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Gratitude - Not One Day a Year

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  Thursday is our Day of Thanks but the next day was the epitome of consumerism – Black Friday. In addition, stores start vying for customers with Christmas sales and what I call the Season of Gimme, Gimme starts. How can we break this cycle?  Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chief said, “When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living.”  Giving thanks helps us to count our blessings and realize the richness of our lives.  When I do spiritual counseling, I often recommend that people begin Gratitude Journals. Over the years, there have been a few folks who have commented on how keeping a Gratitude Journal has helped them realize how blessed they are, in spite of various hardships and traumas.  Working with immigrants and refugees, being involved in several nonprofit organizations, I am acutely aware of just how privileged we are. Even with all the up and downs of the economy, we still have so much to

Guest Post: Deepening Our Faith

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We welcome Christian author, Ivonne Morgan. Ivonne shares her wisdom on how Christians can deepen their faith in today's world. Her most recent book is, Gypsy for God, the story of a middle-aged woman looking to answer the call to serve, yet doubting she can actually do the work she is feeling driven to complete. How can we deepen our faith in a secular world? First, we must make Christ front and center every day. Some believers try to box God into a Sunday-only God while living with one foot still in the material world. These kinds of Christians make me think about the old bumper stickers: “God is my co-pilot.” Some Christians still believe they can pilot their destiny without Jesus along for the ride. But is that the relationship God wants with His people?  God created us for a relationship with Him. But, He also made us to serve His purpose in the world. The Great Commission Bible verse found in Matthew 28:19-20 sums up God’s purpose for us, to share our faith in Christ with oth

Review of Gypsy for God by Yvonne Morgan

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  Ivonne Morgan has crafted an inspiring tale of how a woman blessed with the ability to recreate herself after retirement finds, through a series of epiphanies, the work she has always felt she was born to do.  Gypsy for God is a work of love and faith. This book looks at the dichotomy between privilege, poverty, disease and the horrors of human trafficking.  Kathleen, the protagonist of the book, not only has to come to grips with her own self-doubts and biases, but she also has to deal with a husband who has trouble seeing through her eyes. However, through deep faith and support, she realizes the path she is to follow as she travels the world, visiting various countries that often take her out of her comfort zone, which in turn opens her eyes and heart to the work she is called to do.  Gypsy for God is about asking ourselves those difficult questions and then listening with an open mind and heart to the answers.  I recommend this book, especially for women who are retiring or st

The Gift of Presence

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Throughout the past four years, I have become acutely aware of how simply being with others can bring comfort and peace. Sitting beside someone and holding their hand, working together on a project, snuggling grandchildren, and taking walks along the shore or around the neighborhood cost nothing but time.  In today's world, we get so wrapped up in the need to buy gifts, that we forget that the best gift we can give anyone is ourselves. The tiny moments of "you and me" time are priceless, no matter what you are doing together. Be available for others in your life and you will find that you are rich beyond measure. Not monetarily, but rich in love, hope and joy, which are the greatest treasures we could have. Blessings!  

The Miracle of Snowflakes, Sand and You

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  In our modern times, many people feel unimportant, overlooked and unnecessary. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Each of us is a miracle and each of us, like a snowflake or a grain of sand is necessary to make up the whole of this life.  Being different is what makes our world beautiful. From a distance, the expansiveness of a beach can overlook the fact that millions of grains of sand, each different, come together to line the edges and floor of the sea. Looking up at a white-capped peak, the summit may appear uniform, as if painted, but that whiteness is comprised of millions of small crystalline flakes of ice, each different from the next. From space, Earth appears to be an exquisite blue marble, yet, if we focus in our perspective, we eventually see that it is made up of oceans, continents, rivers, lakes, valleys, plains, cities, towns, villages, forests, woodlands, meadows and millions of creatures and people. Each and every one is unique, mysterious and important. Each

Repost from 2017

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By Vuvueffino (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons This was first posted here on December 2017. With all that is happing in the world, I thought it was worth reposting. Yesterday was such a lovely day...snow falling, peace-filled moments with my loved ones and joy-filled conversations. But... Once our sacred celebrations are over, w hat happens?   When the stable is empty, the candles are burned down, or the fire is gone cold, what do we do?  Do we simply return to our lives as before?  Or, do we take something from whatever practice we follow to begin anew in the new year?  Do we release the pain and sorrow of the past so that we might travel lightly and with strength into the future, believing that we ARE the change we have been waiting for all this tim e?   The following was written by Rev. Howard Thurman.  I first posted this back in 2012, but I think it bears repeating. The message in this poem is universal and we need to consider it more today than ever before. Work of