Twas A Week Before Christmas. OMG

Christmas in a week. Really?

Personal reflections on that thought.

Am I ready for the experience of Christmas? Ready to move deeper in relationship with/in/of God?

Am I open and still enough for the miracles of this holy season?

If something is going to be born in any of us seven days from now, we must be/get "pregnant" now. What is alive and growing within me at this time? In my heart and in my awareness.

What is my consciousness preparing to bring forth into expression? What am I cultivating?

What am I open to receive and share?

I am grateful that there is time to clarify my intentions.

Lessons Learned While Doing the Laundry

What To Do With The Single Socks? - Random thoughts while doing laundry on October 12, 2014

• If suddenly all my outer clothing disappeared in the middle of a sermon, and I were standing there in my underwear and socks, what would the appearance and fit of the garments say about me?
• Time to retire some of this to the rag box. I lovingly appreciate past service and find a meaningful way to repurpose this item.
• Too many “holey” and not enough whole items.
• How long has it been since I really looked at the clothing I am folding?
• Some things that are comfortable and warn and I've had for a long time need to go into the rag box and this includes some clothes.
• An end to keeping my underwear and socks segregated!
• Socks
• Now mated (only) socks of any color are in one drawer.
• Someone must steal a random sock or two per week from my dirty clothes because there is always a solo sock when I am done mating the clean socks.
• I throw out both socks in a pair even if only one sock has a hole so that is not a cause for the singularity. I assumed that would nip this missing sock thing. So far, I have more single socks than ever.
• How long should the solo socks that used to be glob in the drawer be kept awaiting the matching sock to reappear?
• Should I tag the singular items with a destroy after date?
• What use for socks that are no longer part of a pair is there?
• Dusting furniture is one use.
• Underwear
• All the underwear are in one drawer regardless of color or style.
• After 45+ years of folding briefs one way, I adopted a more efficient (for my current dresser) approach proving that seasoned dawgs can learn new tricks.
• Worn out undershirts make great rags
• How long do I think I need to keep the pair of briefs that I never wear because they fit weird?
• Why do the sexy briefs always look better on the models than in the mirror?
• I have been taking a glob of lint out of the screen after drying each load and a large glob after loads of towels or white socks and underwear for many, many years. How long can this go on before articles of clothing just vanish?
• Perhaps this is where the missing socks go, they are transformed into lint and whisked away with the rubbish.
• The moment I think the laundry is done and there are no more dirty clothes in the entire house, I find something to throw in the basket that was missed.

Always in Love!

Ric



(c) 2014 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved

Marvelous Monday Mystery

Good Monday Morning Loving One!

I am so very grateful for the cool evening last night with temps in the upper 50's and low humidity. Warm enough to have the window open and chilly enough to need the comforter on my bed. Grandma Ledger would have called this "good sleeping weather" and I agree.

Municipal Park - Before Arts & Apples

September, October and early November is a favorite time of year for me in Michigan. I love the particular  shade of blue the sky takes on at this time of year. The temperatures and humidity are lower and it seems like nature catches its breath between the extremes of summer and winter.

This has been a summer of change, some anticipated s well as several surprises. I have learned to view change as the ongoing process of creation. Situations and circumstances shift and transform.  I experience that all is truly in divine order, I trust that each season and phase of the year adn espeis exactly perfect.

I have also learned that if I focus on what wasn't or what might be, I miss what is right now. So, I embrace the mystery of this Monday with an open heart and mind. God is everywhere present as I notice and the Love that I understand to be God grows when I share it with others.

You are loved beyond anything either of us can imagine. Tag, you're It!

Grace & Peace,

Ric Beattie

Why not #letyourlightshine ?





(c) 2014 by Richard L. Beattie. All rights are reserved.

5 Day Positivity Challenge - Day 5 of 5

1. Happy to have completed my commitment to take the ice bucket challenge for ALS having been challenged by Jeffrey and April last week.
2. I am grateful for getting the house vacuumed and the kitchen floor swiffered.
3. I was blessed by two sweet conversations with dear friends today.
4. I am thankful for time with Mom, Mike, Dion and Ashley today for a yummy steak and corn dinner.
5. I give thanks for a low key Labor Day Holiday.

5 Day Positivity Challenge Day 4 of 5

1. I am grateful for this beautiful backyard view, almost another room - a sanctuary, which has anchored me for several years.
2. I give thanks for the unpredictable Michigan weather which has not brought the rain forcast for this holiday weekend.
3. I am blessed by the recent addition the technology of Fitbit and the way it integrates my MyFitnessPal.com to help me remain focused on health related goals.
4. I am deeply centered by the evening sounds of crickets and tree frogs which are powerful music for meditation.
5. I give thanks for the ability to "connect with" the Voice for God in the stillness of the silence.
6. I am joyously aware that summer is not over until 10:29 pm on September 22, 2014

5 Day Positivity Challenge 3 of 5

1. I celebrate the people I have connected with through the Pennsylvania - St Paul Park Adopt-A-Park project this summer.
2. I am grateful that summer doesn't end until September 21.
3. I am grateful to be able to have the A/C off.
4. I am blessed to have officiated April & Raymond's wedding on Belle isle today.
5. I lovingly release not having written a list for yesterday.

5 Day Positivity Challenge - Day 2

1. Grateful for a wonderfully productive World Day of Prayer planning team meeting this afternoon.
2. I am blessed with the opportunity to present the Sunday lesson this week.
3. My awareness of Presence is heightened by the sound of an owl screeching outside. Wherever I am, God Is.
4. I give thanks for guidance received and acted upon earlier this year to buy a lawn tractor. The recent rain has encouraged the lawn to grow. 
5. I am grateful for the opportunity to sleep in a warm and dry bed tonight.

5 Day Positivity Challenge - Day 1

I accepted a challenge to post 3 positive affirmations for 5 days. I declined to part about calling other people out by name. I do challenge you to begin a gratitude practice. What you feed grows. 

1. I celebrate the love of God that shows up in the form of my dog, Porkchop.
2. I am grateful for the waiter I watched take extraordinary care of an elderly couple this afternoon.
3. I am living in the divine flow--fabulous ideas for my sermon this Sunday are flowing freely into the outline.
4. I am beloved of Spirit and a powerful co-creator of love and blessings. 

Happy Independence Day #238!

On July 4, 1776 our Forebears launched an experiment in self determination and self governance that was radical and . The Thirteen colonies that heretofore were part of the British Empire announced to the world that a new nation had been born, founded on a powerful idea-- the idea of freedom. This ongoing experiment adopted the name, United States of America.

I have always loved this lines from the preamble to The Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those words are truer today than they were when written. We have come a long way thus far: Slavery was abolished; Women can vote, The Civil Rights Act was passed, Couples of different races can marry and in some states we have Marriage Equality for same gender couples. We celebrate the progress!

In the midst of the rightful celebrations, we realize that we still have work to do: Religious intolerance is on the rise, women are still not equal to men in many ways, we continue to experience racial tension, marriage equality is not yet nationwide and we have a widening gap between those who have and those who do not.

As I reflect on Independence Day 2014 one thing that really stands out is that the nations founders created a system for government that was based on principles that were ahead of their time. At our core is a Divine Idea that all people are equal--all are expressions of One life. We are evolving into a truer version of who were are. Each step is important whether large or small. I celebrate the process that has brought us this far and I trust the the journey continues.

In the midst of the parties and fireworks, let us bow our heads for a moment and remember that freedom is not free. This land of the free and home of the brave is the most amazing place to call home.

Happy Independence Day America!


Ric Beattie





(c) 2014 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved.

God Loves Me! Really.

During service last Sunday, we paid tribute to Dr. Maya Angelou who had made her transition into the Light on May 28. 2014. Part of our program was showing a video clip of a Super Soul Sunday segment where Oprah asked Dr. Angelou, "Where do you go for solace and comfort." Dr. Angelou shared that she was a student of Unity and then shared an idea she gleaned from the book Lessons in Truth that "God Loves Me." Maya shared the journey of that powerful idea from intellectual understanding to soul knowing.

In a sweet and mystical way, it feels like the Universe has hijacked this day, June 3, and used many elements to remind me that God Loves Me, too.

Understand that I deeply know that God love you and me and all of life. I speak it and teach it and am witness to the truth of it in the lives of people all around me.

Today, I am reminded that beyond my story about God loves me is the experience of Love that rushes into me and floods my soul, filling my entire being when I let it happen.

Since last Friday I had felt a cold settling into my chest. I took some supplements and powered through the weekend and even through a Monday morning appointment that my mom had for some lab work. I woke up several times early this morning coughing and feeling like I couldn't breathe. Okay, I knew that this was more than a cold so I went to the urgent care center and after an exam and X-ray got the diagnosis that there was a cloudy area in one of my lungs -  "walking pneumonia" and a prescription for an antibiotic. I even knew which drug would be dispensed. The doctor told me to take all the pills, drink plenty of fluids and get some rest if possible. All of this was very routine because about once every 12 or 18 months I get one of these infections.

Garden of Healing and Renewal

Miracles and Mitzvah

While I was waiting to be seen by the doctor, I sent an email to the church to let folks know where I was and after the diagnosis, I sent another email (my name is Ric and I am a smart phone addict) as had been requested to update my status.

When I got through the discharge process and got to my car, I noticed this garden across the street from where I parked - a Garden of Healing and Renewal. The sign and the scene felt inviting, peaceful and were a reminder for me to notice where Love was moving in my life.

Then the emails started. One of my colleagues let me know that several of my "to do's" over the next few days had been taken care of and that I had been banished from being part of our Adopt A Park project this weekend so I could take some time off. Then another colleague emailed that there was nothing going on that through the end of the week that needed my attention. A few seconds later, a text inquiring how I was and then a phone call to encourage me to take a couple of days off to heal and renew. Oh and to make plans for the vacation I had mentioned I wanted to take this fall.

When I got home, my neighbor was mowing the last small part of the bottom of the hill I had not had time to get to last Friday. Then a sweet message via Facebook. And another message from a colleague.

I got it. The Universe was conspiring to remind me that God loves me. The Garden of Healing and Renewal is a lovely garden and it can be a state of conscious, almost overwhelming awareness that God Loves Me. The simple, powerful Truth for me and for everyone. Life itself can be profound Spiritual Practice when I notice that God loves me and take that idea to heart.

If God loves me then I might find the ways to love me as well. God loves you too, so I can love too. I tend to live like a human doing at times. Time to balance the doing and being.

How and what is the Universe whispering to you this day? Better to get the message when it's a whisper.


Grace and Peace,

Ric






(c) 2014 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved

Reflections on Porkchop

Porkchop

A little before 7 am, Porkchop decided that I should get up. Evidently he didn't realize that the alarm was intentionally not set this morning. Now, after an hour of snuggle watching the news and a cup of coffee for me, he is fast asleep on the back of "our" chair and I am wide awake and wondering. Reflecting and wondering about almost everything -- as always.

I was sleeping!

It has been 11 months since my brother Matt died and I brought Porkchop home. It was just a temporary thing until my niece Alicia moved and she could take him. Porkchop has truly been a family dog since he was a puppy. Making his way into my sister Dion's home when he was very, very small. My sister ultimately gave the dog to our brother, Matt, who needed a companion and was a dog lover. Dion had another small dog and two cats at the time I am grateful Matt had Porkchop during his last 18 months. Just prior to Matt's death, our mother and her dog "Lady" moved into my sisters home and Lady is very jealous of Porkchop which prevented his return to his "Mamma."

When I discovered my brother's body, and turned around in the skiving room, Porkchop jumped up into my arms. He had been alone in the house and I am sure was confused because Matt wouldn't move.

I had been thinking about getting a pet for some time. I was owned  by a cat for 20 years that had come to me via my sister and the twins but that is another story. After the cat I took time to grieve and to be without the responsibility of a pet to care for. I told myself that my hours were too irregular for a dog and I spent too much time away from home to give a dog the love and care required. A friend introduced me to a breed of giant dogs called Leonberger and arranged for me to meet some around the same time that Matt passed. That meeting never happened.

Little did I know that opening my home and heart to this 10.4 pounds of lap dog (I had called all small dogs yip dogs and NEVER wanted one) would have such a profound affect on my life. His dependence on me to feed, take outside, pet and play with is humbling and life enhancing. If I work in my home office for more than an hour or so, he comes in and either wants on my lap or insists that I pay attention to him by jumping, barking and playing. Porkchop makes me play and not take most things quite so seriously. God knew what I hadn't realized, that I needed to get my mind off of me.

I never realized that dogs and children could teach me so much about being a pastor. My first job as a minister at Renaissance Unity was as Youth Minister. From those years and again from being Poppa to a Miniature Pinscher ,  I have learned and relearned several important things:

• Meet others at their level, towering over people or animals is intimidating.
• Be considerate of the potty time needs of others. Sometimes I must put the needs of others first or deal with the messy consequences.
• Opening the heart is good for the soul.
• Not everyone cares what I have to say and that is okay.
• Being stronger does not make me better or right.
• Life is more fun when I am connected to other beings.
• God is everywhere present, equally in Its fullness.

Some say that dog is God spelled backwards. I have come to see that this dog points the way to God several times everyday.

Loving the journey!
Ric




(c) 2014 Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved

Turn the Heat Up?

It is extremely cold this morning in Metro Detroit. At 1:30 am on January 28, 2014 it is  -5° with the current forecast for a low this morning of -8° and it is windy.

It is currently -5° outside and a moment ago, I turned the thermostat up from 68° to 70°. This may seem underwhelming for you. Up to 70°? Really? What is the big deal Ric?

The big deal is that I can turn the thermostat up.

I am thinking about the people who, for many reasons, are not able to turn the heat up because they cannot afford the additional expense, they have no heat where they live, or they have no home.

This morning I am humbly grateful that:

• I have a home with a furnace,
• I can afford to turn the thermostat up,
• that I can add a blanket,
• for a warm soft bed,
• for Porkchop who is a mini blast furnace laying next to me,
• for the work that I am able to do in the community to make a difference for those who are not able to turn the heat up.

May the Spirit of Love open our hearts to follow in Jesus example and care for one another.

Blessings along the mystical journey,

Ric

(c) 2014 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved