dailydatewithgod

The wonderful thing about the cycles of life is they allow for a fresh start each time.  A new day, a new week, a new year, a new job, a new friendship, etc. We can choose what we bring with us from the past.  What if it is not necessary to bring anything? Why do we think it is?  Maybe because we think that we earned the newness and need to be able to prove that we can engage in it.  But what if the renewal was a gift from God and we would be given everything we need to engage in it? We just have to be willing to show up and be present.  What if the only thing God asks of us is to show up authentically and with heart?  Seems too simple, doesn’t it?  Most spiritual principles are simple and our minds often scoff at the simplicity. So then we insert all our ideas about how things “should” be and have specific expectations of outcomes.  Then we are disappointed when it doesn’t work out the way we had hoped.  If it’s too disappointing, we may even decide to stop showing up. Maddening and complex, huh?  Which approach gives you greater peace?  My prayer for us today is that we be open to the simplicity of the opportunity of renewal as God would have us experience it.  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

As we grow closer and closer to God we notice that the focus and goals we have begun to shift.  It becomes less about proving ourselves to others and more about connecting to what makes our hearts sing. For some of us, this shift can be uncomfortable.  I used to think that if I did what made other people happy that my job was done. Living this way almost killed me. I didn’t consider that God did not put me on this planet to make other people happy.  I am here on this planet to be an expression of God in my own unique fashion.  This may or may not fit in with other people’s ideas of who or what I should be.  But if I am focused on what other’s vision is for me, then I am making them my God.  I only have one God, the one who created me, who designed me and who cares for me.  I have to remember this too, when other people don’t do or behave the way that I would like.  I need to trust that they are being guided to do what is right for them.  The fact that I am bothered by what they are doing or not doing, is because I am bothered.  People do not do things because of me.  It is not about me.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to take our sites off of what others are doing or saying and refocus on what God is calling us to. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I am resistant to the idea of relying on anyone or anything but myself.  I would never have thought this about myself but when I look at the actions of my life, I see that I have depended mostly upon myself.  At least, at quick glance it looks that way.  I was considered very independent even in grade school.  I started working part-time as soon as I could to pay for my own dance classes, I worked through college to pay tuition, I moved to a new city knowing virtually no one, I have lived on my own for a long time, etc.  These are all good things and I am not begrudging them.  But, my ego can easily interpret this to mean that I can do it all on my own.  Along the way, however, I have relied on other people and primarily on God to get me through.  Even when I thought I was doing it on my own, I was not.  I relied upon the sun to come up every morning, the job to pay me my wage to put gas in the car, friends to show up for company and companionship, the power company to keep the electricity flowing, and most importantly–God to remind me that there is more to life than what I see in front of me.  God has been there to show me my spirit in times of struggle when I thought I could not take one more step forward, in times of joy to show me the abundance that flows from my heart, and in times of uncertainty to hold me steady as I rode the wave.  It is only by the grace of God that I have not completely destroyed my life.  As someone who thrived on my thinking, especially my negative thinking to the point of slowing walking towards death, it was not in the cards for me to turn that around. It was the willingness that came from the divine spark deep within me, the one that whispered, “there is more to it than this,” that enabled me to grab hold of spiritual principles and turn my life around.  I have witnessed and been a part of so many miracles that I can no longer claim with any seriousness to be self-reliant.  I do my part, and turn the rest over to God in everything.  Just like in the song by Michelle Branch, “Everywhere: Cause you’re everywhere to me.  When I look its you I see.”  My prayer for us today is that we be open to the joy of relying upon God in a way that we have not before and await the miracles that we will experience.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Its seems like such a simple idea, doesn’t it?  Be in reality.  Okay God, I can do that. Then as I walk through my day I come across the first thing that I don’t like or don’t want to be doing–the person who is on the elliptical machine that I like to use, the email at work that I didn’t want to deal with today, the bill that is due, the parking space I can’t find, etc.  I am not so gung-ho about being in that reality.  At this point, I am sure that God chuckles at me–“Sweetheart, which reality were you thinking of?  The one in your head?”  And I think, “uh, yah, is there another one?”  and at this point I have to laugh.  My head is not reality, it is fantasy.  The one where things go exactly as I planned, I get what I want and need and I am pretty sure there is a movie theme song playing in the background.  Sometimes in reality the only theme song I hear in the background are cars, other people’s voices, emergency vehicle sirens (I work at a hospital), and cell phone ring tones–not exactly a James Horner score.  But is it?  This is where God gently nudges me from the side.  He lifts my eyes up to the light of the sun, asks me to take a breath and says, “Let me show you the full reality you are in.”  Then when I look around me, I notice how the light hits the side of the fitness building and makes the freeway sparkle. I feel the energy flow through my body from working out on the elliptical machine (one of the many) and the jolt from noticing the cute guy who started using the machine next to me. I hear the music of the birds chirping and notice how the whizzing of cars on the freeway can sound like ocean waves.  I sense the integrity of responding to that email that was dogging me and am grateful that this job provides money so I can pay the bill.  And when I look outside of me, I notice the warm hug of the nurse to the patient who is leaving the hospital with her husband who found a nearby parking spot so she didn’t have to walk too far.  Then I turn to God and say, “Oh, this reality> Okay, I can do that.”  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to pause, connect with God, and ask to be shown the full realm of reality that is present to us today.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The great irony of life is that we go around thinking we need protection from something or someone outside of ourselves but it is our minds that we need the protection from.  Life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how we react to it (what we make it mean)–i.e. our thoughts about what is happening.  I don’t believe that God is here to protect me from things happening in life or that I get any kind of free pass from challenges because I do good.  I do believe that once I become aware of the path that my head is traveling on that I can ask God to intervene and protect me from taking it any further.  The mind that got me into trouble, cannot be the one to get me out –a paraphrase of something Einstein said.  I need God within me, my heart, my spirit to interrupt the direction of my mind.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to pause and ask God to protect us when we notice that our thinking is headed down the path of doom.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I love how the world is so alive when we are awake in our spirit and the subtlest things jump out at us.  This morning on my date I was struck by the spiritual idea of stretching.  I have read that God stretched out his hand or Christ stretched out his hand and usually what came from that was a new creation and a new healing.  As a dancer, stretching is so important and it is the time of stretching that we are most in tune with our bodies.  It requires breath and centeredness so that we don’t injure ourselves.  To move to the next physical level we are called to stretch our bodies just a little bit more.  And that is just how it happens.  A stretch is just that littles bit more.  This is how we are called to enlarge our hearts, just a little bit more.  Take a deep breath and stretch.  In that breath, we connect with God and with ourselves and garner up the courage to go just a little bit farther, wider, stronger, warmer, kinder, and gentler.  It is then we see that we can expand and are one with the universe because the universe is always expanding.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to stretch our hearts in compassion–extend that hand or that kind word to others, to ourselves or in gratitude to God even if we don’t feel it.  Then we will know we are more than we think we are.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

There are many forms and styles of prayer.  Consult any religious practice and you will find many variations that might best suit your style. Prayer to me is authentic conversation with God and in particular the part where we are talking. I was raised in a faith that is full of formal prayers and practices of how to communicate with God and those are very valuable.  My father is the one who introduced to me the idea of just talking to God like a friend.  Honestly, I thought the man was crazy when he suggested the idea, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.    Over the years,  I have found those most basic prayers are the most authentic. The ones that come from my heart and sometimes desperation are the best at connecting with God.  Some of the ones that I like are, “Help”, “Are you there?”, “Help me to see this as You see this,” “Thy will, not mine, be done,” “Wow”, “You Rock!”, “I don’t know what to do here,” “I am a loss for words,” “I believe, help my unbelief,” “What the *&(^” is going on here?,” “Center me in Love,” and so many more.  My prayer for us today is that we remember that God does not care how we reach out, but that we do.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I am not sure what life is like beyond a primarily human existence, but if it is anything like some of the spiritual experiences that I have had over the years oneness and wholeness would be the greatest markers of such an existence.  The funny thing is that at this very moment we are one whole being–body, mind, and spirit.  In the midst of a world that clamors for us to go here and do this, look here, and think about that, it is easy to feel fragmented and torn. It is easy to feel broken and not enough.  It is easy to forget who we are.  God created us as one and we come from The One.  God created us whole and complete.  It is when we start giving more power to the outside world–society, people, circumstances and believe their messages about who we are that we become confused and fragmented.  The good news is that it is easy to get reconnected with ourselves.  It is called pausing and breathing.  Seems to simple, huh?  Most great ideas are.  When we stop and breathe we are brought into the present moment, we are connected to our body, our mind slows down and we can connect with our heart and spirit.  My prayer for us today is that we create moments of oneness by centering ourselves in our breath as many times as we can.  Just one moment a day will remind us of who we truly are.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The most profound things are often the most simple.  While I don’t remember specifically where I heard it and I know I have shared it here before: “Thank you” is a tremendous prayer.  Whatever it is, just say “thank you.”  Whether the circumstances are good or bad, say “thank you.”  Whether it is a feeling, thought or experience that we want, say “thank you.”  Whether things are turning out the way we expect, say “thank you.”  Whether the person we are interacting with says what we would like, say “thank you.”  If I believe that things happen for me instead of to me, then everything is a gift and I can say “thank you.”  This is not always easy, at least not for me.  Mostly because it goes contrary to what my mind had in store or expected or wanted, etc. By saying “thank you” to whatever it is, I am coming from a place of power.  A place that recognizes that whatever happens God will turn it to good.  Whatever happens I can walk through it because God is with me.  Whatever happens it will somehow be used in a such a way as to strengthen my heart and my soul that I can live in greater wholeness and be of service to others.  Thank you means that I am not thrown about by this world, that I know in my heart and spirit something beyond the experience of this life.  Thank you speaks to the confidence and faith of the power of the Creator, the Most High.  My prayer for us today is that in the moment we are ready to push an experience, thought or feeling aside and make it wrong or wish it wasn’t happening, we instead pause and have the courage to truly trust in the power of the God who created all of who we are and say thank you.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen