Give us this day our daily bread

We continued our series on the Lord's Prayer this past Sunday by looking at the line, "Give us this day, our daily bread." So often just because I finished a talk, it does not mean that the talk is finished with me. Sometimes I just want to say "do over."

Last night as I thought more about this line, I affirmed once again that Jesus was telling us that our daily needs are met as God gives us each day. He is also telling us that life and everything in it is impermanent. This lines reminds us that we only have this day to live. No matter what we do or how hard we try, we cannot keep things from changing, ending or dying. Those three elements are part of the grand design. So, we work this unconditional truth into our paradigm. Acknowledging and befriending death helps us to celebrate and relish life. When we realize that all things come to an end, we understand that life happens when we cherish the moment for what it is. We never know when something is going to end or go away. So, instead hanging on or hoarding, Jesus invites us in this line to celebrate this day and everything in it. This day, we have our daily bread. Tomorrow truly is none of our business. But we can rest assured that we are loved and cherished and provided for as we open ourselves to God's abundance on this day.

Is it ok to prosper

I recently read in the USA Today that prosperous folks are down playing their vacations because they don't want to appear insensitive. While I can appreciate not rubbing one's abundance in the face of someone else who is struggling, I wonder if struggling financially is becoming the "in" thing? Are we developing a culture that frowns on prosperity? I really appreciate how the current economic down turn is encouraging many of us to evaluate what is really important. I hear about how more and more people are simplifying their lives. I know that my husband and I continue to stock of what is important to us as a result of the current events.

But, have we robbed ourselves permission to be prosperous? I had an interesting experience last night. Again, the USA Today had an article about the number of people without medical insurance in our country. It was followed up by an article about the number of people who have let their dental care lapse because of lack of funds. I had two reactions. The first was guilt for having the ability to take good care of my teeth. Case in point, I had just had them cleaned that day. All of a sudden, I felt that my continued prosperity was somehow betraying the folks who are struggling. Somehow I would make it better for them by joining them. Then I got scared that I too was going to experience an economic down turn.

I know that if I feel this way, there must be others who do as well. This is the time more than ever to say yes to our abundance. We don't cultivate abundance to make it difficult on others, rather we say yes to abundance as a witness to others. I heard a commentary on CBS Sunday Morning this past week where the speaker shared how our fear is contributing to the financial picture more than anything. We have no confidence so we hoard what we do have. Now, he was not suggesting that we go out and spend foolishly and uncensored. Hopefully those days are over. But, we do need to start focusing on what is working and the abundance we do have in our lives right now. We also need to be bold and confident enough to claim our abundance even in the face of what others are experiencing. In fact, we must do this especially because of what is going on around us.

Edwene Gaines recently said that she refused to participate in a recession. What if we all claimed that? Right now-affirm with me-I refuse to participate in a recession. Give yourself permission to prosper and know that as you do, you have more to share with others. Along with sharing your wealth, you can demonstrate for others that God's abundance is as plentiful for everyone today as it was a year ago, 10 years ago, since the beginning of time.

Let's say yes to prosperity. Let's say yes to abundance in the form of fulfilling, prospering work, good medical care, a safe, lovely place to live in and enough to eat for everyone. Let's do our part by cultivating that in our own lives and holding the light for others to experience abundance as well.

How is it going?

I fell off the wagon this week with the no-complaint challenge. I took my bracelet off one night and forgot to put it back on the next day and have completely forgotten my commitment to put 21 days of no complaining together. Edwene Gaines comes to the church on Saturday which gives me the incentive to try again and we got our purple "Complain-free World" bracelets in to help me remember even more. On top of all of that, Ash Wednesday was yesterday taking us into the season of reflection and preparation. My bracelet is back on and I have started over again. As I reflect back on the past couple of days, I saw myself becoming annoyed at small matters that in the grand scheme of things really don't make much of a difference. But the aggravation and complaining robbed me of joy and possibility in that moment. So, today, this moment, I start anew.

Do the complaints in my head count?

OK-day 2 and I think I have been fairly successful with not complaining. Although, I caught myself talking to the person across the street wanting to whine a bit about our recycling company being difficult to get a hold of as I chase the lid and container down the street. I discover that whining is soooo subtle. And I have to really force myself sometimes to shift it. There is some perverse sense of pleasure to whining. But ultimately does it get us what we want and of course the answer to that question is no. So, as I am working this out with you, the reader, I realize that I must switch my bracelet as I have complained today in the form of whining. I was going to ask if it counted if I complained in my head. I will save that discussion for another day.

No complaining challenge

Yesterday in church, I challenge those in attendance to give up complaining, criticism and sarcasm as suggested in Edwene Gaines book Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity. If we find ourselves complaining, then we start over until we have 21 consecutive complaint free days. As I do this, I am aware of how subtle the habit of complaining is. This morning I was talking to someone in the locker room at the gym where I work out about the temperature. Now, I could have just been making an observation, but the tone of my voice and the tightness in my chest told me that I was indeed complaining. I switched my bracelet and started over. It may take me a very long time to put 21 days together but the act itself is a spiritual discipline that challenges me to pay attention to where I have placed my focus. When I caught myself this morning and stopped what I was saying, I actually felt better as a result.

What are your experiences with this? What is your greatest challenge as we lean into this? Let's get a conversation going.

What do you serve today?

I continue to ponder this idea of abundance and love. Michael Beckwith in his book Spiritual Liberation often affirms that God qualities are the order of the day in his embodiment prayers. Wholeness is the order of the day. Peace is the order of the day. Beauty is the order of the day. Then he dedicates himself to serving those qualities.

What I find so powerful is the suggestion that at any moment we can choose what we will serve. We know that serving materialism and fear does not work. We do not create the experience we desire. So, as we approach Valentine's Day and we go further into our discussion on abundance, what if we decide to serve different God qualities? What would it look like to serve abundance or peace? Who would we need to become to make those ideas the order of our beings and consequently the order of our day? I believe more and more that as we shift our paradigms from getting to giving by serving the very qualities we desire, we will in fact, create the experience we so long for.

Employment rate

A couple of days ago, news organizations reported new employment rates. They said that the rates were some of the worse in years. I think the local paper reported that our unemployment rate was somewhere around 8%. What we forget when we see something like that is that 92% of people are working. Now, I don't want to minimized the situation where thousands of people are losing their jobs. But, I wonder what kind of effect it would have if we also focused in some way on the 92% of people who are working. Would it make a difference in the consciousness of our country if when we get stats like this, we pause and give thanks for the positive side of the report?

Safety in God

Last night Michael and I were robbed. Someone broke into our house somewhere between 1:30 and 5:30 as we slept away upstairs. They came upstairs and took my suitcase that was packed for my trip to Kansas City and my computer bag. As soon as we discovered it, we called the police and began the process of cancelling cards and accounts. We stayed busy with details.

As I have had some time to think about it on the flight to KC, I find myself moving in and out of anger, fear, deep questioning and trust. They took some things, but did they really rob me? Here I sit at Unity Village, warm, comfortable, things taken care of and grateful that we are safe. I feel anxious at the thought of being in my house, but even that poses the question-what is true and what can anyone really take from us? I know I will probably go in and out of feelings of fear, anger, gratitude and trust as I process through this. I do know that I am grateful for spiritual principle and practice. I found myself giving thanks for things like getting my calendar and my clothes back and having an extra GPS that they didn't find. I also found myself praying for whoever did this that they know that they are cherished children of God-loved and supported. I am also grateful for this public computer since mine was taken last night as well.

Witness for God

Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith has a powerful affirmation in his new book Spiritual Liberation that has shifted the very ground I stand on. He says, "I proclaim that all of my needs are met on every level of my existence. There is divine peace. There is divine order. There is abundance, health, vitality, safety, and security. There is harmony and creativity. I am bold enough to accept this. I AM CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO WITNESS TO THE PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD WITHIN AND AROUND ME." (Emphasis mine) Are you confident enough to witness God in your life? That sounds like such a remedial question, but think about all of the ways we short circuit God.

I love the story in the Bible where Jesus came upon the lame man at the pool who was giving him all of the reasons why he couldn't get to the pool for healing. Jesus asked him a very simple question, "Do you want to walk?" The man answered yes, and Jesus told him to then get up and walk.

In order to witness the presence of God in our lives, we have to give up our stories. We have to be willing to succeed and accept the responsibility that comes with that. It means we give up old worn out paradigms that say we are a victim and we become accountable for our lives. Abundance is so much more than just getting, it is about fundamentally changing the way we see and do life. We discover who we really are as the expression of God and we trust that power enough to be able to witness it for others. Today, I invite all of us to courageously and confidently witness to the presence of God in our lives and let's watch what happens.

We attract what we are

I just finished watching Dr. Dyer's DVD and he quoted someone who said, "We don't attract what we want, we attract what we are." That just pinged in me. What am I? Is it what I want? If I am not getting what I want who do I need to become? Or maybe the better question is, "What do I need to discover about myself and express?"