Flame of Love

O living flame of love
That tenderly wounds my soul
In its deepest center! Since
Now you are not oppressive,
Now Consummate! If it be your will:
Tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!

O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
That tastes of eternal life
And pays every debt!
In killing you changed death into life.
O lamps of fire! In whose splendors
The deep caverns of feeling.
Once obscure and blind,
Now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,
Both warmth and light to their beloved.

How gently and lovingly
You wake in my heart.
Where in secret you dwell alone;
And in your sweet breathing,
Filled with good and glory,
How tenderly you swell my heart with love.

Saint John of the Cross

Mistakes

You wonder why you are permitted to make mistakes in your choice when you sought so truly to do My will in the matter. To that I say it was no mistake . . . all your lessons cannot be learned without difficulty and this was needed to teach you a lesson. Not to him who walks on, with no obstacles is the promise given. The overcoming is never the overcoming of the one who troubles you, but the overcoming of the weaknesses and wrong in your own nature, aroused by such a one.

excerpt from God Calling edited by A J Russell July 28
Rev 2:7 To everyone who overcomes I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

A Burning Bush

Wednesday I was on my early morning walk around the neighbor. I passed by a little creek and glanced at it and noticed some "stirring" in the water. I thought, "that's odd" and then heard a splash and thought "is that a dog swimming in the creek?" So I turned aside from my walk to investigate. To my surprise I saw two creatures. At first I thought, "Are those beavers???" (There had actually been reports of some beavers in the neighbor) But as I continued to look, one climbed out on a log and instead of a big flat tail it had a long skinny tail . . . river otters!!! They went back in the water and turned to look at me with their little heads popping out of the creek the way river otters do. I was amazed! I watched them for a few minutes and then went on with my walk. Now I wished I had stayed a while!

For me this was a God Hunt moment. How often do you see river otters in a creek in your neighborhood???? This was a first for ME! God knows how connected I feel to Him in and through nature and this was an early morning "gift" saying to me, "See how I delight in surprising you with fun little gifts just because I love you?" I could just see the expression on God's face as I "found" the gift He had waiting for me.

As I thought about this, I remembered Moses "turning aside" to investigate an unusual sight: a burning bush that did not burn up. And in that moment God spoke to him. What if Moses had not turned aside? What if I had not? I would have missed something very special from God's heart to mine.

I'm grateful I'm learning to live in the moment and cherish each and every one. What a gift each moment from my God is to me!!!!

Remember to turn aside when you sense One calling you to do so. You may experience a God moment along with me and Moses.


(this image was taken from igoogle and is not the real otters I saw)

Life is a Journey, not a Destination

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard

So be sure you are spending the minutes of your lives well. Savour every moment. Live in the present moment, live in the "in-between", it is a sacred space with God. Learn how to keep company with Jesus. Practice the presence of God.

Words to Live By

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on
Posted by Regina Brett September 20, 2007 14:03PM
Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday,May 28, 2006

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Change

We all want to change something about ourselves. Read below to find out how to start that process.

"People perceive and remember what fits into their personal plot—an internal script of oneself and one’s world. Beliefs and assumptions (inspired by experiences) dictate what you look for and attribute meaning. You always find or create that which validates those beliefs, and ignore, mistrust, disbelieve—or more likely don’t notice—anything that doesn’t fit into that pattern.

Reruns
People repeat behavior, even that which doesn’t work, because it offers security and familiarity. Doing the same thing results in a known outcome; predictability masquerades as effectiveness. When you move beyond a familiar pattern, you may experience anxiety.

Repetition reinstates the security of the familiar, even if the repetition is limiting or frustrating. By opting for repetition, people sabotage invention and imprison creativity. Stuck behavior has stuck consequences. Staying in a rut long enough begins to seem like fate. That outlook can lead to despair. The ultimate question about fixed beliefs or “stuckness” is: Does it work?

Who Wrote This?
Change may be difficult, but it begins with the easy recognition that you are the author of your own life story. Insight, understanding, and theory do not create change. New theories alone will not drive old lived experiences into extinction. Lasting change requires new lived experiences to replace old experiences – you invested a lot of years in the old system, and you will have to practice the new stuff as hard as you practiced the old stuff."

4 BASIC TESTS FOR CHANGE

1. What do you want to change?
2. What do you want to outgrow?
3. What do you want to avoid?
4. What do you want to enhance?


This article was written by David Krueger, MD who is the Dean of Curriculum for the CTA Certified Coach Program and author of 16 books. He mentors executives, entrepreneurs, and authors.

A Must Read

I love this author and this book! He writes: We look for saints and for mystics whose words speak to us. We seek out the poets and preachers and pilgrims whose language seems somehow our own , in the hope they will explain what we know we have heard in the depths of our hearts.

This is exactly what Benson has done for me as I read this book: expresses my own heart and confirms my experience with Jesus. I love it and am celebrating this book and my own relationship with Father/Papa God.