Category: Choices

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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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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.

 

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Patterns

God, scripture says You don’t test us.

Why should I test you? I already know everything about you. I already know your heart.

Well, teachers test us to see where we are deficient–to show us, or themselves, where we fall short, where we have gaps.

Teachers need to ensure their students have a certain body of knowledge and skills in order to lead an integrated and productive life. Good teachers will assess both their students’ skills and knowledge, factoring in how they learn best. A great teacher will help empower students to continue to learn and grow beyond the classroom. There are other ways, better ways, to encourage and develop life skills than the concept of “testing” implies.

Like what?

When you and Pete got married, were you constantly demanding that he prove his love for you, or were you more focused on showing him your love, and how happy and grateful you ere to be together? And what about him?

We just loved each other, corny as that sounds.

It doesn’t sound corny at all. All that I Am flows from Love, to Love. Love is the beginning place, Love is the journey, Love is the destination.

Ok, Lord, but I have friends and family whose lives seem to be a series of, how can I say this, one-thing-after-another hard circumstances. It never seems to stop. And I am not even talking about the challenges we all eventually face if we live long enough, I am talking about a cascade of disasters. It seems as if more and more is being demanded of them. And if I may say so, it doesn’t seem fair.

Of course you may say so–you may say anything. I don’t want you ever censoring your thoughts with Me, as if you even could. So you are asking why am I giving them such hard circumstances.

Yes, Lord. I don’t understand. 

Imagine a farmer going out to plow his field. And imagine there is one part of the field that is rocky, and every time he plows there, he dulls or chips his blade. Imagine there is another part of the field where the ground is soggy, and poorly drained, and inevitably his tractor gets stuck in the mud there every single time. Now imagine this farmer getting up every morning and setting out to plow these same sections, perhaps imagining that this time all will be different–even though he has never removed the rocks, or tried to fill the soggy ground with better soil. Now imagine that same farmer actually neglecting the portions of his field that are good, fertile, cleared ground. How many crops do you think he will have? How much time and money do you think he will waste, constantly chipping his blade, always getting mired down in the muck? Now, finally imagine this farmer telling his neighbors, I don’t know what lesson God is trying to teach me, that I have all this bad luck farming!

Humans tend to repeat patterns, for good or ill. That is great when the patterns lead to good results, such as good health, loving and respectful relationships, wise stewardship of resources, and peace with others, but it is disastrous if the patterns lead to poor health, being taken advantage of, repeated abusive or neglectful relationships and so on.

When there is a pattern of behavior, or a pattern of results, you do well to come to Me for wisdom about changing the pattern. You can be sure it is not I Who is testing you in those kinds of circumstances. Instead, I Am the One trying to break through your destructive patterns and lead you in paths of life. You change by changing. Perhaps that means a different sense of responses so the outcome is different. One reason recovery programs are so successful is that they are based on the idea that different choices lead to different results.

So what is one concrete thing my friends or family could do?

The first, best thing to do is just to be willing to come to Me and talk about everything that is going wrong with a view to identifying the underlying pattern they may be repeating without even being aware of it. I have promised to lead My children in paths of righteousness. What that really means is, in paths that are right, and true, and perfect for that person. You can be sure My leading will always be centered in Love. For those whose patterns are lifelong, their hearts may be deeply rutted. I Am a gentle and loving shepherd. I will not push or prod or demand a quick pace. That is why the Psalm also talks about green pastures of plenty, and quiet streams. My Way is always the gentlest way. So I would say simply, come. Come, walk with Me. Lean on Me. Learn from Me. Love with Me. Live with Me.

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Valentines and Ash Wednesday

The Calm I feel this morning is already a Gift of the Day. It’s a day of cards and flowers, chocolate and hearts. It’s Mama’s Homegoing Day. So what would You say today?

Just as there truly is no separation, no distance, between us, between your spirit and My Spirit, there is also no separation between you and anyone you love who has stepped out of Time and into Eternity. Your Mother is not only aware of your past, and present in your now, she is also present to your future and your future fuller reunion.

God, when I look back, all I can feel is thank you–and how full they made my childhood, how much experience they crammed into stay-cations, local parks, a big yard to explore–and Mom especially, she really wanted a girly-girl but instead she got me, and how she went with that, eventually. Thank You.

Today is also about Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. A day we are supposed to be sad and fast and sacrifice.

I already sacrificed. Remember Nehemiah? The odd instructions he received: When the books of the Law had been found, and everyone began to mourn and wail and fast, focusing on guilt and shame, and I told him, no! Rejoice! Gather together! Feast! Celebrate! It has always been My Heart to have My People rejoicing rather than sorrowing.

So you can choose today to focus on Love as a positive force, a guiding and drawing purpose that brings you closer to others, or you can focus on Love as a negative force, demanding perfection and driving you further apart, leading to isolation. Which of those look like My view, My idea?

The positive uniting force, Lord.

That is right. Unfortunately, today, many will choose the rigors of ritual over the free and joyous expression of Love. The juxtaposition of Valentine’s–a day celebrated in what is called the secular culture, which is just everyday life, which I entered into in My humanity, and blessed with My presence–and Ash Wednesday–a day set aside for humiliation and shame–could not provide a more stark contrast. Choosing joy today, or any day, does not lessen your spiritual life, it heightens it. So I say to you and through you what I said through Nehemiah: This day is sacred, so rejoice!

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Keeping Peace

Lord, I want to talk to You tonight about amends. And about peacekeeping. Or peace-making. Actually, what I want to talk to you about is that verse in the Psalms, I forget where it is exactly, I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. That is what I want to talk about, how to keep peace, how to maintain it.

The first place you have to maintain peace is within yourself. You be at peace. Be at peace with Me. If you are at peace with Me, part of what that means is, let My Peace prevail within you. Let My Peace permeate your being.

Lord, I got this sudden visual, of a hurricane, and that made me remember a line in my friend Judy’s poem, now for me comes the calm i of the storm…

Yes, you can live at peace even in the midst of a storm. You can be an oasis of calm.

But what if the people you care most about in the world are in that storm? What if they are trapped in that storm, or, worse yet, even causing the storm? Then what?

This is what turn the cheek means–sometimes you have to take a breath and turn aside. You have to decide that your peace is more important than their war. The hard truth is, you cannot argue them into peace, not within themselves, not between themselves. You cannot argue anyone else into peace with you. You can only extend your peace, extend your love, and hope and pray they listen.

What if they don’t? 

Love never gives up. That doesn’t mean you continue to fuel someone else’s fire, but it does mean you can continue to hold your peace, in hope they will find their own. Think about that phrase a minute: hold your peace. You use it to mean, keep quiet. Keep silent, don’t speak up, don’t speak out. But think about it literally–hold your peace. Keep  your peace close to your heart. Hold on to your peace, don’t give it away, don’t give it up.

It hurts, to want peace so badly and to feel in my spiritual bones that a storm is coming. I know a little bit what to do in the natural. I know how to remove objects that could become missiles, to prepare for the power to go out, to stockpile water, maybe even shutter windows against flying debris, and to make sure my vehicle is safe on high ground. But spiritually? I know about building your house, your life, on solid ground, on You. On Your Love. That’s my rock. But what else can I do?

Here is what you can’t do. You cannot accurately forecast the wind speed or direction, or anticipate every flying object that might be hurled in your direction. But you can rely on My Peace as a guidance system, to tell you in the moment how to react, what to do or not do, and how to keep yourself safe, and on an even keel, emotionally and physically and spiritually.

Lord, I just feel like a hurricane is coming. A tsunami, a great raging wall of anger and upset. I see it in our country and I see it in the family. And it frightens me.

And what have I promised you? I have promised you that you will not drown. You will neither drown in a sea of rage, nor die of thirst in drought. I have promised you will be safe, safe in Me, safe in My Love, safe in My Armor, safe in My Peace. You won’t have to fight to keep yourself safe. You won’t have to abandon who you are. It may be, once the initial storm passes, that you will look around and find your world is smaller, but it will be yours, and it will be beautiful. Why beautiful? Because it will reflect who you are at your core: loving, peaceful, grateful, joyful. So be at Peace now, little one. Do not sleep fearing a nightmare in your future. What have I said, over and over? Perfect Love casts out all fear. And where is perfect Love? Right here. Surrounding you. That is your spiritual safety–My Perfect Love.

Here is something else I can promise you. As I Am fully and completely Myself, you will remain fully and completely yourself. You will not snap, you will not break, you will not shatter. In fact, the power you possess, which is gentle strength, the strength to love in the midst of the storm, is a gift from Me, and no one can take that away from you.

Now I want you to relax, and let go. Let go of your angst and your anguish over anyone else’s choices. That is hard for you. But as I told you before, you can be compassionate without taking on responsibility for anyone else’s choices. You learned this once. You can learn this again.

So in answer to your question, how can you remain at peace if the world around you goes to war? Be a conscientious objector. You don’t have to be objectionable, or obnoxious. Just purpose in your heart to utter a Divine No. And how do you do that? You say Yes to Me. Just as darkness cannot exist where there is even the tiniest light, so war cannot exist in a life or heart, as yours, where there is a commitment to peace. Follow Me, your Prince of Peace, and within you, all shall be well.

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Red Light, Green Light

Lord, I want to keep producing a life focused on You, on Your goodness. I want to say, God is Good, God is Love. Not just, God is Powerful. So what do I say in the presence of folks who didn’t get a miracle: They hear, oh, your faith must not have been strong enough. Jesus healed here. What is wrong now?

Don’t think “your faith isn’t strong enough” as an indictment, as judgment; that is what you are doing, and that thinking sets up illness or an accident, or a death, as punishment.

I have told you before, a more accurate way to think is the analogy I gave. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My Voice, and opens the Door, I will come in…

I Am, Myself, always asking, always calling, always seeking, always knocking. I also said, ask and receive; seek and find; knock and it shall be opened to you. So this seems contradictory to your finite mind. Immediately you think of prayers unanswered, doors stubbornly shut.

This will not seem comforting this morning until you soak in its Truth. My perspective is infinity. Ultimately in Infinity, in Eternity, Doors swing open. Doors I, God, knocked on, all life long, swing open with the perspective and understanding Eternity provides.

There are people huddled in misery on their side of the door. Whether through their own repeated choices, or mental health, or trauma they’ve experienced, they are deaf–or making themselves deaf–to My Knock, My Call. That leads to choices that only prolong their misery, health-wise, financially, and in their relationships including their relationships to themselves. People ignore the still, small voice that would have prevented the accident or the disastrous relationship. Again, this is not a judgment, this is a statement of fact.

If every motorist on the road today decided to ignore the red light ahead, there would be a disaster at almost every intersection nation-wide. The real astonishment isn’t that tragedies occur; the real astonishment is that there are not even more of them, considering how few people on a daily, on an hourly basis, really listen for My Voice and are led by that Voice and the best values a life can have.

People forget–or disbelieve–I even exist. Or if they acknowledge Me at all, they forget–or disbelieve–I Am Love. The Earth and all it contains is Mine. My Heart shatters every nano-second at the way My Children treat one another, and treat what began as a beautiful planet to live and grow in.

You cannot hold all this. You cannot hold even a fraction of this. Don’t even try. Take a deep breath, and another. Remember, you are responsible for your choices. For listening for My Voice. For saying Yes to My Call, for opening the Door when I knock. For trusting when I seem to put a Red Light in your path, that a temporary delay or perhaps a turn is most beneficial to you now.

I Am still the Good Shepherd, the One Who Loves the Sheep. I will lead you to both green pastures and quiet waters if you listen and follow My lead.

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Within the Circle

Lord, I want so much to have this radical connection. I do. I mean…I don’t know. I want everyone to get along. But what if they don’t? What stand do I take then? I am thinking about the kitties, all the kitties. How Morgan wasn’t safe for the others. And then, Lord, I tamed him. Or You did. He heard my heart somehow. Back then, I thought at first I was hearing You tell me to forgive him, when he was fighting with the others.

Actually, what you were saying was that you would accept Morgan into the Circle if his behavior changed. Even then, you felt compassion for him. You wished you could help him. You were concerned that your actions would make him worse. And when he did change, when he did grow calmer, you welcomed him and loved him and gave him his first real taste of love, of safety, right before he passed.

Yours is the classic boundaries struggle. Listen to yourself. Listen to what you already know. It is okay to have a circle. It is okay to define the parameters for that circle, to set values for that circle, values like tolerance and gentleness. It is okay to draw a line of definition. Your circle expands outward, but the definition does not change. You are willing to let your circle expand–I Am saying to you, don’t distort its shape and purpose to make it a lasso. Keep maintaining your intention of connection and peace. Attract into your circle–of friends, of animals, of family, of customers, of clients, of artists, of collaborators–everyone and anyone who is of like mind and heart. Keep your heart steady and true. This is what you do. This is who you are. Live from that center.

What about forgiveness?

Forgiveness and tolerance are not the same thing. You can forgive and simultaneously refuse to tolerate.

How, Lord?

Think like this: every day, you gave Morgan another chance. You put out food in a place away from the others so he would not starve. At the same time, you guarded the others so he could not approach them until he was fully tamed. You did this all over again with your current feral, Torri. And you are doing it again, right now, with Sambo. And look what happened, look what is happening. Your willingness to both forgive, while not tolerating unacceptable behavior changed Morgan, changed Torri, and is changing Sambo.

What about people?

Forgiveness, as you know, means setting you free from being tied to punishing someone else. Forgiveness seeks healing and restoration. Forgiveness wants the best for the other person. Forgiveness does not excuse or make light of wrong. Forgiveness especially does not signal that bad behavior is all right, or is excused or excusable.

Like my prayer years ago: please don’t punish so-and-so on my account.

Exactly. Forgiveness practiced the way I intend it builds compassion, not doormats. It does not minimize or trivialize any wrong, any betrayal, any abuse, any suffering inflicted on another. Forgiveness makes a way for transformation and change. The true miracle in the story is that your actions and choices made a way for each of those kitties to make their own different choices, to be drawn to you by your heart, which truly wanted–and wants–the best for all of them. They sense that. Try this: try praying for your planet, your country, your leaders, anyone in your circle that you care about, anyone just outside your circle that you are concerned about, try praying that just as the kitties sense your heart for them, these people will sense My Heart for them. That, I promise you, changes everything.

 

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Or/And

I may have written this before, but…I have been living in OR. But the word, my word, is AND. Maybe this dichotomy thinking stems from an only-child childhood when my whole existence was supposed to be AND. AND with a twin. But, if everything happens for a reason…if things happen like they are supposed to…

I didn’t say everything happens for a reason. I said, all things work together for good. There is a difference. I never intend abuse, but I can overcome it, and I can create beauty even out of brokenness.

Ok, so, if I was meant to live AND.

You still can. In fact, you must. You and your life are larger than OR implies.

I think of another OR. Secular OR sacred. But it’s both, isn’t it? Meaning, my secular life is sacred; my ordinary life is extraordinary. The land of AND. Gosh, my OR mindset is everywhere. I don’t have to choose between writing and photography. I can do both. I can do music too. Lord, I have been very attached to lack. To “not enough” which is an OR way to think, actually. I can do this OR that, have this OR that. AND is a whole new world.

I want you to think for a minute about all the AND examples I have given you, in your scriptures. Four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke AND John, each one contributing to the story. Paul AND Silas. Disciples sent by twos. When I went up to the mountain, I took Peter AND John. In the beginning, I declared it was not good for humankind to be alone. Think about that for a minute. In the story, after I created a human man, I communed with him on a regular basis in a place you have come to think of as paradise. And yet, despite communion with Me and communion with all of nature, there was a missing component, and that was union with another, like and yet unlike. You humans need companionship. You need mates, friends, and families. I created you with this need, much deeper than biology or prolonging the species.

Here is a Mystery. As I AM a Trinity, so are you. So is humankind.

You are a Being in three parts—body, soul, spirit. You need union with Me, you need wholeness with yourself, and you need to join with other humans.

There are other ways AND plays out in your personal lives. For you, one aspect is to acknowledge the seeming opposites that you love: sea AND mountains, east AND west, having roots AND traveling. Yes, writing AND photography. Solitude AND community. As you model a life ever more connected to Me, you will also be modeling and living a life more connected to others and to the natural world. OR cannot conceive—or receive—all I Am or all I can bestow. OR cannot live the Triune Life I Myself AM, the life I Am inviting you to live also.

 

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Kaleidoscope of Choices

Recalculating…it’s like You do that all the time, instantaneously as we, all of us, make our choices, billions upon billions of choices, large and small, second by second. It boggles the mind.

Just don’t let it boggle your heart. That is what is most important, a steady heart-rhythm. Don’t let your love falter or skip a beat.

So when You see the future…

 I see all possible futures. The future you create is largely up to you. If you don’t like the direction your life is going, you can choose to make changes that will change the outcome.

So much seems random, God. Illness. Accidents. Kids born into poverty; kids born sick, or who become ill, young. I falter, right there. My heart, it skips and stops, right there.

Because you still think of Me as the Cause of Everything.

Well, You are still the Creator, right?

Creator, yes. Puppeteer, no. There is a big difference. As Creator, I bestowed on you, on humanity, the gift of creation. You procreate, you have children. And your choices, individual and collective, create the world those children are born into. I Am present, not running the show, but available to be a Creative Partner to anyone who asks.

The truth is, few believe in Miracles anymore. And the few who do are often mocked or ridiculed by the rest, just as Jesus was. The masses who need a miracle often see or hear My Power and Love reduced to shiny objects—just as the crowds in Jesus’ day clamored for bread, for food, when they could have asked for so much more. Imagine if there had been a way to defeat Rome’s harsh rule, not through war or uprising or revolt, but through love, My Love. Imagine if Pontius Pilate had listened to his wife and her prophetic dreams. Imagine if Herod had listened to John the Baptist. There are examples in Scripture and history of dramatic turnarounds, when rulers were willing to listen and change course. Some of those turnarounds could have prevented diseases from even beginning, much less spreading, as living conditions for all would have been healthier and safer.

Imagine if all children born on the planet grew nurtured to be the best version of themselves, fully developing their gifts. Imagine every adult engaged in activity that fully utilized his or her skills and honored each one’s passions, as each contributed to the good of the world. No occupation would be menial. All would work in ways suited to them, to their needs and gifts. Imagine a world where each person lived to maximum fulfillment. Then, just for a minute, lest it shatter your heart, consider your world as it is.

One proof that I exist is that I exist—that the I Am Who I Am is still present, still here, and still willing to be at work in your world, in every individual life who hears the invitation to partner with Me. The Miracle is that My Own Heart has not shattered, or shuttered. That is how I can help heal humanity’s brokenness. Because I hold all possibilities simultaneously, so that I can bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness, I continue to hope and work for My Kingdom Come, a choice for kindness here, a choice for peace, there.

You cannot hold your town or your neighborhood or even your family in this kind of knowing. You can hold only yourself and your own choices, and even the import of those escapes you most of the time. But the more in tune you are to Me, the more aware of your best self you will become. That will lead to more, to even more loving and kind and peaceful and joyful choices, and that in turn will create, moment by moment, a more fulfilled and fulfilling life. And that will inspire others.

So…I can choose to worry?

Indeed you can. You can, literally, make yourself sick with worry. Or you can ask Me to lead you, to help you make wise choices, with the least amount of stress. You can ask that and live that, moment by moment over these next weeks. You cannot control others’ choices, only your own. I promise you that your choices will have an effect on the way these next weeks unfold.

Okay, Lord, please help me.

I Am helping you all the time. Just keep connected in mind as well as in heart, to Me.

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Life Movies

Lord, we started talking last night as I was falling asleep, and I really need to re-start that conversation.

I was telling you not to close your heart off, but to stay open, and vulnerable.

Lord, someone gave me that same advice years ago. I heard it then as a command to endure.

That may have been that person’s meaning, but it is not Mine. I never condone or excuse abuse or mistreatment. But when you are hurting inside, for yourself or for others, you tend to wall yourself in and work harder as if that will help. It won’t. It will only add more physical fatigue to your emotional weariness.

The truth is, I didn’t create humanity—or the planet itself—for sorrow, sickness, loss or death. I created for life, for I Am the Giver of Life. I created for Love, for I Am Love. My entire nature and being is Love. Out of Life and Love flow joy and peace and kindness and goodness—which you call the fruits of My Spirit.

So when humans encounter the elements of life they were not made for, they react. Some become stoic, so nothing affects them. Some become narcissistic so everything affects them or revolves around them. Some become addicted to pastimes or to substances to numb or distract them from which is too hard, too painful, to bear alone. But you humans were not made to bear such suffering, not in the beginning, and certainly not alone.

You said recently when a situation troubles me, to surround it, to picture it surrounded, like effervescent life, I can’t remember exactly what You said, and I don’t know how to do that. And I need to. Right now.

Imagine you are a movie director. You can film the scene any way you wish. You have an unlimited budget and any props or costumes you need. You have the world as your set. And you have Angels as part of your extras in your casting of characters. How would you film the next scene? What kind of movie would you produce and direct? Set that as your intention and prayer for them.

Lord, aren’t You the Producer and Director?

Sadly, no. People assume so, and that assumption has led to much additional sorrow and misunderstanding. Each of you is your own director. I direct only where and when I Am invited to do so. Oh, I try to interject into the plot, to give warning about where the storyline is going, or to give encouragement in character development. But the human power of choice is always in your hands. That is why I ask you to pray My Will Be Done. It is not a given, in this world—only in the next.

So take a few minutes. Imagine the scene re-written. Then offer that, as prayer. I Am the God of Reconciliation. Picture a peaceful resolution to all that troubles you.