dailydatewithgod

Sharing my experiences and understandings of the Great I AM.

Be Of Translation!

God interprets.  While our immediate impressions tells us what is present in the physical sense it does not encompass all there is.  God encourages us to take a moment and be with what we are experiencing.  Notice what else is happening besides the obvious.  Then as we place meaning on what we are experiencing we can take that to God for a translation.  Our first inclination will be an interpretation based on survival.  It will be a quick translation of whether or not the situation is one to stay in because it is safe or if we need to get ready to fight, flee, or freeze.  God enables us to face our lives and have a fuller experience than mere survival.  It begins with an openness that all we need to deal with the situation will not be found solely in our own minds.  We need God’s translation to bring it to our hearts and see it through the eyes of love.
My prayer for us is the courage to pause and ask for the translation of God today. 
If God has gifted us with an intelligent mind and a vibrant heart, which translation do you want to have as the final say in what is happening in your life today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Identity!

God knows. There are many levels of identity that we claim.  There is our name, our role in our family, our job role, our personality traits, our place of origin, communities and societies of which we are a part and ones that we keep hidden from others.  Greater than all of these is an identity we all share.  We are all children of God.  It sounds simplistic and sing-song like something we learn in Sunday school.  Within the deepest part of ourselves we are one with God.  Our identity is centered in the very foundation of love. This truth of our identity is the one that drives the rest of them.  When the other identities we claim are out of alignment with the truth of who we are we find ourselves in dis-ease.  The way to wholeness and healing is resting in our truest identity.
My prayer for us is the courage to evaluate the truth of all we claim as our identity and hold on to the ones that are most in alignment with the truest identification of ourselves today.
If God knows who we truly are, what element of your identity is most in alignment with God’s vision of you today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Naming!

God lives. In the Hebrew scriptures when God appears to Moses who is being sent as a messenger Moses is told that God is “I AM who is I AM.”  When we introduce ourselves to others, we say “I am . . . ” and then our name.  When people tell us how they feel they will often say “I am confused, angry, tired, happy, sad, etc.”  When we say “I am” in front of anything we are claiming our being.  We are giving name to who we are in that moment.  Something I have learned is I do not have to claim myself as being a certain feeling or thought unless I want to.  God has shown me I can feel angry, sad, happy, confused or any feeling but not be that.  I can say, “I feel happy or I feel angry.”  Having a feeling does not change my being.  My name can be my being because it encompasses the whole of who I am.  No momentary feeling or thought encompasses my being.  It is a slight but powerful distinction in the use of words. This distinction allows for the flow of feelings and the depth of  who we are as our being instead of a momentary state.
My prayer for us is the courage to take ownership of the power of what we name ourselves so we can consciously show up in our relationships with God, with ourselves, and with others.
If God is the ultimate powerful name, what might you be giving power to in you through your naming today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Formation!

God emerges. Within the vital nature of our hearts we find a continual renewal of energy that comes from the flow of love.  Yes, our physical heart pumps blood but the energetic properties of our heart have also been scientifically shown to expand outside of our physical body.  There is an energetic flow that meets the environment and people around us before we physically get close to them.  Whatever we are carrying in our heart essentially walks in the room before us.  God invites me constantly on our prayer and meditation dates to expand my heart.  It was so shut down for such a long time it is any wonder that it didn’t stop functioning.  This is the proof to me that no matter what I do or do not do, I cannot undo the nature of God. God has always readied the formation for growth of our hearts through the experience of love.  It is ready for the expansion every time we take a breath.  It is formed every time we open our eyes to see with love.  It is formed every time we move away from festering anger and frustration.  God will never stop forming our hearts for greater love until we ask God not to.  It is the nature of God to create and form more love and God wants us to be as much a part of that as we are willing to surrender to.

My prayer for us is the willingness to expand our hears just a little and allow the formation of love to grow in us a little bit more today.
If God has readied our hearts for further formation of love, how might you be open to being formed by love today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Surprise!

God is enlivened.  The most dazzling element of living in relationship with God is the surprises.  The gentle nudges of circumstance that remind me I am not alone.  Especially when I have had a crappy day and things seem to be unwinding before my very eyes.  These sparkling moments of surprise are like a warm hug to my heart.  The other day something innocuous happened and I lost it.  I had this extreme reaction that came out of nowhere so much so that it surprised me.  As the day progressed I managed to focus and take care of what was in front of me but I was somewhat shaken.  Then I opened up a jar that I unknowingly managed to break earlier in the day when I threw down my bag in frustration.  The contents of the jar went everywhere at which point I could have easily broken down into tears over one more mess up that day.  Instead exactly at that moment in the room was a member of the environmental staff who had exactly what was needed to clean it up.  And with a simple request he took care of it and wouldn’t even let me help.  It was like God was saying yet again, “Yep, got you on that one too Colleen . . . surprise!”  It was if God had shown up in this man and rubbed my shoulder and said, “no worries, I am still here.” God is always ready to show up in unexpected ways if I am open to continuing to see God even when my vision is clouded.

My prayer for us is the willingness to let go of our expectations of God and allow ourselves to be surprised today.

If God can show up in unexpected ways, how can you be willing to be surprised by love today?  Share in the comments.

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Be Of Attraction!

God secures.  To be drawn to God is the fulfillment of our truest nature.  We were designed to be connected to our Creator.  There is so much that God finds fascinating in us, why wouldn’t we find ourselves equally attracted to God?  It is about recognizing the face of God in all things.  It is about coming home to the heart of understanding our oneness.  Cultivating this awareness is what God shows me on our dates. When I am in alignment with my true self I see and hear the presence of God as the things to which I am attracted.  Our desire and our attraction when driven by love is unity.  We live in a world that tells us what is most important is to stand out and be unique.  We do stand out and are unique as none of God’s creations are exactly the same.  But the purpose of our uniqueness to open our eyes to the multiple possibilities of the presence of God.  I can start by paying attention to what I am attracted to and what I like.  This is never separate from God because the true nature of my attraction stems from my heart.

My prayer for us is the curiosity to notice today what we are attracted to in others, the world, and ourselves and begin to create an understanding of the multitude of possibilities that is God.
 
If God is drawn to us and knows that our hearts speak and see the world as God does, what might your heart be attracted to that shows you a new face of God today? Share in the comments.
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Be Of Reliability!

God is sure.  All things will fade away but the love of God.  We can rely with perfect certainty that God is.  The way I have come to this place of reliability on God is through practice.  When all other things have fallen away what is left standing is the reality of love.  At the end of the day, I did not create myself.  Within me is this underlying sense of being that propels me forward even when I think I cannot last one more minute.  It is the seed of love planted in me from before I was born.  It is my connection to God. It doesn’t always make sense to my mind but my heart knows and thus keeps beating.
My prayer for us is the courage to trust in the reliability of God being God.
If God is reliable and we have been created by God, what might reliability in your capacity of love look like today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Essentialness!

God is binding.  As we take a close look at our lives there are many things that we find necessary for our survival.  These we would consider our basic needs.  Above that would be the things we want and desire but are not necessary. We have an essential element that is inherent in our being and that is of love.  It is the driving force of the universe. It is the one piece of life that would unbind us if it were not there.  It is not often thought of as a necessary for survival because we are not talking about survival.  We are talking about the makings of life.  If there is no life, there is nothing which has needs.  Our essential nature created from God is one of love.  It is the expression of who we are, it is what propels the continuation of life, and it is the element that binds us to God. All the true needs in my life are measured by their role in maintaining my essential nature.
My prayer for us is the courage to begin to balance our needs by those that keeps us in touch with our essential nature today.
If God designed us out of love for love, what needs might serve the growth of your essential nature today? Share in the comments.
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Be Of Virtue!

God is pure. As an extension of God we also posses a purity of love as part of our nature.  It is not something we earn, we are inherently virtuous.  We don’t do it because we have to make it up to God for being born impure.  Growing up I was certain that I was tainted and dirty.  I felt gross and disgusting and I didn’t connect with why until I remembered the incest later in life.  All I knew at the time was that something felt very wrong inside of me. Whatever our circumstances we have all thought and felt similar things.  I thought I had to cover this lack of virtue and carried the shame of imperfection. It propelled me into thinking I needed to earn God’s love and prove that I was good enough.  Unfortunately the religious ideology under which I was raised reinforced the belief that I had messed up somehow and had to continually be virtuous enough to show I had truly accepted God into my heart.  As I have matured and grown in my relationship with God I can see the false nature of this sense of virtue.  We are virtuous by our very nature.  What we are called to do in our relationship with God is accept this as true and live into it.  We may not always act virtuous but our behavior does not change God’s creation.
My prayer for us is the courage to accept ourselves as the children of God who possess the virtue we desire and walk in that truth today.
If God has created us in his image, how might you be open to embracing the virtue of love you are and always have been today?  Share in the comments.
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Be Of Projection!

God exalts! The beauty of living from our hearts is that we have the opportunity to project love into the world.  We then create the atmosphere and the reality in which we exist.  The love we project ignites the love in others and we implement a resonance that is stronger and more cohesive.  This is what happens when people are at a religious event or a group meditation.  The projection of love set the bar and an expectation of the growth of love. The essence of who we are is love so it is our natural projection of energy.  However, if we have layered other things on top of our hearts it is the layers that gets projected.  Then the reality of our energy comes back to us  and we see what is layered on top of our hearts.  If we are not careful we blame what comes back at us as the problem and don’t recognize what is calling for love within us.  Our projections love or not are a gift to ourselves because they allow us to get in touch with what is love and what is a call for love.
My prayer for us is the willingness to pay attention to what comes back to us when we project our energy into the world and ask God to embrace that which is lacking in love today.
If God designed us to project the energy in our hearts so that we might share in love with others, what is God calling you to love about yourself that is present to you from your projections today?  Share in the comments.
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