This week I had one of those "aha" moments. I made a gift for someone, and they absolutely loved it. As they exclaimed over it and admired it, they asked if it had taken me long to make. I shrugged and said, "Not very long" - when in fact I spent many hours working on it. I poured alot of heart and soul into it. Why then, did I diminish it? Why did I feel the need to fib about how much effort I had put into that gift?
You know that song, "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine?" How many of us are afraid to let our "lights" shine? How many of us hold back a large part of ourselves?
Maybe we are afraid of being braggarts. Nobody likes a boastful, prideful person. From a young age, our parents teach us modesty and humility, which is not a bad thing in itself. But where do we draw the line? There is a very big difference between sharing our gifts with the world, and showing off. Even if we're fearful of ridicule or rejection, we need to realize that by hiding our gifts, we are hiding an essential part of ourselves.
Each of us has a little spark of the Divine within. By denying that part of ourselves, we also deny God within us! We have a responsibility to share ourselves with the world; not in a way that proclaims us to be better than anyone else, but in a way that uplifts and enriches others. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the world, and we owe it to God, the one who gave us these gifts and abilities to begin with. What good is a gift that doesn't get used? Imagine a flower being afraid to bloom, rain being afraid to fall, the sun being afraid to shine. We need to shift our perspective and realize that by hiding our lights, we are not serving anyone. Love, unexpressed, is not love at all.
OK, light a match...hold it up high...and sing..."This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Faith versus Giants
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”
Two Sundays ago we talked about giants in the Promised Land and how and why that kept the 12 tribes of Israel from obtaining their promised land. Their fear of facing the giants…their lack of faith in God’s promise of protection…kept them wandering in the wilderness for 40 more years. (Numbers 13)
We defined the wilderness as our old consciousness and the promised land as our new consciousness or awareness, and the giants represent our fears. We have to have faith that God will handle the giants as we leave the wilderness and enter our own promised land.
We can all use some advice in facing our giants, can’t we? Well, here are FIVE TIPS TO SLAY GIANTS!
1) Know who God is.
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. God tells us to enter the promised land (a new awareness or a new consciousness) and God promises to take care of the giants for us.
2) Know who YOU are.
You are a beloved child of God. In Truth, you are whole and perfect. Connected to your Source, you can do all things.
3) Face the giants with the right weapons.
Put on the whole armor of God…faith and right action and love. Have faith, take right action, and BE love.
4) Go on the attack.
Don’t just stand around and complain. Confront your problems. Hunt them down and annihilate them.
5) Be prepared.
David needed only one stone to slay Goliath but he took 5 just in case Goliath’s brothers came out too. Without God, David was an ordinary boy. With God, David could slay giants. The same is true for us. Connected to our source, we can face our giants. So whatever your giants are, whatever form they take, we might as well face them now because they’ll come again and again. The giants won’t go away until we face them and defeat them.
I’m holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna
Two Sundays ago we talked about giants in the Promised Land and how and why that kept the 12 tribes of Israel from obtaining their promised land. Their fear of facing the giants…their lack of faith in God’s promise of protection…kept them wandering in the wilderness for 40 more years. (Numbers 13)
We defined the wilderness as our old consciousness and the promised land as our new consciousness or awareness, and the giants represent our fears. We have to have faith that God will handle the giants as we leave the wilderness and enter our own promised land.
We can all use some advice in facing our giants, can’t we? Well, here are FIVE TIPS TO SLAY GIANTS!
1) Know who God is.
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. God tells us to enter the promised land (a new awareness or a new consciousness) and God promises to take care of the giants for us.
2) Know who YOU are.
You are a beloved child of God. In Truth, you are whole and perfect. Connected to your Source, you can do all things.
3) Face the giants with the right weapons.
Put on the whole armor of God…faith and right action and love. Have faith, take right action, and BE love.
4) Go on the attack.
Don’t just stand around and complain. Confront your problems. Hunt them down and annihilate them.
5) Be prepared.
David needed only one stone to slay Goliath but he took 5 just in case Goliath’s brothers came out too. Without God, David was an ordinary boy. With God, David could slay giants. The same is true for us. Connected to our source, we can face our giants. So whatever your giants are, whatever form they take, we might as well face them now because they’ll come again and again. The giants won’t go away until we face them and defeat them.
I’m holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna
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