David rides with the Goldwings

Yesterday, we got to experience a great time with a great group of wonderful people. David and I went out on a bike ride with the Goldwing club. The bikes were big and beautiful - a toy I now think someday I may have - and we took a 90 mile tour around the Tri-cities. The riders, including Bob, Dawna and Don, were really friendly and we felt right at home with them. Later in the evening we went back to the fairgrounds to see the bikes in a light parade. Again, David got to ride and one of his friends went too! What a memorable experience!

Mustard Seed Faith

Matthew 17:18-20

19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

I always wondered what this portion of scripture really meant and today I finally found out. As I grow stronger daily in my faith and trust in God, I see others struggle in life the way I used to. I do my best to encourage them and recently have come to understand the power of continual prayer (Zero Limits by Joe Vitale). (Romans 12:12)

I used to ask myself how something as small as a mustard seed could possibly move mountains - surely, I thought, this must be an exaggeration, as the power of faith, tho great, takes a lot of work and years of practice. Boy was I wrong!

My friend recently relocated and having moved with practically nothing but the clothes on his back, was struggling with worry & doubt about how to make it in his new location. Many times I offered words of encouragement, thoughts on how positive thought/feeling (prayer) will bring about desired results, and suggestions as to what to do. With his faith being not as strong as mine, it was difficult for him to buy into the idea that prayer changes things but with a literal musardseed of faith, he moved on my suggestions. And to his utter astonishment and to my expectation, EVERYTHING he needed fell right into place. Within 4 days of hitting the tarmac he had a new, fully furnished apartment (most of the furniture & household needs given to him by kindhearted folks WITHOUT HAVING TO ASK!) just across the road from his son's school, two (yes 2) good paying jobs, the local transit to and from work practically at the doorstep, money in the bank and far fewer expenses than anticipated!

God is so good! And it feels so good to finally understand how faith really works! Imagine how much more we can do through faith as it grows!

The Red Pump Project - Women and AIDS

Karyn of the Red Pump Project says:
Today is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and there's a whole lot of talking and educating happening all over the country in honor. Luvvie and I each have our own reasons for fighting AIDS, but most importantly, we simply agree that something has to be done. I mean, if we could just encourage women to talk about it and educate themselves and others, we'd be making a difference.

Go to their blog to find out more! Get the stats! Get informed!
Crystal

A body of evidence

For the last several years I have had chronic muscle pain in my back, neck & shoulders. In October, I was at a women's expo and went to the booth of a chiropractor that had a computerized diagnostic machine. It indicated a total imbalance in the nerves and muscles in my back. Ok, tell me something I don't already know, right. A client of mine came in a few months later and in conversation told me she had gotten her massage therapist license and was totally willing to work on me in exchange for hair services. SWEET!

Well in light of my recent practice of allowing & purposeful attracting - this blessing should not have been a surprise, but grateful I am indeed.

It was about a month later when I finally made an appointment with her - and about 2 weeks after starting on my Advocare supplements. My appointment was last night. To my UTTER shock, the areas of usual pain have diminished so much that - althought the massage was wonderful - there was very little pain. I mentioned to her my surprise and said the ONLY thing different I have been doing is using a very well formulated nutritional supplement. She said she could feel that there were areas of chronic pain but that the muscles were very pliable and were responding very quickly to her manipulations. She also said that proper nutrition or the lack there of is critical in our musculature and acknowledged that these new supplements I am taking could indeed have made this big of a difference.

I don't know what happened - I just feel better!

nothing bad happens...

I'm understanding this and believing it to be true. yeah...stuff may SEEM bad, but good & bad are mental constructs. Choices we make within (even when we feel like we're not choosing.) I heard in in a cd workshop by Joe Vitale. We can shift our perception of "bad" as easily as we can say "i'm OK"!

Day 5 on Advocare

It's 6 am and we're up! David & I both woke up and felt like getting up early in spite of both of us fighting sinus infections. We have been taking Advocare now for 5 days. I can only attribute our increasing vitality to this as no other changes in diet or activity have been made.

After seeing David's pediatrician, we have narrowed his regimen by removing the Calcium Plus which I am now taking. We are both drinking Spark every morning.

David is taking Probiotic Restore, Coreplex, Omega Plus daily as directed and Catalyst before basketball practice.

It is encouraging not to have that feeling of exhaustion that I was feeling over the last several months! And I can tell David is feeling better too! He left early for school and said he wanted to walk instead of riding the bus!

Feeling Fit...feeling great!

We're finally doing it!
David & I are on a fitness mission. Well at least I am. He will have to experience how much better he feels in order to really buy in but I think it's already working.

I started him on a vitamin regimen of products from Advocare. After basketball practice last night and a couple of Catalyst he expressed a desire to get up early and go for a jog. My son...the one who I have to drag out of bed...go JOGGING...in the morning...???

Well it was a late night and getting up early didn't happen. He's fighting a cold and tired too but I gave him his Spark, Catalyst, and Pro-biotic Restore upon rising. Then 30 min later I gave him Coreplex, Calcium plus and OmegaPlex with breakfast. He was practically skipping out the door to school by 8am!

I am encouraged by just the first full days results with the products and will be getting David into the gym with a personal trainer soon, thanks to Ryan at the Tri City Court Club!

A beautiful soul singer

Just listening to some feel good music. If u wanna be inspired pick up Turn Around by Johnny Lang. My mom gave it to me a few years ago and I know each song on the cd by heart. I still love to listen to this one & have even sang one or 2 of the tracks acapella in church! All the songs are uplifting and give the listener nuggets of faith, gratitude, and God's grace & mercy.
Feels gooood!
(& check out them sexy lips in the Red Light video on the official site!)

http://www.jonnylang.com/

1 extra degree of effort

Check out this awesome video my good friend shared with me today! The margin between victory and defeat can be less than 1 degree! At any given time we may be so close to victory that just a pinch more effort will make the difference. It feels good to know this!
http://www.212movie.com/

The Day the Earth Stood Still

I am happy that Barak Obama is President of the United States.

Although I am not as politically active or interested as I probably should be, I , like most everyone in the world, was watching Wednesday morning when President Obama took his place in history and on Capitol Hill.

I am happy... not an overly emotional person when it comes to things like this.

What I didn't expect to feel was ...well...what I felt when I saw President Obama walk down the stairs and out onto the platform where he would be sworn in as President of the United States of America. A sort of thrill went thru me, a joy that was sudden and a giddy grin as I thought out loud "here HE comes!"

I am so very happy and I pray daily for President Obama and the task he has before him. I see the change already as people are actively pledging to "be the change they want to see in the world"! (I think Ghandi said that)

Yay! O-Ba-Ma!

Free self-empowerment Show w/ EFT techniques

I like the final statements in this video about the fact that our power to change and heal comes from inside even though we can use external tools to aid us in our practice.

Check it out!

Abiding in the Spirit

Change happens over time - not usually all at once. Like working out to become fit or dieting to lose weight, spiritual growth is a practice. I find myself still entering into phases of frustration and fear as I work on my business, raise my son and take care of our home and myself.

I awoke one night this week with an itchy sensation on the left side of my mouth and a cough from an itchyness in my throat. I my sleepy state of mind I felt like there was a flow of negative energy released...like my fears and doubts were leaving me. Weird. Slept pretty well after that.

Yesterday I had a fleeting thought that though I pray, fast, read and meditate regularly do I really hear the "voice" of God and what he's telling me? A twinge of frustration passed thru me but I let it go. Then this morning, I awoke at about 6:30 and with thoughts of self-discipline (and the mess in the kitchen) I got up to start my day. I put on my MP3 with Mary Mary and as I washed the dishes, the Holy Spirit came in to abide with me. Ok, I'm not one of those super spiritual wishy washy Bible thumper toungue speaking slain in the spirit type people. But a song came on and I began to weep uncontrollably. I was not sad or upset. I felt the love of God and the knowledge that He has carried me this far and I was overwhelmed with emotion.
I went to church later on and once again I felt this wave of emotion as the words of the minister touched my heart. I began weeping again as the Spirit rested upon me and loved me. They were tears of joy, thanks and praise as I allowed myself with my limited human perception to feel the love God has for all of us... and for everything.
Even now I can feel It. And maybe the feeling will subside some as the days go on but now I know that I know that I know that God loves me and that my journey is on course and as the minister said today, the journey is a forward one that does not require a need to look back or go backward.

Thoughts on LOA

It's interesting how sometimes we have to go in a complete circle to arrive at our sought for destination. I have been in spiritual study mode for some time now - years in fact - and am definitely growing- by leaps and bounds and baby steps too. I started looking into LOA (Law of Attraction) after seeing the Secret a couple of times. After about a year of study - reading books, and in a group setting - I have come to the realization (or remembrance) that the real issue, i mean the truth of the matter...the THING i seek...is WAAAYYY deeper than i thought at first. People i have met are learning about LOA and looking for IT and thinking ahhh...i can do these meditations and learn these principles and start to manifest the material / relationship/ financial things that are missing from my life. that's what i thought. and don't get me wrong, I do believe there are spiritual laws, LOA being one of them, that are applied (and usually not in any purposeful way) are the basis for the way we perceive our lives. There's just so very much more to it. that's what i found out. this is a spiritual journey - whether you know it or not. i think i can safely say that everyone i know is motivated in life to some degree by the things they want and feel they need to be happy. and most of those things are material. AND there's not a thing wrong with that. HERE'S the twist...the path toward what we are seeking is in the other direction. we're not supposed to be after the STUFF but after the SOURCE and in seeking the SOURCE, the STUFF will show up.
Now I'm really understanding this but I read that in the scriptures YEARS & YEARS ago!
Matthew 6:33 in the King James version says:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
This is how "The Message" version states it:
Matthew 6:30 -33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.


And the funniest thing is that it's quite simple once you remember it. If you're looking for IT on the surface - in the stuff of life - it's unlikely you'll find it. That's why i think even the wealthy & famous can be miserable. You have to look inside. And though it may be simple it really is quite deep...INFINITE even.

If you are looking for a place to start I recommend reading a few books that are helping me.
1. the Bible - once you start to understand you'll see it's all in there.
2. Infinite Self by Stuart Wilde - written in a conversational and humorous way with practical application of spiritual lessons.
3. Manifest your destiny by Wayne Dyer - a practical guide to...well...practicing spiritual laws with examples of meditation.

Boy the clarity with which i am understanding this today feels really good!