Yahweh is Gracious

John, my fathers name. I have written about him before, he died in 2000, and I wasn't done with him when he left this plane. There are long conversations I would like to have, curiosities I would delight in sharing, and his wisdom, I would like to sit and bask in his knowing, what he learned and loved and how he sees the world. This is the grown up me, wondering about the man my father was, who he would have become as the years drew out and the urgency of doing life diminished. I have had the benefit of getting to know my mother, as a human being, and not just as the mommy that fed me and took care of my earthly needs. She is my wise whisper and truth teller...she also still requests I put on a coat when it is cold outside and reminds me to never leave the kitchen when something is cooking on the stove, as she says, she will always be my mom. My dad always sang different songs, whistled a lot too. I love to hear a man whistle, it is music to my ears and when I notice whistling, time freezes for a moment and I feel him near. The name John means Yahweh is gracious and my father was in many ways, gracious and generous...the thought occurs to me that he may or may not have known the meaning of his name, and that it is fascinating that my middle name is Grace, a link eternal to my earthly father, the man I shall meet again, the one that has gone on before me to our Heavenly Father. There is another man in my life, he reminds me very much of my father, he too is named John. He makes me laugh, he is quirky, funny, deep and thoughtful and he is a man of faith and shares his abiding love of God with me...he also warns me, Linda Grace, make sure you get rest and take care of yourself. Like a father, he somehow knows just when I need encouragement and without a hint of need from me, he sends me messages, divinely inspired, to feed my soul. He is indeed, one of my ghost writers and he came into my life in a crazy fun way, our friendship instantly seeled within the first few moments of being in each other's company. One of my best friends said to me today "we will add something but we will not take away". No one can replace my dad; John is not channelling my father nor do I wish he were, he is a unique and wonderful person, a gift to me from as yet, unseen hands. I want to say so much more, in gratitude and appreciation...but how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume, it isn't easy but I'll try...if you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters, that would soar a thousand feet high, to John, with love...lulu got it right with this song and I borrow the sentiments from the lyrics, for two men for whom I will remain, eternally linked and grateful. 

Saints, Angels & Cosmic Glue

Saints and Angels...Angels are Gods Messengers, they are the Heavenly Host, the created beings that worship Him that made them and do His bidding amongst men on earth. Saints are Gods people, the humans that have chosen to worship God and they too, do His bidding, His Heavenly work, here on earth, for the purpose of glorifying God, edifying their fellow man, and in gratitude for the many Big Daddy gifts bestowed and received. In and around us, we are held together by what is crazy cosmic glue, the compounds of which are innumerable and mystically magical. Try as one might, forming a human is not piece work, there are no factory conveyor belts with livers, hands, hair, eyes passing quickly by for workers to assemble. I am not at all in awe of the human explanations of our existence, in fact I find them laughable and young minded, it is the wishful thinking that the faith filled are often accused of. Today as I walked where many humans occupied space, I wondered, do they know? Do they every consider how wonderfully they are made? As they look about them at things and people passing them by as moving objects not to be collided with, do they consider the love that is all around them, holding them whole and keeping their physical integrity intact? And what of the other human beings with whom they share time, space, air? Can they see them, are they in awe of the thinking, heart beating humans that live and breathe effortlessly in their presence? And for what, I mean really, what is it all for...its for me, it's for you, it is for delight, soul singing joy, love eternal and overflowing and I am reminded, Keli Nethercott and Randy S, it is good. 

Ghost Writers

I have a ghost writer, or two. They are the people in my life that inspire me and give me impetus, "the force that moves something along". My early morning client inspired me today when she described the hand holding her real estate clients needed to feel assured in their home purchase. As I heard her speak, I heard how she had adapted her responses to their needs, encouraging them to make choice based on what felt best for them without undue pressure from her. In the end, they thanked her for her patience as the process had taken some time from start to finish. She was the perfect agent, or "representative who acts on behalf of other persons". As my day progressed, I had the deep and profound pleasure of witnessing a close friend coming to faith, knowing Christ as Saviour...my heart and eyes fill with the recalling. Jesus is the ultimate change agent, the force, the impetus, the ghost writer in my life. Each time I see the selfless acts of submission to urges that serve others, I see him. Each time I submit, follow my urges, I serve him, my humble master, for the sake of others. Precognition informs me, the wind warns me, I sense and feel and trust with a faith that in it's Zenith is spectacularly and intrinsically connected to Spirit, my Holy guide. How can I help but fall in love with each human being I lay my eyes on? How can I help but see God in them? Who is writing for you, in you, through you? Does love speak loudly is there another voice, a dark one that speaks pain and hurt, sorrow and perhaps anger or even rage? Check out your ghost writers, is it their voices you want to have speaking for you? What do they say to you about you and others...that's the place to start, the beginning of freedom of speech, your birthright. Choice, we are always and forever, at choice. 

Truth Lead Me

I heard a great line recently, that we all grow old but this doesn't mean we grow up. The term arrested adolescence comes to mind as I consider how inclined some are to cling to a self aggrandized view, with disregard for the feedback of many an astute teacher. During an experiential event, my eyes were covered with a blindfold. I will not describe the rest of the experience, suffice it to say that when the blindfold was removed, it was soaked with my bitter tears, the lesson was a harsh one with realizations about my own inability to see, my blindness to what really was, rather than my own narrow, solyptical view of the world, life, mine and the lives of others. I could have excused myself from the lessons, turned a blind eye, in fact I had known that my vision had been somewhat blurred and I desperately wanted to see, really see and yet the temptation was there, to evade, avoid, cling to what used to be but I could not...in the end, that would have been more painful and far too comfortable and there were the others, the ones whose lives I would impact negatively for holding myself in a fraudulent place when I knew that there is better, more, and conversely, there are the lives I stand to impact powerfully, by being honest and clear, serving from a pure heart. Socrates' words, "the unexamined life is not worth living" come back to me as a powerful reminder, a call to arms for the Truth to be told first to the self and then, in the company of others. I cannot make you see the Truth, speak it. You cannot make me tell it, love it. If I examine my heart, my soul, it lives there, and it is reflected back to me in the eyes of those with whom lying does not wash, it is unacceptable, unbearable and at times, even dispicable. No one is fooled by the liar, accept the one trying to deceive~eventually they run out of listeners and need to find new ears everywhere they go to perpetuate the lies that serve no one. Truth lead me, and I dare to follow faithfully, I know not where, but I do know, it is good. 

New Family Member

A week ago, a close friend of mine and I travelled to Toronto for a coaching in the streets and mall event. The idea was to give shoppers a taste of what it feels like to be coached, a 5 minute all about you experience. I am not shy, in fact I am quite the opposite. The biggest part of who I am is expressive of the idea I have that just because I haven't met you yet, it doesn't mean I don't know you. One week ago today, I met a man that has become a fast friend. In considering this, I see the interconnectedness I have with my people. There is a familiarity in the meeting that is undeniable, exciting and safe, and the details of life get filled in as the relating grows into friendship. Familiar, it derives from the word family...family reunion comes to mind when I meet my kindred, it is a coming home, being seen, heard, understood, loved. My fearlessness in meeting others is driven by my desire to have them feel what I feel and see what I see, that they are precious in Gods sight and that they are designed with divinely intended identities, perhaps yet to be discovered, or more aptly, uncovered, taken out of hiding. I am a deep water walker, I do not swim in shallow waters, nor do I stay close to shore...some of the lyrics in the song Oceans from Hiilsong United speak to calling upon God, trusting in Him to keep my head above the waves...you called me out upon the waters, the great unknown, where feet may fail...and there I find you in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand. Today I thank God, for I am His and He is mine, and He has given me many family members with whom I delight in sharing faith. My blessings abound. 

Harbinger

Rewritten May 1st, 2020

Holy Spirit Intel

Homing Pigeons: they are harbingers, something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone else.

These birds have historically been employed as messengers and in war time, great distances at significant speed were crossed for the sake of lives being saved with the delivery of messages. How do they do this? They use the sun for direction and when cloudy, they use the earths magnetic field. They sense where they are and where they need to go, employing a map and compass system. The latest findings regarding pigeons directional abilities suggest they use primarily magnetic cues.

Magnetically drawn home 

The pull for a pigeon

The pull for a pigeon is felt, it is natural, it is irresistible; it is their way of locating and then eventually, returning home. The fact that humans discovered and have utilized these amazing abilities points to the ingenuity of man and bird working together to create a delivery system that works. An outstanding concept, that captures the imagination, and yet, if we stay here, on the mechanics, we risk loosing sight of the importance of this conveyance system.

While the system is brilliant, its significance is celestial: it is the message that holds substance, the foreshadowing of something or someone approaching.

Human harbingers
There are maps and a compass to guide us dear one, with human harbingers that read both with the efficiency of homing pigeons. When the sun is hiding as guiding light in the cover of clouds, these detectors of something or someone approaching begin cooing their message. I am reminded of scripture, and Gods presence among the Israelites whilst they sojourned in the desert:

"By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or by night" (Exodus 13:21).

Moses was a human harbinger, when the people were too afraid to relate to God directly, for fear of dying:

'... and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die" (Exodus 20:19).

Dear reader, there are many human harbingers and they are speaking to us from history and they are shouting to us in our present. Like John the Baptist in the wilderness, they have an undiluted message, given to them by the Son: sharing what they have heard from God is magneticallly irresistible. They are drawn to us to tell us what they know as a warning: they simply cannot help it.

We can hear the heavy landing of footsteps
Something is coming, someone is coming. When we listen closely, we can hear the heavy landing of footsteps with the sinister approach. Some want to cover their eyes and stop up their ears to prevent the seeing, the hearing, the knowing; others look to the messenger for truth and guidance, heeding the warning.

What defence have you
What dear one, will you do?
Can you see, do you hear, what is happening all around you?
What map and compass do you consult for your understanding?
Is your freedom an inalienable right, or are you, like many before you, one of the sleepy lambs that will be led to your own slaughter?
What defence have you for your choices, when you have been warned, and have not heeded?

Who, dear reader, do you trust, to deliver the truth so that you can return safely, home?

Getting Unstuck

Stuck is a theme I have been noticing a whole lot lately. Regardless of the messenger for this theme, the encouragement for getting unstuck has been similar, that "getting unstuck begins when our hope exceeds our circumstances", this quote I borrow with permission from my life affirming Pastor, Jon Korkidakis. The spark of hope, it is the evidence of things yet unseen and somehow believed and definitely longed for. The longing is the beginning point for movement forward, toward the whatever "it" may be that captures the attention and desire. Urgency must outweigh circumstances for change to occur and this is the do or die point in life, the I must do SOMETHING or I/it, the thing I want most, will forever be lost. Hesitate, wait or worse yet, forfeit the risk by staying where you find yourself being stuck and you not only lose what was yours to claim, you lose the miracle that was waiting for you and along with it, the downward pull to despair may threaten to engulf, smothering and snuffing out the small flicker of hope that needed only your breath of life to grow into a flame of claim. What is so important that if you stay stuck, the loss feels like the beginning of death? What must you feel, acknowledge, admit to to get unstuck and live your life as though it were YOUR OWN to live?  My own, your own life...this is our one shot as far as we know, what do you hope for, what do you want and what are you willing to do to move towards your hearts desire? Stuck in the muck or forward toward, you decide. 

Homeostasis and Factory Settings

Homeostasis is defined as metabolic equilibrium actively maintained by several complex biological mechanisms that operate via the autonomic nervous system to offset disrupting changes~this pertains to physiology. We have built in natural systems that work to maintain our equilibrium and for this I suggest we offer gratitude to the unseen Powers that be with the creative engineering abilities. Like any system, tampering can damage a finely tuned machine and in the case of the body, deprivation, overstimulation, abuse can through homeostasis into a frantically whirling spinning out of control gauge that can't seem to right the machine it was built into to protect. On February 10th, 2014, I committed myself to my own wellness. My former coach, Szos St Germain, was instrumental in this commitment to self and I am grateful to him for guiding me back to my own homeostasis, working diligently with me to allow my natural gauge to reach equilibrium and balance me out as it were. Consciously, conscienciously, with purposeful awareness and mindful choice, I have steadily claimed what is rightfully mine, living freely and happily in the body that my soul was matched with when my God designed me. Never before have I felt so free and the transformation has been a process from the inside out, not the outside in...my tribe, The Seagulls, you have watched, seen the swoops, my broken wings, my healed heart, you held me close and tucked me under your wings when I needed a safe place to hide, even just for a little while. You loved me with your eyes, listened with carefilled ears and hugged me tight when I needed you the most. You spoke Truth, in service of my soul, my growth as a humanitarian and I have been edified. I am strong, I am bold, I am powerful and I am here for more than just me. I follow Spirit and homeostasis feels like a return to factory setting. God is good. 

Silence

Silence is Golden, but my eyes don't see...yes, I understand now. Today I taught a Diva Dance class for a group of women for whom English is a second language. I have taught this class before, with verbal cues and the difference between the two ways of teaching were astounding. I have been to foreign lands, in fact I spent many a summer in Italy where I indulged in muteness due to the language barrier. While my sisters learned and spoke and communicated in Italian, I stubbornly clung to my fear of making mistakes and being corrected, at least at first. I quickly learned that my silence had a certain power to it and I was not lacking in company, in friendship, in relationship. In my home land, I speak my mother tongue, that is to say I speak English. I have relied heavily on my verbal skills to communicate, and while words are handy dandy (I am after all, using them now), signs and symbols, facial expressions and eyes, hands and intention speak so much more clearly and commandingly. I had no intention of teaching wordlessly today, it just happened. The few times I used words they felt heavy, misplaced, like a tumbling rock disturbing a peaceful and vibrant landscape of sublte aliveness. Without words, I felt the dancers, watched them learning and capturing new ways of moving and expressing. They knew what I was saying with my heart, my body, my hope for them and in return, I received their happy wonder, joy filling me with appreciation for the relating. To be alive, in communion with another, it is beyond words, and I am filled up with this knowing. Silence does not mean nothing is being said, it is a gift to the eyes that see, the ears that hear and the heart that gives and receives.