Day 12 - I Give Thanks For ...

My current gratitude practice is to share at least 10 things for which I am grateful for each day without repetition.

Today, I give thanks for:

1. Feeling much better when I woke up than I had felt yesterday. 
2. Strong guidance to visit a friend at the business he owns before making my way to URO.
3. A "chance" conversation with my friend Craig during which I learned of a good handyman who is part of the community.
4. The gift of three poinsettias.
5. Nest Mesh Wi-Fi
6. The Giving Tuesday fundraiser I created for URO reaching 103% of the goal which I set by intuition
7. A conscious, intentional and productive day in my office at URO.
8. A delightful visit by Marilyn, one of the former YFM Volunteers when I was the Youth Minister at Renaissance Unity.
9. Laughing with one of the tellers at the bank that the church uses because she was struggling and adding our deposit up and unable to balance to our deposit ticket until she turned around and discovered some cash had fallen on the floor.
10. The view through the windows at Grand Tavern as I waited for my dear friend, David's arrival for dinner.
11. A wonderful Prime Rib dinner with my friend, who had been a roommate of mine before he moved in with his lady.
12. Having David pick up the tab and giving me some body wash that I love the smell of for my birthday.

Blessed Me!

Ric

Thanks As A Way Of Living - Day 21

1. I am grateful for the decorations all around Unity of Royal Oak. I like Christmas lights and decorations a lot however, I don't put too much up at home at this time.
2. I am grateful for an amazing full winter moon. Makes me smile and wonder.
3. I am grateful for a few minutes with Hazzan Steve and Brother Al from Song and Spirit stopping by this morning.
4. I am grateful for the energy of our Sanctuary. I love to meditate there.
5. I am grateful for Dave and Dan, brothers who are long time residents of the neighborhood.  My driveway is now fully clear.

Always in Love,

Ric

#LivingThanks

Thanks as a Way of Living - my gratitude practice till the end of the year (at least). A minimum, of five things each day that I am grateful for and why without repeats.

(c) 2016 by Richard L. Beattie, All Rights Reserved

Thanks As A Way Of Living - Day 10

1. I am grateful for the season of Advent that leads up to Christmas. I consider advent a call to deepen my own spiritual practice in preparation for an authentic experience of Christ on Christmas.
2. I am grateful that my vocation and avocation are the same. For many years I made a living at a job and on the side I was a spiritual teacher. Since 2005 I have been employed as a minister.
3. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve families through officiating funerals and memorial services. My approach to the preparation for a Celebration of Life allows me an opportunity to connect deeply with families and get to know the person we are celebrating.
4. I am grateful to be the Spiritual Leader and Pastor at Unity of Royal Oak. There is nothing better in my book than amazing, beautiful people traveling and serving together.
5. I am grateful for the neighborhood I live in and especially the neighbors who live on either side. I have real neighbors who watch out for each other and lend a hand whether it is cutting back vines or helping me get Porkchop out when he got stuck under the deck. Have kind neighbors makes a huge difference in life.

Always in Love,

Ric

#LivingThanks

Thanks as a Way of Living - my gratitude practice till the end of the year (at least). A minimum, of five things each day that I am grateful for and why without repeats.

(c) 2016 by Richard L. Beattie, All Rights Reserved

Thanks As A Way of Living - Day 8

1. I am grateful for my sister's willingness to drive to my house on a cold rainy night to let Porkchop out to do his business. A late afternoon appointment in Clarkston took much longer than I originally planned and I was scheduled to lead a group discussion at Unity of Royal Oak at 7. Should I go back to URO and start the group ontime or stop at home and let Porkchop out after more than 8 hours without a potty break? Fortunately my sister was willing to let him out, play with feed and generally love on him. 
2.  I am grateful fort the Thursday Night Thrive circle tonight. Safe, supportive and sacred--for all of us.
3. I am grateful for Sandy Hess and her insights and support. It is good to have someone to talk through the tough feelings with and to have the perspective of another person.
4. I am grateful that the time of an automatic death sentence from AIDS has stopped (at least here in the US.) On this World Aids Day, I remember the way too many personal friends that died from the mid 1980's until Doug's death in 1997. So much grief for so long I could hardly cry. 
5. I am grateful that there are alternatives to driving on the expressway. The past few years I have noticed that driving on the freeway at night when it is raining or snowing can bring on a bit of anxiety especially in unfamiliar or dark areas. So, I get off and drive the surface roads. It is good to have options.

Always in Love,

Ric

#LivingThanks

Thanks as a Way of Living - my gratitude practice till the end of the year (at least). A minimum, of five things each day that I am grateful for and why without repeats.

(c) 2016 by Richard L. Beattie, All Rights Reserved

Gratitude Days of 2015, Day # 12

Autumn is Fading Fast

2015 Thanksgiving Gratitude Practice, Day 12

Ten things (at least) each day w/o duplicating.

1. Grateful for this cold and rainy morning.
2. Grateful for Donna's thoroughness.
3. Grateful for the reconnection with a dear friend.
4. Grateful for the ways Spirit moves to bring about healing.
5. Grateful to have sorted out the cable tangle at URO.
6. Grateful for the time I spent in Ventura, CA.
7. Grateful that I can (usually) understand Porkchop.
8. Grateful that I now have an office with hardwood floors and windows that open.
9. Grateful for my neighbors, Arnie & Kathy
10. Grateful to be caught up with this blog series

Getting To Know You - Shelter Week - Day 3

I just got home from the the start of the third day in our week as Shelter hosts. My orientation has shifted slightly,  to place the beginning of the activities for a "day" to be the preparations that begin at 5:30 pm in order to open the shelter doors by 8 pm. Then it is intake, dinner, a smoke break for our guests that smoke, sleep, awake at 6 am,  breakfast and then the shelter empties out at 7 am. 

Tonight felt somehow like an "all about getting to know you" day. Our population tonight is 90 and many have been our guests all week so we are now becoming aware of each other. I have watched and felt our volunteers open their hearts and smiles and allow Love to flow through them in a great, powerful yet peaceful rush. The idea of "guest" as the proper form of address in an intellectual way has shattered and in its place, honored guest has become real and experienced and felt.

I have noticed that as I get to know "you", in this case one of our guests, I get to know me; to know what I think and feel and to know that we are both expressions of the One life--for real. The artificial line we/I draw between you and me grows less pronounced, less and visible, replaced with the gentle connection that comes from knowing we are in this experience called life together.

Tonight I had the great honor of being pastor as I listened to our guests at the dinner tables. I am reminded Friendship has an easy beginning. I say, "Hello, I'm Ric. May I join you?" From some, no response and that is okay. "I hope you enjoy your meal," I share and honor the unspoken request for privacy. From most though, "Sure, please do..."

Adam was able to get his warrant dealt with so he is not always wondering if/when will he get arrested when he sees a police officer. He seems more relaxed and at ease today.

This is the last night in the shelter for Donna and Regan; a sweet couple who have been together for 6 years,  Donna says that Regan saved her life by giving her CPR after she had a heart attack a few years ago. We shared heart attack stories and talked about how energy is underlying everything that is and is yet to be. Regan has gotten a job, house sitting for a investor who is buying foreclosures and flipping them back for resale. The couple get a place to stay and some work to do, painting and repairing the house while keeping the plumbing & wiring intact from vandals.  The love that flows between them is palpable and refreshing.
 

Brian is a quiet, serious young man, who reads what ever news paper or magazine is near him. He reminds me a little of myself, inquisitive hungry to learn.

I wonder if Sue is in the hospital tonight. She was nursing a wound on her leg yesterday and mentioned that she thought she would go the the ER to have it looked at and dressed.

David tells me about a man who really cares called Pastor Bob and who runs a ministry working with folks on the streets. 

Miss Alice is in a quiet mood tonight. She is feeling good and loved the potato with ham soup. She is looking forward to getting some sleep.

Kevin brought me a beautiful prayer of blessing from a pamphlet and thanks us for being here. When I thanked him for being with us, he asked what did I mean by saying thank you. I explained that I was grateful that he and our other guests were here, with us because it was allowing the beautiful heart of our congregation to open wide.

No, I am not overly romanticizing this experience. I am aware of the several who are drunk or very buzzed and nod politely as I pass by and who just want to to enjoy their current state and get to bed and pass out.

I am smiling inside as all around the room I I watch as members of our church and 90 people who call the streets home, share a meal, friendship and a space for a few days. Through it all, Love grows larger and larger making Itself felt and known.

In the New Testament, Jesus calls us to, "Love one another as I have loved you." We are learning how and it is awesome beyond my wildest imagination.

The journey continues ...

Copyright (c) 2012 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved.

Sleep Well - Shelter Week - Day 2

Tonight, 83 people are sleeping in Fellowship Hall, which was our original sanctuary at this campus, and is the sleeping area for our guests during our hosting week for the rotating shelter.

While we were setting up Sunday afternoon, one of our members asked, "When do they bring the cots?" There are no cots and not all  the churches provide the foam pads.

Imagine sleeping on a 8'x2'x1/2" piece of foam insulation board centered within a 4'x8' space. There is clingy plastic covering the carpet under your pad and another person within an arms reach. The  You receive two blankets and a pillow (which is inside a plastic bag and covered with a pillow case) on your first night at this location for your use all week. The bedding is washed every Sunday morning and delivered to the next church.

There is a row of sleeping spaces that are filled by people who get up from the floor and head out, many at 4 am in order to catch a bus and go to work.

This second evening was much more relaxed, or perhaps I was more relaxed. We had a sense of what to expect and what our duties were. I was able to turn my attention from seemingly endless check lists and double checking the status of many things and just be present with our guests. I was reminded first hand of how really listening to another person is a great gift to them and to me.

Marvin asked for prayer and when he found me asked if I would pray that he find a good roommate and a place to live. As I listened, he explained that he injured his back he receive's Social Security Disability but cannot afford a place by himself. He had been living with his daughter and son-in-law in a house they were paying the rent to the owner of the home however the owner had stopped paying the mortgage and the mortgage holder had foreclosed. Marvin's daughter and her husband went to stay with his parents and Marvin found his way to our church, It was his first night in a shelter. He told me that the Lord had led him and he was trusting God to help him get back on his feet. He said he wanted to find a roommate who was a christian and not a drinker. He also said he's like to meet a good woman and get married again. Marvin is probably in his mid 40's.

David came to Detroit last summer because job prospects are better here than in Milwaukee. David had lost his job after a long illness which depleted his savings because he had no insurance. David is trying to get some traction to get back into the workforce and pull his life together at 61.

John has been out of work for two years. After exhausting his unemployment benefits and what he had saved he was not able to pay the rent on his apartment so his landlord left home a voice message that he had to move and then the deputy sheriff came and told he he had 5 days to vacate the premises

I am going to bed in a few minutes on a mattress with sheets and a blanket, in another room of my home in total privacy. A mattress I had complained was lumpy, old and uncomfortable last week. It doesn't seem nearly so uncomfortable to me now.

Sleep Well!


PS - I got up early to go back to serve breakfast at the end of this "shelter day"  and the count had increased by 6 new guests brought in by various police departments in the course of the night for a total of 89.

Back home again for a nap before we gt ready for our guests again this evening. It occurs to me that I have many choices about where I might nap. In my bed, recliner, the upstairs or downstairs sofa. With a grateful heart, I am heading for the upstairs sofa with my pillow and a humbled heart.

On the Way ...





Copyright (c) 2012 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved.

The Trailer Arrives - Shelter Week - Day 1

My heart is so full it feels like it will break open.


I had planned to spend the night at the church. it being the first night of our shelter hosting week. However, my guidance was strong to come home for the night. Now I understand that I came home to blog about this experience and to cry. 


Images from the evening roll though my mind and bring tears:

• of Gratitude - at the closeness of God as our teams came together in final preparation for hosting the rotating shelter.
• of Wonder - our first guests arrive, carrying backpacks, suitcases, bags and some using walkers.
• at Realizing that some are using walkers or wheel chairs or just were releases from a hospital...
• of Seeing myself reflected in each one
• from Love piercing my heart and shattering my view of reality (God), once again.
• at Sensing how wide the heart of Renaissance Unity is open
• of Love for my friend Cindy, whom I really annoy at times ( I don’t mean too) and who always goes above, beyond and over the top!
• for Witnessing our church take on this project at so many levels!
• of Hope, shared with Rev. Jim,  at how this project is opening us to Spirit in a whole new way.
• of Joy for many miracles along this journey
• of Happiness at watching friends Mitzi & Linda work together.
• of Amazement at the harmony demonstrated and the ease our teams worked together and our dining hosts/hostesses 
• of Humility as two men played a serious game of chess after their meal.
• of Joy at when one of our guests asked if we had a Charles Fillmore book he could have.
• of Gratitude at the opportunity to lead this project.
• of Pride at watching this wonderful interaction between beloved members of our church and the beloved of God who were our honored guests
• of Wonder at how everything comes together perfectly in the most unexpected ways.

Our intention was to really, really live from knowing that Christ is in each one of us: hosts and guests. To open ourselves.


What a transformation of both the physical space and the inner space.
As Mark Henderson, from MCWC, arrived for his walk through, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. Wondering if the ways we had setup the sleeping area and the dining room were good. Wondering how our volunteers would react when we started to receive our guests. Wondering about all of it.


When Mark saw the sleeping area, he said it looked good. When he swept his eyes around the dining room and noticed table coverings, and flowers on the tables and our "menu board" with its message of  "welcome, tonight we are serving...". He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Our guests will think they are in the wrong place." I told him that we wanted to treat our guests with the same honor we would a guest in our home and he said that intention was obvious.


Mark accompanied our guests who went out to have their smoke break in order to gauge the reaction of the guests to this host church. When he came back in he said that there was quite a buzz about the fact that our volunteers actually smiled like they mean it at our guests. I told hem it was because we do mean it.


Do you ever Imagine Oneness? I do, often. Tonight I caught a glimpse of what it might look like as a heart of our church was cracked wide open.


Thanks Love!

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36

Copyright (c) 2012 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved.

Ten Favorite Things

These are ten favorite things that I come back to frequently: (there are more that I will probably share over time)

1. For laughing: 25 funniest auto-corrects (strong language)
2. For the song, Seasons of Love, from the play/movie Rent. Measure your life in Love.
3.  Jami Lula singing Love Is My Religion
4. Renaissance Unity which is both my spiritual home and employer.
5. Attending our Volunteer Christmas Potluck this afternoon.
6. Grateful for the memory of Frank Firek sharing "Twas The Night Before Christmas" with us at so many previous years at Christmas potlucks.
7. Will Tillander
8. Sloane Tillander
9. First Birthday Parties
10. Adele's voice.

Grateful on this Thirteenth Day

Today, I am deeply grateful for:

1. You
2. Going out for breakfast on Saturday morning.
3. Taking a morning nap just because.
4. The song "Firework" by Katy Perry.
5. High speed internet access at home
6. Being able to visit my Mom and tell/show her how much I love her.
7. Having learned how to cook & bake from my mother and both grandmothers as I grew up.
8. An ongoing love affair with Life that has served me so well for almost 40 years.
9. Reading Rev. Troy Perry's book "The Lord is my Shepherd and He know's I'm Gay" back in the early 70's which allowed the small god of my childhood to shatter, revealing a larger reality.
10. Giving up trying to get stuff because I know that I have everything I need.
11. Going through my Grandmother Miller's recipes.
12. Baking her Fresh Apple Cake

Copyright (c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved.

Attitude of Gratitude Day 11

I will not drop my leaves just because the others have.

Be Yourself

1. Albert Einstein quotations which seem to capture the essence of spirituality and science.
2. The ability to imagine something different
3. Watching a huge flock of Canada geese waking up and beginning to graze, gaining strength for the journey south.
4. Dear friend Liz who touches my heart so deeply with her kindness.
5. This tree on my street which still is arrayed in fabulous fall finery while all the others have dropped their leaves and have slipped into winter mode.
6. Getting a new high score in Zuma Blitz
7. Hazelnut flavored creamer for my coffee
8. Electricity
9. Insurance is rewritten and in for the cabin (hooray!) my sister and brothers and I have.
10. The ability to celebrate myself and to decide what that means as I choose.
11. Memories of my grandma Ledger watching the geese leave for the season. It was hard for her to stop feeding them so that they would head south. 
12. Telephone conference call technology that lets me attend a meeting when I am not able to be present in person.
13. Car repaired for approx. $150 less that estimated!!
14. The winter coat I could barely zip up last year fits wonderfully.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie

A Prayer for Healing of the Gulf of Mexico

Loving Spirit,

We join in prayer for the healing of all creatures, people, plants and waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
We have long known that we are connected to all life.
Now, more than ever before, our hearts are also aware of this truth.
There is only One Life, One Presence, One Power.
This One Life is shared by all living things.
We recognize that there is no them only us.
We know that all things are working together for our good.
Divine wisdom and guidance are now directing the efforts to stop the oil spill and restore the balance.
May this tragedy become a point of awakening and transformation.
We are willing to become better stewards of this beautiful Earth.
We are willing to change the way we live.
Teach us Your peaceful way to be a harmonious part of the whole.
We pray in the name and nature of our Way-shower, Jesus Christ.
Thank You.
Amen

Copyright © 06/23/2010 by Richard L. Beattie

RJ the DJ and his journey to wholeness.miracles, blessing, prayer, healing

Do you ever think about the people that you "touch" that you do not know?

Most of us give some thought to the ways we affect the lives of those who are close to us--family, friends and co-workers. But what about those people that you have never met but have a connection with in some way?

I have been writing prayers for several years and many of them have been sent out from Renaissance Unity over the years in the form of a daily inspirational email message. Occasionally, I become aware of one of these prayers being posted on a website or blog.

This morning, I discovered one of my prayers posted on a blog called

I Am Doing Great- Just Like You which is published by a guy named RJ. His "handle" is DJ-RJ because he is a DJ in Austin, Texas. Since May of this year RJ has been blogging his experience of cancer treatment and healing. As I read his story, tears filled my eyes. Tears of joy and connection and blessing. Tears of the Oneness.

I have never met RJ but we have connected in that wonderful way that only Spirit can orchestrate. His story of moving through this experience and facing many challenges both health wise and financially touch me deeply. His quiet courage and remarkable faith inspire me. The journey is not over for RJ, but I can tell you he has already won the prize! If you have a few moments, check out RJ's blog.

We can share a blessing so easily. Perhaps your gift to the world today is a smile at a stranger or a kind word to someone who passes your way.

I invite you to join me in this prayer for RJ.

Dear God,

Thank You for RJ.

Thank You for the clarity and strength of his gentle words

which are a passionate and powerful witnesses to Your love.

Thank You for his willingness to share this journey

of healing and hope which is a blessing to many people.

Thank You for divine order and harmony

which are now established in his body and affairs.

We give thanks for Your Light as it shines brightly through RJ

transforming all that it touches.

In Your name we bless RJ and all who love him.

Expand their experience of health, joy, peace, harmony, abundance and love.

We know that You are the one life that lives in and as us all.

So it Is!

Amen

--Ric Beattie

(c) 2007 by Richard L. Beattie - all rights are reserved.