When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. 

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. 

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 

Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. 

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

The greatest revelation is stillness.

Laozi

Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.

Eckhart Tolle

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

Deepak Chopra

The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.

Bruce Lee

Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.

Wayne W. Dyer

If there's no inner peace, people can't give it to you. The husband can't give it to you. Your children can't give it to you. You have to give it to you.

Linda Evans

Do not neglect the gift that is in you.

living water

I am made in the image of God, not your image of God.

"In that very good experience of who we are as human beings we should always aspire to live up to that mark of what God inspired in us right at the very beginning. So when we look in the mirror, when we see ourselves as God's reflection of God's very own self, we should aspire to be that fabulous, to be that 'good,' to be that 'very good' that God created us to be."

And that's another cool thing my Senior Pastor told us.

PROGRAM LISTINGS & PROGRAM SCHEDULES

Reflecting upon your ongoing experience, do you percieve your faith, your hope and your trust to be distinctly different? If so, are there ways in which they are connected?

Here are dictionary definitions of Faith, Hope & Trust. Would you define your experience of each differently?

Faith (noun)

• complete trust or confidence in someone or something
• strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Hope (noun)

• a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
• a feeling of trust

Hope (verb)

• want something to happen or be the case

Trust (noun)

• firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something
• confidence placed in a person by making that person the nominal owner of property to be held or used for the benefit of one or more others.

Trust (verb)

• believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of

Being fully functional and wholly human!

A Moment Of Truth!

Quite often when dealing with a client or a customer at a moment he or she is anticipating a certain outcome that is about to be disclosed, I would say to him or her, "Keep your fingers crossed." Then I would reveal the outcome. They experience this outcome matchting their hopes or dreams or wishes or expectation or desire, or not. And I experience it right along too.

So would it be any different if I just kept my mouth shut and watched and thought nothing? It's just none of my flippin business!!

Well - sometimes I do that too.

Yep, the difference is quite striking.

This crossing-of-fingers is just a 'thing' between a particular client or customer and me; there is no magic in the fingers. The magic is in our moment of connection; it is in this moment of sharing in the delight or the disappointment; it is in our momentary interconnectedness with the outcome.

Ostensibly, in these instances the outcome is already decided; it is merely that neither of us knows what that outcome is. It is a shared moment of anticipation of the revelation. So when I say, "Keep your fingers crossed," or I say, "Would you like me to cross my fingers for you?" and I feel his or her smile, or see that twinkle in his or her eyes, or experience that lift in his or her spirit - that mental hug - whether the actual outcome is revealed to match the one desired outcome or not, we're in it together, and that moment becomes more: the joy is multiplied, any disappointment is diminished; anxiety is lessened and the thrill is heightened. Voila!

"Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute," I can hear someone shouting back to me, "why do you declare there is no magic in your finger? How can anyone be sure the outcome wouldn't have been different if you did not cross your fingers?"

Ooops!

This is definitely one of those 'is the refrigerator light really on or off when its door is closed' kind of question!

Who knows?

Or does the answer depend on who you ask?

For sure, the fridge always knows. (So, can I keep a secret?)

If put together, a life lived is constituted of moments - some shared and some not shared - wouldn't that mix of shared and unshared moments make a huge difference? Wishing you cherished moments!

We are all intertwined. We're all intricately intertwined, irreversibly intertwined, inescapably intertwined. Don't Scream! We are intertwined in myriad ways.

All in all, what is your prefered outcome? Is the dependency, for you, an issue of trust, hope, faith, luck, love, or that light bulb in the refridgerator?

"Knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance." Elif Shafak.

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Something To Consider

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You are

What a PRIVILEGE!