CHRISTMAS 2019 Beyond Believeing.

"The mystic heart is the deepest part of who we are."

Early morning prayer time is when I feel the most spiritual.

I was up early meditating and looking forward to going to church.  Spenser and I had a good early morning walk and I washed my hair and got ready to go. 

Dad started having stomach problems so we could not leave the house.

I have to decide if I can drive there myself.  

I had been aware in my time of prayer that I was going up a high mountain.  I was with a group of people.  We encouraged each other.

All of a sudden I felt very alone and in the dark.

I felt confused.  I felt shaken and afraid.

Then as I fell to the ground to pray I looked up and saw I was at the feet of Jesus.

He was going to be my teacher.

There was an aura around him and light shone all around.

I prayed for guidance and healing.

The answer was to continue praying and believing but more ware than even I was a wounded healer.

REAL

The Bible is about today and is real life.  The strange thing is we are not to take it literal but it does contain literal truth.  So there are lots of good self help books but for me the spiritual input is important.  There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians but actually turn people away because of their attitudes and their actions.

In spite of this there is an intriguing and charismatic pull that still seems to attraction the attention of non-believers.  I believe that it is because he was real and he treated each person who came to him with dignity and respect, willing to listen to their needs.  Every one has value.

When questioned Jesus would give direct no nonsense replies.

TALENTS

This is Ben singing at the school Christmas concert.  No one knew he could sing because he always played sports and did not join the choir.

We all have our talents and discovering new ones makes life more interesting.  We treasure our talents that keep us hopeful with a deeper sense of security and significance.  The important point is to be free to create your story and to leave a message that will live on with those who have motivated us to be our best.

One of the greatest experiences of my life is the moment when I made a decision to become a follower of Jesus.  What this would mean would change over the years as I studied his words and was not restricted by church law or dogma.  Faith that goes hand in hand with reason will stand the test of time.

I look at nature and feel inspired.

I am learning to take pictures that express peace and wonder!

GRACE

How do I live in a spirit of grace, of kindness and compassion?

I wake up with good intentions but I am soon challenged with every day problems.  There is always a lot to do like shopping and cleaning and cooking.  And always a pile of laundry to be sorted and put away. 

I start by talking to God knowing His strength and wisdom are available to me as I pray and as I listen.  A word of scripture from a devotional book is always helpful.

TIME

A cold dreary day in Nov. at Kwantlan College.

I believe that it is important to take time to look for the light of spiritual truth that shines into the dull and dark days.  Life is uncertain  and there are lots of questions that come into our minds.  Our relationship with this light reveals our willingness to trust and obey what is being revealed to me alone.

For me this means to stop being an over-thinker.

I need to take time to

open my ears to hear

open my mind to understand

open my heart to feel the softness of wonder

open my soul to find peace and serenity.

In the early morning it is dark when I come down to our kitchen.  Darkness reminds me of all the sadness that is in this world.  Doubt can creep into my heart when I question why all this fighting and poverty and illness seems to be everywhere.

I can only start with myself asking what kind of person do I want to become?

How can my life make a difference? 

Life can be a spiritual quest in search of a convincing story that gives our individual life meaning and purpose.

As I read and meditate the light begins to penetrate the darkness and my prayers help me to think of others and be aware of their needs.  Sometimes my prayer will call me to action knowing small acts of kindness make the world a better place.

Jesus taught that it is a blessing to be poor in spirit.

Poverty of spirit is to be humble and open with a hopeful outlook on life.

INNER POWER

Ben sings a solo at Christmas

 

Ben, our great grandson loves sports especially soccer.  He has become a very confident and talented goalie.  Just last year it was discovered he could sing and was a singing Santa for the Christmas concert.  His sister Morgan is singing in the choir behind him.

 

The power for creating a better future is contained in the Present Moment.

You create a good future by creating a good present.  -Eckhart Tolle

 

The past is gone, the future awaits.  By being present, you are in touch with your heart.

Listen to what it wants you to know.

 

Just by being ourselves, we are borne toward a destiny far beyond anything we could image.

The Being I nourish inside me is the same as the Being that suffuses every atom of the cosmos.-Deepak Chopra

 

By shifting your attention from your head to your heart, you connect with your true self and develop the courage to be who you really are.-Marianne Williamson

 

Wherever you are be there totally.  If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options:

Remove yourself

change it

or accept it totally.

If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of these three options, and you must choose now.

Then you must accept the consequences,  -Eckhart Tolle

 

All of us can be captives of fear and hopelessness but if we can learn to live from a heart of love the power of divine love will sustain us and help us find a way through and out into a beautiful place of safety and rest. 

TIME FLIES

Time does fly and now spring is in evidence everywhere.

 

"The world is charged with the grandeur that is the very radiance and energy of the creator.  Paul writes that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Even when nature is out of control there will come time when all is calm again.  It is in that calm that we can discover one again the breath of God, His presence in our lives, His movement that flows and ebbs like the tide of the ocean or the face of the moon.   There is a rhythm to God that goes at times fast and at times slow. 

 

"There is a heartbeat just beyond listening."  Gerard Manley Hopkins

 

Love is like an anchor that is there for us at all times.