Give Thanks

"Give Thanks"
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the
will of God for you in Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:18

We are instructed in the above verse to give thanks
"in" all circumstances, not "for" all circumstances.
It is a reminder that no matter what we may be
experiencing in our life, that God is always
present. We can give thanks for that presence as our
comfort and guide.

Meister Eckhart, 13th Century mystic, said "God is
always at home, it is we who have gone for a walk."
God is always at home in us, even though we may feel
separate from God.
for.

Let us pray:
Living, loving Presence, we go within and connect
with You. Thank You that You are always present.
You are my comfort and guide. I am grateful. Thank
You, God. Amen.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

Peace and love,
Sandy

Thank You

"Thank You"
Meister Eckhart, 13th Century mystic, said "If the
only prayer you ever pray is 'Thank You,' it is
enough."

Gratitude is an important part of our lives. The
more we give thanks, the more we have to be grateful
for.

As we speak words of gratitude for everyone and
everything in our lives, it helps to lift us up.
And,we all have so much to be grateful for.

Let us pray:
Loving Holy Spirit, I just want to say Thank You. I
am so blessed. I am so grateful. Thank You for
blessing me so abundantly. Thank You, Thank You,
Thank You. Amen.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

Peace and love,
Sandy

Healing Prayer

"Healing Prayer"
"Self-Identity Ho'oponopono" is a Hawaiian healing
prayer used by a psychologist to help heal inmates
in a psychiatric hospital that were criminally
insane. Dr.Hew Len,PhD. used the prayer on himself
and the inmates were healed. Ho'oponopono is about
taking 100% responsibility for what comes into your
consciousness--not blame-responsibility.

This simple prayer to help clean and heal is: I love
you; I'm sorry; please forgive me; thank you.

It is about going to a place free from memories to
where we are inspired. Dr. Len says that we are
either coming from memory or inspiration. We clean
away memories so we can live from inspiration.

You can learn more about this in the book "Zero
Limits" written by Dr.Joe Vitale and Dr.Hew Len.

Ho'oponopono is a tool for self healing and to help
heal our planet.

Let us pray
I love you, I'm sorry, please forgive me,
thank you. Amen.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

Peace and love,
Sandy

"Affirmations"

Affirmations are truth statements that we speak in
the present tense. Affirmations help us to change
old tapes or beliefs we have been carrying in our
subconscious. These old tapes or beliefs can keep
us from realizing the good that is our inheritance as
children of God. As we repeat affirmations over and
over, we open new pathways to create a different
belief system, and to help us to consciously create
our lives the way we want.

An example of an affirmation that has been helpful
to me is "I am centered and poised in the Christ
Mind. Nothing (or no one) can disturb the calm
peace of my soul.

It is also can be helpful to change Bible verses to
the present tense, and repeat it as an affirmation.
"The words of my mouth, and the meditations of
my heart, are acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord..."

Affirmations work best when we decree them
from a place of power.

Let us pray
Sweet Holy Spirit, we are truly grateful that we
are able to create our lives through affirming the
good that we know is our inheritance. We give
thanks for Your mighty activity always at work
in our lives. Thank You, God. Amen.

********************************************
Hopper Happenings
We are so grateful for this new year that we
have stepped into. We wish you the greatest
year ever.

I feel called to do a process at work to help
transform the clinic, and make it a better work
environment and place for people to come to
be served. I appreciate all of those people who
are choosing to pray with me about this.

Wes will be teaching some classes for the
fire department again, and he is looking
forward to it.

We love our place here in the White Mountains
of AZ. We have all kinds of wildlife
coming through the yard, and they give us
many moments of wonder and appreciation.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

"Who, Me?"

"Who, Me?"
Moses had fled fro Egypt and was shepherding his
father-in-law's sheep when he saw the burning bush.
God told him that he was to lead the children of Israel
out of Egypt where they were slaves. His answer was,
"Who, Me?" Taking on Pharaoh, and a bunch of
Israelites who weren't sure they wanted to go, wasn't a
part of Moses' vision and mission for his life. But, he
was obedient, and the rest became Biblical history.

As we open ourselves to God in prayer, our plans do
not always stay the same. Spirit is able to give us a
bigger picture of what the highest and best is for our
lives. Sometimes our own vision and mission is
much smaller than what it really can be. As we
open up to Spirit we receive new ideas and a new
perspective. Then we act from a place of being
divinely guided, and we have peace.

Let us pray
Loving Presence, we relax and open ourselves to
You. We realize that You give us wisdom and
guidance for a new way to see the possibilities
that lie before us. We desire to be all that we
can be. We release limited perspectives, and we
say, "Yes, God. It's me. I'm ready and willing."
Thank you, God. Amen.

********************************************
Hopper Happenings
It has been a year since I've put out a letter.
For some of you, this may be your first
experience of one of these newsletters, and
I would like to thank you for signing up. My
thanks, also, to those of you that have
received them in the past, and continue to
be an encouragement to me.

Like Moses, I have struggled during this last
year as I have been working for the Indian
Health Service on the Apache Reservation
at Cibecue. It was not a part of my plan when
I was ordained June 2006. I thought nursing
was a part of my past, and that I would be
going to work in a church. What I know is
that my work as a Clinical Nurse is a place
of ministry. I bring with me a consciousness
that is not often expressed in the clinic or
on the reservation. Wherever I am, my
vision is to be a catalyst to help change the
consciousness of our planet. "Here I am,
Lord, send me."

We recently moved into a different home
that we love. We have a sunroom that
looks out into the forest, and our back yard
just goes on forever. We feel so blessed.

Wes continues to teach his seminar,
"Science of Getting Rich," and has people
from all over the world that he is reaching.
He is a wonderful role model of someone
following his passion, and listening to
Spirit. (Yes, I'm a bit prejudiced, but I'm
not the only one who admires him.)

In May we said goodby to our blessed
Gabby who had been a part of our lives
for almost 11 years. We miss her
wonderful doggy energy.

My friend, Phyllis Trella wrote a
children's book "I Got the Giggles." It
is a fun book you will love sharing with
your children and grandchildren. Phyllis
has a special offer on her book of $15,
plus shipping and handling. I
recommend it highly, and know you
won't be disappointed. Contact Phyllis
at 928-532-7109, and let her know you
heard about the book from me.

Saturday, September 20th, I will be
facilitating a workshop at Unity of
Phoenix on "Unlocking the Secrets
of Prayer and Meditation." It will be
from 9:00-11:30AM. I would love to
see you there.

Let us hear from you.

Love & prayers,
Sandra

When The Answer Is No

Sometimes the answer we receive to our prayers is
"No." Like children, we would like the answer to
always be "yes," but "yes" is not always the highest
and best answer for us, or for the ones for whom we
are praying. God will not change the laws of the
universe to fit our wishes either.

Praying is really about changing ourselves, not God.
As we pray, we speak what is on our hearts, and
then it is important to spend time in meditation
listening for Spirit's guidance from within. Then we
will know truly what is the highest and best for us.

Let us pray
Sweet Holy Spirit, we know that You know what
is the highest and best for us as we pray. We
rest in that assurance, and give thanks for Your
guidance every step of the way. Amen.

********************************************
Hopper Happenings
No, Dear Friend of Prayer, you have not missed
a newsletter. It has been a couple of months
since I last wrote. Much has been happening
with us, and I'm sure with you, too.

I came to the realization that administering a
church as Senior Minister is not where my
gifts and talents are best utilized. I know that I
serve best in Pastoral Care supporting the
Spiritual Community with prayer, counseling,
coaching, classes, and sacred ceremony. I am
submitting my paperwork to the Association of
Unity Churches for an alternative ministry that
will be a ministry of pastoral care.

July 22nd I started working for the Indian Health
Service on the Apache Reservation at Cibecue.
I am working as a Clinical Nurse, which is
something I have not done for 13 years, so it is
another opportunity to stretch and grow. My
last nursing was with hospice in Phoenix 3
years ago.

Wes continues doing some consulting work with
the Apache County library system, and he has
really been enjoying this. He will soon be
teaching another tele-seminar on the book,
"Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles.
He has had people from around the world as
students.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

Peace and love,
Sandy

Surrender

"Surrender"
I remember the song "I Surrender All" that we sang
in the church I went to years ago. Surrender had a
different meaning to me in those days, then it does
now. Thoughts of surrender meant giving up like a
soldier with his arms raised in the air, and giving in
to what someone else wanted in my life.

Now, what I am learning about surrender is that it is
not fighting what is. It is releasing the need to be in
resistance. In her book, "Loving What Is," Byron
Katie talks about this very concept. Suffering comes
when we have an expectation that something has to
be different than what it is.

When I am surrendered, then I can truly pray about
the situation, give it over to God, and listen for what
is mine to do.

Let us pray
Living, loving Presence, we relax into your Presence.
We surrender our circumstances and the circumstances
of others to you. We ask for guidance, because we
know that You know what is ours to do, say, and be.
We give thanks ahead of time, knowing that our prayers
are already answered. Thank You, God. Amen


............................................
Hopper Happenings
On April 15th I spoke at Unity of the White
Mountains here in Lakeside, AZ \(they moved from
Show Low, AZ in October\). This was my try out
talk to become their minister. Since that Sunday I
have absented myself from 3 Sundays here while
other candidates were here to try out, visited 2
other Unity churches, and visited family and friends.
Wes and I continue to be in prayer for our next step,
and for Unity of the White Mountains as they make
their decisions.

Wes has been doing some consulting work with
the Apache County library system, and it has been
a time of stretching and growing for him. He
finished a tele-seminar this month where he had
people from Australia and Canada as students.

We continue to love living in the White Mountains
of Arizona. What a blessing to be able to walk in
the pine trees, and be in the part of the country
that we love.

We enjoy hearing from you, and we are grateful
for your love and support.

Peace and love,
Sandy