it, the whole thing crashes to the ground.

Well, your life, your collective human lives, are in danger of crashing to the ground without the full length of each leg of the stool. You want balance? Seek fullness. Don’t go halfway in your relationship with Me. Share it all. Be all in.

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Loving my life

I just sat down, well I have been sitting, I guess I mean, I just stopped from placing inventory orders in order to (order, see that, I have order on the brain!), in order to catch my breath and talk to You and the instant I did that, I heard a chorus in my head of Hail, hail, the gang’s all here! So I guess I want to start by thanking You for my tribe. Really, God, thank You. I have such incredible support, staff, artists, friends, Pete–sometimes I almost feel guilty for being so blessed.

Guilty?

You know how sometimes folks say this or that isn’t fair? Well, how is it fair that I have so much in my life?

Eve, what you are grateful for, and your attitude of gratitude itself, that was, is, My Plan, My Desire, for all of humanity. What isn’t fair, as you say, is that anyone on the planet lacks. And yet so many do.

God, yes. I was talking about that in a roundabout way with a friend today. We were both talking about folks we care about whose lives seem…what is the word I want? Not harder than ours, exactly. I mean, we have both seen our share and more than our share it seems, at times, of hardship–but we love life. We do. We love not only life, but our own lives. We love the possibilities in each new day. We love the mystery and wonder. I told her, I can be distracted away from trouble or sorrow in a minute, just by the flash of light on the water, or wings darting past my window. I am so in love with this big beautiful world, even on the days it seems small and not so beautiful. I just love it here.

This is all I ever wanted for My Children–and remember, when I say, My Children, I mean every single person. Or as your headline writers put it at times, for emphasis: Every. Single. Person. All of you. Or, speaking southern, all y’all.

Oh, God, You are too funny? All y’all? Really?

People assume I have no humor. How can they think such a thing!

There is joy in humor, Lord. Not the kind that puts others down. The kind that laughs for the sheer exuberance of it.

That is the joy I mean you to have. There are those who look for, and expect, and find, every single day, something to complain about. Something to be upset about. Something to get angry about. There are also those who look for and expect and find, every single day, something to rejoice about. Something to give thanks for. Something to smile and laugh over. That is who you have become, and it is beautiful to see. You shine, now. You do.

God, You did that. You did. It took a long, long time. And I cry sometimes still.

Of course you do. But even through your tears, you shine.

So I guess all I really wanted to say, here at the end of the day, is thank You. Thank You and I love You.

You are welcome. And I love you, too.

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Stone of Seeing

I’m gong on a journey, and…that is what another move feels like. That combination of excitement, some fatigue, a little apprehension. Every day a journey, and I think that sums up how I approach every day, actually. And when I say it that way, I see “a little apprehension” as a disconnect. A feeling of but-what-if that is peering ahead at possible negatives. So, God, what is a better response? Not foolhardiness, obviously. Not neglecting wisdom or discernment.

A better response? How about faith. Faith says, “I don’t know the future but I have confidence that…” So, how would you complete the sentence?

Me? Now? Well, I have confidence that You are with me, and that You are guiding me, guiding us. I am still making choices but I can choose from a position of being guided–and that guidance, it’s based on values more than on specific outcomes, I just realized.

Yes, if you are leading with Love and following Love, then you are on a good path. Faith reminds you also that you are not alone, you do have companions.

So…Faith doesn’t guarantee a specific outcome?

Faith guarantees an ultimate outcome but leaves room for life. And that sentence can be read in so many ways! Some read it to mean, a future bliss and plenty of trouble and suffering now. Some read it to mean, God is interested only in the hereafter but the here and now is all up to us and our own effort. What I Am trying to help you understand is this: Faith is not a magic wand. It is more like a Seeing Stone. Faith can help you pick out a path based on the direction you want to walk. You have chosen to walk in Love, now. In Peace, now. And you long to walk in Joy, now. You have chosen to walk Connected, now. Leaving room for life means that you retain the power of choice–and that you remain open to the surprises you like to call serendipity or synchronicity. Faith does not demand a lockstep, predetermined, predestined pace or path. Faith is more interested in relationships than anything else.

So what is the ultimate outcome? Heaven?

The ultimate outcome is full union with Me, yes, as Love Eternal, Love Incarnate, Love Undying. And the ultimate outcome is My Will, manifest. That is true Manifest Destiny. Everyone is destined to be loved completely, sooner or later, here or in eternity. Blessed are the ones who can embrace this reality now. Their lives are easier, not because nothing hard ever happens to them, but because they are companioned through everything.

So, Lord, when I say, I am led by You, what does that mean, exactly? From Your perspective?

It means I view you as a seeker, a seeker of good, a seeker of the highest, best, most loving life for yourself and for those your life touches, however briefly or long. And since those who seek, find–that is spiritual law–it means that your searching is neither empty nor in vain. It means that when you consider multiple paths and multiple outcomes, you will feel nudges and promptings in just the same way you sometimes sense that there is a photograph waiting, a moment waiting for your presence. So you go, and in fact, there is. You tend to ask out of a heart that seeks to find its place in the larger world, amidst all the other hearts asking or vying for their own spots. You don’t begrudge others their paths; you seek to be true to yourself and find the path most in line with your values and your longings to give.

That’s true.

So that kind of commitment inevitably draws to itself the appropriate match, in circumstances, in opportunities, in people. What you have to give matches what the larger world needs in very specific ways and times and circumstances, like the pieces of a puzzle fit together. It doesn’t have to be hard. Your peace and your discernment tell you when something is not a good match or no longer fits.

That is true, too. 

So that is what being led is like. I see and hear and observe and feel your heart. Sometimes I sense when your thought is out of line with your heart. It is those times when you feel most disconnected from yourself, from life, from others, from Me. You think I have withdrawn but I Am actually drawing even closer, in human terms, in those moments, at the ready when you turn and seek once again with your heart. That is why Faith is like a Seeing Stone. You seek, and then you see. And that prompts deeper and wider seeking and seeing.

Thank You Lord. I think I understand a little bit.

Don’t worry too much about “understanding.” True faith like true peace is beyond the understanding. Just go with what you feel and what you know. Don’t worry about pitfalls or rockslides. Your discernment will let you know when it is time to change course.

Like this move, Lord! Talk about synchronicity and serendipity! I say, it seems as if we are being led…and it is true, I felt it. I sensed it. And then I heard it, in my heart. And then the door opened in circumstance. And then literally!

You can trust your feelings. There is an entire body of teaching in the church that says you cannot, that your feelings are unreliable at best or evil at worst. I gave humanity feeling and emotion. It is a GIFT, not a curse. Use this gift as you would use any other gift, in the service of Love, and you will never regret your choices.

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Making Moments

Lord, some days I feel like a yo-yo–work, rest. Family, solitude. Creative, I can’t think of the right word for what I want to say. Creative…all the words I can come up with are negative words and that is not exactly what I mean. I think I mean, there are days I feel innovative, alert to possibility and to the light itself, and there are other days I feel very close-focused and the focus is detail-oriented, task-driven, necessary but not necessarily what I would call creative. There is an energy input, I will say, when I am being creative, and there is an energy output, let’s say, when I am occupied with all the background tasks of making a business life successful. Hence the yo-yo. Maybe that is not such a bad thing. Balance, right?

Balance, yes. Your challenge is that you tend to view your life in larger increments of time, and you plan to balance work now, and details now, and tasks now, with rest and refreshing and creative expressions later. And “later” doesn’t always balance out. Your challenge is to build your later into your now. Find ways to incorporate refreshment and relaxation, creative flow and time with family and friends, in the middle of the days that demand an immediate, detailed, task-oriented focus.

Ok, so, how in the world do I do that? I manage to find moments with You. Thankfully, You are Yourself, meaning, always Present. So I can talk to You at midnight, say, or while in the middle of doing something else, say, or driving, say, really anywhere, anytime–but I can’t necessarily relax anywhere anytime, and I sure can’t take creative time (which does take time and attention) and I sure can’t simultaneously get the shop ready to open and spend unstructured time, say, walking the beach or enjoying a long, lazy talk with a friend. I’m missing something, aren’t I? There is a third way I am not seeing, isn’t there?

You are living either/or again instead of both/and. The key is something you have done before, and that is to allow yourself moments in every day, as I told you before, to connect–you are faithfully connecting with Me, but you need moments to connect with yourself, and to connect with family, and to connect with friends.

Ok, here is the problem I see with that idea. Moments are just that, they are brief and elusive, and they don’t seem to have much value, all by themselves unless you string them together into hours or days or weeks or…

Stop. Take a breath. How long did that take?

I dunno. A moment? Oh. Clever.

That momentary breath, your inhale, your exhale, sustains you, literally keeps you alive. So do your little glances back and forth with Pete, your little hugs, your little kisses, your daily I-love-you’s. You haven’t had a vacation together away in more than three years. Yet your love continues to grow and be sustained by the daily moments of intention you both give to that love and to each other.

OK, point taken. And that absolutely works here, with Pete.

It would work with you, too–with yourself. Just give yourself a few minutes of attention. Check in with your body, are you warm, cold, thirsty, hungry? Check in with your emotions, and don’t brush them off, whatever they are. If you are feeling joyful and excited, then enjoy that! Really feel the feeling of the accomplishments you are making now, in your working days. If you are feeling worried or stressed, you don’t have to obsess on that in order to honor the feeling–but be willing to bring that feeling to the forefront so that you can take action based on its prompting. When you rush past joy, you diminish it. When you try to push past worry or stress, you magnify it. You already pay momentary mindful attention to nature, so you know how to do this.

What about friends, Lord? I have friendships I sustain in a series of moments. I’m thinking of friends who are long-distance, some extremely long-distance. But You help us stay connected, even if we are physically apart. It’s really something, how that works. Are You saying I can rely on that type of connection even in the busier times?

You already do. As you just said, you have friendships you have sustained in just this way, where distance separates you physically but your hearts are joined and every moment of contact just strengthens and reinforces the bond. Don’t neglect the moment just because you cannot spend hours. Don’t neglect the contact just because it will be brief. Don’t be all-or-nothing, either/or, in your thinking.  Living in the Moment means living in the Moment with Me, with yourself, with nature, with family, with friends. Make Moments. They in turn will make your life.

 

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Foundations

Lord, You know we are in the middle of a nor’easter–an odd nor’easter in that we have no rain, but high surf from offshore winds. States to the north are getting pounded with flooding, and watching at the pier today made me think of what You said about building on sand. Our whole island is built on sand!

Do you know what the difference is between building on sand and building on rock?

Yes, the houses built on sand fall in and the ones on rock stand. That is what the parable says. And the building on rock is shorthand for building on You, on Your Word. On what You say.

Step back a minute. A tsunami wave broadside would shatter even a house built on rock. The key is in the foundation. A nor’easter can pull a sand foundation out from under a house, no matter how well built the house itself is. Its sandy foundation is subject to erosion, whereas a rock foundation is more secure. That is the literal meaning of the parable. People assume the parable means that building your life on principles of faith mean that no tragedy, no hardship, will hit the house. But what it really means is that, no matter what waves come, the foundation–the relationship of a life lived in union with Me, based on My Love–is secure. So let Me ask you a hard question. When Pete was first diagnosed back in 2011, did you blame Me?

No, of course not! I mean, I didn’t believe then, and I don’t believe now, that You caused that.

And you are right. I did not. But was I present to you, to both of you, in and through that?

Yes, you were. That was hard. Losing Patrick, that was in some ways harder, certainly harder on Pete. But You, You were always there. And we had each other.

So the highest waves you two have faced together did not topple your love for one another or your certainty of My Love for you and My Presence with you. You are built on solid rock. You built your lives together on Love, My Love, and your love for each other. Your grief and fear were very real, and you will feel elements of both of those as long as you live together. So it can be said that your house shook, your emotions shook, when those waves came, but your foundation never eroded.

No, and in some odd ways, all of that just made our foundation stronger. I guess because we faced that together. Separately, in that those situations had different effects on each of us, but we still faced it all together. We walked through it separately, together. If that makes sense.

So here is what I want you to remember. There is no wave, no storm, no situation that will pull your foundation out from under you. Not from you, as an individual. Not from you two as a couple. Take that to heart. Really take that in. That will give you peace.

 

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Flow

Lord, my friend from halfway around the world, she wrote, said she was praying for me, talked specifics which she could not know on her own, only from You. Why did You do that?

I want you to know, by experience, that there is no distance when it comes to My Spirit. No distance, no separation of time, no boundary.

Lord, she felt led to pray for health, for me. God, this is really hard to say. I was just reading back in an older journal, four years ago in fact, when we were moving into our new location, and I got word of the award for Meditation, and You said a keyword for me then was Receive. So this is my perennial struggle. How can I ask, how can I receive, when it seems as if others don’t?

Don’t?

Don’t receive. What gives me the…what? Blessing? What gives me the right to a blessing that others need, too? How can I say yes to receiving?

By your logic, the world would be reduced, not enlarged. Everyone would have to grow smaller and diminish. The world would shrink, and shrivel, instead of thriving and expanding.

But…but it is hard to talk about Your blessing, of any kind, of saying, I believe I have received x-y-z, it is hard to express outward gratitude, not because I am not grateful, but I am painfully aware, and I mean painfully, of folks whose circumstances are more difficult than mine. So I tend to want to hold back.

I have told you before, the best evidence is a good and consistent example of the life I mean for humans to enjoy. If you decide to model sickness, stress, hunger, poverty, as a result of joining your life with Mine, what does that say about Who I Am? It says one of these things: I have no power, I have no interest, or I have no compassion. It says, I am sorry but I cannot help you; or, I have power but I really don’t care what happens to you; or, I have power, and I care what happens to you, but you are not worthy of My blessing, because I Am the Great Withholder, instead of the Great Giver.

Okay, so what is the great obstacle then to receiving? Why don’t more receive?

Look at yourself. You think up all sorts of reasons why you “cannot” receive. Some have to do with you, some have to do with others and what they think, some you believe–erroneously–have to do with Me. I want you to picture once more My Will as a compass. I want you to picture My Will pointing toward a direction, and on the path of that direction is everything a human being needs to thrive during a lifetime here. Think about that for a minute. Everything a human being needs to thrive. That means nurture from the moment birth-parents realize they will have a child. That means nurture from birth into childhood, through school years and beyond. That means health and a sustainable life out of poverty. That means safety–in the home, on the street, in the larger world. That was My Original Plan. So that is My Will. When Jesus came, did He ever, even once, refuse to heal on the grounds that it was My Will that the person be ill? Did He ever say, I am sorry, but this sickness is from God, and you must just bear it? Did He declare, this will make you stronger and increase your character? Or did He say, over and over, in word and gesture, I Am Willing, be healed. Rise up. Stretch forth your hand. Take up your bed and walk. Be cleansed. Be whole. Be strengthened. Be well. Blind eyes, see. Lame limbs, leap. Mute tongues, speak and praise God. What did He do? What did He say? And Whom did He say He represented on your earth?

Now, picture that compass, pointing a direction. And picture magnets, powerful magnets, called public opinion, ignorance, bigotry, prejudice pulling humanity off course. Picture magnets of leadership gone awry, wanting control more than wanting to serve–both in and out of what calls itself My Church, a community that was originally intended to replicate Jesus’ message and modus operandi. And what was the message? Fear not, God is with you. And what was the m.o.? Be healed, be fed, be free, be whole. Be who you were created to be.

In the middle, the center, of that path is everything I ever intended for humanity. Folks talk about being in the Center of My Will as a sort of criteria for receiving and what they usually mean is, I will withhold My Blessing unless their lives line up just so in perfect order. But what is true is more literal than that: the blessing flows in the center, so come to the center and you are automatically in the flow. That is why practices like intention and affirmation and gratitude are so powerful; they place the practitioner in the center of the Flow. The Flow of My Will for humanity. Unfortunately, many good and wonderful people have been pulled away by fear, or by believing what others in leadership tell them, even if it is far from My Truth.

So Your Will is healing?

Yes.

For…everyone?

Yes.

Ok, here is a dumb question, then.

There are no dumb questions.

Ha, my friend Judy says that.

She is correct.

Ok, well…how do we die then, if Your Will is health?

Just like the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, just like the chicken pecks its way out of the egg. Transformation. Resurrection is all about transformation. In My Original Plan, there was no death, remember? There was life unto Life, glory unto Glory. “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn; it shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” And remember, in My Sight, all are created righteous; and in the final hour, all are declared righteous. So My Will always was, glory to Glory. Light to Light. Humanity to Eternity. Step across the bridge, easily and rejoicing. That was the Plan.

Gosh, God, we are so far away from that. In all ways.

Not so far as you think. For you, the final moments will be that easy. That gentle. I have promised you that before.

I want that for everyone.

Keep praying. Keep asking. And keep modeling the life I intend. For right now, that means being willing to receive. Receive so you can give. One of your gifts is Hope, remember? Be willing to have a testimony. Not to draw attention to yourself, but to Me and Who I long to be in every human life, in every human heart. Believe, and keep believing. Receive, and keep receiving. Be a big ripple in the pond! Help others believe and receive. You cannot do that by standing on the bank of the River, longing. Only by living in the Flow.

OH! I see it. Sort of.

Yes, you do.

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Patterns of Choice

Lord, here is my concern about what we have been talking about lately. Aren’t some folks going to just view it as permission to live however they want, without regard to consequences, since their actions don’t matter in the long run?

I never said their actions don’t matter. I said My Mercy triumphs over all, and all includes all evil. But let Me ask you a question. You have past actions you regret, even now. So are you tempted to repeat them, knowing you will not suffer an eternal punishment? And if not, why not?

Gosh, God, what a question! First of all, from a self-centered point of view, those years I regret, they were miserable and I was miserable. So, no, I would never want to go back there. That was awful. And second, considering the love-based relationship I have with You now, I would not want to do anything deliberate to put any sort of distance between us, and I know myself well enough to know, if I did do something wrong, I would withdraw. And I don’t want anything to interrupt our connection.

Do you recall the story about what happened after Adam and Eve ate the apple, in the story in Genesis?

Sure! They got kicked out of the Garden!

No, before that.

You came looking for them. They were hiding.

So think about that for a minute. Even in that story, Who reached out? Who came calling? I did. And who was hiding in shame? They were. For millennia, people have assumed the Garden was off limits out of My punishment for their sin of disobedience. That is the phrasing that is used. But actually, I led them out of the Garden out of My Mercy. Eating of the “Tree of Life” in that condition of shame would have meant their shame would have become perpetual. Even then, in the earliest of stories, if you read between the lines, a deeper meaning is present. I came calling. I prevented their shame from being perpetual. I made a different way.

What about the curse, then? You will labor to wrest your food out of the ground, and childbirth will be painful as punishment for the woman, all of that? The story says You cursed the ground.

How could I curse the earth, the beautiful earth of My imagining? It is closer to the truth if you read the words to say this–the earth will be cursed because of your actions. Not, I Am cursing the earth as punishment for your actions. I was simply stating a fact, calling out in advance future events I could see would happen. And is it not so? Disease, degradation, pollution, waste, greed–all of these are like curses for the earth, and not one is of My Making or My Choosing.

Oh. OH. Human action would wind up resulting in, to use the phrase, a curse for the earth.

Exactly. And human action can also wind up in great blessing. The choice has always been with each new generation and with each individual. In the story, the very next generation saw fratricide, brother against brother. And is it not so even to this day? You don’t have to believe in a literal first man, first woman, first jealousy, first murder, to see the pattern repeated over and over. And right alongside these patterns, you have patterns of faithfulness, of kindness, of choosing right over wrong. It is always a matter of choice, which is what we started this conversation talking about, personal choice.

Right.

So I ask you again, given what you know now, what do you choose?

I choose You. I choose, best I can, to love You. To love others.

And why is that?

Because Love Is. Because You love me, love us, love all of us. Because I have decided I would rather be a part of the pattern of love than the pattern of hate, and the pattern of peace than the pattern of war, and the pattern of joy than the pattern of unhappiness, particularly causing hate, or war, or unhappiness to others. Or to You. Or to Your heart.

And so, in a tiny way, you help extend My Kingdom on earth. Every act of love, of lovingkindness does. Remember that when you are tempted to be impatient, to give in to impulses other than love. Remember, your strongest motivation, and the best motivation, is always Love. Never Fear.

Yes, Lord. And Lord…thank You. Thank You for being You.