God's Directions

For several years. I lived with chronic back pain. I've undergone treatment and have been feeling much better...until Tuesday when a "flare up" began. This morning after attempting to sit down, I just blurted out, "Wow, it hurts so bad."

My five year old son, walked to me and patted my side. He said tenderly, "That will help you feel better." I replied, "You're so filled with love."

Without skipping a beat, he smiled and blurted out, "That's God's directions!"

Love God

I think I understand ¨love your neighbor¨ better than I understand ¨love God.¨

How can I love God and know God?

God is love.
God is bigger than the universe.
God is the universe.
I see God in creation.
God is still creating.
I am a very important treasured speck of dust in Godś infinite plan.
God is my father and my mother.

Jesus said, ¨pray Godś kingdom of love be on earth as in the heavens.¨
Jesus said, ¨pray Godś will be done on earth as in the heavens.¨

Wait a minute!

I have discovered I am afraid of Godś will! That is crazy!
Why do I feel that way? It does not make sense. I know God loves me.

I don´t want to be separated from God in any way. I want to surrender to God´s will. I want to be one with God.

Are other people afraid of surrendering to Godś will?

I sort of suspect that someplace deep in my memory God´s will has gotten a bad rap.

God . . . would you help me figure this out please?

Re-United with Love

here's what i saw in the below drama...
God is Love. God or Love satisfies, and brings peace, contentment, and joy. But then we sink into the illusions of this world, and forget Love. The journey of our forgetfulness brings suffering, which often re-awakens us to Love's presence. Love never fails. Love never stops seeking us out, and making itself available to us in every moment.

Dive In!

Hey everyone, as you may recall, Jim was graciously invited to swim over to The Porpoise Diving Life this September as guest editor. This is part of what Jim had to say about his guest theme:

"When it was time to turn my attention to the September 2007 edition of theporpoisedivinglife.com, identifying the theme was a no-brainer. I had just finished writing Wide Open Spaces, which continues the story of my spiritual metamorphosis of knowing God beyond religion. It became increasingly clear as I wrote that Love is at the center of my transformation. I share an excerpt from the book about this as part of the September edition.

I invited people to share some aspect of their journey as it relates to Love. I hope the offerings and reflections of Love you'll see stimulate a greater awareness of Love for each person who reads them.

Speaking of Love, I am so often on the receiving end of Love when it comes to Bill Dahl. There are plenty of people with all kinds of concepts and notions about God and spiritual things, but Bill is one of those people who inspires and challenges me because he lives Love, and turns God’s Love for him and in him out to others without condition. Bill is an expression of the unconditional Love and acceptance of God for the world, and my desire for this September 2007 edition of The Porpoise Diving Life is to inspire each of us to likewise be these expressions of Love along the everyday paths of life."

Thank you Jim for all your work on this guest editor theme about Turn Love Inside Out, and my thanks to Bill for his kind invitation. I'm so grateful to know you both!

Picture of the Week

This picture was added to our TLIO Flickr Group by TelPortfolio. it is a photograph of The Compassion Centre in Tory St, Wellington (New Zealand). Today is Labor Day, and when I read about the Centre, the thought of a "labor of love" came to mind. On the website, I discovered that a core value of the Sisters of Compassion is the balance of "contemplation and action." It was hard to miss the connection to the "turn love inside out" theme. In contemplation, we become aware of God's Love in us, for us, and as us. Then naturally, this Love takes shape in words and actions that flow out of us to the world.

Snow on the Mountain

One of my favorite Texas wildflowers is called ¨Snow on the Mountain.¨ On my drive to work I see countless miles of these flowers covering the meadows. They indeed look like drifts of snow. Add the sun rising through low-lying fog, colors reaching across the horizon . . .

All of creation is crying out ¨God Loves You!!¨

As I soak this in I am realizing . . . ¨God is my father and my mother.¨

I am wrapped in mother/father love.

Let Your Love Flow

Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying