I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending… – Revelation 1:8 Julia Attaway writes about meeting conflicts surrounding parent-teacher conferences and her children’s activities schedule in a recent Daily Guideposts story. “After the initial shock of discovering my scheduling mega disaster, I forced myself to take a deep breath. There’s only one thing that helps me when I’m faced with mind-boggling conundrums like this and that’s to remember that logistical problems aren’t actually problems, they’re puzzles. They belong in the crossword-solving part of my brain, not the worry center. No one is going to die or be scarred for life or even require a trip to the doctor if I don’t figure this out. The only true danger is that I’ll stress out and start being unpleasant to my family. So I tossed the problem onto the back burner, where so many insoluble difficulties simmer into solutions. Last night, around midnight, I think I figured out a way to handle Monday. The logistics require higher math to follow and a cast of thousands to execute, but the plan will probably work. And if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. It’s neither the beginning nor the end of the world. … Continue reading →

Today’s story from Daily Guideposts is about a woman who found something strange had been happening to her in the last few years: she cried in church. For no reason that she could understand or explain, right in the middle of worship her eyes would tear up; she found it embarrassing. The same thing started happening during her morning prayer time. She was convinced that this was a side effect of menopause, but that didn’t seem to affect anything other than her worship and prayer time. When she casually mentioned to a friend how easily the tears flowed when she communicated with God, her friend smiled knowingly. She replied, “That happens to me too. Those tears are an indication that the Holy Spirit has touched me in some way.” The woman no longer felt embarrassed. Since coming to believe, I too have often been brought to tears. It can occur upon hearing someone share their experience, singing a spiritual song, or while being of service. However, I’ve known it was Spirit touching me and have rarely felt embarrassed. In fact, for me it is a feeling of relief. Not feeling as connected to Spirit as I’d liked to, with the … Continue reading →

Today marks one year that I started writing my blog You, Me, and Spirit. What an achievement for me to stick with a commitment to do something every day for at least one year! But, of course, writing the blog is much more than about keeping a commitment. It’s been a tool to help me feel and deepen my relationship with The Presence. It had been my hope that my words might be of service to others as well; to that end, I’ve received feedback that that is so. I’d committed to one year and figured I’d see what happened. Well, it’s pretty much a no-brainer: I will continue writing this daily blog about you, me, and Spirit… All I really seek is the peace and joy inherent in my connection with Spirit. Thank You, God, for Your Presence, Your blessings, Your Kingdom here and now, any time I choose. So it is.

“Whatever gives you a sense of struggle and strife is false. Whatever gives you a sense of peace is right.” – Open Your Mind to Receive by Catherine Ponder, page 75. The above quote is a remarkable and easy tool to use to gauge how I am living my life. When I feel peaceful about a situation, I know I am doing God’s will; I am following the right path. When I am unsettled, trying to control people and situations, up to my eyeballs in struggle, I am in ego and out of sync with God. I am immersed in illusion and falsehood. This morning I felt the ‘To Do’s’ and future concerns that have been piling up and which I’d been struggling with fall into a heap of surrender. And, I felt peace. I’m done with struggle and strife. Dear Spirit –Give me peace, I pray. When struggle and strife arise, please awaken me and have me surrender once again into Your peaceful, loving, caring arms. Please keep me in this state of surrender, staying focused in the Now and what You would have me do. Thank You, God. So it is.

How is that so many of us human beings are easily able to move from experiencing and enjoying goodness to next feeling that it will not last or it will be taken away? I have been studying Emmet Fox’s analysis of the 23rd Psalm, and it amazes me that any of us – moi included – carry this negative propensity. Where did it come from? I know: programming from parents and society. Well, I’m ready to be re-programmed. And, meditating on this psalm, is a great tool in helping achieve this. Here’s just the beginning to inspire one and change thought patterns:The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. “Lord” means “God”, and as Fox says, it is “my own knowledge of Truth, as that knowledge is the Presence of God in me, my indwelling Christ.” This Lord is my shepherd and he takes care of his sheep. Hence, the Lord will take care of me. Ahh… how sweet the thought. If I really believe that “I shall not want”, then there is nothing for me to be afraid of. If the Lord/Shepherd is … Continue reading →