summer

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live in every experience, painful or joyous; to live in gratitude for every moment, to live abundantly.

GRATITUDE is a choice that becomes a habit. It is a major ingredient in the alchemy of transformation and is closely related to love... Gratitude creates a combustion of energy that powers our living cells. That's why all spiritual traditions teach the importance of gratitude. It certainly isn't because the deity needs any reassurance. Rather it's because when we are in the state of gratitude, we're affirming our faith in our own highest good and denying authority to the paralyzing, constricting energy of fear.

I understood the importance of thanking God for the things we receive. Gratitude is an eternal virtue. In humility we ask, and in gratitude we receive. The more we give thanks for the blessings we receive, the more open we become for further blessings. God's desire to bless is full to overflowing. If we will open our hearts and minds the receive blessings, we too will be filled to overflowing ... We may become like the angels themselves, helping others who are in need. In prayer and service our lights will always shine. Service is the oil to our lamps generated by compassion and love.

The Great Source is always reaching out for people who are moved by the spirit of love rather than fear. And blessed are those who are willing to hear the teachings of peace and pass their inspirations along to the world with courage and confidence. Would that more of us trusted the inner voice of healing and honored its gifts in action with gratitude.

O Might Counselor, speak to us
within our hearts;
let your voice be heard.

And as we listen and heed your Word,
joy will be our song of thanks.

As You lead us into the Silence,
we become friends with solitude.

With trust in You, our lives become simple,
assurance and peace leaving
no room for fear.

All that we have is gift from You,
O Gracious Creator,
all that we are is Yours as well.

May we come to see that all
we give to others,
we give to ourselves and You.
 

It is often difficult for us to see how, or sometimes even to believe that, God weaves the threads of difficulty, serendipity, challenge, and blessing together in our lives. That is why it is important at times to stop and look with fresh eyes and open hearts at what our Creator has been weaving around, within, and through us. From this new perspective, this vantage point of grace, we begin to discern God's artistry, the extraordinary ways in which unruly, unwanted, and unexpected threads are being woven deftly into a strong, resilient, and beautiful fabric. We see not only how the various threads of our individual lives are woven together, but also how they are woven into the lives of others.

When you are filled with wonder at God's beauty, not only in nature, but in the amazing structure of your own body and mind, you are filled with gratitude. Thankfulness becomes an integral part of your daily living -- for the restoring benefit of sleep; for the dawning of yet another day; for the guidance you have received, and the opportunities of serving others, and for the strength to do this. Even if you are limited in your environment and your physical ability, you can still marvel. For you can enter your inner world, with its thoughts and memories, and reach out in prayer just where you are... To live without wonder is to wonder what living is all about.

In sharing, the meaning of our lives
is given back to God:
The One who gives
The One who receives
The One who is.

It is not right to acquiesce in the notion that our lives are divided into the time we spend on our work and the time we spend in serving God. We must be able to serve the Divine Plan, and the work itself must be accepted and respected as the medium of divine creation... Every maker and worker is called to serve God in their profession or trade -- not outside it.

Another will is greater, wiser and more intelligent than my own. So I wait. Waiting means that there is Another whom I trust and from whom I receive. My will, important and essential as it is, finds a Will that is more important, more essential. .. In prayer we are aware that God is in action and that when the circumstances are ready, when others are in the right place and when my heart is prepared, I will be called into action. Waiting in prayer is a disciplined refusal to act before God acts. Waiting is our participation in the process that results in the "time fulfilled".