dailydatewithgod

Honestly, smiling was the last thing I was thinking of doing yesterday and while today is a new day I am still thinking of the goings on of the day before.  I don’t usually get super personal in this blog, but a dear friend of mine is dying.  Brain cancer has gotten the best of her and she is slowly departing to the next phase of her life.  She is someone who in her mid-sixties is as spunky and bright as any shining star in the sky. It is hard to watch someone’s light go out. As I saw her yesterday, sleeping peacefully, I thought who she has become is not recognizable because she is in a transition phase between this world and next.  Her soul is ready to go on so it is leaving her body little by little.  I can smile at the thought that she will now get to be fully free and be a guardian angel over all the people who were gathered to say goodbye yesterday.  God must really need her close by to do some good work.  None of us our immune.  The story, whatever it is in the interim all ends in the same way-we go.  No matter what we do or how we do it, it ends at some point.  The question is how do I want to spend the moments that I do have, smiling or frowning?  It actually takes three times as many muscles to frown but gravity works in favor of frowning so it takes a little more effort to smile.  That is where God comes in.  We can smile at each new day not because we know whether it is one among many or our last.  We can smile not because everything in life is rosy and wonderful, but because the Creator of our smiles has given us a new day today to do something and be something.  We have a purpose today. We have something to give and especially when we don’t “feel” it, we can act our way into an attitude of gratitude by smiling.  My prayer for us today is to have the courage to express gratitude for being alive through a smile.  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

We come from a God of love and creation.  By extension of that who we are at our core is love and creation which is why we when are engaged in those experiences we are fully connected.  This is also why when we are around people who emanate those same characteristics we are connected to who we truly are.  While it no longer surprises me, it is quite amazing how interconnected everyone and everything is.  We have little realization from one moment to the next how what we are doing will affect the lives of those around us.  We so often go around in a bubble and see only how things will affect us, but every move that we make, idea that we hold, and character that we develop creates a ripple effect.  Energetically we are all part of the same system.  The laws of physics states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, it is simply changed.  So when God created everything, this is it.  We are all creating and uncreating with what is already present.  We do not have the power to fully destroy God.  We may push it around or turn a blind eye but we cannot fully deny its existence because it exudes from everything and anything.  The question remains what kind of experience of God/energy do we want to have?  That we can create, create from what is at our disposal.  The only ways that God is limited are the ways in which we choose to limit God in our thinking.  When we connect with our heart and spirit we can open our mind to new ideas of God.  This takes practice, especially if we have spent a lot of time trying to separate ourselves from who we truly are.  At any moment, we can stop and turn towards the Creator of all Creation and say “Remind me who you are and how I am created in you today.”  When we engage in inviting the Creator we re-align ourselves with our own essence and the energy we are passing around reflects that.  My prayer for us today is to have the courage to take our energy and use it to bolster those around us. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Whenever I am uncertain of how God works or if God works I only need to look at reality.  Will things ever be new and fresh again?  In reality seasons change and new things are growing all the time even when I can’t see them.  Am I supposed to feel so alone or like I have to handle everything on my own?  I am surrounded by people who I bump into and am “forced’ to interact with all day long so probably not.  Does love really exist?  I see people sharing, loving and connecting with each other all around me, so that would be a yes.  Is music real?  I only need stop and listen to the sounds of nature-singing birds and crickets, the way the wind howls, people who hum and sing and make music out of random objects.  My head is always ready to convince me that it is going to get worse, that it is always going to be like this.  But I live in a reality where things are changing all the time.  And, if I really pay attention, I can recognize that change is already happening within me.  Tomorrow I will not be exactly the same person simply by virtue of the fact that the air I breathe will change my cells and go through my whole body.  My mind tells me that I am stuck and going nowhere yet I keep putting one foot in front of the other, even if it is to get up and go to the bathroom-ha!  My mind is a beautiful instrument, but it cannot be the only thing in my life that provides direction.  I must take time to connect to my heart and my spirit for the things eternal are what keep things in motion.  My prayer for us today is to recognize our minds as providing one side of the story and be open to evidence (God) to the contrary that even we are living, happening right in front of us.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Given the make up of our minds, it is easy to focus on what is not working.  It is often the first place that we go.  But what if it that is the design of how it is supposed to be?  What if instead of it being a problem that we focus on what is wrong, it becomes the springboard to move in the opposite direction?  We have two options, we can be propelled by automatic programing and go with what our minds automatically focus on or we can wake up and decide to do differently.  Scientists have determined that our brains can change over time.  They used to think once they were fully formed that was it.  I believe the term is neuroplasticity.  Basically it means we can change the neural connections in our minds. How do we do that?  By creating new experiences.  Like anything new that goes against the usual groove, it will seem uncomfortable and unfamiliar.  But if we keep at it, eventually we will reshape how we approach things.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to move forward in creating new experiences no matter what resistance we encounter.  After all, isn’t God all about new life in all forms?  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

It is really hard for our brain/our ego to accept the fact that we have strength from our weaknesses. It goes contrary to our understanding of how the world works but yet when we look a little closer we can see the truth in it.  The reason it is our weaknesses that provide our strength is because they strengthen our character.  They humble us and remind us of our fragility.  (The beautiful fragility that God holds in his most precious hands.) Most importantly, our weaknesses connect us to others.  When we come face to face with our lack of strength we realize that we need other people.  We recognize that something greater than ourselves must intervene.  Our weakness is the remedy to our self-sufficient ego.  This does not mean we go around announcing our weaknesses or being a wet blanket.  It means that we come to terms with our humanness and rejoice in the fact that it doesn’t end there.  We will not die from our weaknesses but we might die from being disconnected from love.  If we cannot connect with each other, we are doomed to play the story that we are all alone and our ego wins.  God provides us with ample opportunities to live a human life fraught with danger, frustrations, happiness, joy, sadness, and more.  Part of that full human experience means recognizing our weaknesses as opportunities.  Not to be victim of the year, but to see where we can grow.  We know it well because when we are irritated by someone else’s weaknesses we see what we need to work on.  What doesn’t kill us, truly does make us stronger.  My prayer for us today is that we use our moments of imperfection and weakness to remedy the world with love for ourselves and others.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

In the course of a given day, there are many decisions to be made.  Some crucial but most are everyday decisions, to wear this or that, eat this or that, take this turn or wait till the next light, answer an email or wait for further information.  Somewhere in the midst of all these decisions we shape who we are being.  Do we involved anyone else in our decisions?  Do we wait until we come across something that we can’t figure out on our own to involve someone else?  Do we wait until we are desperate and broken down before we call on God to help?  Being wise does not mean having all the answers.  Being wise means knowing when to call for back-up, knowing when our own resources are not enough and that they do not need to be enough.  Being wise means being humble because we know our strengths and our weaknesses.  Instead of making themselves wrong for their weaknesses, the wise person seizes those weaknesses as opportunities to connect with God and with others.  This notion of perfectionism is simply our ego’s way of keeping us separate.  I have yet to come across a perfect person with whom I could relate.  They continue to be out of reach.  I do not want to be someone out of reach.  I believe that we are here to connect with God and with each other.  My prayer for you today is that you step into your wise mind and call up on your God and those around you to walk through the very thing that wants to separate you from them and thus ultimately from who you truly are.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

If I am trusting in God, I am either doing it or I am not. Faith in God is not easy.  It is simple, yes, as most spiritual concepts are, but the spiritual life is not an easy one.  I suppose if it were easy we would see the world in an easier space.  It is interesting to me that the very moment things don’t go the way I thought they would or the way that I had hoped they would my mind tells me something is wrong.  But what if nothing is wrong?  What if it is exactly as it is supposed to be?  What if God’s plan really is better than mine? Can I go out on a limb and trust that? Can I keep putting one foot in front of the other and believe that all is working out for the good?  I can do it one day at a time.  It is a hard chunk to swallow all at once, but I suppose that is why we are only given one day at a time to live.  Sure, we think as though we have a lifetime, but none of us know when our time will come to an end.  If I connect with my Creator as I begin this new day that has been given to me and ask for guidance on how to live each moment to the fullest, then I am not so preoccupied by my ideas of how things “should” be.  Instead I can be in reality with what is.  My prayer for you today is that you have the courage to ask God, who would you have me be today?  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

It is hard to imagine what it was like when we were being created in our mother’s womb.  It was a time of tremendous nurturing.  We were enclosed in a sack of nutrients, close to a beating heart and many who saw us through our mother’s tummy were in awe over the mystery of the fact that a brand new being was being formed within her.  I have never been pregnant so I cannot speak to the wonder of having that happen to me, but there is a striking mystery when I recognize all that is happening in that time to form a new being.  We were given everything that we would need to grow and learn in this world.  Good thing since it was a rather alarming wake up call when we popped out.  During that same time of physical preparation, God was endowing us with all that we would need to grow and learn spiritually.  His connection within us was formed from the beginning.  As we look to connect with the world about us, we need to go back to the place of origin, our hearts, and listen carefully to our story of creation.  God’s message is of wonder and awe.  God’s message is of love and forgiveness.  God’s love was imprinted on our hearts from the get go. We have just gotten disconnected from it over time.  There is a lot to take in and deal with when we come into the light of the world, but our true light lies within us. That is why when we begin to reconnect with ourselves, there is a light in our eyes.  Others see it in us when we fall in love, when we cry and release an old idea, when we have spent time in nature, and when we share time with those we love.  The more often we take time to spend connecting with our hearts and spirits, the more we are able to bring that sense of peace and knowing to the situations that we face each day.  The psalmist wrote, “Be still and know that I AM God.”  It seems counterintuitive in a world of doing to stop, pause, and breathe but it is what reminds of who we truly are and where we come from.  Sometimes we are given the opportunity through tragedy to stop and reflect, but how might our lives be realigned if we heed the call for a few minutes today?  My prayer for you today is that you have the courage to trust that your life is precious enough to spend a few minutes with the One who took nine months to design you from the inside out.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

FEAR!  I said the word, are you scared yet? 😉 Everyone experiences it.  There are times in our lives when we are ruled by it.  Fear is part of the human condition.  We usually label it as bad or some kind of lower emotion.  In some cases it can be a great motivator.  Like most things it is neither simply good or bad.  It does serve a purpose.  How do I know that?  Easy, because it exists.  All the things that we think and feel are part of our human experience.  Everything can be useful.  The moment we deem something bad or to be avoided we run like the plague.  We fear being fearful.  And when we focus on avoiding fear, we are focused on fear.  What if instead we acknowledge it, we feel it and then let it go?  I have heard the expression from eastern spiritual practitioners of inviting the fear for tea.  In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures the phrase used over and over by God is “be not afraid” or “fear not.”  God must have known that we would experience fear.  In order to do the reverse, we must acknowledge that it is there.  It doesn’t say make it wrong, run from it, or hide it.  Just notice that it is there.  The lack of ease with fear is if we live inside of it.  To me, fear is simply an indication to invite God in more fully.  In fact, when I invite fear for tea and ask it why it is here, I also invite God.  It is a regular tea party.  There is no shame or wrong in acknowledging that it exists.  Fear beckons courage.  I have two favorite fear quotes, both from movies: ” A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.” (Strictly Ballroom).  “Courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to go ahead anyway.”  (Princess Diaries).  Just like anything it is not what is happening, it is how we are choosing to act in regards to what is happening.  The fact that you are afraid or experience fear simply means you are human.  It is what you do with it that counts.  My prayer for us today is to have the courage to acknowledge our fear and with the great love our creator, thank it for showing up and ask how it can be useful in helping us to create more love.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

As fall begins to set in the nights get cooler and cooler.  This is one of my favorite times of year.  Funny that someone like me who historically doesn’t like change, has always loved the changes in season.  Especially the fall.  It seems to call upon us to delve into reflection as we need to bundle up a little bit more.  As it gets colder it is harder to stay warm.  Or rather, it requires more effort to stay warm.  I think often times when we are faced with moments of change–e.g. when we are alive, we tend to harken down and protect our hearts. We feel that we have nothing to give because so much of our energy is focused on survival.  Much like our ancestors of old, in preparing for winter there is much to be done.  The reality is that we are not living in an age where we must do as much for survival, yet our minds operate from that same place.  It is up to us to call upon our hearts (God) to generate warmth of spirit.  I don’t mean feel it, I mean be it.  I have learned that I simply need to take the action and the thoughts and feelings will follow.  By extending warmth of spirit in action, I find myself feeling that way.  If I try to feel it or think it first, it may take a while.  Given that life is meant to be lived and I am measured by my actions, not my thoughts, it all works out!  How can I generate warmth in my world that is full of change and uncertainty?  How can I share the warmth that always resides in my heart that I sometimes do not feel in touch with?  I can do it by being that way.  I can act contrary to how I feel or what is happening in my environment because I am connected to the source of all warmth at all times.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to extend warmth (could just simply a genuine smile) to one other person today and see if it doesn’t warm our hearts as well.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen