Intentional Intentions

It is wondrous how when one focuses on the good things in life,

one finds that there's more to be thankful for than one had first imagined.

 

Living in a small town is tough and I

have not always been gracious with the community

here in this desert.

 

But my last two posts have caused me to

pause for some reflection.

 

I've realized that since moving to this desert,

I have met a handful of outstanding people.

People who have chosen to live intentionally;

who have learned to make their (good)

intentions known.

 

When opportunities for kindness arise,

these people step up.

They give of their time, energy, resources and love.

They give encouragement and

infuse others with hope.

 

 

It is interesting that we

(this handful of people and I)

all moved here within just a couple of years of each other.

We were purposefully led here for many reasons.

But the reason we all have in common is,

to show the community kindness, infuse it with hope,

and to reveal and manifest unconditional Love.

 

Thank you,

Jim and Sherry,

Ken and Elaine,

Marcia and Byron

and

RuthAnn

for your love and for living intentionally.



Doubly Blessed

Yesterday I shared about a woman who had

 an impact upon my life with her simple kindness.

She was an active part of my life for a few months

but we didn't really know each other all that well.

But every time I think of her,

I pray for an extra blessing in her life

and I will never forget her.

 

After I finished that post,

I realized that I couldn't write about her

without sharing about another beautiful woman in my life.

 

She was a good friend to my mom and before she left

(passed away), I know that this wonderful woman

promised mom that she would

"look after" me.

 

We met her several years ago and it was "friendship at first sight".

She (and her husband) quickly became

an every day part of our lives;

 a part of our family and has remained so

ever since.

 

As my "other mom" she is faithful in keeping me and my family

in her thoughts and prayers, faithful with her kindness and encouragement,

faithful with her resources and energy.

She knows, truly, what it is to be a friend.

 

And like Donna, Elaine has had an eternal impact upon me.

I have been doubly blessed.

 

 

Often times we shy away from opportunities to show kindness

because we don't feel as if we have the time or energy that it requires.

 

We cannot be all things to all people,

but we can be that small thing to that one person.

 

Whether it's a passing kindness or a

decades long relationship,

we all have a part to play in the lives of others.

 

We each choose whether to act upon those opportunites for kindess,

or not.

 

Imagine what it would be like if, indeed, we each chose

to act upon every opportunity for kindness.

 

Truly,

we would change the world.

 

 



Good Intentions

Years ago, in the midst of some difficult circumstances,

I met a wonderful woman who began a correspondence

and relationship with me.

 

 

We saw each other about once a week and were sometimes able to have

a few moments of private conversation.

 

And every week like clockwork, I received in the mail,

a beautiful card with a hand-written note of encouragement

along with her assurance that she was praying for me.

Not prayers based upon her opinion of what she thought I needed but

genuine, heartfelt prayers for goodness and blessing upon my life;

prayers for God to move in ways that he knew I needed.

 

Often times we have good intentions that we never follow through on.

If you're thinking (good) thoughts about someone, let them know.

Send a text message, email, card or note, or pick up the phone and call.

No one can know your intentions unless you make them known.

 

Sweet Donna, didn't know the details of my circumstances,

but she intentionally chose to share in my sufferings.

Her obedience in investing her time and energy into my life;

showing me love and support through her encouragement

(and even with her finances)

infused me with hope.

 

Never underestimate the impact of what a kind word

or gesture can have on a person.

Learn to listen and obey.

When you are feeling prompted to reach out to someone,

reach out.

When you are prompted to help someone,

help them.

 

Learn how to pray for others;

not imposing your will upon their lives

but asking God to bestow goodness and blessing upon their lives,

providing exactly what he knows they need.

 

If each person would put these simple things into practice

in their daily lives,

truly,

we would change the world.

 

Donna was intentional about her intentions

and it made all the difference in my world.

Human Being - Being Human

The human is an interesting being.

What makes us human?

Our physical body, obviously.

But what keeps the body alive?

Is it the heart, beating in rhythm,

keeping the blood flowing,
coursing through the body?

Is it the blood itself;

running the body like a well-oiled machine?

photo:buzzle.com

Or is it the brain which tells the heart to beat

so that the blood can flow?

photo:inmonova.com

 Science has evidence, if not proof, that the soul/spirit,

though invisible to the human eye, indeed exists.

It has weight, if only just a fraction of a gram,

which the human body is relieved of

immediately upon death.

So, perhaps, it is the soul/spirit which keeps the body alive.

We know that the body dies

and we (many) believe that the soul lives on

forever.

photo:galleryhip.com

So, if we have been created in the image of God,

yet our human body dies,

one can reason that it is our

spirit-being rather than our

physical body which is the very image/replica

of God.

The realization of this blows the human mind

(realm of thought)

wide open.

The impossible no longer exists for those who see.

History records that while some of Jesus' disciples

were traveling, Jesus appeared to them, yet they did not recognize him

until he spoke to them.

Then again, when his disciples were gathered together for fellowship,

he appeared to them and they did not recognize him at first either.

When I was a child, I used to wonder at (about) this.

But now it makes sense.

The human eye looks for a human being,

but when we look spirit to spirit, we see so much more.

"Sublime"

doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of such a realization.

It is liberation times liberation times infinity.

WOW!



Ultimate Love

There seems to be countless

expressions, demonstrations, stages and levels

of love.

 

But when I think of LOVE,

ultimate Love,

I think about the very nature of our existence.

 

To have been given life with the ability to

think and reason

and with the right to

live and choose for ourselves

is to have received the manifestation of

ultimate Love.

 

To realize that we have already received the fullness of Love

by having been given free-will is to

realize that any kind of love with

boundaries, limits and/or conditions isn't

real love at all.

 

No other forms of love compare to the Love

which allows us complete and free access to the Giver of ultimate Love.

 

And once one experiences a true realization of this,

one can't look at the world the same way as one used to.

 

And this is a

GOOD

thing.



The Best Thing I've Ever Done

I have always had a consciousness, awareness and relationship with God.

My earliest memories (from about the age of three) are of Him.

We hung out together all of the time.

And while with Him, there was nothing I couldn't know, nothing I couldn't do and nothing to fear.

He was my best friend.

But as time went on, as I grew and as people began to have an influence on my life, things began to change.

Other children laughed at who my best friend was, others rolled their eyes, and Sunday School teachers told me how I was supposed to view God and that He only hung out with certain people.

They "taught" me all of the things I had to do in order to be pleasing and acceptable to God.

I became task and works oriented, concerned about what people thought of me, a people-pleaser and obsessed with following the rules.

I became fearful of never being good enough, doubtful that I ever did anything right, suspicious of other people's motives, and skeptical of ever being able to accomplish anything.

By the time I was sixteen I was exhausted.

Up to that point I had always treaded lightly, followed the rules, got straight A's in school,

highlighted and memorized most of my Bible and was in the habit of making sure that those around me were happy (at least happy with me).

A little before my sixteenth birthday I met a man.

He was older, a bit unconventional and he made me laugh.

I was comfortable being around him and he encouraged me to be myself.

After I turned eighteen, this wonderful man and I married each other and have lived in marital bliss ever since.

But wait. The story doesn't end there. In fact it's not even the point.

To make a long story short(ish), after more than a decade of marriage, three children, some ups and downs, and a series of events, I began to examine myself, got to know myself a little bit and began going through some changes.

Then after a few more years, the hubby and I packed up everything and moved to another state, another culture in fact, and that's where things really "got real".

The term "soul searching" only scratches the surface of what I went through.

After several years of pain and anguish (mostly inflicted by others),

one day God (finally-ha) said to me, "Throw out everything you have ever been taught about me and allow me to show you who I really am".

So I did just that.

I threw out every preconceived notion, every rule, every sermon, every story, every theology,

every everything that anyone had ever "taught" me about God and allowed Him to speak and act freely and directly to me.

And it is the best thing I have ever done.

Gone is the guilt, fear, shame, doubt, suspicion, skepticism, judgementalism, self-loathing, caring what other people think, etc.

I am free from all of those things.

I am free to know and be myself.

I am free in my relationships with others and in my relationship with God.

I am free to live.

It has been several years now and I have just realized that I am back in that place, as when I was a little girl, where I have real, complete and honest freedom with and access to God; a place of peace and rest; that place where I know that there is nothing to fear and that absolutely nothing is impossible.



Live and Let Live

We all have a desire,

an insatiable need rather,

to know and connect with

that which is greater than ourselves;

the Great Spirit, Greater Being -

God.

 

For millennia,

humans have been on a quest to figure out

how to garner favor and blessing

from God.

 

For the masses,

no amount of sacrifices,

good works,

prayers,

incantations

or anything else

seemed to do the trick.

 

Then came Jesus

whose purpose and intent

was to show us that none of those things

are required nor qualify to

do the trick.

 

Rather, Jesus' very life was the

example, demonstration

and embodiment of

RELATIONSHIP

with God.

 

His death was to

dispel any thought for

or need of man's continued

striving toward God.

 

Through his own

real and personal relationship

with God,

he knew how best to live. 

 

And Jesus did not say,

"Appoint taskmasters, judge and police one another,

start a new religion, create theologies, evangelize or

convince everyone else that they need to think like you."

 

Rather, he said, "Everything I have said and done

has been from/of God.

My life has demonstrated that everyone has equal

access to God.

You have all been equipped to do all I have done

and MORE.

This is good news!

Go out and share it with the world."

 

And since everything that Jesus did was

kind, loving and good,

one can deduce that God is kind, loving and good.

And when one embarks on a personal relationship with God,

one finds that God is, indeed,

kind loving and good.

 

 

Yet, some how,

the clear simplicity of Jesus'

message has been missed.

 

Even today, people expend

time and energy

on coming up with uselss ways

 to "rightly" gain God's favor.

 

Jesus' message is

so simple,

yet so profoundly

Powerful.

 

We've all been created

and given the right to live our lives

as we see fit

(free will).

 

And we have all been given

full access to God

and have been thouroughly equipped

to accomplish things that have been deemed

as "humanly impossible".

 

This is good news!

 

 

So, while I live my life,

I will allow and

 encourage you

to live yours.

 

Live well my friends!

 

 

 



Think for Yourself

When did thinking for oneself

become a sin?

I want to know.

When did our

right and privilege

of free-will

and thinking

become wrong?

At what point in history did

sharing wisdom from one's own

personal experiences become,

"If you don't act, think, believe, live or worship

like me then you're

an idiot...

 or going to burn in hell"?

And when did all of this

 become acceptable?

***********************************************

"Think for yourself

and take a stand!

It has always been

part of the plan.

Thinking is good.

Thinking is fun!

Thinking for oneself

gets things done.

Don't be afraid.

It's not a crime.

Thinking is great.

So give it a try!"



Real World Changers

If the people who believe in God

would put as much time, energy and effort

into their own relationship with Him

as they do in trying to convince others

to believe in Him

(the same way that they do),

we would really (truly)

change the world.