dailydatewithgod

Sharing my experiences and understandings of the Great I AM.

Dec 25

Be About Immaterial!

by Colleen
The things that matter so much to us do not seem to matter to God in the same way.  God does not see us as the circumstances we come from, the problems we deal with, and especially our beliefs about who we are and what we deal with.  Those things are immaterial according to God’s perspective.  When we take a breath and open ourselves to seeing things as God sees them, there is a greater depth and width of possibilities.  The things we find so material to our definition of ourselves are immaterial to God because God knows us as more than material.  To embrace ourselves as immaterial is as much about letting go of our stories of ourselves and our circumstances as it is about embracing the truth of who we are which is not limited by our physical form.  Jesus did not define himself by his circumstances: conceived by an unwed woman, born in a stable with animals, belonging to a culture ruled by an overpowering government, coming from a history of exiled people or being a simple carpenter.  When he owned the truth of who he was, he spoke up, he extended compassion, and he found a way to see the innocence and wholeness of others despite what they presented to him.  He is an example of what it means to embrace our immaterial nature and see ourselves as God sees us.
My prayer for us on this Christmas day is to be open to seeing ourselves and others as more than our stories, circumstances, and beliefs to a broader more God-like view that comes from our hearts and extends beyond our physical nature today.

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Dec 24

Be About Purpose!

by Colleen
Purpose is one of those buzz words these days.  What is the meaning and purpose behind what you thinks, say or do?  What is the purpose of your relationships?  What is the purpose of your career?  It seems like the pressure is on to figure out our meaning.  A sense of purpose is the thing that carries through the times when it is difficult and it does not seem worth it.  Yet I have experienced times when what I thought my purpose was turns our not to be the case.  At the end of the day or the beginning of each new moment we have a chance to connect to our greatest purpose.  God’s purpose for us is to be workers of light and love.  We are all called to be present to the life we are in and create and grow the power of love.  It is in our very essence.  If we do not have a sense of it we are going to struggle with how we are to make it happen.  Struggling is not what God has in mind.  Growing, yes, but struggling comes from resistance.  If we are open in our minds and hearts to who God would have us be, do and say in any given situation then we are living our purpose.  Sometimes, God’s plans are different from mine and I get wedded to mine.  I may not want to let it go so i work to make it happen and it is exhausting.  I see this a lot when I look back on my life and realize how much time and energy I spent trying to meet other’s expectations.  I was certain if I just worked hard enough to make other’s happy with me I would be okay.  It was my purpose.  I even thought of it as being spiritual in nature because I was not pushing my agenda.  And yet, I was.  God did not create me for other people’s purposes.  God created me to fulfill the purpose of love and light in a way that only I can.  It requires getting quiet and tuning in to my inner most knowing where God dwells in acceptance and joy.  When I take the time for our date in the morning I have a greater chance of staying aligned with a purpose that flows from me without struggle.
My prayer for us is the curiosity to explore what God’s purpose is for us in our lives in as many moments as we breathe today.

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Dec 23

Be About Certainty!

by Colleen
We long for a sense of certainty in our lives.  In fact when we feel we have achieved it, we do not want to let it go.   It is why the question, Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?, makes people laugh with identification when they hear it.  We all know times when we are holding on so tight to an idea because we are certain is the right answer only to find out it is not.  We are embarrassed or ashamed depending on the gravity of our insistence that we know.  What is it about knowing something?  What is it about identifying ourselves with a philosophy or perspective?  It is the certainty that we are okay, we are accepted, and we are in the know.  If we are certain we can relax.  We do not have to fight for our survival.  Our brains do not have to work hard to figure every piece of our identity from moment to moment.  It is why confirmation bias get in the way of being open to new ideas. We fight to hold on to our sense of certainty and think those who admit they do not know are less intelligent.  Yet, there is so much we do not know and even more that we do not know that we do not know.  (There is a tongue twister for you.)  Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is admit we are not certain.  We can hope, we can suppose from previous experiences but so much is changing all the time, the sense of certainty we long for is not part of the human experience.  I just like everyone else fall prey to thinking all is well when I am certain of something.  Yet I do not know when it will change.  I suppose the only thing we can be certain of is uncertainty.  My daily date with God is practice in sitting with uncertainty.  Ahead of me lies a day of profound possibilities some of which I think I am aware of and most I have no idea.  What I can do on our date is turn to the one who has known me in times of certainty and uncertainty and be present to who I am despite what may happen.  I am not even certain how God will show up in my life, I am certain that God will show up.  Well, at least I am certain of it right now.
My prayer for us is the willingness to let go of our need for certainty to enable us to thrive and be open to how the certainty of the inevitable uncertainty arising will show up in our day.

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Dec 22

Be About Use!

by Colleen

There is a poem attributed to Teresa of Avila a 16th century Christian mystic and doctor of the Church:

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”  While Teresa may not have been the author, the message is clear. Our role in the world is to be the presence of the divine.  We are the vessels through which the message of love, compassion, and forgiveness can be carried.  What more profound responsibility do we have then to live out the calling of our soul?  Within us is the capacity to love beyond our understanding.  When we allow ourselves to be used by God for a loving purpose we find ourselves at peace with others and ourselves.  The moment I think I need to figure it out and step in and take control I have gone off course. It does not mean we sit idly by and let life happen.  In each situation, we can reach for hand of God and inquire how we might be used for the greater good. I cannot possibly conjure up in my mind all the possibilities.  I need to be connected to God to be in the realm of possibility.  In essence, it is easy to do so but we resist it because we think we will fade away.  We latch on to the word use and think we are going to be thrown away when we are finished.  In the moments when I pause from trying to make things go my way and release myself to be used by God, there is a fluidity and a joy I experience.  The only moment is now. We have all had this experience, it is called being in the flow state.  Scientists have discovered there is an actual phenomenon that occurs in the brain when we are in flow.  Those moments when you lose time and space and are one with the experience is a flow state.  When we let go of making it happen and surrender to being our truest self, we receive the benefit.  I have never heard someone talk about being in a flow state and vowing never to go back.  Most people want to know how to create more of it.  When we allow ourselves to be used we step into God’s loving flow of light and life.

 

My prayer for us is the willingness to be used by God and experience the flow of love and light in our entire being today.

 

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Dec 21

Be About Glimpses!

by Colleen
God provides insight in our minds when we open ourselves up to the idea that we may not have all the pieces.  It starts with the momentary breath in which we pause to take stock of what information we have and what information we are missing.  In that moment we can choose to open ourselves up to more information.  We will experience glimpses in God’s vision of ourselves, others, situations and decisions.  These glimpses set out a path that we could not create due to our limited view.  In my experience God does not lay out the entire path, but I get glimpses along the way. The glimpses usually come in the form of the next indicated step.  When I find myself in a place of trying to figure out and not being able to I will turn to God in wonder of an answer.  Sometimes I hear God reminding me that I am focused on something that is not in the day I am in.  I am reassured that if I focus on this day, I will be given what I need. It is hard to let go and trust I will be provided with a glimpse as I need it.  In the meantime, I do not sit by and do nothing.  I have learned that worrying is not actually doing anything but providing potential fuel for fear which in the end is not helpful.  If there is something I can do, I ask God for the courage to do it.  If there is not, I let go and trust. Worrying, I have learned is not action for my head, despite how much my mind may want to go there.  Glimpses require an ongoing relationship.  Very much like C.S. Lewis said, “Relying on God has to begin again all over again each day as if nothing had yet been done.”
My prayer for us is the willingness to reach out for the glimpses God is ready to provide us with today.

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Dec 20

Be About Clarity!

by Colleen
In the small spaces of our lives when no one is watching we find ourselves in a moment of choice.  We can do what we think we are expected to do or we can do what our hearts want us to do.  In some cases they may be the same thing but at the end of the day we are beholden to our hearts not expectations. My daily dates with God have brought a clarity to my life that I did not expect. To be honest, I did not realize how muddy my thinking was when I started.  I just figured life was overwhelming and some how I would muddle through.  I would follow along doing what was expected of me and since everyone else seemed to be pleased, I would be too, eventually.  Yet, I was trying to blot out my life by numbing myself with food and self-hatred so something did not line up with my being. I built up a wall around my heart so thick I could barely access it.  When God invited me to look into what I had created and decide as an adult if it was still working for me, the process of clarity began.  Now I notice when my thinking steps me back into murky waters and I am invited by God to take a breath and reach out my hand.  Some days it takes me longer than others but God does not judge the length of time.  The moment I wake up to see what I am thinking and doing,  the clarity begins.
My prayer for us is the willingness to notice when we have stepped our minds into murky waters and take a breath to ask God to guide us back to clarity today.

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Dec 19

Be About Memory!

by Colleen
God is the deepest understanding in our minds.  When we wed ourselves only to the physical reality of this world we forget the essence from which we were created.  When we attach ourselves to a physical manifestation of God whether in a spiritual person or nature we step closer to memory housed within us of a connection to something greater than ourselves.  They become a portal into a memory of God.  Growing past that limited physical connection however is what causes our faith to grow and mature. If our experience of God is cultivated, it will expand beyond the form.  Thrown in the mix of all of this is particular institutions connected to certain spiritual figures.  Sometimes they can distort the message to meet their purposes only.  This can sometimes cause us to not want to remember our connection to a spiritual being because we associate it as only the form which is presented and accepted by a large group of people.  But our memory of God is not limited to the form which we or others believe  to be an acceptable version of God.  Through our daily dates I have been opened to experiences of God that defy standard acceptable presentations of God.  This causes my memory of God’s presence in my life throughout my life to be opened.  The times when I thought God was nowhere to be found, I see instead that what I believed was the only form of God was not there.  God is always there, but my eyes needed adjustment.  Reclaiming the memory of God restores my relationship with God and myself.
My prayer for us is the willingness to consider that our memory of God’s presence in our lives may be limited only by our conception of God at the time and ask God to help us create new memories by opening our eyes to see how God is choosing to show up in our lives today.

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Dec 18

Be About Healing!

by Colleen
One of the definitions of healing refers to the idea of becoming sound again.  As though when we are healed we fall back int the rhythm of life.  What a beautiful picture.  When we are out of tune with life we are ill at ease.  We are in a wounded state and cannot hear the call of love.  God offers healing because God knows we are at our best when we are in sync with the vibration of light and love which is health.  Given how unhealthy we can potentially be, is it any wonder that we struggle with the mindset and heart space to handle the basic ups and downs of life?  We look to be restored to the soundness of life by finding something outside ourselves.  When we are on our own trying to connect to what is ailing us we are greeted by a cacophony of sounds very few of which resonate with our deepest selves.  Despite the alluring promises, however, the answers will not come from outside of us.  When we take the time to spend with God and have the chance to fine tune our hearts we can be healed.  Sound is a vibrational experience involving energies unseen.  This means healing is a process that can be somewhat mysterious.  There are the moments when we are healed by changing our behavior but if our mind is out of sync with our heart it is only a matter of time before the body begins to resonate the discord.  Inviting God into the spaces where we feel out of tune, even the ones we are ashamed of, allows the light of love to enter in and shift our resonance to health.  The gift of healing is one God is read to dispense upon invitation.  God desires to be in full resonance with us as much as possible and openness to healing is the first step.
My prayer for us is the curiosity to see what healing can occur when we invite God into the spaces of discord in our lives today.

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Dec 17

Be About Surrounding!

by Colleen
The magnificence of God is such that our minds can barely comprehend it. Choosing a relationship with God means being open to the mysteries of being in relationship with the ebb and flow of life.  As we walk daily with God, we can experience the joy and the surprise of what it means to witness and partake in the surrounding nature of love.  God does not just create us to live life like a prescriptive measure.  God desires for us to be engulfed in the passion of living.  When we are surrounded by the mysterious and sometimes misunderstood presence of love we have no words.  We find ourselves devoid of thought and we lose a sense of time and space.  This experience gives us an inclination into the reality of God.  We are not able to surround ourselves this way so to experience it we must abandon ourselves to the surrounding God provides.  We have all had moments of brief flashes of this before but often do not know how to describe it.  We say it is mysterious, bizarre, weird, or other-worldly.  Rarely do we use the word love to express what is happening.  Yet love is exactly what it is.  Through the surrounding of God we are completely enveloped in the nature of our core reality and time and space have no hold on us.  We cannot think our way out of it.  We can only breathe it in.
My prayer for us is the willingness to abandon ourselves to the surrounding of love by God in whatever small or large way it shows up today.

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Dec 16

Be About Claiming!

by Colleen
As we wake up to the love God has for us we realize it is not God’s disengagement from which we have been suffering.  God wants nothing more than for us to claim the power of our hearts.  God placed within us the deep and profound capability to be a force for love in the world.  Yet if we go about our day without a sense of what we have to give, how can we share it?  If we do not claim the gift God has given us how will we know we have it to give to others?  In my daily prayer and meditation date with God, he shows me he is willing to be with me even in times when I do not want to be with me.  She stands firm in her view of my innocence and purity when all I feel is dark and angry.  God has already claimed us as the ones to play the role of living and growing in love with one another.  How long will we go without claiming it?  I was always grateful that unlike many people I saw wreaking havoc on the world, I did not suffer from being boastful or prideful about myself.  When I got into recovery I realized that suffering from low self-esteem and non stop self-criticism was the flip side of the same coin. Reverse pride is as much disconnected from God as self-righteousness or grandiosity.  It is not claiming who I truly am which is an extension of God, not for my own purposes but as a part of the greater story of love.  Stepping into claiming who we really are takes us out of feeling like we are less or more than others.  Claiming who we are allows us to be one with others.  We are all children of God.  Both the people we love and the people we cannot stand are children of God.  How close we want to be to others is directly proportional to their willingness to claim who they truly are. The same can be said for us.  In the meantime, God’s perspective will not waver.  Nothing we can think about ourselves or others ever changes God’s reality.
My prayer for us is the curiosity to see who God claims us to be and explore how much love is present when we believe it today.

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