dailydatewithgod

God of All Enduring Passion and Love has created you and delights in you.  You are a shining example of the power of love.  You by your very being have found favor with the Almighty because God does not create that which he does not favor.  Whenever we create something from our very being we favor it.  We feel a connection to it.  We see the beauty, power, and the magnificence.  We understand the inner workings and know that no matter what happens nothing can destroy that which came out of us. It is forever a part of us.  When we share it with the world, we do so because we want to share the love that we have in this particular way.  We are an expression of God.  We are the fruition of God’s desire to share love with the world.  We sometimes have a hard time imagining this kind of favor because our experience of love is that of a child’s Christmas toy.  We get excited at the idea of it, we plead for it ,and when it comes it is wonderful.  But within a little while it loses its novelty and we are not able to see its magnificence because it has become familiar.  God’s favor does not dwindle because God is always in the moment and in this moment we are new and novel to him.  My prayer for us today is that we be with the experience of something that is new to us and take in the taste of being in favor of it.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God Almighty designed all that is with the imprint of LOVE.  This way at the end of the story of life when all is said and done, LOVE would still stand.  We are part of God’s eternal love story.  We play a vital role in the story of God’s love.  In fact, the story cannot be played out if we do not show up.  We are made in the image and likeness of our creator and our life’s journey is about recognizing that dignity within ourselves and each other.  The world we live in spends a lot of energy pointing out our differences. These differences are so obvious to our eyes that we go along without questioning it.  Yes, we appear different in physical form, that is true.  Our true dignity comes in recognizing who we are at our core and resting in that similarity.  When we claim that dignity of self, we can more easily walk the path of love and forgiveness that God has designed for us.  I have spent a lifetime noticing and acting out of a need to be approved by others.  I thought for sure that if only I did as they asked or wanted then I would be deemed worthy enough to take up space on this planet.  All the while God was whispering in my heart that the dignity I was seeking was already present for me.  Only when I had exhausted this push for outside approval, did I slow down long enough to begin to listen to the voice of God in my heart.  This voice reminds me at every turn that my dignity is based on the love of my creator which never falters.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to trust that still quiet voice in our hearts.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Great Spirit calls upon our hearts to remember who we truly are.  When we sense the presence of love it in its truest form we cannot help but be moved by it.  There is a stirring that exists in our hearts and when we are quiet enough to pause and notice it, it resounds with a memory of our own creation from love.  It is this stirring that when first notice seems disturbing to us.  So often we try to quiet it by taking on something outside of ourselves.  We don’t know what to make of the questions that our hearts are asking.  We don’t know to do with the ideas that our minds use to make sense of something beyond the mind.  Then we falsely assume that these things outside of us that may temporarily quiet the stirring mean they are the answer.  But the only one that can truly quiet the stirring is the One that placed it in us in the beginning.  The world cannot calm the stirring, nor is it meant to.  The rousing of our spirits are meant to wake us up from the illusion that our ego has built on top of our hearts.  But we do not have to operate through life with the veil over our eyes.  We can take God up on the invitation to wake up.  My prayer for us today is that we not try to cover up the stirrings but sit quietly with them and listen to the whispers of love that they are tapping on our hearts.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Great Spirit calls upon each of us to use the gift we have been given. They play an integral part in the plan of remembering love for the world to stay connected.  God wants us to be in the space where we remember always how much we are loved and cherished.  It is hard to see that when what we face at any given moment is perhaps a message to the contrary.  But then God would ask us to question the messenger.  God’s message is always clear and ever consistent.  We sometimes lack the imagination to conceive of the idea that God would think differently than us.  We got so convinced of the narrative that runs repetitively through our heads that we start to believe it simply because we forget to look or imagine something else.  God pops up in unexpected and magnificent ways to get our attention, laugh at ourselves, and remind us that when we don’t get what we expect  it is a good thing.  I used to think that if everything turned out the way I had hoped it would that I would be safe because I would know.  God has done a number on me over the years so much so that I gratefully find myself looking forward to the questions that are not answered and the unknowns that lie ahead. God only asks that I rely on him and keep imagining, questioning, and learning to love.  My prayer for us today is that when we encounter an unknown we look to our imagination instead of our knowing to take the next step.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Great Spirit has created a system of life that allows for its movement. Life is a Dance of the exquisiteness of nature. When we are in the dance we can hear the music and sense the rhythm.  When we allow for the flow things move along at just the right pace and we find ourselves trusting that the next thing that is supposed to come along does.  When we notice that things don’t flow as they “should” it is often because we are holding on to something that it is time to let go of.  Letting go is not easy given our physical nature of wanting to hold on to things.  We grow attached to ideas, physical elements and people, ways of being, and familiar patterns.  It is good however, to stop and notice if holding on is getting in the way of letting the new appear.  It is not because newer is better.  It is because newer is in the flow of life.  It is the way of love to let go of that which is no longer needed.  Even our bodies know the importance of that.  If our bodies don’t let go, our whole system can shut down.  We must take what we want and dump the rest.  Hopefully we have the courage to do so before it becomes painful.  We can still have gained nutrients of knowledge and love from the experience.  No doubt whatever has been present in our lives caused us to learn and hopefully learn to love but at some point it is time to go.  If we rely on the belief that God is with us then God will be with us as we let go and make room for the new.  We fear the void in between, the unknown, but holding on to that which has outlived its usefulness causes it to further outlive its usefulness.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to dump with love those ideas, things or people, way of being or patterns that are no longer useful and have the courage to be with God in the unknown for a moment.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God of All things designed within us mechanisms that allow us to withstand a great  many things more than we may think we are capable of withstanding.  We focus so much on the new and the latest in this world that we lose sight of the importance of the roots that are within us ready to be used.  Some have been overlooked or brushed aside because they are not the latest and the greatest.  But maturity shows us that coming back to center to regenerate when we have broken down is the best way to heal. This is what the body does.  When there is an illness that we bear or attack on the body’s defenses it shuts down to do only what is needed and sends out alarms in the forms of heightened temperature or weakened muscular condition.  This makes it clear that we will not be doing anything outside of the absolute necessary for survival.  In those times our energy is weak and perhaps we are not as clear-headed but we are clear-headed (hopefully) enough to know that this moment is not one to make great decisions.  It gives us a pause. The body with the help of the mind, needs time to repair.  To turn to the core, become focused and regenerate and recreate.  In a world that measures life by results alone this is seen as wasted time.  But as the famous scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”  These times of repair are most necessary.  They are present in all of nature and we are a part of nature.  If we invite them in and allow them to do their work then we are returned to wholeness and made new again. If we fight it, we are fighting against the inevitable and going contrary to our nature which runs us down even further.  My prayer for us today is that we recognize an area of our lives that may need repair and ask God for the courage to slow down long enough to allow for that repair to take place.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Magnificent One has guided us to where we are this day.  The Great Spirit calls us to be united with each other in love.  Each experience we have becomes an invitation to return to love.  We look at life and see the circumstances.  We look at the day-to-day and see the challenges and the obstacles.  We look at life and see the plans we made go up in smoke.  But what if we are a part of a grander plan?  What if we are being drawn in to experience something more than what appears to us physically, mentally, or emotionally?  What if there really is a reason behind all things occurring and the reason is a call to love.  The reason is the longing in our heart of hearts and soul of souls to be gathered yet again to the space and time that is space less and time less and only love.  It sounds like some sort of fairly tale but we have all had glimpses of it. We know those moments when a heart leaps for joy because we witness someone or something that goes past any physicality and reaches  the very core of our being.  Those moments that happen that do not allow us to deny on some level that there exists something beyond our understanding.  The nagging feeling that beyond our comprehension there is more than just the chaotic universe that appears to our eyes.  God constantly calls us to look with our hearts. This is not and easy task when we are used to looking with our eyes, but slowly we can begin to make the adjustment if we want.  My prayer for us today is that when we encounter something that with our eyes only appears as a challenge or an obstacle that we be willing to ask God for the courage to see it with our hearts and be open to what may appear from our core.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Great I AM is with you. The Great I AM is always with you.  The Great I AM wants to be nowhere else but with you.  The one who designed every itty bitty piece of you wants nothing more than to be in close communion with you at all times.  God has written himself in the design of every cell in our bodies.  The design is such that everywhere we turn is a reminder to return to the love from which we were created.  This is why love always wins.  This is why there is always another chance to be restored to love.  It may not look the way we imagine it to.  It may not turn out the way we hoped it would.  This is where I have to trust that God is a power greater than me that can see and understand far more than I can with the limits of my mind.  I am only present to today.  God exists in the timeless and space less.  I get a glimpse of that on our dates and so I keep coming back to be nearer to Him.  God is often present for me in the person of Jesus but sometimes God surprises me by showing up in other ways too.  My favorite is in bumper stickers.  Usually at the moment I need it the most, there is a car that is in front of me on the freeway or sometimes cuts me off in traffic with a bumper sticker that says: “Relax, God’s in charge!” or “Smile God Loves You” or “Believe”  So much to my surprise God is even near to me in my head where all the worrying occurs, all the scheming occurs, and all the fears show up.  God knows just when I need to be woken up to a new thought and so one pulls up right in front me.  My prayer for us today is that we be open to how God shows up to be near to us and be willing to invite God in.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God of Enduring Love is with you.  God of All That Is is within you.  We are driven in our spirits to connect with this power of God within us so that we can accomplish the work we are called to do. The work of being and sharing love in all that we do, in all that we are.  The reason that we struggle with this idea is that we get caught up in the world’s definition of our mission–get the job, the car, the house, the spouse, the award, etc.  The world says we only matter because of our accomplishments.  So what of those of us who do not achieve those accolades in the time expected or at all?  Does that mean we have failed?  I suppose if we look through the eyes of the world the answer is yes.  God is also looking.  God sees our moxie.  God sees us on the path.  God sees us learning and growing.  God sees the potential for our development into the full likeness and image of God.  God sees the beings that God created out of love for love as love.  I know that the times in which I measure my growth and being by the world alone, it’s hit or miss and depends on whose scale I am using.  When I turn to God and ask:  How am I doing?  God smiles and says: I love you Colleen.  That reminder of being loved compels my spirit to either stay with what I am doing or let go of any way of being that is not in alignment with that love.  The willingness to see myself as God sees me means I can call upon my moxie and determine if I am sticking close to him and doing his work well.  Then I can rest my head on the pillow at night.  It takes courage to be aligned with our true selves and let go of anything that is something we picked up when we got caught up in the illusion of the world.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to ask God for the moxie to return to the true story of our lives which is love.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God of all magnificence pervades all of existence with a love beyond measure.  Everything consequentially is capable of that same love.  When we find ourselves in the presence of love, there is nothing else.  It seems magical.  Its seems other worldly.  It seems beyond our comprehension.  It is beyond us but also within us.  The humility in accepting that we could not create such love allows us to receive it.  Therein lies the importance of flow in our lives.  Giving and receiving.  The funny part about it is that they are not exclusive of each other.  Our worldly mind would have us see the separateness of giving from receiving but those who are present to both situations recognize the presence of both in both.  When we extend compassion to another human being we experience the compassion within our own hearts and therefore are receiving and accepting that energy in ourselves in order to give it. This is why we cannot give of what we do not have.  When it seems like we are able to give of what we don’t have (i.e.-extend compassion in a situation where we did not think we were capable), it is because the power of God is moving through us.  We are willing and humble enough to recognize and admit that we don’t think we can do it.  To which God responds: I got you on this one. This was my experience of forgiveness in my relationship with my father.  It was the first time I knew what grace was.  I took the actions of being open, humbly admitted that I was not capable, and over time God moved through my heart.  Just thinking about it humbles my heart.  I know that my heart has been transformed and as a result I am a more compassionate personal overall.  My prayer for us today is when we find ourselves lacking compassion we open our hands to receive the flow of God’s compassion so that we may give it.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen