dailydatewithgod

When we think of making wishes we probably think of Disneyland, fountains, stars, etc.  It conjures up an image of a child who is holding their breath in expectation of things possible.  As we grow older the idea of wishing seems futile and pointless because we now know the reality that life isn’t about wishing for things but making things happen.  Life is about action and we are co-creators of our reality, but it begins with a longing in the heart and spirit.  We cannot just wish things to happen.  Life is not built on wishful thinking, but we can start with that childlike spark to move in the direction of our spirit.  It is important to take time to get quiet, go into our hearts and find those wishes again.  Think about what happens when people make a wish–before they blow out the candles on their birthday cake or throw a penny in the fountain.  They pause to connect with themselves and then they place the wish in the forefront of their mind as they take the leap and create an action around it.  So, no, life is not built on wishful thinking, but perhaps going back to pay attention to those wishes connects to our innermost selves and to God in a way that we have forgotten.  My prayer for you today is to take a moment, close your eyes and connect with the wishes of your heart.  When you connect, see if you can hear the voice of God in your wish.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

It seems as though the greatest challenge of our lives is to be awake and alert.  It is so easy to just go with our programming and remain unconscious on some level.  The irony of course is that we don’t even realize we are doing it. That is,  until we experience something that wakes us up.  Sometimes that comes in the form of personal tragedy, or almost tragedy.  Something that wakes us up to our mortality and causes us to question how we are living.  Hopefully our wake up call is strong enough to propel us into an awakened state that we continually strive to open further and further.  But usually, we have experiences and we are awakened for a while but then find ourselves slipping back into the usual programming.  If you think of an album, a vinyl album, and how it has those grooves.  If you ever tried to place the record needle in a different pattern, all you got was static and an irritating almost grating noise.  It was uncomfortable to listen to and of course, you just wanted to go back to the original grooves.  It is like that with our minds.  Our spiritual calling is to create new grooves in our minds and in our hearts.  They have done studies that meditation will actually create new pathways in the brain for wellness. But the first time you sit down to meditate it sounds like madness in your head, at least it did for me.  I first thought, what is the point, this is not peaceful.  But then after sticking with it, I began to be able to experience some quiet and calmness and sometimes I have those mind-opening experiences.  I have had just enough to keep me coming back, to strive to connect and be willing to do things differently and sit in the discomfort.  My prayer for you today is that you be willing to be changed from the inside out by the wake-up call you receive today.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Our true nature of love that resides within each one of us is overflowing.  However, over time our hearts have become hardened by experiences and we lose sight of the fact that the joy we search for “out there” is actually in our own hearts. In fact, the reason that our experience from “out there” is so fleeting is because we are not connected that which is within us.  When we are connected to our core (our joy) and we experience joy outside of ourselves we find a place for that outside experience to reside.  When we are disconnected from our joy, the outside experience has no place to land.  Our job is to cultivate that connection within ourselves by ridding the debris that has accumulated on top of our hearts.  Our ideas and experiences that have told us the lie that we are not the very thing we are seeking.  By having the courage to see past the lies and embrace the joy within, we will again experience it more regularly.  I need God’s help to weed through the layers, to take a look at what I have done to cement those layers, and be willing to do differently.  My prayer for you today is when you experience a moment of joy, remember that the feeling you are experiencing is within you.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

When we think about things that we are drawn to, things that we place in a high priority, we see the things that touch our heart.  Yes some of them are things that stimulate us intellectually, but if we pay close attention, we notice that they resonate even lower in our hearts. Notice the next time you are stimulated intellectually and see if there is an excitement that happens stemming from you heart.   The heart is the organ that pumps life into our body.  The blood carries all the oxygen cells through our body.  In other words, our breath is carried through our body by the pumping of our heart.  Connecting with what makes our heart sing brings life to our whole being.  My prayer for you today is that you pause and pay attention to what happening in your heart.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

When I look at the things in my life that are important and worthwhile I don’t question how much time or money I am spending on them.  I do not worry about how much energy goes into them because in my mind they have value. It could be my job, my relationship with my family, my time at the gym taking care of my body, my prayer and meditation time, and so on.  These things all hold great value to me so whatever  is put towards them is worth it.  Of course, when it falls outside the realm of what I think is worthwhile, I am troubled by how much time, energy, and money is spent on them.  For me that is the in-between time.  The time in traffic on the way to meet a friend, the waiting to hear back from a family member, time of healing for my body, etc.  It is specifically the in-between times that I don’t like because I do not see their value.  But if it is all part of the process and the experience then perhaps I am being called to look at it in a different way.  I think if I only value the “actual” time of an experience then I am focused merely on the outcome.  If life is about the journey then that means that the things on the way to the experience are just as important as the “event.”  Somehow I don’t think that God sees the in-between time as not having value.  He does not wish to be anywhere else because he created all time and sees all of it as valuable.  How different would my experience of sitting in traffic be if I realized it was exactly where I am supposed to be?  Aha!  I think I will try that one on for size.  My prayer for you today is that you be open to seeing the in-between times of your day as just as valuable as the things that you already know are valuable.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Yesterday I heard a spiritual speaker say something quite profound on his YouTube channel.  He was talking about forgiveness.  He said forgiveness was “for giving to God”.  Meaning, if we have something to forgive–ourselves, others, experiences–it is about giving it to God.  Only God can change our hearts so that we can reflect upon the situation or person with love.  That has been my experience of forgiveness, not something that I could achieve, only something I had to turn over to God.  Yet again, whatever it is in my life, I must turn towards God.  It centers me and connects me to the greater whole when I turn towards God.  It keeps me focused on my purpose which then drives everything that I do and be.  My prayer for you today is that you have the courage to turn towards God in the one situation that you are most resisting.  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

There is something to be fully alive that places on an observant watchfulness.  A desire develops within to capture every moment and every experience as it happens.  I see this in new parents with their newborn child–wanting to capture every first that occurs.  I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t feel the same way about us.  What if God is fascinated by our every first and second? What if God wants us to be as alert to the subtle changes within our hearts so much so that we are moved to grow more and more in our hearts?  What does that look like on a daily basis?  I don’t think I can speak for anyone but myself in that manner.  I believe that God lives and moves within each of hearts in a way that only our hearts can truly understand.  My responsibility is to then grow closer to God to pay attention to the inner workings of my own heart and spirit.  This means less attention on what others are thinking or doing in response to how I am reacting.  For someone who spent a large majority of her life judging what she was thinking or feeling by how others reacted to it, this is a new frontier.  I requires patience and understanding and a continually openness to uncertainty.  But in the smaller amount of time that I have explored this, I can sense a greater validation of who I am than I ever did when I received approval from others on how and who I was being.  How can anyone else truly know more heart more than the one who created it?  My prayer for you today is that you be willing to embark upon the journey to know and listen to your heart in whatever fashion possible.  Small steps are still steps in action.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

When I think about what kind of mark I want to leave on this world when I pass on, at the core is the idea that I somehow mattered.  I want to know that by living and breathing on this planet, things are somehow in a better space.  It is hard to know on a day-to-day basis, especially when I get caught up in the minutia of everyday living, if what I am doing really matters at all.  So, I must start at the beginning.  Does who and what I am matter to God?  Does my being present on the planet have a place in the transformation of hearts, even my own?  Actually it is only my own heart that I can know transformation.  The way that I experience transformation is by the opening and vulnerability of my own heart.  And it is only through the connection to my God that I can have the courage to be vulnerable with my heart towards the people in my life.  Not everyone on all levels in my life, but hopefully over time I can share that others matter to me by opening my heart to them.  It is when I allow others to touch my open heart that I am transformed.  Others matter to me, not because I base my existence or sense of who I am on what they think of me, but because I am open to being touched by their presence.  My existence is always firmly rooted in my relationship with God.  When I know that at my core, I can courageously invite others in and be of service to others by sharing my heart so that they know they matter.  My prayer for you today is that you share your heart with others in such a way that they know they matter. Allow it to come from a place of overflowing from your heart because God fills your heart.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I have never technically sleep-walked that I know of, but I imagine it would be somewhat alarming to do so and wake up in the midst of it.  So even though I have never experienced that specifically, I have had moments when I awoke to a situation in my life and wondered–how long has this been going on without my being aware of it?  On some level we are not fully awake to everything all the time–we would probably go made if we were.  The question is are we awake and alive for the elements in our lives that we want to fully participate it or do we wait until something wakes us up?  What do you want to be alive for today? My prayer for you today is to ask God to show you what he wants you to be made fully alive in today. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

One of the most eye-opening experiences as one steps into maturity is to take responsibility for one’s thinking and way of being.  So often we can think that because we do not like the choices that we are faced with that we are not ultimately responsible for making them because it is done under duress.  But the reality of the situation is that no one can do anything to us that we do not allow.  As a mature person I am capable of using my voice, of speaking up and saying something.  Perhaps because of conditioning as a child this can be the hardest to learn.  I know that I still have a story that lingers telling me that it is not okay to speak up for myself–don’t rock the boat, don’t ask for what you need because even when you do, no one will listen.  I later learned that if I have the capability, I have the responsibility.  So if it is as unused muscle or a story of an old circumstance attached to a capability/responsibility, then I have learned to enlist God to help me overcome it.  I have shared before that I lived my life in victim mode for many years so it is a well-worn imprint in my brain.  For me the first step out of that is to look at my capabilities now and reassess that for which I can take responsibility (my part).  Then, as each situation arises and I find myself stepping into old thinking, I turn towards God and ask that it be removed and for help stepping into taking responsibility in this situation.  As a result I live life much more powerfully and much more freeing. It is not easy work but I have found that most things worth having or being are not easy, at least in the beginning.  My prayer for you today is that when you find yourself faced with a situation of blame, that you be open to seeing your part and asking God what you can do to take responsibility.  Be open to what the answer to freedom might be.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen