dailydatewithgod

There is a great song sung by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush that almost sounds like a lullaby, “Don’t Give Up.”  The reasons the song says not to give up are cause you have friends, you’re not the only one, no reason to be ashamed, you still have us, we’re proud of who you are, cause there’s a place where we belong. I often hear God’s voice through music and invariably this song will come on my play list or even on the radio when I least expect it and need to hear it most.  I used to think that it was easier to give up because I had no hope.  I figured the moment something looked like it wasn’t going to work out that it simply wasn’t meant to be.  I thought it was weak to hold out hope past what seemed “reasonable.”  But what I have come to realize is that hope is unreasonable.  Hope requires being grounded in something greater than myself.  Hope is the power of God that enables me to persevere.  The song goes on to say “Rest your head, you worry too much, it’s going to be alright, when times get rough you can fall back on us.”  It doesn’t deny that to persevere and be hopeful takes courage and strength, but that strength comes from God, comes from being a part of.  Persevering is not being the lone wolf who accomplishes it all on his own, it is being a part of, drawing strength from the community of the human race. It takes a village.  Think of how when tragedy strikes how people band together and persevere through rough situations, watching that gives me hope.  Being involved in that effort shows me that hope (God) lives.  So if I am feeling hopeless and don’t have the courage to persevere I need to ask myself am I giving up because I am relying on only me.  Can I take a chance and be vulnerable and ask for help?  Can I take a chance on faith that I will find the hope I need to persevere?  It’s worth a shot, right?  How have you managed to persevere through rough times?  My prayer for you today is that you find one small area of your life that you want to persevere and look for how there is a community of people who want to help you not give up and find the place where we all belong.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I read a poem by Hafiz (a Sufi Master) this morning that spoke of the love of God for man and he used a the term intertwined.  I began to think of what it would mean to be intertwined with God.  I envision that I would not be able to tell anymore where I ended or started and God began.  It sounds beautiful but what does that mean in real every day life? For me that is what it is all about.  Spiritual concepts are beautiful to read about but if I cannot put them into action in my everyday life then they are not of much use to me.  I learned many years ago a simple surrender prayer, “Lord, remove from me my will and place in me Your will, give me the power and the courage to carry it out.”  It has continually been a powerful prayer that I used for everything.  Recently, I have adjusted it slightly to say, “Lord, align my will with yours and give me the power and the courage to carry it out.”  It feels like an acknowledgment that what comes from me does not need to be removed by rather placed in its proper place.  Because if I am of God and God is within me then my will or at least part of it is connected to that.  But because me ego (the part that is only looking out for me) gets inserted in there, I need to connect my will with the will of the Great Creator–the one who sees all and who is  invested in the goodness of all.  It sounds like intertwined.  The other element of being intertwined is a reminder that I cannot be separate from God even if I feel like I am separate.  That is a message that I need to hear so often.  Especially in moments when I feel God is not near, that I have been abandoned.  If I am intertwined I need only know that God is around the bend or the twist or just simply turn the other direction to see that connection.  The key for me is to remember that the connection may have taken a different shape or experience than before.  God is ever-changing and evolving and so I cannot expect God to show up the same way all the time.  God is spontaneous and excited and looks for new ways to show me the power of love.  So as I go through my day today, I ask God to show me how we are intertwined, to be reminded that I can just twist another direction and see our connection.  When I am cognizant of the connection then I can be that message for others.  My prayer for you today is that you experience the same.  Feel free to share how you imagine you are intertwined with God.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I used to think that I had to want to do something to do it.  I didn’t realize that I could be willing to do something I didn’t want to do. Willingness requires a level of maturity. Wanting implies a desire and a drive to make something happen.  It is not immature, but I often think of the flip side of it, “I don’t want to.” (Insert picture of two-year old with her arms folded across her chest and stomping her feet.)  When I remember that I have a choice, I always have a choice, I can become willing.  Willingness sometimes comes out a desire for the alternative not to continue.  I no longer want to pay the consequences of treating my body badly and not giving it nourishing foods, so I become willing to eat better.  When it comes time to eat the actual nourishing food instead of the food that “want” to eat, I choose the nourishing food.  What happens in time, is that my wanting merges with my willingness.  I see God as present in my willingness.  It is a trusting that things might turn out differently that I imagine they will.  And given that my head often tells the worst case scenario story, it is very likely that it will not be as bad as I am picturing.  In fact, it might turn out even better.  I came across a quote years ago by Herbert Spencer that caused me to laugh out loud because it described my attitude to a “T”:  “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which can not fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”  It was humbling to acknowledge that I often approached and made decisions without investigation, without experimentation.  On some level I never learned that it was okay to try things and make mistakes.  I came from the idea that I should know how to do it.  When I began to look at the things that I told myself I should know how to do and realized that there was no way I would know that, I began to be willing to investigate.  I began to try things out, to not make a decision about how it was going to be before it actually happened.  I think all of us suffer from that, at least I hope I am not alone in this.  My mind, given its programming, will look at a situation, pull from the corresponding file for a past experience and make a decision before anything has happened.  This is not a bad thing and great in emergent situations, but it can be limiting as not all of life is an emergency. If I am willing to connect with God and be open to a new experience then I can investigate.  A few months ago I was writing a letter to God about some situation in my life.  I find it helpful to get my thinking out on paper, if it just stays in my head it too long, it gets murky in there. In my writing I shared with God that I was in fear that my actions would not give the desired result and I saw that as a waste of time.  As I finished the sentence, I felt this inclination to write as though God were responding and what came back to me was “what is this word “waste”?”  I felt as though God was trying to tell me that I was seeing it that way, but he does not.  God sees all as learning and growing.  There are no wasted experiences or interactions and when I look back at my life, I can see that is true.  The fact of the matter is that I have no idea how things are going to turn out.  I just have to do what is right in front of me to do.  When I am willing to show up and be used by God for the greater good, when I am willing to put my agenda aside, when I am willing to investigate and experiment I get a whole catalog of life experiences.  This is the peace and beauty of life as it unfolds.  When I stick to what I want there are only limited possibilities because to be quite honest, sometimes I don’t really know what it is that I do want.  My wants are usually based on what my ego has convinced me that I need.  I guess the Rolling Stones said it best, “You can’t always get what you want . . . but if you try sometime,  you just might find, you get what you need.”–oh yah.  My prayer for you today is that you experience willingness (God) to try sometime and get what you need.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

They say that life is about the little things.  “Dont’ sweat the small stuff . . . it’s all small stuff.”  I wish I could tell you where I heard that, there might be a book but hopefully the author will forgive me for not giving credit.  It is quite amazing with all that goes on around us and within us that we are able to truly digest anything. I realized this week when I was working that it is when we are single-focused and bring our attention to one thing that life somehow just works.  Being attentive and present brings a sense of peace.  I was at the store last weekend and this card popped into my line of sight from the display, it read, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.  You are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing.”  As I read it I felt this sense of relaxation come over me.  So, of course, I bought the card.  I was thankful to God for the reminder and put the card in my kitchen where I would see it every day.  Under the guise of saving time, I can be a great multitasker-typing while talking, on my phone when in the car (with my headset, of course), paying bills and watching tv, etc.  This is all great, but then sometimes when it counts most, I forget to stop and do just one thing.  When someone comes to talk to me, I do my best to give them my full attention (however imperfectly) because I know of the frustration of speaking to someone who is distracted and not listening.  God is fully attentive to us. It must be that omnipotent thing–being ever-present.  He catches the nuances of how we think and behave.  He is rapt with attention.  When I quiet myself long enough I too have experienced that rapture with life.  If I am truly trying to live in my god-self then I will cultivate attention with life.  It is hard sometimes to let go of the false notion that I need to be doing something else or be somewhere else, but I have slowly begun to believe that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.  The more I trust that, the more I can give my full attention to what is in front of me to be and do.  Then I experience the rapture of life.  My prayer for you today is that you have a moment of trusting you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing and sense that God is enraptured by you in that same moment.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I have never been much of a fan of running.  I know that those who are runners rave about it yet they often look so unhappy while they are actually running, but maybe that is because the endorphins have not yet kicked in.  So at the risk of sounding like a cliché’ I felt this analogy come to me this morning.  That life is like a marathon.  I requires endurance.  A life of faith requires endurance.  An ability to go the long haul, that requires training and preparation.  Support along the way is crucial and that includes water and a cheering squad to encourage you to go on and further than what you think your body can do.  I admire those who run marathons or do an a triathlon.  Maybe one day I will challenge my body in that way, for now I will just make sure my spirit and my mind keep up the endurance.  Life is not a sprint.  A sprint will only take you so far and besides there is not as much good scenery.  So often I think I want a quick fix to something. Whether it is an uncomfortable moment in a relationship conversation, experience at work, or physical pain.  I want it done.  Especially when it comes to pain.  I believe that pain is the great equalizer.  It leaves out no one.  But learning to endure the pain (not to torture oneself) is important.  We need to endure long enough to learn the lesson and grow.  I often think of the physical growing pains that kids experience.  If a kid resisted that, they would never grow to their full height or develop adult bodies and as much as we often think it would be more fun to be kids again–as a society we don’t take kids or kid-like people very seriously.  We value and listen to maturity or at least what presents itself as maturity.  Still we want the quick fix.  True maturity of spirit and mind requires an endurance of pain.  We see what we are made of when we ride the wave all the way through.  When we don’t jump ship the moment the waves get rough.  We need God to endure, that is why life requires faith.  If I didn’t truly believe that God was there with me every step of the way, often providing me with a strength that I did not know that I possessed, I would jump ship every time or opt for the sprint versus the marathon. I want to experience life to the fullest and I realize that even wanting that is a gift in and of itself.  However, wanting and doing are two totally different things.  I must look at my actions.  How often do I stick with something even when it seems like I cannot go on?  Do I look for support from others?  Is my cheering squad in place so that when I am reaching that mile marker that I don’t think I can reach, they chant my name?  Do I turn to God and ask for support when my own resources have been exhausted or even before they have been exhausted?  Can I  get past the pain long enough to reap the rewards? Even in the story of Jesus, he endured such suffering but it led to new life.  I want to be transformed and for today I have the courage to endure what comes with that because I know from experience that when I endure I am drawn closer to God, to myself, and to everyone around me?  What can you endure today with God’s help?  My prayer for you today is that you may experience the gift of endurance through pain in some small way so that you can see the power of God in your life and your being.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

When I was in college I had my first love experience.  His name was Chris and it was such a fun ride.  It hit me up the side of my head like I had banged into a brick wall.  I wasn’t it expecting it at all and it was a great first love experience. But all experiences come to an end at some point and so did ours after about 8 months.  It was hard. I don’ t even recall all the expectations I had of the relationship but it ran its course and I fell just as hard out of love as I had in.  I remember very clearly telling God three things during that time: 1) Well, I guess it’s just you and me again for a while, 2) I didn’t want to do that again unless it was the man I was supposed to marry and 3) I wanted a neon sign to tell me that it was the guy I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life.  What a surprise that I didn’t even go on a date for many more years.  I did the equivalent of padlocking my heart and posting two security guards outside.  My point in telling you this story is more about the third part of my comments to God–the neon sign.  I wanted God to tell me when it was going to be okay to take another risk.  I wanted to know that the outcome was going to make it all worth it.  What I have realized almost 20 years later is that life doesn’t work that way.  I need to following the urgings and intuitions of my heart.  I need to be willing to be in the experience.  Life is not about guarantees.  I dont’ get to wait for a sign from God–neon or otherwise to act.  If I did that I would either only hang out in the red-light district or be starved of any kind of life experience.  I know that I have grown spiritually because I am willing to take a risk.  I am willing to following those inner urges to see what might occur.  I know that no matter what happens God will not abandon me.  More importantly I will not abandon me.  I do not let the lack of perfection or permission keep me from stepping into life.  To do so is to expect that I would only act when there is no fear and I will be waiting a long time for that to happen.  My prayer for you today is that you listen to those urges within your heart and take one step in that direction knowing that God is right there with you, no matter what happens.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

One of the most enticing things about being near the ocean is just siting and watching the waves.  They come to the shore, they leave, they come, they leave.  There is this ebb and flow of life that seems to occur in the simplest of actions.  I remember years ago when I first moved to  Los Angeles area, after a long day of teaching I would head down one of the canyon drives and pull up to a beach in Malibu area, park the car, and walk out onto the beach and just sit there for a bit.  I would watch the waves and I would listen as they crashed on the sand.  It was very centering just to be there.  Like a reminder that things come and go but the rhythm is always there.  The association I drew was like when they tell new moms to put a clock in the baby’s crib at night so they can be reminded of the heartbeat that they used to hear in the womb.  Something about being near the ocean makes me feel safe and protected and that life is ticking along just as it should.  I can see why surfers are so committed to their craft. I need to be close enough to the ocean to be reminded that I am a part of something bigger than me that is ever-flowing.  I am the wave that comes in and out, I am the grain of sand that is brought up from the bottom of the ocean by the current and then perhaps back in.  I am made to shine by the sun.  If I let go and trust, all will flow through me and I will remain a part of the rhythm of life.  My heart will continue to beat as long as I stay in the flow.  I need this kind of grand reminder of how life works.  Maybe that is why I was born on an island and after being land-locked for many years, found myself yet again close to the ocean.  I honestly don’t know how God does it all and it is probably best that I don’t.  I am grateful for the many ways that I am reminded of who I am and that all is well and flowing just as it should.  What centers you and reminds you of who you are?  My prayer for you today is that something outside of you speaks to your heart to remind you that you are connected, in the rhythm, and all is well.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Persistence is a personal quality that I developed a long time ago that has served me very well.  When I intend to do something and I make up my mind, I get it done.  I am not easily swayed by distractions or seeming failures, instead I keep my mind on the prize.  The flip side of that characteristic is stubbornness.  That has not served me as well.  It shows up often as me thinking I know exactly what is going to happen (like I am psychic or something–ha!  Not so much).  This will often bar me from being open to taking a risk.  It is an ego driven notion that tells me it is not worth putting myself out there unless I know how it will turn out and is therefore worth it.  Thankfully, I am able to recognize this for what it is.  A notion that somehow I will be safe and okay if I go with what I know.  The difficulty in this is of course that there is so much that I do not know.  In fact, there is so much out there that I don’t know what I don’t know.  With some humility I become willing to be shown.  To be open to trusting that God has my best interest at heart and I just need to follow where I feel He is leading me.  In the early years of my relationship with God, that meant thinking that God would want good things to happen to me.  I am not saying that I don’t still believe that, I most certainly do.  However, I have come to understand that being on a spiritual path means that “good things happening to me” are often disguised as challenges.  Challenges to my thinking, to my previous experiences that cause me to grow, to stretch open my heart and to live more fully.  Sometimes these are painful and things that at first look I am not the least interested in embarking on.  That is where the trust comes in.  The belief in my core, that no matter what happens I will not be alone.  That God is by my side and that he wants to show me the way of freedom, love, beauty, courage, and pure joy!  My prayer for you today is that you be open to being shown that where you are in this moment is exactly where you need to be to see a greater part of you.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

I still remember the night that I decided that I was going to ride the roller-coaster rides and give my fear to God.  I had just come from some meeting at church or perhaps it was mass.  The topic was about giving our fear to the Holy Spirit.  All the things that we fear.  Normally one would think about big things in life–job, relationships, finances, etc.  I figured why not try it out on the roller coaster rides at Spring Fling.  I had always had a fear of heights which I would push the limits on just because but this was something more.  What I saw is that I was afraid to get on the rides because the fear that arose in me that I would be safe was too great.  I could not handle it.  So, that night I decided I was going to give that to the Holy Spirit.  I would see if God would really take from me that fear.  So I got on the first ride and was scared, shaking on the inside and I prayed the whole way through it.  I just kept saying, “You say you are greater than this fear–so take it!”  I got off the ride, was still alive and thought, “okay, it worked.  I didn’t die.”  I then proceeded to get on another ride that scared me and do the same thing.  By the end of the night I had ridden all the “scary” rides and was still alive to tell about it and I had fun.  Each time I prayed i was almost certain that it would not work out.  Clearly God is more powerful than I imagined. Another element of these rides is that as an overweight person, there is a fear that the ride will not hold you–that you will some how break the metal, etc. and fall out to your death.  To this day I love getting on roller coaster rides (and as a person at a healthy body weight, that additional fear is gone).  I still get scared with the anticipation, but I continue to see it as a spiritual practice. Either God is everything or he isn’t.  When I think back to that night, what I remember most is that the fear never left me–except in those moments of exhilaration when I was on the ride and the G-forces kicked in.  But I didn’t let it stop me.  I was practicing courage.  I felt the fear and did it anyway.  I can look back on that experience and know that it is possible to experience fear in whatever area of my life and do it anyway.  If I put my trust in God then I can trust that it will work out and I might actually have some fun along the way. Each day I try to do at least one thing that scares me.  Do you? My prayer for you today is that you take the belief you have, however big or small and live it, face something that scares you. (It could be walking up to that person in the office that intimidates you and saying good morning.) Show that fear what you and God are made of.  Who knows, you might have some fun. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

What get’s you excited?  What makes you move in a positive direction?  What makes you strive for your greatest? What makes you eager to face the new day?  I think that God gets excited about each new day because he is eager to see how things will enfold. He longs to know what choices we will make, how His love for us will transpire.  Do I wake up with the same eagerness?  Some days, most certainly.  I am filled with anticipation.  On the days that I am most connected to the Creator, know that I am completely loved and cherished I am able to face the day with eagerness.  When I remember who I am there is nothing I cannot face.  It is only when my mind tells me there is nothing new here, that I am not really interested and it is the same old same old that I turn off an eager attitude.  To be eager means that I expect that God will show up in this situation and experience and I can get excited. Even in the grimmest of times and hardest of feelings if I remain committed to seeing God in it then my experience will be that of transformation.  I get stuck when I think that I am all that there is.  I can’t do it, or it is not going to work out or I am too overwhelmed or tired.  I cannot deal with this person one more time or face the same situation at work.  I am only relying on my resources, I have no expectation of God showing up.  When I am given a new day, there is a subtle gratitude that greets me most mornings and it is one that I am eternally grateful for.  It is the sense that God has given me this day for a reason.  All I have to do is align my will with his and all will be well.  I will be taken care of, I will be safe, and there might be something to get really excited about.  God is eager for me to experience so much and it is only by connecting with him that I can be cognizant of whatever unexpected way that might occur.  How can you be eager for God today?  My prayer for you is that you may experience the presence of God in such a way that you can be that much more eager tomorrow upon waking and begin little by little to expect God in unexpected ways. Peace~Colleen