God and Your Vehicle

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? - Corrie Ten Boom

It’s interesting that this quote popped up this week (although I just read it now). On Friday morning, Rog spied a flat tire on his truck that was gratefully sitting in our driveway. And, I learned yesterday that my dear friend Samara, who for business reasons has temporarily traded her life in peaceful Kauai for the city of Miami, had an angry driver slash three tires on her vehicle.

So this quote piqued my interest; I think it is good food for thought...

Do I connect with Spirit for help with my vehicle - my life - just as rarely as when my automobile needs a spare tire? Or, do I let God guide me as I regularly walk through this life and this crazy world?

Prayer is always available to connect us with our Source. It is talking to The Presence, it’s a feeling, it’s an attitude, it’s a thankfulness.

I’m grateful my car rarely requires the spare tire to be used and I’m grateful for letting go and letting God steer my life.

Endurance or Trust?

“When a man has quietly made up his mind that there is nothing he cannot endure, his fears leave him.” - Grove Patterson

My fears leave me when I remember God - God within, God in all and around all.

My fears leave me when I step into faith. All is as it should be and God is here, now, ever-present to guide me and accompany me on this journey called Life, loving and gracing me along the way.

My attitude makes all the difference. I can look from the standpoint of enduring or I can look from the perspective of everything is a blessing and has a purpose. There is no need for fear or feeling like I’m enduring - that's my ego taunting me. God has a plan and my role is to trust and have faith.

We're in This Together

Whether I am being paid $15/hour or $50/hour, or I am “volunteering” my time, my desire is always to be in a helping mode. I can’t say that I always behave in that manner.

I found myself yesterday thinking in terms of money and disturbance when called ‘off hours’ to help a client of a client. Gratefully, my conscience quickly got me to want to help this person even though it “wasn’t my job.” After this decision was made, it turned out the person was able to solve the problem herself. Ya think my decision influenced the Universe?... Perhaps.

Wouldn’t it be nice if each of us knew, really knew, that there’d always be help available? And, when we gave assistance, we’d get ‘paid’ with knowing we’d receive help too whenever we needed it? ...that we were never alone? Of course, Spirit is always with us to guide and help, but often we need a real, live human being to carry out the work.

The current money economy is such a separator of people, to one another, to themselves, to God. Well, that’s changing and I’m so glad. A new earth is coming where people live from the heart, in community, bartering and helping one another in all aspects of life.

My prayer is to continue opening my heart in service to others. We are all part of The One, giving and receiving. What I give returns to me, returns to us. Let I not build barriers to healing the separation, but be part of the solution to our return to Oneness.

God Is...

God is...

Love
Joy
Peace
Strength
Power
Breath
Source
Life
Grace
Gratitude
Guide
Friend
Companion
Comfort
Healer
Consciousness
Presence
Serenity
Security

No matter where my journey takes me, I am not alone - God is.

Success

Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone; but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing and God everything. – St. Ignatius Loyola

I am the vehicle in which Spirit moves and in fact I cannot move without Spirit, the One Source of all. So when my ego struts about how well I did something or compares me to others, I remember that God is the engine behind me. God guides me, God moves me. My success depends on God.

Every day, every moment of placing my will and my life in the hands of God and following the Great Mystery’s guidance to the best of my ability... that is success!

I Am Responsible

“What anyone else has or does not have has nothing to do with you. The only thing that affects your experience is the way you utilize the Non-Physical Energy with your thought. Your abundance or lack of it in your experience has nothing to do with what anybody else is doing or having. It has only to do with your perspective. It has only to do with your offering of thought. If you want your fortunes to shift, you have to begin telling a different story.” – Abraham, Excerpted from the book Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Health, Wealth and Happiness #313

The messages are all around me and consistent: My experience depends only on me.

My life has been a pretty good one. It may not be viewed as ‘successful’ by others, but to me it has been a good one. This despite not having been given much guidance, set many goals, or been very conscious in my first three decades. Now, with the spiritual knowledge and experience I have, I can just imagine how wonderful it can really be...

Guided by Spirit, knowing that I am responsible for my world, and enthusiastic about life, I create a fulfilling life, nurturing my soul, releasing blocks of all kinds, and serving God in joy, and love, and peace.

Journey

Yesterday’s Daily Word talked about Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem very likely being difficult, both physically and mentally, requiring a great deal of strength and stamina. Throughout their journey, they had faith in God. At the end of their travels they experienced pure joy, for a new life was born.

Here’s an excerpt:

Journey
I am on a divine journey of peace and joy.

In my journey through life, I may encounter moments that require greater strength and stamina. I may be learning a new skill or coping with a challenging circumstance. I receive strength of spirit and stamina in mind and heart as I trust in God as my guide. With God my way is clear and my journey secure. In God's presence, I experience a new life, filled with joy and everlasting peace.

With God, my path of life runs smoother, more joyful, and more meaningful. I choose to walk with God.

Surrendering Once Again

This morning as I lay in bed, I started feeling anxious, which hasn’t happened in a while. It revolved around how I could start my new part-time position in Sedona on Monday when we haven’t a new place to call home yet. I was definitely experiencing a lack of faith and trust. How could God not provide a place for me to live when He so smoothly dropped this business opportunity into my lap?

So after sitting in the Silence (as best as possible), yet another morning reading focused on surrendering to God – think there’s a message here?!

“We wear ourselves out trying to control the uncontrollable, while God patiently waits to receive our burdens. All we need to do is hand them over: God’s presence is here, now.

“When we surrender all our concerns to God – both our failures and our successes – we begin to realize the breadth of God’s care and the constancy of God’s presence in our life. We have always been close to God, as close as our breath.

“Learning to acknowledge God as our protector and guide is exhilarating and eases our every step, thought, plan, and dream. We are learning that we can do nothing alone, but we can do anything if we just let God join us in partnership.

“I have God as my companion always. I’ll remember that today and be at ease.” – In God’s Care, October 30

Soon afterwards I had an email from a friend who lives a couple of towns over from Sedona offering me her place to stay short term if need be.

As Rog said this evening several times, miracles have been raining upon us. Sometimes I feel like it would be a miracle if I would surrender once and for all.

Dear Spirit;
Thank You for all the blessings and miracles you shower upon me even when I lose faith and attempt to control and figure things out. I acknowledge You as my Source, and, once again, I surrender.

The Question Was Popped

Half-asleep at 4:45 AM five years ago, Roger asked me to marry him – boy, did that wake me up!

We’d been talking about whether to opt for formal, legal recognition of our life partnership or just live together. Whether we had the State of Arizona behind us or not, we were committed to one another. Since I’d never been married before, I thought it would be an interesting experience to have.

Although Rog had said he liked being married and wanted to remarry, he was still a bit hesitant. But Spirit worked on him, and when Rog heard Spirit emphatically tell him to ask me to marry him – repeatedly – Rog heeded The Voice and did so. It was the same Voice that had told Rog months before to set up his profile on match.com, where we soon met; the rest is history.

I will always be grateful that Rog obeyed The Voice. I thank Spirit that He was clearly a part of it all, we had His blessing, and He continues to guide us on the adventurous and love-filled life we have together.

Happy 5th Engage-a-versary to my beloved husband, Rog!

Guide Me

Dear Lord, guide me towards Your plan. – Marion Bond West

It’s been quite the roller coaster ride these past several days. We found a lovely home that needed work and the owner was open to us living rent-free while we get it back into shape. I was sort of in shock with the entire unfolding of the situation and in such a state of gratitude and faith that I kept repeating “Oh, my God”, “Oh, my God”, “Oh, my God.”

When we revisited the property and saw that it needed much too much work before we could even store our belongings there, I felt deflated. But soon I pulled myself up and stated “God just has something better for us.” We informed the owner that it was too much of a project to suit us and wished him good luck.

With time appearing to run out to move out of our current home because of an impending trustee sale that had been postponed twice before, we seriously started checking out sharing a house with someone. It would require less cash on our part, which has not yet manifested in sufficiently abundant amounts yet. We found a lovely woman with a lovely house – but we realized we really couldn’t live with someone else. With little money to rent our own place, I feel at a standstill, not knowing what to do. These days I guess you could say I'm feeling a little frustrated.

And the news today is:

I’ve found out that I’m to receive a gift check from some dear relatives. It’ll help us with our first month’s rent and other expenses.

The house trustee sale was postponed yet again, giving us some breathing space even though we need to get settled in our new community.

The owner of the house in need of repairs still seems to want us to consider living there and making renovations. He’s coming in from CA this weekend and it seems like he’s already got some plans to fix things – who knows if he’ll persuade us.

I feel like a yo-yo riding a roller coaster - what is God’s plan for me? I have a vanity license plate that reads GUIDE ME. I specifically chose it so that I could regularly be reminded of where I stand in relation to God. These days I guess you could say I'm feeling a little frustrated.

Dear Spirit – Please guide me towards Your plan about living quarters and keep me open to creative ideas, and patient with the time line. All happens in Your time. Thank You for delaying the trustee sale yet again, so that all the pieces can come together with ease and grace like a beautiful, finely woven tapestry.

A Reminder

"'God be with you' is not a prayer, but a reminder. It couldn’t be otherwise." – The Voice of Love, 06.10.09

Yes, God is always with me – “It couldn’t be otherwise.” But how often I need to be reminded!

I get into a controlling mode or busy with the events of the day, and I start operating independently as if I’m the only one involved in living my life.

But God is right there with me, seeking to guide me, help me, love me. May I remember that wherever I am, God IS – and, is there too.

Attachments

As we drill down into bankruptcy paperwork, the issue of being able to keep both of our vehicles is on the table.

If we cannot keep both, there are pros and cons for keeping one or the other.

My vehicle is a 2003 Toyota, my 3rd Camry in 13 years, and my first new car purchase. I call ‘her’ Espiritu (or Espirit II). My first one was named Spirit, but when ‘she’ was totaled in Santa Fe in 1999, I thought, "I’ve lost my Spirit" - not a very healthy double entendre. So my cars since then have been christened Espiritu, keeping to the idea that Spirit is with me as I travel. [My current license plate is GUIDEME, another reminder of God.]

So you can see I feel pretty close to my car. It is a symbol of independence, it conveys convenience, it is an asset (she’s all paid off!).

Yes, my car is a thing, an inanimate object even if I talk about it like a person. These days I am placing less importance on material things, and focusing more and more on matters of the spirit. It’s just ‘stuff’. Having, accumulating, and maintaining stuff is a burden. It takes me off track and can contribute to me losing my peace. Still, I can sometimes get caught up in this culture’s game.

And so, my morning prayer this day, as I started feeling anxious about having to possibly give up my Camry was:
May we treat our blessings as blessings, and not attachments.

Having reliable, safe, comfortable transportation at my fingertips has been a wonderful blessing. Let me remember it as such and not be attached to it. And, in the same vein, may I remember that God is the Source of all, and the sole attachment that I will truly ever want or need.