"Checking in on the Journey"

It is a good thing to check in once in awhile on
our journey to see where we are, and if we are
moving in the direction we want.

This doesn't mean spending a lot of time thinking
about the past or beating ourselves up. What we
want to do is make a comparison of where we were
and where we are now.

It helps to see if we are caught up in excuses of
why we can't move forward in obtaining what we
want to be or to do.

Wayne Dyer lists 18 excuses in his book, "Excuses
Begone," and they are easy to recognize.

Excuses keep us from moving forward. We stay
paralyzed in "I can't because..."

When I felt the calling to go back to seminary I
was 52 yrs old, and two of my excuses were, "I'm
too old," and "I've been out of school for 35
yrs."

Other excuses came, too, but I didn't allow any
of them to keep me from going back to school, and
I was ordained in June 2006.

As you check in on your journey, are there excuses
that are holding you back? I invite you to laugh
at them and keep going. You will be glad you did!

Let Us Pray:
Living, loving Presence, we are so grateful for
Your presence on our journey. We depend upon Your
strength and Your light, and we know we are never
alone. We journey together. Thank You, God. Amen.


We love hearing from you and about your journey.
Thank you for your love and support. We are here
to support you.


Love & light,
Sandy

"Perfection Vs Standard of Excellence"

****************************************************************
Positive Prayer Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 4 - January 24,2010
Effective prayer and meditation
****************************************************************
"Perfection Vs Standard of Excellence"

For most of my life I was caught up in the need to
be and to do everything perfectly. Sometimes I
still hang out there, but I'm getting better at
being aware of it.

I was reminded of perfectionism lurking in the
background when my husband, Wes, and I were
filming a video to put up on my website. I had
to release the video as not being perfect, and
instead, desired to come from a standard of
excellence. (No, Hollywood will not be coming
knocking at my door, oh well.)

Michael Bernard Beckwith compares perfectionism
and a standard of excellence. "A perfectionist
must outstrip the competition and satisfy the
ego. A person who functions at a standard of
excellence reflects his or her personal best
while satisfying the heart. Those seeking
perfection push others aside for the sake of
personal gain. Those who strive for excellence
seek success for others as well as themselves."

My desire is to come from a standard of
excellence, and I know when I'm doing this I have
peace and joy. I feel expansive, and right within
myself and my world.

We could start a 12 Step Group for Recovering
Perfectionists. Good-by perfection, and hello
standard of excellence!

Let Us Pray:
Sweet Holy Spirit, we release and let go of the
need to be perfect. Our desire is to come from
the heart, and to act from love. We are Your
children, and grateful for Your guidance on our
journey. Thank You. Amen.


We are here for prayer and Spiritual Counseling.
We love being able to support you.

Love & light,
Sandy

PS Just to let you know I'm really learning the
above lesson, I sent this out to my email list
and I spelled the word "perfection" wrong. I
had to just laugh at another message from
the Universe that I'm on the right track :-)

"Resolution Revolution"

“Call it an un-resolution: Decide what you want to
be in 2010. How you want to feel. Where you want
to stand. Then step back, take a breath, and watch
for the ways to get there -- because, based on my
life experience anyway, the way will appear. Not
from stress, strain or struggle, but from the
effortlessness of surrender.” --Daniel Nahmod

If you are a New Year's Resolution maker, are you
still working on your list, or now that we are
half way into January, have they been forgotten?

Have you decided, like Daniel Nahmod, on what you
want to "be" in 2010? As he says, ways do open
up for us to be, as we surrender.

Afterall, we are human beings, and not human
doings.

"Love" is what I have decided to "be," in 2010. I
have been carrying my white stone with me that
has the word "love" on it. It is a reminder for
me to be love. I have also been using the song,
"Love is My Decision," by Daniel Nahmod, and the
chorus from an old hymn from my past, "Love
Lifted Me." These are ways that are supporting
me to be love in life's circumstances.

What is yours "to be" in 2010?

Let Us Pray:
Living, loving Presence, our desire is to be,
and to be aware of what we are being each day.
We are grateful for Your Presence leading,
guiding, and directing us every step of the
way. We are so blessed. Thank You. Amen.


We are here for prayer and Spiritual Counseling.
We love being able to support you.

Love & light,
Sandy

"Intention-Attention"

"The power of intention creates. The power of
attention maintains our focus on our creative
intention. Our intentions inform the direction of
our attention...Transformation requires that our
attention align with our intention."
Michael Bernard Beckwith "Spiritual Liberation"

What is your intention for this new year? Is it to
just get more of the same, or are there areas in
your life that you would like to see transformed?

Transformation implies a permanent change, and not
something temporary.

In order to transform, we need to set our intention
for what we want, and then as Michael Beckwith has
said, we need our attention to support our
intention.

We can not transform our Spiritual Life by setting
the intention to meditate every day, if we don't
get up and meditate. Our attention cannot be on
getting a few extra minutes of sleep or that we
have too much to do to take time to meditate.

To transform our Spiritual Life with meditation we
must place our attention on the importance of
meditation and making it a priority.

What do you want to transform in your life? Have
you set an intention to make it happen? Where is
your attention--is it supporting your intention?

Let Us Pray:
Living, loving Presence, our desire is to be all
we can be. We desire to transform those areas in
our lives that come from a belief in being less
than Your beautiful creation. We are one with You,
and we desire to express as You. We are open to
transformation. We give thanks for Your activity
in our lives. Thank You, God. Amen.

How may we support you? We are here for you.


Love & light,
Sandy

"White Stone"

"On the white stone is written a new name that no
one knows except the one who receives it." Rev 2:17.

In this New Year of 2010 we take time to go within
and commune with Spirit. What do we want to be in
this gift of a new year? What name or word will be
a reminder to us as we meet each new day?

As the word comes forth, it is our opportunity to
write it down on a white stone, so that we can
carry it with us. (If you don't have a white stone
you can write it on a piece of paper. The idea is
to make it yours, and something to keep as a
reminder for the rest of the year.)

Most of us were not given the opportunity to give
ourselves a name when we began this life. But, we
can choose a name or characteristic or idea that
we want to take as ours for this year.

In ancient times when a slave was set free they
were given a white stone as a symbol of their
freedom. Today we can use the white stone as a
symbol of our freedom to be.

Let Us Pray:
Living, loving Presence, we go within and we rest
with You. We allow You to speak to us, and guide
us to the word that is ours for this new year. We
desire to be expressions of You in our world. Thank
You for guiding us and directing us. Amen.

Happy New Year! We are grateful for each one of
You. Please let us know if there is any way we may
support you as you step into this new year.

Blessings,
Sandy