dailydatewithgod

Sharing my experiences and understandings of the Great I AM.

May 24

Be From Today!

by Colleen
All around us from all spiritual and philosophical realms we are reminded of the power of the present moment.  I find when a particular message comes to me in multiple forms there must be something trying to get my attention.  Living in the now is one of those.  Until I got into recovery I had no idea how much time I spent in the past and the future. I was spending a lot of time in my head about times I was not physically in and from which I could take no action in my life. Talk about a powerless place to be. No wonder I felt so defeated by life. I found the only way I could get through the day without turning back to the habits of eating and hating myself was to take it one day at a time. It is simple but not easy to stay in this day.  My daily dates with God are an opportunity to embrace the day I am in with confidence and a reminder of its elemental force. Today is the day I am given to live from and be the power of love for myself and others.  I cannot be in the past or the future.  It is about my head and my feet being the same place.  I cannot change the past or make anything happen in the future except from the day I am in.  If I am in my head and not where my feet are the thoughts I am thinking about the past or future have no action, no life, attached to them because my feet are not there.
My prayer for us is the courage to live from today as an expression of the power of God through us.

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May 23

Be From Ardor!

by Colleen
God endowed us with a passion for life because it is what God is.  The love within us means we thrive and grow from the expansion of who we are at our core.  How do we tap into this?  How do we connect with the truth of who we are when we are lost in the outward expectations from ourselves or others?  On my daily dates with God I am reminded that the only ones present are me and God.  No one else comes into that sacred space.  My heart time first thing in the morning happens before I pick up my phone, check my email, read the news or engage in conversation with another.  Spending time centering myself with the One who knows me inside and out, accepts me inside and out, exactly as I am in the moment opens the door for me to find the same experience for myself and others as I go through my day.  This door to my heart allows me to see with my physical eyes the ardor for life that I have always had with me.  The ardor allows me to hold space for the innocence of the person who cuts me off in traffic, uses the machine at the gym I want, gets the parking space before me, or criticizes me at work. The ardor of life is always ready to be tapped into when we are open to experiencing it.
My prayer for us is the courage to listen to the ardor of life calling to us from our hearts as we begin our day today.

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May 22

Be From Done!

by Colleen
It seems as though we spend a fair amount of time and energy focused on what will happen when we get something done or something ends.  We engage in the conversation of a future that has not yet happened but we are sure is going to be better than what it is to be with what is going on in the present.  Within us is a longing to be or feel something we are not being or feeling.  What if we were to embody whatever it is we think we will be or have when we get done right now?  How might we show up in the now if we already had what it is we get when we are done?  God is about now.  God has equipped us with whatever we need to walk through our current circumstances. If we are focused on what we will be when we are done, we may not be it because we were not in it or with it to learn what was needed to get it done. (Hint: if you find yourself going through the same thing over and over again this might sound familiar.) Have you ever gotten something done and when it happened you didn’t feel the satisfaction you thought you would?  God invites us to be where we are.  Only then can we become who we are when we are done.  If we were never there on the way, we are not done . . . yet.
My prayer for us is the courage to accept God’s invitation to be with what is now and from it become what looking forward to being when it’s done.

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May 21

Be From Facets!

by Colleen
If we were to know all the variations of God in existence we would be God.  There would be no mystery. I know there is a side of me that likes certainty and knowing.  It makes me feel safe or at least provides the illusion of safety.  But the same facet of me that longs for a sense of certainty driven by safety is matched by the facet of God that shows up as safety in a completely unexpected way.  I used to think shutting down my heart kept me safe from being hurt.  I now realize it shut me off from the core of who I am and kept me steep in the stew of illusion of safety.  I was afraid based on past circumstances to embrace the facets of love.  No one person or experience can define the depth and breadth of love. Just because what was shown to me as love came with a betrayal does not mean all the facets of love present in the world will be the same.  Because who we all are at our core is love and innocence we can take a chance on God’s facets being more varied than those demonstrated by humans who are just doing their best.  We all have experiences of being wounded by each other but God stands as a reminder that no matter what happens no one or no circumstance can change the essence of love we are.
My prayer for us is the courage to embrace the facets of God’s demonstrations of love to be the healing force of remembrance of who we are is love today.

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May 20

Be From Beyond!

by Colleen

Our mind’s eye focuses on what is physically in front of or around us.  God’s eye looks past what is physically present to what is beyond.  Seeing with one’s heart expands the horizon of viewpoint past what is capable for our mind to grasp.  It is within our capabilities to engage our hearts in looking beyond what our physical eyes can see.  We experience it when we let go of our expectations of what we think we know will appear and allow space for what might be.  It is a risk of our heart to open up beyond what we can guarantee as present with our minds.  It is a risk that we do not take alone.  God is readily encouraging us to open ourselves up to the multitude of possibilities that lay beyond the sight of our human eyes.  God knows because it is in our design that enlisting the energy of our hearts is the quickest way to go beyond our limitations and experience a fuller understanding of life and what it means to be human.  When we perceive a lack of safety we close off our hearts and rely solely on what we can see with our eyes.  This is a survival mechanism allowing us to maintain focus on making sure we can continue to grow and thrive.  God is the force behind us, reminding us that no perceived outside influence can actually cause damage to our hearts.  It only looks or feels that way.  On our daily dates, God is the consistent and often persistent reinforcement of the untainted nature of my heart.  God speaks gently in my ear of the remembrance of the true nature of my heart so I may be willing to see the love existing beyond any perceived lack I am experiencing in the moment.

My prayer for us is the curiosity to explore being in the possibility of seeing beyond with our hearts and experiencing the love within us as being all around us.

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May 19

Be From Alleviation!

by Colleen

I remember hearing once that the sometimes the thing that causes our wounds can also end up being the very thing that heals it.  One thing I have some understanding from God about is the lack of common sense when it comes to healing.  Based on how medicine works it should be straight forward.  More and more the medical profession is realizing there are multiple elements and layers upon which pain is alleviated.  It would appear that we just take a pill and it will get better.  But what if the pill we need is a conversation between friends to clear the air or some time in nature?  What if the pill is being given permission to acknowledge the pain instead of just pushing through it or medicating it?  God’s levels of healing and alleviation of our wounds is as individual as our experiences of love.  There are multiple possibilities in any given situation. I often don’t know what will alleviate my back pain or my wounded heart, sometimes they are the same.  It has been said that love heals all wounds.  Just like love comes in many shapes and size so can the thing that will alleviate our wounds today.

My prayer for us is the courage and willingness to step outside of our thinking about our wounds and embrace God’s ideas of alleviation today. 

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May 18

Be From Watchfulness!

by Colleen
We are capable of so many things within our lifetime, within a day.  Our imagination is the breeding ground for possibility.  If we open ourselves up to letting God direct our thinking we are at the seat of possibility.  God calls upon us to watch our thinking and redirect it to be in alignment with the power  of God.  God’s thinking is always in the realm of possibility of love.  When we are watchful of our minds which focus on survival and preservation, we can make room for love’s possibilities.  These possibilities take us to an understanding beyond mere survival.  It is not about replacing one with the other but always making room for both.  Accepting the survival nature of our minds and connecting with God’s thinking through a watchfulness allows for the fullness and wholeness of the human experience.
My prayer for us is the courage to watch and make room for the balance of love’s possibilities in our mind today.

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May 17

Be From Learning!

by Colleen
Growing up in a particular spiritual practice the word humility was thrown around a lot.  It was touted as a virtue which it is but there lacked a certain clarity about what it looked like in action.  There is plenty of evidence of false humility whether present in circles that speak of it or just in society in general so it is not surprising why I didn’t get it. My basic understanding of humility was humiliation and being less than in all circumstances.  In recovery I learned that is not humility that is pride in reverse.  Believing I am the worst person is the opposite end of believing I am the best person.  Putting others first is important but if I do it at the expense of myself I cannot be there to be of service.  The clearest definition of humility that seems to work across all circumstances is being teachable.  When I heard that it resonated for me. When I chose to embark on a career as an educator I did so because I loved to learn and I figured at a basic level I would always be focused on learning.  One does not need to be an educator to do always be learning.  Life is the eternal lesson.  We can learn from everything and every one in our lives every single day.  The power of learning is the opportunity  it affords us to be present in the moment.  If I don’t already know how it is going to turn out or how they will behave I have to be present to see what happens.  Then I get to learn is this a situation in which to be the love, give the love, or receive the love or all three.
My prayer for us is the willingness to learn some of the possibilities of love in our lives today.

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May 16

Be From Practice!

by Colleen
My overarching experience of God based on our dates comes alive in a universe of learning.  It is as though God values our growing in love more than our ability to love. It is the willingness to set aside what we think we know about love and open our hearts to the nature of love by practicing love. This path of God is an invitation to try things out.  See what happens when we love in this way or that.  It will mean making mistakes and getting it wrong.  I know I have a difficult relationship with getting things wrong or messing up.  I still get stuck in thinking there must be a perfect way to do something, even love, and I should know how to do it before I try.  I recognize however, that God does not see things this way.  God sees no mistake or wrong in the earnest desire to practice loving the best way we know how in the moment.  What could be wrong about becoming fine tuned to more of the multitudes of possibilities of love?  What could be a more rewarding way of practicing this thing called life?
My prayer for us is the courage to set aside the goal of loving and be willing to practice loving as a way of opening ourselves to understanding love in a new way today.

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May 15

Be From Seeking!

by Colleen
The searching in our hearts is as valuable as the finding.  When we set out to explore the world from a space of love we cannot help but discover the multitude of nuances of God.  When we connect to the infinite power existing within our hearts placed by our Creator we open up possibilities to our eyes that never existed before. Our seeking becomes an expression of love.  Where else might I find God in my day today?  How might I bring love or be called to grow in love by showing up today? I lived a long time in protective mode.  I was seeking because it is a part of all our natures to desire to know love as fully as possible.  Yet my seeking was guarded because I thought I had to protect my heart.  I had a relationship with God but there were certain areas of my life we did not discuss.  In our years of daily dates I have grown accustomed to the safety of our relationship because God continues to be present no matter what madness or stinking thinking I bring to our dates. Each idea or belief I have come with, God helps me look at to find the source of love. The seeking has become less of an outer experience and more of an internal exploration of the depth of my heart finding God in places I dare not go let alone where I thought I might find God.
My prayer for us is the courage to take our seeking to the source of love within ourselves and find the face of God today.

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