Image of God - What does that mean to me?

I don't know about you but I really never understood the concept of being made in the Image of God until recently. I started asking myself some questions about who I am and who God is. I learned a lot about God in church but I didn't believe everything I heard there. Some things just didn't feel right to me - which I believe caused some confusion with in me. In order to understand who I am, I needed to understand who God is - and I needed to know at a deeper level.

What I know about God
God is Omnipresence - present everywhere and in everything.
God is Omniscience - all knowing, knows everything.
God is Omnipotence - all powerful, capable of doing absolutely anything, without limits.

Would you agree with this view of God? Would you consider this as a accurate picture of who God is? Now doesn't it stand to reason that if you and I were made in the Image of God, that this is also who you are, who I am?

If you don't agree that's ok. I don't expect anyone to believe just because someone says so. Everyone need to seek their own truth. Ask and you shall receive.

Who are you, really? Dig deep and find your truth.

Power With In

You have more power with in you than you could ever imagine. You are always creating and growing even when you do not realize you are doing so.

What is this Power With In?
It is the power of your thoughts. It is what you think about yourself and the world you live in. What you are thinking you are getting - always. This power you have has two parts; one part is what you think and the other part are the emotions. You cannot separate the two - there is always a emotion that you associate with any given thought you think.

Using the Power With In
You can have a positive fulfilling life - just "think" it the way you want it. If you do not like something you are experiencing then change what you are thing about it or think about something that you do like. Always look for the positive - something that makes you happy.

Use your Power With In wisely - choose your thoughts carefully.

Sylvia Browne - Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Minnesota

I am very excited because Pete and I will be at the Sylvia Browne event this Sunday at Treasure Island Resort and Casino here in Minnesota.

I've wanted to see Sylvia Browne in person since seeing her on the Monte Williams Show. She has such a down to earth way of speaking which I love - blunt and to the point. So when Pete told me she was in town we got tickets right away.

Ask and you shall receive!!

How do You Pray?

First off I want to say that prayer or meditation is one in the same. It really doesn’t matter what you call it because they both are for the same purpose – to ask for something and then to allow God or the Universe to bring the situation to its perfect conclusion. For the sake of this article I will be using the words prayer and God.

Unfortunately most people don’t know how to pray. We tend to complicate it by thinking we have to beg….”Oh, please God, please…” or “Why God, why…”

We have rituals… “Get down on your knees…” or “Lie face down” (on the carpet that you have no idea of when it was last washed). Or my other favorite…”thanking God in a restaurant, out loud, making a spectacle of myself”.

Now if you want to pray like this, by all means do so – it’s your choice. If you are comfortable with it, that’s fine. For me it’s a personal thing, not a public display.

The focus of this article is not regarding public prayer, there is a time and place for that. It’s about what we want on a personal level for ourselves and others.

How can we pray more effectively? What is it that we do or don’t do that causes our prayers to seem to go unanswered?

Two of the most common mistakes I’ve seen (and done) are begging and controlling.

We Beg

Don’t do it. You are not a little child who has to beg and cry to get their way. You are a mature individual who has been blessed to be made in the image of God; who by the way is the perfect creator – and has all power – and all knowledge. Now don’t you think that if we are made in his image that we also, already, have the same qualities He has?
Get a grip – then use the knowledge.

We Control

Sometimes things happen that we feel we need to control, and usually its about other people and their circumstances. “We” think it should happen this way, exactly the way “I think” it should be…ah – no! The only thing you will get out of trying to tell God how to do His job is frustration; and the thought that God doesn’t listen. Oh but he does listen. He’s just waiting for you to shut-up. It’s like telling someone how to raise their kids, but you have never had kids – thus, no experience. God has been at this prayer answering business a lot longer than you’ve been praying.
Let it go. You want a perfect solution? Then let him do his job.

Praying Effectively – Simple is best

First of all think about what you are asking for. I think about the situation, all the individuals that may be involved, and then I write a simple prayer. Such as this example:

Joes mind is clear and calm,

He is now filled with unconditional love and understanding,

He is now listening to his heart.

All is perfect – all is well.

I close my eyes and picture the person in my mind; I see a breeze flowing around and through him. At the same time in my mind I repeat my prayer. I will continue to do this until I feel that “All is perfect-all is well”. Sometimes it only takes one time; on other occasions it could take a few days or weeks.

Notice that not once did I mention the situation in my prayer or how I wanted it resolved. Because you are not begging or trying to control the out come of the situation you are allowing it to be resolved in the perfect way which will benefit all persons involved. By trusting in God to do His job in the most perfect way we allow the perfect solution. This is what trusting God is all about. This is when prayers are answered.

Ah, a life with less stress – keep it simple.

Who's Relationship is it Anyway?

It's called a "personal relationship" with God/Creator - then why do we feel the need to "verbally" stick our noses into someone else's relationship with God/Creator? Shouldn't we be more concerned about our own personal relationship. Making sure that our own relationship with God/Creator is growing. After all, if we are not growing how on earth do you expect to help anyone else?

If we truly wish to help others to grow spiritually then we need to physically shut-up and instead open up our prayers/meditations for those we love - prayer/meditation has power.

Not to say we should not encourage or inspire others with our words - but not out of our own heads or our own rationalizations - we should be lead of the spirit to say those words of wisdom that will make much more of an impact on those we love - more than anything we could ever think of on our own.

Are you a person that continues to tell others what they should or shouldn't be doing in regards to their relationship with God/Creator - are you truly trying to help them? One way to decide for yourself if you are really trying to help or if you are merely trying to control them is to notice how you feel when they do not do as you ask. Do you get angry or upset? If you do, then you are trying to control their relationship, and you probably don't even realize that you are doing so. We all are growing spiritually in our own time - forcing an issue only causes resistance.

If you really trust God/Creator then you know that what ever you ask will be given. So lead by example and trust what you ask for in prayer will be given.

In the meantime.....just Shut-up.

A Glimpse of Glory

I know that I said that my next post would be an update on my three focus areas, however I recently came across something I wrote some time ago (about 10 years or so ago) that I thought I would share with everyone.

You could say that this is sort of in line with my focus area of "higher spiritual connection". As I read through it I was reminded that one of my original desires of 25+ years ago was to have spiritual growth. There were times that I was absolutely obsessed with it, and many of my family and friends would most likely say that I was a fanatic. But finding this again has reminded me of where I was and where I am now in my connection - and that we do receive our desires.

I no longer agree with the message in it - I've changed.
But I must say that I do believe in the power of Jesus, I do believe in Heaven and that's where we all will go, but I don't believe we go to Hell.

And now presenting my beliefs 10 years ago.....

A GLIMPSE OF GLORY

She was standing in line; it would be her turn soon.

Quickly she went over all the things she had done in her life-time; let's see she thought, she had listened to her parents, got good grades in school, never smoked or drank and went to church every Sunday. Obeyed her husband, like the Bible had told her to, raised her children to pray before meals and bedtime, made sure the family went to church.

The line moved forward, the excitement in her grew.

I've gone to all the Bible study groups, all of the church functions. Helped out with the serving and was even a substitute Sunday school teacher. He will be so proud of me!

She was next.

It's so beautiful - the jewels and streets of gold; every thing seemed so alive! She could never have imagined that this was Heaven. It was too beautiful to describe.

Her name was called. She stepped forward.

His presence was so awesome. She immediately dropped to bow before Him. He was Glorious! His robes were pure white with a gold belt; His hair long and flowing was white as snow. His face was bright as the Sun. His eyes could see through you -

She had made it.

He opened the Book of Life. "I do not know you", she heard Him say. A shock wave went through her. "You know all that I have done - I was good!"

"All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
You did not accept Me, I do not accept you."

A Glimpse of Glory - She wept.

Author: Khristine White

_______________________

It seems in one way very sad that I - like so many others - bought into this concept; however it did serve me well...it put me on the spiritual path of growth...after all, we all had to start somewhere.

Playing with Angels

Tonight was a blast. Pete and I bowl on Tuesdays with my parents. On the drive to the alley I started this habit of imaging Angels on the vehicles, it’s quite fun. We all have guardian angels that watch us and help to protect us. They never leave us, so it only seems appropriate to imagine them driving along side of us and over us.

Well tonight was the second Tuesday in a row that I did this and I focused a bit more on our car (by the way I was not driving). I pictured two angels lying on top of the car facing the same direction we were going. Most of the time you think of these protectors as being quite serious; but the on this occasion one of the angels opened his mouth and allowed the wind to create ripples throughout his face, it was a really funny picture. Next I imagined an angel riding on top of the car like it was a skate board easily weaving in and out of traffic. I was getting these wonderful little goose bumps through my body. I felt as if they were playing with me.

It’s so great to know that we can have this sort of connection to Heaven…and all we need is a little imagination. Try it. But not while your in the drivers seat.

Freedom in My Lesson Learned

Look back at your life....what do you see, what have you learned? I have a list of things, items if you will, that I personally have learned throughout my life - I call it My Life Lessons. Some were pretty easy, others much more difficult and took a bit more time. But I did learn them.

I passed! *smiling ear to ear*

My most difficult lesson came very early in my life. It was the end of my senior year of high school, just before graduation. I was seventeen and pregnant - and made the decision to have an abortion.

My Mom was against it, my best friend was against it, and the boys family was against it. It was morally wrong and they were all going to try to stop me. But they didn't - I went ahead and did it anyways.

My parents had raised a woman with a mind of her own - although many would probably say that I'm just a stubborn redhead (which is also true). But this decision was mine and no one was going to talk me out of it or tell me what I was going to do with my life. And no one did.

Looking back at it now I still believe I made the right choice. Please do not misunderstand, to this day I am against abortion and would never encourage anyone to have one. But for me it was a huge lesson that I needed to learn. You see even when I was seventeen I knew in my heart that killing was wrong. I had received enough back ground information in regards to God that I knew I had committed a huge "no-no"- "Thou shalt not kill." In my eyes I had not only killed - it was pre-meditated murder.

Four Years of Hell

So the lesson started. I put myself through hell for about four years. There was no one to blame but myself, I had made the decision in the first place. I could have listened to those who cared about me, but the real lessons that we learn are the ones we usually have to learn the hard way - through our own reality.

Guilt and the need for forgiveness drove me to learn more about God and Jesus. I knew that all I had to do was "ask" to be forgiven and I would be. I knew - I understood what I had done wrong. I prayed, I cried, and I asked. I didn't understand why if all I had to do was ask, then why didn't I feel forgiven . Why did I still feel so horrible. Why did my heart feel like it would burst. Why was my sorrow so over whelming.

Freedom in my lesson learned

It was Sunday morning worship service. ( I love this part of church). Everyone is singing and rejoicing - it's like you are in this beautiful flow of energy. For some it is so wonderful that it brings tears of joy; for me this morning it was tears of need, tears of desire to truly feel forgiven. I was crying, literally bawling. My heart was breaking. And I heard a voice, like someone standing above me. I heard these words spoken to me...

"I have forgiven you, but you haven't forgiven yourself."

Oh the rush of joy! Again the bawling, only this time tears of relief and understandings.

This moment in my life-this hard learned lesson has helped me in understanding how important it is to truly forgive ones self. It's not just about forgiving the person that cut you off or called you that name in anger. After all, no one is perfect. We all have done things that we have regretted or wished we never had done. But it is usually in our wrong choices that we learn our most valuable lessons. So really there are no wrong choices - just difficult lessons. I'm learning mine - what about you?