Stand UP for yourself

For TOO LONG you have allowed the past to affect you!
For TOO LONG you have taken personally what others say about you!
For TOO LONG you have stood on the sidelines watching others thrive!
For TOO MANY NIGHTS you have gone to bed worrying about what may be.
For TOO LONG you have held a fear in your heart.
For TOO LONG you have settled for second best!!

NOW is the time to awaken!
NOW is the time to shine!
NOW is the time to ACCEPT that you are DIVINE!!

This is my message for you - allow it to touch the deepest parts of your being - to help you awaken to the truth - that you do deserve to live a GREAT life - and whatever that means for you!

Wanna trade favors?

Yep, trading favors is nothing new to us.  I think, im one of those traders at home, ...:"if you wash the dishes tonight I will cook...deal?"  or  "please go with me to the mall, I will buy you a milkshake!"
then, we trade favors at weddings, baby showers and.....yes even with God.

However, the favor I am referring to is as follows.....:
We do not need to negotiate favors from God, somewhere along the line what we negotiate with God is either going to be forgotten by ourselves or our attitude will change (for the good or bad) and if its bad its actually our suppressed sense of guilt toward God, because, remember, He is true to his word, we as humans are not, we fail often.
Being educated or ignorant of God’s word doesn’t have anything to do with God fulfilling His promises.
“You will obtain” meaning, He will do it regardless of what we do or do not understand. However, when we do grasp the concept of God’s mercy, it draws us even closer to Him.  No longer do we seek His blessings, but we seek Him because of Who He is not because of what He can do.

“Blessed (with mercy, favor) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6 NKJV)

God wants to give us His daily favor, but if we don’t ask Him or spend time in His Word, in prayer or believe it, we won’t receive it.  Mercy and favor from God was made ours the moment we first believed.

So, do YOU want to trade favor today?  Lets do it with the right attitude, seeking approval in a manner that is way beyond what is usual by showing and leaning toward that which would only uplift us in our emotions, and in our spirit, not because we have an Agenda.

fa·vorˈfāvər/Submit
noun1. an attitude of approval or liking.
2.  an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.
verb:
3. feel or show approval or preference
synonyms: prefer, lean toward, opt for, tend toward, be in favor of;

Im going to trade a favour with you....how about YOU pray for people in similar situations as yourself, as myself, that God would uplift their spirits and fill it with Joy.  And, once you have done so, share this with friends and family.

Greetings.....

Learn to become grounded

A few days after writing my last blog, I received a monthly news letter from a Dr Dave Moseman, who lives in Minneapolis, he was diagnosed with a type of eye disease and can no longer practice, ...I enjoy his newsletters.  Anyway, after reading the latest one, 4 words really stood out for me, practically knocking me off my chair.   LEARN TO BECOME GROUNDED.

I want to share some excerpts with you...and highlighted words that really shout out to my inner being...

When we find ourselves stopped by a disability we become lost in the Wilderness. Yet we need to calm down and become aware of our surroundings.  Our surroundings nurturer us constantly, but in our busy lives it gets overshadowed.

While we are mourning for what we have lost, our dreams, our self-image, our identity, we need to be loved. Our impulse is to crawl into our shells and hide. Pulling back and taking a pause in our busy life plans is necessary, we also need to get in touch with what is our true essence.

There is a voice with us always. In our busy lives we rush to and fro and only listen to that voice that says do this and that. When we can no longer do this and that, we have the opportunity to listen to the quieter voices in our lives, the ones that come from our core.  Become silent and listen to Gods Spirit, His Voice speaking to our soul.

As we listen for the quiet core messages we find other things too. We discover that we are not alone. We feel things, too.
We find the caresses that abound. Those soothing caresses come in the gentle sound of rain, or wind in the trees. They come from the concerns of friends and family. Suddenly we find we are loved not for what we can do, but for ourselves.
If we relax and open up, we can feel the sun. If we but open our eyes we can see what is around us. The splendor of a cold winter’s day, the shimmering green or summer leaves. Life goes on in its rhythm of contraction and renewal.
With the onset of disability, we have entered a time of contraction. Like the World in winter we must hibernate and prepare for the renewal to follow.  In the winter snow we see tracks of animals scurrying about. Few are around to be seen.
Most animals birth their young in the spring. So too, we will be reborn when our spring comes.

When I entered my Winter of Disability, I got in touch with Spiritual things I had put aside for my career. I read and studied the book of Job. I read Herbert Kurshner’s book “On why Bad things happen to Good People”.
For me the message of Job was to let go and let God hear my pains, to let God respond to my pains. In those moments of surrender I felt caressed and not alone, I found opportunity and freedom.
When you find yourself stopped by disability, use it as an opportunity to return to your core, Pray, Journal, meditate. Become grounded in what you have walked away from in your formerly busy life.  Find who you have really been, consult family and friends, about who they think you are.  Start a new Chapter in your life

I ask you to reflect on these questions.

• When have you needed to pause and reflect?
• How have you been able to get back in touch with yourself?
• Share your brokenness with those you love and trust.

May you too be touched by these thoughts of Dr Moseman, if you know of someone needing encouragement in the disability they are facing...please share this.

Be blessed