dailydatewithgod

God claims responsibility for his/her handiwork.  The Magnificent Creator of All That Is stands before us as the designer of life and love and says this is who I AM in every living thing that exists. God does not apologize for being God.  God does not take responsibility for things that are not his/hers.  God does not shrink or pretend to be anything less that what God is. All of the master spiritual teaches past and present have demonstrated the same behavior.  They stood with respect and full authority and spoke from their hearts.  They did not apologize for their representation or description of the God that worked through them.  They were the messengers of God’s love in their particular fashion.  God calls upon us to do the same.  God honors us with the role of messenger of love in the unique way that we can convey it. To be pretend to be anything less than this messenger is to dishonor the message.  We did not originate All That Is.  We did not design all things with love.  We can only live and speak to the experience of LOVE that we know.  If it has come to us through trial then we can share that message.  If it has come to us with ease, we share that.  Life is a process of remembering the LOVE that we are and letting go of all the stories that we have placed on top of that essence of love.  Then we are able to honor that from which we were created and convey it in our own fashion with the message of our life and our word.  Over 20 years ago a priest that I worked with shared a prayer with the congregation that I pray out each day: Holy Spirit, show me what to do, tell me what to say, and use me as you will. For me it is a simple acknowledgment that I want my life to be the message of LOVE that I AM.  I recognize that I do not know what that looks like today, but I know that it will come through my authentic self of the Spirit alive in me.  My prayer for us today is that we be open to how we can honor who WE ARE in LOVE and convey that message in our own unique fashion.  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

God our Creator took extra special care in the design of all creation.  When we look at how everything that exists has been intricately thought of down to the molecule we become present to the reality of this care.  Often times we pay attention to the outer exterior of things but there is so much more going on that we do not see with our eyes.  Everything is energy and these waves of energy are transmitting information and communicating with each other on a level that requires either a highly trained machine or a focused mind to notice.  If you have ever been in a room full of people and noticed an overall feeling that existed you picked up on the joined energetic wave that existed.  When people’s intentions are lined up for a common purpose their energy levels are joined and the ripple effect is powerful.  If we start to pay attention to more than what our eyes are seeing or ears are hearing we will pick up on the subtle energies that exist.  Being present to them creates a fascination of life and others.  We see things new because we are not relying on the same given set of senses to tell us what is going on. It is like being the scientist who is observing the flow of energy.  The detachment from the form of what is happening also allows us to be present in spirit as well as mind and heart.  God is fascinated always by the movement of the energy created. God invites us to see past the obvious and share in the fascination.  To see with new eyes, to recognize the oneness and subtleties of our natures so that we can work in cooperation with one another.  Often I pray: God, help me to see as You see. I am asking to go beyond what my five senses are perceiving and be present to the fascinating nature of which I am a part.  My prayer for us today is the willingness to let go of what we normally hold on to for our perception of reality and ask God to share in the fascination of all of life.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Nature is God’s playbook.  Nature is the map of how things are designed untouched.  Nature is the living out of the essence of all that is.  Nature is beauty, life, consistent, uninterrupted, and a model for how life goes.  Nature can be our go to when we lose our way.  We do not have to go very far to see and experience how life is designed.  We can look a tree, step out onto the shore, spend time in a garden, or watch a sunset.  There is never a short supply of examples of how life works in nature. Sometimes we get off track.  We think we know better and start to push and force our way through life.  We insist on having our way, we are disappointed that things are not working out the way we want them to, we feel stuck and disconnected.  Often this happens when we have lost our connection to our own true nature.  We can quickly bring ourselves back by opening our eyes to what God has provided all around us as models of who we are and how to be.  When I watch the waves on the shore I remember that life flows in and out.  Standing next to a tree I see that it is firmly grounded in its roots and that allows it to be stable despite how the wind blows.  Being in a garden I notice the beauty and the variety that exists in all stages.  I still remember the day I visited Yosemite despite having one of the worst migraines ever.  I walked around in complete awe of the still and overflowing beauty that existed.  I stopped and asked God “Why is it so important for me to be here?” (the various plans that were in place had all pretty much fallen apart, but I decided to go anyway).  If God were to have a literal voice, the response I “heard” was “I wanted you to see one of my other beauties.”  Upon hearing that I cried.  Just the idea that God saw me as having equal beauty to such a magnificent place blew me away.  I responded with great humility, “Thank you.  Thank you for bringing me here today.”  My prayer for us today is that we be open to learning what we can about our true God-given nature by opening our eyes for just a moment to the simplicity, beauty and way of nature that is around us all the time.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Greatest Existence of Being is All That Is.  Our Creator lives within each of that which was created out of love. When we step into the realm of understanding and accepting life on life’s terms we discover a magic quality of connection that exists between all things.  Our ego mind is constantly pointing out to us where we are different and separate.  This way it can allow us to function on the limited resources of what we can provide.  Then we think we will never get hurt or be disappointed because we are not relying on other people.  That false sentiment only leads to misery–trust me, I tried to live by it for a long time.  I thought guarding my heart was the best way to protect myself.  Today I put my heart under the care and watch of God whom is my safekeeping.  From there I can live freely because my heart is aligned with All That Is.  When we acknowledge that we are part of the greater whole, our world opens up.  When we see that we are all one we step into an experience of limitless resources. It is hard sometimes to wrap our head around it when we rely only upon our eyes to tell us of our existence.  But our eyes only tell the story of our physical/material existence.  We are also mental, emotional, and spiritual.  Have you ever noticed that when people cry the same thing happens to them as to  you, no matter their skin color, gender, economic status, or age?  Did you know that when one person touches another in a loving way, their blood pressure lowers and their breath regulates? We cannot escape that we are ALL part of the same creation.  Sometimes we surprise even ourselves.  As much as we might fight our connection to each other, our hearts and our spirits know the truth of being all one.  My prayer for us today is that we be open to seeing past what our eyes see as our differences and look with our hearts to the connection between us all.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The Brilliance of the All Knowing is the Conviction of Love.  There is never a question in the mind of God about the power of love.  The power of love to heal, create understanding, provide acceptance, soothe the heart, create connection, right the wrongs, and surpass all seemingly impossible things.  This conviction brings about a reality that is little touched by the limits of the world in which we live.  That same conviction lives inside of us.  It is flowered by the hope that seems to exist in us where we think there is none.  It is the courage inside of us that allows to take one more step when it seems exhausting.  It is the power to pick up and go again and give love yet another try no matter how many times it seems to have been defeated. Our spirits that live in this conviction are much more resilient than our minds would have us believe which is why in the end love always wins.  My prayer for us today is that we become aware of the presence of the conviction of the power and presence of LOVE in our hearts and breathe it in.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God designed within us mechanisms that are pathways that connect us directly to our divine nature.  Some call this our spirit, some our inner-knowing, some our soul.  The name of it matters little only that we recognize that within each one of us is a connection to All That Is. None of us is deficient in this.  It is easy to think when we are around people who are clearly spiritual or have religious titles that they somehow have something that we do not.  I grew up in a specific religious tradition around many people who had religious titles.  There is even a specific hierarchy that exists.  The default thinking was often that the higher up the title the more spiritual the person was.  That is only true if that person invests more time in their relationship with God.  People so willingly would defer their thinking and perspective to that person because of their title.  This is how major religious figures fall from grace.  People place unrealistic expectations upon the labels. Then the day comes when they act human and flawed as we all do not being our best selves and others are shocked.  Funny how the person on the bus next to them could make the same mistake and we would not be as shocked.  I have done this myself and I realized that I didn’t want to take full responsibility for my relationship with God so I placed it on others who wore the title.  This is unfair to them and to God.  The only person I can truly rely upon to keep my soul in check is me and God.  It is our relationship that I am concerned with, not someone else’s opinion about that relationship.  I don’t care if you are a priest, a psychic, a rabbi, an Imam, or an indigenous priestess, no one is more invested and aware of my relationship with God than me.  I am thankful to those who follow a spiritual path in title or not so that I can learn from them.  At the end of the day I want to be able to sit face to face with God and be at peace in my soul.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to create a connection of our soul to its Creator and walk it.  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

God’s gracious design is set up in such a way that we are constantly reminded of the power and presence of love.  The comfort built-in to the knowledge of being loved is part of that design.  Just for a moment, remember a time when you felt completely loved and accepted.  When you step into what that felt like there is an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort.  All seems right with the world.  That is the message that God is trying to reassure us of at all times.  We are loved and accepted no matter what.  That is the space from which we were created.  We are then tasked with being the messengers of that same love and acceptance.  We are the perfect messengers of it because we have lived it.  We may have also tasted the opposite of it, but experiencing the opposite does not make its counter part irrelevant or not have happened.  We may treasure those moments more because they were few and far between.  If we want to generate more of that sense of comfort the best way to do so is to be the conduit of it. To be the carrier of that comfort.  My prayer for us today is that we place ourselves in that moment in which we knew through and through the comfort of God and ask where we can share that message through word or action with someone around us today.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Communication with God comes in many form.  God knows all of what is happening inside and outside of us at all times.  In order to be in relationship with another communication has to be present.  We communicate verbally and through our actions.  It is said that actions speak louder than words and if we want to know what one is really communicating then we pay attention to their actions. Verbal communication is only part of the picture.  Even when we engage in speaking literally only 7 percent comes from the actual words.  The majority is body language and tone.  So when we engage in prayer with God what is our tone?  What is our body language?  Are we speaking to God in a tone of fear or trust?  Are we in a body position of openness or blocked?  Do we come with expectations of a response or are we open to what might enfold?  Do we feel we are doing the prayer “right” or following a particular formula?  Many of us were taught to pray a certain way, at a certain time, and with specific words.  The beauty of communicating with God is that it can take on many forms and no form.  God does not care how the communication happens, only that it happens. God does not intrude on our lives and demand that we speak.  God waits for the initiation on our part to open the door of communication.  God wants to hear from us as we are authentically willing to communicate with Him.  My prayer for us today is that we take a moment to start the conversation from wherever we are in our belief or relationship to God by simply saying “Hello.”  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

God wants us to remember who we are.  God wants us to experience the divine nature from which we were created.  God wants us to be aligned with our core self.  We tend to go with what is convenient or what our minds have bought into.  We see ourselves as the roles we play-mother, sister, wife, coworker, husband, boyfriend, brother, boss and so on.  At the heart of each of these roles is the driving force of who we truly are which is love.  It is hard to imagine that a world filled with strife was created by a people who are love and created from love.  But sometimes we lack imagination when it comes to getting what we need and we find ourselves in collision with others.  In order to live out the essence of who we are we must first recognize that we are all the same.  It is easy to look at each other and see all the differences but if we took away our skin, we would all look the same.  If we rely only upon our eyes to tell the story of who we are in relation to each other than we miss out on so much.  Essentially we are guides for each other to return to our core self.  Sometimes we help each other by being the love we seek to connect with and sometimes by being the opposite of that.  A quick check for me in the course of my day to see if I am looking through the eyes of love or the eyes of separation is when I come across someone who “bothers” me or is in “my way”. Am I able to be kind and tolerant towards them or am I focusing on how they are different from me or what they are doing “wrong”?  I ask God: Bring me back to basics, help me be able to see the God in them, the same God that is in me.  My prayer for us today is that we be open to asking God to help us return to the basics and be able to see the love that is in all people and experiences that are a part of our path today.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The core of who we are is so much more than what experience on a day-to-day basis.  The Creator that designed us did so in a time and space that transcends the world in which we live.  Many great spiritual teachers speak of us as being in this world but not of this world.  What we experience in the day we are in is very much the natural reality of which we are a part.  We can see and touch things.  We can feel the physical presence of other human beings and objects.  We have thoughts and ideas and our bodies move and breathe.  It is easy to think that the material existence we are living is all there is.  All seekers whether through science, philosophy, or religion have been in a circumstance that caused them to question the notion that we are only our natural experience.  This has led them on a path of discovery, probably in directions that they did not imagine.  As they walk that path more and more is revealed to them and so we have the stories and “evidence” from all these different fields that tell us we are much more than just the literal environmental experience we are having. But what does that all mean?  To be honest, when my body is in pain, I am not feeling much more than the tangible experience.  When the circumstances of which I am a part seem to be because of the concrete experience I am having like being at a wedding, attending a stunning ballet performance, being given an award, the birth of a child, or seeing Yosemite.  These circumstances become the portal through to the sense of the divine or that which is more than just the physical.  They are meant to work in conjunction with each other.  Feeling the joy at a wedding is not something tangible but all those who attended would attest to it.  When we receive an award the piece of metal holds no particular value but we give it great meaning and therefore feel a sense of accomplishment.  Being present at Yosemite is breathtaking and humbling yet they are just rocks, waterfalls, and valleys.  Being in those time and spaces offers us a chance to connect to something greater than what is literally happening and we do that because it is part of our makeup.  Whatever circumstance I am in I try to remember to ask God, show me what you want me to learn and know here and help me find the presence of love.  My prayer for us today is whether we find ourselves in circumstances of joy or pain that we have the courage to know that it is an opening to connect with our Creator and see what else is there for us know and learn.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen