dailydatewithgod

There are certain moments in our lives that can change the course of our lives.  Many times they are obvious-weddings, birthdays, job promotions, graduations, family reunions, etc.  However, more often than not, the moments that truly change our lives are the little ones.  When you think back to the moment that you decided that you wanted to marry that person, or the day you made the decision to do the work to get the degree or focus on the job, or appreciate your family more.  Those moments were probably innocuous and did not have any big celebration attached to them.  By the time we celebrate those things, it is the culmination of days or even years of little moments and decisions that led up to it.  So when we are experiencing those little every day moments and we make those little every day decisions, we are actually charting the course for our future.  Those little moments of decision and action are what create the life we live today when we can celebrate the achievement.  What if we saw this day and its little moments of decision and action as just as important as the day we will walk down the aisle or across the stage or hug that old family friend?  What if today, God were giving us the chance to make the momentous decision to turn to Him in all things.  To turn our decisions and actions over to the care of One who has our best interest at heart?  How differently would you sleep tonight knowing that you were fully awake and alive in the little moments of decision and action that might one day lead to some big celebration?  It makes today just a little more exciting, doesn’t it?  I think that is how excited God is when we wake up in the morning to accept his gift of life.  I think that God sees and rejoices in the little moments of decision and action and uses them to co-create and experience of a lifetime in which we will know love and courage and so much more than we can imagine in our own minds.  This is why I spend time with My Creator, I want to connect with the greatest part of my own heart so that today will make a difference.  My heart wants to be a force for good because it is who I am.  It is who we all are.  My prayer for you today is that you take the opportunity to celebrate the moments of decision and action today.  Even though you may not know where they might lead, know that you are present to them and when you are present to them they are all that is and the rest does not matter.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Have you every walked gracefully through a situation by worrying more?  Me either.  Yet, somehow that doesn’t stop me from doing it. Interesting, huh?  A couple of years ago, my spiritual advisor had me write a list of things that I was worried about.  Some of them were big things, but I also made a list at the end of the day of all the times I had worried about something small during the course of the day.  Looking back at them I realized that “worry” was a dressed up word for “fear”.  So then for a while I focused on the fact that I was clearly a fearful person because I walked through life with all these fears.  Then we took a look at the list of things again and instead of seeing them as fears, I noted them as thoughts instead of fears. After doing this for a couple of days I began to realize that is exactly what they were–thoughts.  I attached the word of fear or worry to them and then consequently saw myself as a fear-based person. So, not only was I having thoughts, which we all do, I was attaching a label on them which I made out as something bad about myself.  The reality is that I am a thought-based person. We are all people who have thoughts and attach their identity to their thoughts.  I believe self-centered is another word for it.  In other words I was doing my programming as a human being relying on my brain.  Hmm, nothing particularly unusual or grandiose about that, just par for the course.  So if all I was doing was relying on my base programming for survival. I now saw that I had a clear choice.  I can choose to thrive by inviting God in to help me stay connected to my greater self.  A self that relies on an infinite being.  A self that trusts that no matter what happens it will ultimately be for the greater good and I will become more of who I am meant to be by experiencing it.  My prayer for you today is that you may open your heart to receive the love and comfort of an infinite being who awoke with you this morning just to remind you that you are more than this human experience happening in and around you.  Try it out and see if the day is a little easier.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Do you ever find yourself saying something over and over again to other people?  I have heard it said that whatever we say to others we need to hear ourselves.  As I began to pay attention to that I have found it to be true.  Recently, I have been reminding others in conversation that God has got them.  It is a simple expression that has often come to me in my letters to God.  I feel like it is God’s way of reminding me that all is going according to plan, there is nothing to fix and I am not alone.  I never realized that conversation in my head– a fear of being alone.  I think it is an ego concept.  The irony, of course, is that the ego does everything it can to separate itself from God and from others–to prove it is all alone and yet that is the fear that lies at the core of our ego.  It is truly a separation from God when we fear being alone or abandoned.  For years, I have said that there is no proof that we are alone or meant to be alone just by the sheer number of people around us.  In other words, the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.  It makes me laugh at the story that my ego tries to tell me.  Perhaps it is living in Los Angeles where there is always someone around.  Again, if I were meant to be alone, I certainly would not have been born on this planet.  I haven’t checked the latest population numbers, but I am pretty sure we are above one.  My prayer for you today is that whatever it is that your ego consistently tries to BS you about, you have the confidence to remind yourself that God has got you.  I have found that God pretty much covers it all–there is no fear or experience that cannot be gotten through when the Great I AM has got you.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

A few of the books I have been reading and spiritual talks I have been hearing recently speak of this idea that those of us who choose to thrive, not just survive are courageous.  I could not agree more. It is always delightful to see one’s ideas mirrored back at them in black and white. 🙂  Life is meant to be lived and when we step outside of our programming we begin to experience the fullness that life has to offer.  I used to think that meant only good stuff, but I found out really quickly it meant everything.  The good news is that because I am centered in God and surrounded by God I am not afraid.  I heard a speaker the other day say that whenever I am in fear I am not in the moment.  It was one of those ideas that hit me in the head.  My soul almost screamed: Yes, when we go into fear we are either projecting into the future or reliving the past.  It reminded me of a little “trick” I do with myself when I find myself triggered by something in the past–I look at my hands.  I look at where they are, that they are the hands of an adult woman, and it brings me to the present moment where I am safe and okay.  Stopping and breathing works too.  Funny how when we are in fear, we don’t breathe.  I have also learned not to beat myself over the head when I slip into fear–instead I acknowledge it and choose to go forward anyway–be courageous.  Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision  to go ahead anyway.  I am reminded this week all the ways that I am surrounded by God’s love in ideas, people, experiences, nature, and little things that make me laugh.  It is in those times of being encompassed that I am most able to give to others because I am part of a whole experience, not pulling from my own source alone.  That is another element of being present–knowing I am not alone.  My prayer for you today as you face this new day – may you be reminded of the ways that you are encompassed by love in the present moment so that you can join in and be the emcompassment  for others.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

When we look at our lives today what parts do we pay the closest attention to?  Is it our work life, relationships, growth, spiritual, physical?  Most of us have a tendency to focus on one area more than another.  It is only natural that some areas are stronger than others.  To become a more whole person we need to look at the areas of our lives that we are less developed in and grow those areas.  It can be as simple as taking the practices we have in one area of our lives and translating it to another.  For example, I have made my spiritual life an important area of my life and I am always looking for ways to grow and expand it.  An area that I think needs more attention is my relationships. God is safe.  In the past, people haven’t always felt safe.  Now when I look back just five years ago I see tremendous growth but it is an area that requires constant involvement for me.  So I took a look at how I tend to my spiritual growth and began to apply some of those practices in my relationships. I also see a correlation between my relationship with God and my relationship with myself and with others.  The more love and acceptance of myself, the more love and acceptance I experience with others.  By having time to grow quiet in my own heart and see the parts of myself that I used to run from, I am more tolerant and loving towards others.  I can accept them faults and all because I recognize that I am in need of that same acceptance.  Besides, anytime I am not accepting or irritated by another I am the one who is experiencing that.  I am the one who is disturbed, no one is doing anything outside of me that I am not already doing inside of me.  By becoming more involved in all areas of my life, I can be more involved in all areas of all life.  My prayer for you today is that you acknowledge your own growth and strength and ask God to show you how to integrate that more fully.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

One of the gems of taking the time to slow down and draw closer to God is that we begin to draw closer to our own hearts. When we take the time to get close to our hearts we recognize our passions, our creativity, and what moves us.  In other words, our heart-speak.  These are actually expressions of God in our lives.  For a long time I thought if I just blanketed everything as wanting to do what God wants me to do then I would be “okay”.  I think I was looking for a way to do things perfectly, not get hurt, and be unaffected by the world.  But what God wants me to do is listen to my heart.  Pay attention to what motivates me to move in a specific direction.  What am I drawn to?  What are the things that when I am involved I lose a sense of time and place?  What actions that I take cause me to feel connected to God and to the world around me?  Those motivations are the makings of my heart.  Those are my God-expressions that I am gifted with and can share with the world.  Life is about paying attention to those things and working towards co-creating a life in which I live out those ways of being more and more.  It is about being open to learning.  When I spend my date time w/God I get a chance to reflect and be still in my heart and in my soul.  My mind quiets down (most of the time–though in the beginning it took a while) long enough for me to recognize who I am and why I am here. Connecting with our God-expression is why we are here.  My prayer for you today is that you have enough pause in your day to recognize the messages of your heart.  To see that what moves you, is God’s move for you so that you can be God for the world.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

If we approached our day knowing that all was taken care of, that we would have exactly what we needed to face the day and did not need to worry, wouldn’t we have a more peaceful day?  Hmm.  I am pretty sure this is what happens in nature.  I have not heard a tree speak this morning, but if it did I don’t think it would be going on and on about whether it would get enough sun or need to be re-planted somewhere else. It would have to be in complete acceptance of exactly where it is because it is not moving on its own accord.  If it is an oak tree it most likely doesn’t compare itself to a fir tree.  Life is simple for the tree.  It knows exactly who to be, how to be, what to be and thrives when it is in the groove of nature. Now I have more decisions and choices than a tree does but there are certain elements of my life that if I just sit back and relax about, my day would be a lot less pressured.  The biggest element for me is focusing on what I need to do today.  When I am anxious and disturbed it is usually because I am focusing on an outcome which is the future.  I worry it won’t turn out okay=the future.  If I stay grounded and focused in the moment, I am doing exactly what I need to be doing it to the best of my ability.  My prayer for you today is when you are not feeling grounded, that you stop and ask yourself am I being right here right now?  Or am I  trying to establish my being in the future?  Feel free to ask God for help on this one too.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

There are many different forms, types and ways of prayer. Simply put prayer is conversation with God.  Sometimes like the conversations we have with people in our everyday life, those conversations are short, long, deep, well-thought out, productive, etc.  God wants to be in relationship with us.  When we are in love with him and grateful for him and when we want nothing to do with him.  In fact, it is during those times of wanting nothing to do with him that God wants to keep us engaged.  As long as we are still keeping the lines of communication open, there can be growth.  The moment we shut God out completely, the relationship comes to a halt.  I find when I do not want to be in communication with God or lack the words to express how I am feeling, two words seem to work best.  “Thank you.”  No matter what is happening or what situation I am facing, I know that in the end all will turn out for the greater good because ultimately the God that I believe in has shown that to me over and over again.  If I am thankful then I know all will keep moving forward.  My prayer for you today is that you may use whatever words necessary to keep the lines of communication open. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I sometimes imagine that God has these huge enveloping arms that he wraps around me for safety when I am feeling lost.  The arms are so enveloping that they wrap around me like a blanket and provide an invisible layer of protection.  It also brings the feeling of being in the fold, being surrounded completely and totally by love.  During times when I am not feeling poked at by the world I don’t picture that but it is still true.  I am always totally surrounded by love. In fact I am part of that loving essence through and through.  As I have matured in my faith and relationship with God I have found when I make time to grow that connection I see that essence lives within me. When I stop and breathe and connect with my heart I sense that same surrounding only it is not something that comes from outside of me but lives within me.  This means that I have access to it at all times and it is an integral part of who I truly am.  From that surrounding that dwells within me I can extend love and kindness to those around me because it is no longer a cloak of protection but an energy that flows in and out of me and others.  This is how we are connecting with each other.  We are one, it is only our ego that convinces us that we are separate from God and from each other. With this perspective I can see what Francis was saying when he asked God to make him an instrument of his peace:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

,  My prayer for you today is that you remember that you are not only surrounded by love but that you can be the love surrounding others. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Did you hear the trumpets of nature announce with joy when you opened your eyes this morning?  Did you feel the earth move under your feet as you hit the ground?  Just because you didn’t notice it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.  I think that God is so excited when we get up in the morning and say yes to another day!  All kinds of energy surrounds us for the good.  Sometimes however, my mind seems to be a the foot of the bed like a little drill sergeant with a list of all the things that didn’t go well yesterday and I need to fix today, and of course how I will need to prove why I was given this day.  So which experience do you want?  You have a choice.  We may not like our choices, but we always have them. I came across an exercise many years ago when I started my teaching career.  LouAnn Johnson put in her book for teachers and it profoundly changed the way I look at the world.  The assignment for the students was to fill in the following sentence:  “I have to _____.”    Then once they filled it out they were to cross out the word have and replace it with choose.  Of course, the students began to argue immediately, but I have to do homework, I have to obey my parents, etc.  After a little discussion the students began to realize that things they saw themselves as having to do, were things they were making a choice to do because they did not want the consequences that came along with not doing them.  They recognized that they were choosing one consequence over the other.  We determined that death was pretty much the only thing they “had” to do.  Some left class enlightened, other s frustrated and I am sure some thinking I was just some crazy teacher.  The best lesson came the next day when a student shared an experience that he had incorporating this into his life.  He told me that he was talking to his dad who told him that he had to do his homework.  Alex proudly informed his dad  he had learned from Ms. Tracy that he didn’t have to do his homework, he chose to do his homework.  His dad then replied by saying, he didn’t care what Ms. Tracy said, he had to do his homework!  LOL!  It was then that I pointed out that as adults we also have difficulty with this concept.  It is more empowering to choose but it requires us to step up and take responsibility for our lives.  I need to remember that I am not alone in taking that responsibility, God is with me in my choices and I can look to him for guidance.  So while this morning I gladly embraced the trumpets and the warm hug from God as my eyes opened, tomorrow I might need his help to tell the drill sergeant that the war is over and she can retire.  My prayer for you today is that in a moment of thinking you “have to ____”, instead look at what you are choosing to do and own it.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen