Category: Peace

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Gentleness

Lord, the theme or challenge right now seems to be health. I need to remember to be gentle with myself in my thinking. I need energy.

Your secret right now really isn’t Power. You think it is–you think you have to rev your engine and power through. That will actually make you feel worse, physically–and that will make you feel worse emotionally. Your secret today is to coast. Drift. Soak. This is a gentle day–start by being gentle with yourself. Eat gentle-to-digest foods. Treat yourself gently and easily. Catch your breath. Your calm is what attracts most people to you. You have an opportunity to model that calm now.

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Dancing Butterflies

Lord, I knew this new puppy would be exhausting. Thank You, by the way, for the extra hours of sleep last night. I am so grateful for some rest. What I did not anticipate and I don’t know how to handle is that the schedule is making it much harder to have my time in the morning with You. The past few days it has been impossible. Right now it is nearly 6 pm and I am snatching minutes before supper to sit, and think, and talk to You, and feel.

And what do you feel?

Honestly, it wasn’t a bad day. But You said to keep connected to You, and how am I supposed to do that, when I don’t have a regular, concentrated time to journal and to listen?

What did you do this afternoon?

Ran the errands I needed to run. Took Pete to the bank, we stopped at Yellowhouse, came home, put the puppy pen together outside.

Besides all that?

I took a few minutes and photographed the monarch butterflies on my lantana bush.

You noticed them. And you took some time to watch them and then to photograph them.

Yes.

Do you remember the verse that says, whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me?

Yes, of course.

You treat yourself in your own thinking as less than the least of these. You contributed charitably, you helped your friend get his car, you finished up the long refi at the bank, you did business tasks at home before that and after that…and in the middle of all that, you gave your attention to honor these winged flights of beauty–and you felt guilty for those few minutes. Didn’t you? Isn’t that why you laid your camera down and moved on to another task? All those errands and chores you did to help anyone else, they count for something in your thinking, in your assessment of your day. But taking time to count butterflies? Not so much. Yet those few minutes were actually minutes of serenity and calm for you. And although you were not uttering prayers, you were actually praying the whole time. You were living moments in deliberate honor and gratitude and you were noticing the beauty of your world.

Lord, it was amazing! There were monarchs and painted ladies and I don’t know who all, on that one bush!

There is more than one way to set a bush ablaze. With Moses I chose fire. Today with you, I chose wings the color of flame. Drink beauty like water. That is one more way to stay connected to all that is, and to Me, as the Source and Creator of all that is. I Am glad you enjoyed the dance of the butterflies. You could not hear them, but angels were making the music they could hear and all to refresh you. Now, let me ask you one more question. How do you feel right now?

Relaxed. Refreshed. Grateful. And somehow leaning on You. And You are smiling.

Yes, yes I Am.

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The Most Peace

The sun, this Sunday morning, threw a pink glow into the clouds at 6:30. The color gave me peace, like I could breathe. I think “outdoors” as a generic term is my peace-place, my peace-time. But You asked me yesterday, what gives me the most peace? I think of peace in two ways–as a connection to everything and everyone, and as calm, or non-agitation. So the most peace, I guess, is the experience I have outside either in beautiful light or with critters, or in combination. You made me, You said, to connect with You. And with the natural world. So is it wrong that I find my greatest peace outside, in that connection?

Little One, you have been so schooled to think in terms of right and wrong, excel or fail, okay or not-okay. I Am trying to teach you, to show you, another way of looking at your life. If you think in terms of Joy, of Peace, of Love–of all the fruits of My Spirit like gentleness and patience and kindness or in terms of gratitude–you will find yourself making “right” choices, “excelling” in all the ways that matter, and living a very “okay” life indeed. In fact, you will be living an abundant life.

So right and wrong don’t matter?

I Am trying to shift your perceptions away from that duality into a mindset, into a heart focus where Love and Peace and Joy matter most of all, where your connection to Me matters most of all. Can you see that, if you could live in deliberate, conscious connection to Me every minute, even for 24 hours, you would be living in a realm in which “wrong” becomes literally irrelevant? This is what heaven is like–and it is the Kingdom-Come-On-Earth I tried to teach My Disciples when I came as Jesus. It’s the life I lived in a human body. It’s a life I Am inviting you to live. The more you live here, the less you live in fear or doubt or angst or stress–or at odds with any other living being.

What if they live at odds with me? Or my values? What then?

What do you want for someone like that? What do you truly want?

Lord, I want them to be well. To prosper. To have a wonderful, amazing, abundant life. I want that for everybody. I want them healed, in body or mind or spirit.

Now you are thinking as I think, feeling as I feel.

Lord, this idea of always being connected, of there being no wrong in that state of being–is that what You meant by praying without ceasing?

Yes. Praying without ceasing doesn’t mean you have to become a cloistered person, on your knees, chanting religious sounding words every waking minute. It means what I have been saying to you: stay connected. Don’t unplug. Live in My Life. But live life. Life is My Gift to you. So embrace it. Relish it. Cherish it. Live it–but live it connected to Me.

 

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Connection

Lord, what would You say? Come to the silence, quiet my chatter, that is what these morning pages are supposed to help me do. Inner knowing to me means hearing from You. It means receiving when I don’t know.

You don’t follow Me by rote—You follow Me instead by “wrote”—by My word made real to you, spoken to you. I have never spoken fear to you. So don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of displeasing Me. You want, you seek, to make something tangible, something to help communicate and reinforce My presence with you, and with others with you, to help spark their faith in My goodness and My power to heal and restore—and My willingness to do so. The ingredients you are choosing connect you to the idea (and ideal) of connectedness to all living beings, and to living in peace.

You are making a new oil—an Oil of Peace. Your life of connection is peace, is a life of peace. Love is the bond of peace for you—and for Me. Under your Tree of Life are all the four-footeds, and the wingeds rest in that Tree’s branches, all at Peace. Eve’s Eden indeed.

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Choosing Love Over Violence

I am sitting outside, in the swing, wanting the feel and sounds of the outdoors. We now have a new “the worst mass shooting” in our national history. Here is what I know: it’s not You. It’s no part You. I don’t know how to pray, what to say to make sense out of madness.

Imagine a father with a family feud–that is easy for you to imagine; you live there. And you see how it affects him, day to day. You see how his heart aches and how he tries to just go on despite it, throwing himself into his work, having given up on trying to broker any peace. The difference is, I can’t–won’t–ever give up. So as long as there is one war, one fight, one enemy, I, God, carry within Myself both unutterable grief and boundless joy and hope–joy over, as your Bible puts it–“one sinner who repents”–which really means, one person coming home to his or her best self, one person laying down hate and choosing to love, or at least, to learn to love. This is the duality people sometimes sense within Me, and try to explain through words like Light and Dark or Yin and Yang. The unity in the duality is Love. Because I Am Love, I hold both grief and joy at the same time, and because I Am Love, I Am always ready to show mercy.

Lord, it feels hopeless. Like “they” are never going to agree. It is such a beautiful day, here. And such a horrible, terrible day, there.

I have promised never to destroy your world. That doesn’t mean humanity won’t. You have to decide what side you are on–the side of mercy and hope and love and peace, or the side of vengeance and hatred and fear and violence.

Lord, You know my choice is for love and peace.

Is it? Where are you focused right now?

So how can I make a difference, make a stand?

By looking for concrete ways to show My Love, to speak My Love, to every hurting and searching heart you encounter. By affirming all you know about My Father-God heart. By calling people everywhere to lay down the weapons in their minds, the judgment, the retaliation, the name-calling, the bigotry, the envy, the violence in their thoughts and words. Every violent act begins with violent thoughts and words. Change the conversation. Change the vocabulary. Start in your own mind, your own thought, and spread the ripples outward from there. Sound the trumpet-call to Love.

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Breathe

Lord, here I am, well into another day in which I could easily ramp myself up. In fact, I already feel as if I have.


Then breathe. Take a deep breath. Imagine you are filling your lungs with the cleanest, purest mountain air, or sea air, your mind can conceive. Imagine nature’s beauty surrounding you, 360 degrees, while you take those deep breaths. Now imagine My Spirit, flowing into you–calming your mind, easing your body, refreshing your soul, changing your outlook. My Spirit is cleaner, purer, than the freshest air you can imagine. And best of all, this experience–of bringing your awareness to the reality of My Presence with you–is available any time, in any location, in any circumstance. From a hospital waiting room to a commuter train platform, from the suburbs to the busiest metropolis, My Spirit is with you. Infilling is available every time you choose to open the door, to throw the light switch, to decide to breathe deliberately instead of automatically. Better?

Yes, Lord, much better. I am actually relaxed, now.

Now you can focus–in turn–on the tasks at hand. Let Me guide you today. Not only will you get more done, you will accomplish your to-do’s with less stress and agitation, and with much more joy and peace. Anytime you feel yourself becoming agitated or overwhelmed, just pause, take a deep breath and remember: you are not alone. I AM with you.

 

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Why is all this happening?

But why is all this happening in the first place? I don’t understand.

 

You have stories from the Old Testament where prophets warned ahead of time about disasters to come. Well, your scientists and climatologists are modern-day prophets, and just as in those Old Testament stories, today’s rulers ignore their warnings at their own–and their citizens’–peril.

 

So what is an ordinary person to do?

 

Pray. Keep connected. Counsel as many as will listen, now and afterwards, to heed the warnings. Believe I can even now inspire solutions, creative solutions, to ease the pain the earth is feeling.

 

The earth is in pain?

 

Of course. You think a storm like this impacts only humans? The very earth, the waters, the winds and waves, are literally suffering even as their energy is ramped ever higher. For the earth is Mine–and its fullness–and no part of My earth rejoices in destruction, not flood, not fire. Rain, wind, fire–these were meant as blessings, not curses. The earth is out of balance and suffers under the weight of that burden. And yes, it is breaking My heart. I made earth out of a dream in My Heart, of a place of great beauty, populated by great love. Now look at it!

 

Lord, You made miracles. Miracles for the blind and lame, You cleansed lepers, You healed the deaf, You cured epilepsy, You transformed water to wine, You multiplied meager resources, You helped Peter pay his taxes, You brought an abundant catch of fish, You calmed the storm on the Lake, You raised Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus. You make miracles Now. So please…would my fasting help?

 

That is another misconception. You never have to “convince Me” or “persuade Me” to take a loving action, to be Who I Am: Healer, Protector, Provider. You think this is what you have to do. But, no. I Am Healer. I Am Protector. I Am Provider. You merely have to receive. And receiving is an individual choice.

Some sadly, don’t know. Don’t understand. Don’t realize Who I Am. Some cannot really accept that I Am here to be all those things, for them. So they give up, or give in. They don’t know. Knowing isn’t study, isn’t listening to or memorizing sermons or Bible verses. Knowing implies relationship. Knowing about Me and knowing Me are two very different things. Knowing about Me breaks down in crisis, personal or collective. Only knowing Me, Who I Am, gets you through. So pray Floridians hear Me, sense Me, pray they listen. For everyone who is able to listen, truly hear My Voice, will be spared, even in this storm.

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I can’t hear You

Lord, I can’t hear You. Please…

You’ve let the world become too loud again in your heart, Little One. Not My world—the world of protest and angst, of fear and anger, of doubt and despair and desperation. Even Jesus “came apart”—you need to “come apart” before you completely come apart at the seams. The fabric of your life with Me is not thin, not fragile, not worn, not threadbare. It is like a blanket of down, remember? It is the soft buckskin of Give-Away deer to remind you, footprints like hearts through your day.

Lord, I somehow want to lie down on the sand. Literally. Stretch out on Your earth, let You heal me. Connect to ground and let the earth speak.

I want you to think of yourself as the Alpha Mare in your own life, responsive to and following Me as your stallion. Let others follow you. You follow Me.

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Choose Joy Over Fear and Worry

Lord, I find myself saying, over and over, I am tired. I am so tired. But I also keep saying I want more—more time to be creative, more opportunities to minister, to have an impact for You.

If you could lay down worry, and stress, and just go about living each day joyously and fully, and leave the parts of your life and your business that worry you in My care, you would immediately feel better. Pete would see that and he would relax, and feel better. Rather than wasting time and energy endlessly planning and worrying, you could be even more sensitive to My leading. Your life will take on a different hue. The joy will return. The success you stress over will flow to you, drawn by your confident expectation. It is My joy to give you the kingdom, remember?

The only lock on the door is your worry, which creates fear and stress, which leads to panic, depression, insomnia and a whole host of health issues, some serious. Ramp down. This is part of that old set of tapes, the tapes that say you are in a battle zone and you have to prepare for every possible enemy assault. No, no, no. You are in My Hands, and you have to prepare for every conceivable blessing—and blessings beyond all you could ask or think. But you will miss those blessings if you continue to give fear the upper hand.

You choose whom to listen to. All day long, every day, you choose. Choose Life. Choose Joy. Choose Me. Choose the Fragrance of My Annointing. Walk and live in the Presence of God. Let others wonder how you do it! Just do it! Let’s not waste one more minute, one more hour, one more day, one more week, one more year. Let’s not miss any more Moments. Let’s make Moments count. Let’s make Moments count, together. Give Me something to work with. Trade in your worry for My Joy. Expect the miraculous again. Refuse to be dismayed or pushed off course.