Does this question have you thinking of only a Literal Outer garden? If so, know that this year, 2016 I will be addressing both the “inner” and the “outer” gardens in our lives.  Now you say, ” well, I don’t have an outer garden to address”. Yes, you do…we all do in some fashion. You eat & drink don’t you? You live in a house and utilize things made of paper daily right?  Those things come from a garden somewhere and all of us play a part in the cultivating of the “gardens” both ours, our neighbors, and those outer gardens created by our neighbors in the world. None of us can survive without “the gardens of Life.” Those being our Bodies, the Earth, the Universe. Together these Produce Life as we know it. Back in the day, man was more in tune with importance of TLC in all areas of the gardens. As we “advance” too many are loosing site of the fact that when the seeds within Us and those within the Earth are not cultivated & nutured in moderation, Life will die. So this year I plan to share tools and seeds for both the inner and the outer gardens of our lives. Things that should you “Choose” to give them some TLC will restore and produce an abundant harvest of “good things” not only in your life but, in all Our lives.

Let’s begin at the beginning. In the book of Genesis it is revealed how too much of something “water” was keeping the Earth buried in the darkness of the deep. This caused the Earth to be Unable to produce a Full harvest, limiting it’s growth. As we kick off 2016 I want to reveal in my posts, how important it is that we understand Creation and Evolution & how they are ONE & must continue to work Together for us to Survive. We the People (Body, Mind, and the seeds of the Spirit), the Earth, and the Universe do Not & can Not exist one without the other. Divided the house will FALL. So, here I go, joining with many others, in the sharing of cultivating the inner and outer gardens. As Hillary once said, ” It takes a Village”. This is a fact: it does take a village & Unity of that village to maintain a fruitful harvest. The foundational roots are the same but, the growth of Earth, like Man is different in different areas and the Seasons affect how we grow. So today I kick off my posts with some foundational facts: It is a Fact: Too Much Water Affects Plants & Humans. Plants, like animals and humans, have to breathe. In order to nourish themselves, they have to take in oxygen and carbon dioxide, and they do that primarily through their roots. In soils that are not very porous, like clay, plants have a harder time getting gases to their roots. In a similar way, too much water, especially for potted plants, can suffocate the plant. The excess water makes the soil in the pot so muddy that air cannot move through it. If you are watering the plant at the right intervals, but the pot’s drainage is obstructed or insufficient, water backs up in the pot, and the plant could suffocate. For more details: http://www.gardenandflowers.com/how-does_5124541_can-much-water-affect-plants.html   This is also true in the human body: Nearly all the major systems of your body depend on water to work properly. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day aids in regulating body temperature, preventing constipation, flushing waste products out of the body, and many other important functions.Most people, especially those who exercise in hot weather, are more concerned about not drinking enough water. However, overhydration—or drinking too much water—is also a potentially deadly condition, one that can throw off the balance between water and sodium in your blood.http://www.healthline.com/health/overhydration#Overview1

The same is true in the Garden of the Mind: Too much watering of knowledge too fast doesn’t allow the mind to absorb, process, and filter what is best within “YOUR inner garden” Cloned minds will Not produce the “best” fruit within Your garden. Mankind’s addictive personality can adapt itself to depend on society’s most modern creations. If it’s not Red Bull, reported to be the unfortunate Paul Gascoigne’s latest substance of choice, it is the compulsive checking of emails and the internet. Stock market traders will be very familiar with both.In a study commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, the Institute of Psychiatry has concluded that sufferers from “infomania” are on the rise. Workers unable to tear themselves from electronic and phone messages are said to incur a 10-point decline in their IQ. Work, leisure and sleep are all disrupted by the terrors of the modern communications age, with the inevitable consequences for productivity countering the more obvious advantages bestowed by lightning-quick interaction. more details: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/apr/23/money.workandcareers

The seeds of Knowledge are a Great thing however, the seeds of knowledge need to be cultivated, fertilized, and allowed to mature, to develop Understanding, to bring your Common Sense to the surface. We must be conscious not to let good seed turn to unhealthy weeds taking hold & producing shallow immature growth resulting in the weaknesses of fear, doubt & a whole host of stuff burying us in the darkness. Like Adam and Eve too many of us are rushing to eat of the fruit of Knowledge before we are mature enough to handle it. And whether we admit it or not ultimately we regret that move once we realize we have bitten off more than we can chew and the weeds are choking us out. But, Good News, Man has the Choice and Authority to restore the gardens both inside and out.

Well, that’s it for now..HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Keeping in line with my FB challenge for the remainder of the year, I share this post. As I said in my challenge: Since it is a celebration of Jesus (Yeshua ) birth, how about we all give the gift of choosing to speak His  words of  Love “good things” till the end of the year. Not only toward others but, Love yourself and be conscious of what word seeds you are planting within your inner garden too. Really, I want to say give this gift for the rest of our lives but, one step at a time . As I sat down to drink my coffee this morning and spend some time in “the Word”, I decided just to open my Bible and read wherever it took me too. Which was Matthew 12 below. What a gift to have Jesus show me He likes my gifting idea & nice to know I am on time with what He wants me to share. Now I know by experience, if you will but choose to speak Love and Life for this next 7 days you will see such a change in your daily life you will want to continue on. And I am calling it as it is too: A challenge (at least sometimes)  But, it is in those challenges the good seeds within us are made strong, we grow, & the end result is so worth it.

Now the rest of my post is the gift of Jesus words in which I pray you let be planted deep within your inner garden that it may manifest bearing good fruit all the days of your life. Matthew 12:33-37 ” Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by the fruit. How if you are evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of evil treasure brings forth evil things. But, I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Now having read that,  I go back a few verses just as a reminder, which further speak on what happens based on what you are cultivating within. How what you are planting, speaking, and nurturing manifests in the outer garden; into your kingdom. Our kingdom shared here on Earth.    Matthew 12: 25 – 28 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. “

These verses speak volumes and are the fertilizer that makes our gardens grow. 1st within then without. So, this Holiday season I Give these seeds of Love as a Gift to my BFF, Jesus, to You, and to Myself.  1 Corinthians 13: 3-13  “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor , and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not Love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when that which is perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been known fully .. (it is thru Love we learn and grow in the fullness of God and who He created us to BE…in His image)

13 So now Abide in faith, hope, and love , but the greatest of these is Love.

No matter your religious or spiritual beliefs or for that matter non belief…these Words are true. These seeds will bear the good fruit of Love. That is “if ” you will take on the challenge and begin planting & abiding in them, nurturing and cultivating them. As each day goes by you Will see new growth, a change in both the inner and the outer garden of your Kingdom. Yep, Love’s seeds work when you work ’em.

Shalom

” Peace” & ” Love” to ALL.

As we come into the holidays I believe this is a perfect time for this post. The holidays can be tools to buffer & give you the opportunity to knock and execute this post. To often, I hear many walking in unforgiveness or they are the one unforgiven with family, friends, etc.  I ask ” have you talked about whatever it is? Asked them to forgive you or have they asked you for forgiveness? And too often the response is: “Yes, but I just can’t forgive them, what they did really hurt Or they won’t forgive me.” Now you can’t “make” anyone forgive you but, you Can forgive them, bless them, and You move forward Free from that bondage . By experience I can testify to what I am sharing. Something else I learned is:  It takes Calm loving communication to pull the binding weeds of unforgiveness out at the root. I also learned unforgiveness is driven by fear of being hurt again. So, Remember: It is thru God’s perfect Love (which is In You) and casts out fear (1John 4:18) that all things Are possible. Mark 10:27.

Forgiveness is a ” Decision”made in the heart and mind. Yeshua says in Luke 17:3-4   ^“So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister^[a] (that would be your fellow man/woman) sins against you, rebuke them (discuss whatever it is that is disapproved); and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”  Note: I am Not and neither is God saying you should allow an abuser to beat you seven times  a day or at all  forgive them each time. Not saying either that you can’t forgive someone who has abused you, I have and am thankful I did but, that is a deeper conversation for another time.  Today, I am speaking to ” words that hurt and are keeping you and someone at odds.” I am saying don’t remain bound in the misery and judgment of unforgiveness over words & some actions that yes indeed can’t be taken back but, they can be forgiven. Look within at your mistakes, times you may have said or done a hurtful thing. Can you really caste that stone? John 8:7  Really is there “Nothing you have done or said?” And has it been only One time? Have you never been forgiven? Maybe even of a grievous action even. Think on that a minute….hmmmmm… I believe you will find, No not One of us is perfect. Romans 3:10 In fact it has been my experience each of us over and over again will make mistakes, choices we regret and need to ask forgiveness. And like God the Father, Holy Spirit Mother, and my BFF, my Brother Yeshua forgive us, we are to forgive others. Forgiveness is an ACTION of Love. A choice we must choose to make or Not and experience the consequences of that choice.   So, as we come into this season, pray for His Love to shine within and without, then step on out there and extend an olive branch. A call, a card, a knock at the door. You will find that many times that was all that was needed to break you both Free from those weeds that have held you both bound and in misery. Free to let the Seeds of Love come forth bring Joy, Peace, and Mercy in the gardens of your hearts. Yes, going forward will take some nurturing, some watering of healing but, oh what a beautiful end result in your gardens.  So if this post applies to you & you should Choose to go share Love’s actions of Mercy & Forgiveness, know this: YOU CAN DO IT ! Just keep this encouraging Word in mind when you go. Luke 17:20-21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them saying: ” the Kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, “see here”  ” see there”  For indeed the Kingdom of God is ” WITHIN You”.        the Kingdom of God is:  His seeds of Love planted within us at creation & it is up to us whether those seeds of Love grow abundantly Or they are buried and bound by the weeds of darkness.

BTW: questioning the wording ” within you” vs amidst us – check out this site: http://www.bible-researcher.com/luke17.21.html  — this is only one place in the Bible it is made clear God is within us…the seeds of His Spirit are planted within us…not separate from us.

Peace be with You…Hugs.

This title means many things at this time of year. Giving literal material gifts to family and friends, giving time thru volunteering, and of course donating all sorts of things in your communities or thru all the various organizations at hand. And let’s not leave out giving Love and an encouraging Lift to all those we are in contact with. This time of year can be a time of Joy and Laughter and it can also be a tough time for many in so many ways. On that note, I post today to reach out with some “Choices” in the areas of “Giving”.  I for one have a couple of people who are really struggling financially right now. And one of my close friends has a brother who is homeless. A good guy but, has some health troubles that are holding him down. Another is a grandparent on a Very fixed income raising a grandchild. In many places this season taps the finances even harder due to rising utility costs and the weather sure cuts down on the ability to grow your own food. Since we don’t live close, I was looking for a way I can pitch in for the winter.  Bingo, Love Wal Mart, they are in both our areas and they have a card called a ” Net Card”. I can purchase the card, send it to him, it gives me an account #, then I can reload whatever amount I want & whenever I want, right here at my local Wal Mart !  Bonus point is I can give the account # to anyone who might want to help a Grandpa out and they can go to their local Wal Mart and add to it also! How great would it be to check the balance on your card and find you have lots of Love & a helping hand from caring believers being sent your way.

Another Fun way to give is something a friend on FB posted. You and some friends get together for the season, go thru your purses to find a few to donate, then fill them with items for daily living…chapstick, feminine hygiene items, lotion, Stuff you would like, then go give them to homeless women in your community. And Fellas – you can get together and donate jackets with surprise gifts in the pockets, a wallet with a $20 in it, or backpacks with a throw blanket,beanie, gloves, and socks.

Can’t afford any of this yourself. Just go share some Love and Kindness. Help a neighbor in need if you see them struggling to carry their groceries, or open a door, or visit with a neighbor who has no family in town. Maybe share some tea and cookies. Give of yourself.

These are just a few of many ideas for giving. If you have some ideas you would like to share please be sure to click COMMENTS and Share. Smile

Sending out Hugs and Much Love your way!

Hi, and ya’ll thought I was done with this subject post. LOL

Actually just wanted to make a correction to yesterday’s post. I should have said, ” ask those questions of yourself and be sure to take enough time to answer from , your Heart, Not your religion.  My terminology saying, Christian walk is of course based on my personal choice but, as I was reading my Osho email today, I realized I shouldn’t have come across so narrow. I don’t walk narrow, so I should not give the impression I do. The questions in the 1st post apply no matter the walk you have chosen. We all have chosen a “walk” & that walk will take us down different paths during each season, until we finally reach the ultimate garden. That is one thing Life has taught me well and a reason I believe God says we are not to judge others…  you never know when you are entertaining angels.  smile

Ok, correction complete!  Watch for this weekend’s post…I am tweeking how & what I post…something I have felt compelled to do for awhile…exciting.

Have a great day!

A conversation I had today, had me really thinking on my drive home. So here I am posting. The conversation was about professing to be a follower of Jesus. This got me thinking about the seeds within, that we profess to be cultivating in “the way” of Jesus VS the seeds we are actually planting and cultivating in our lives daily. I had to ask myself, Am I “representing” my BFF and His Ways daily? Wouldn’t you know it with that question, here came God with a verse via Pastors Perspective radio show, that got me digging even deeper in thought. Matt. 6:19-21 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  I realize everyone wasn’t in on my conversation but, the bottom line bears these questions to those “professing” to be walking with Yeshua (Jesus);  ” HOW Ya Livin?” What do I treasure? Do my actions reflect my profession of        “I am a Christian? ” (a follower of Christ) Can Jesus be seen in Me? Are those actions serving not only me but, my neighbor? (family, friends, co workers, and literal neighbors) Am I storing up (planting) good seed (treasures of Love, Joy, Comfort, etc)  for heaven? Or am I more talk of intention all the while planting seeds (words) that will only bear weeds of earthly drama? So, like the nursery rhyme, I ask myself and You, ” Renee’, Renee’ (use your name) how Does your garden grow? ”

After meditating on this all this and pondering the questions, I personally see good fruit in many areas of my garden but, I unfortunately found some more weeds I need to pull too. Yep, my garden is still a work in progress..Thing about those darn weeds (words of complaint, backbiting, grumbling…etc ), they most often have deep roots and I know I will need some help to fully eradicate those devils. So off I go, to seek the wisdom of whom I profess to follow, the Master Gardner, my BFF, Jesus. I realize more and more each day, my heart & souls desire is that my good seed (words) grow to be His Words and my answers become, ” My garden is growing well, Praise Be to my Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Mother.”  Lord knows, it takes all of the family of God (which includes my earthly family, extended and blood born) to really make the garden grow to it’s highest good. As a helpful tool I will refer to this verse, Hebrews 12:15 – “( I will be) Looking (more) diligently (at my actions) lest (I) any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [in me], and thereby many be defiled.”

Yes, Yes…our actions (seeds planted) within our neighbors (friends, family, coworkers, etc) do take root and have a effect within their gardens. It might be a shallow root and not take hold or it just might be a seed that lands deep and produces more than you ever thought it would. (good or bad) Think about that and how your words have affected others or theirs have affected you. Notice when you dig deep, the base of the root of those binding weeds is Fear (of some form or fashion). But, no worries, Praise God for ” Grace, Mercy, Compassion, & most of all LOVE. Cause, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. And Jesus Love is a Perfect Love. That is why it is a perfect seed to plant within your inner garden. Yep for me it’s  “The Only Way” to go.

Shalom!

Here we go cruising up on Thanksgiving. A time to gather with family, friends, co workers, and our neighbors. (be they strangers or known) A time to break bread, share heart warming dishes, and Give Thanks for our Blessings. A time to reflect and remember the intention of this day. Did you know the original intention was a time of sharing & celebrating the harvest between the Pilgrims and the American Indians? The 1st thanksgiving had 90 American Indian attendees and 53 Pilgrims celebrating the blessings of their abundant harvest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)

Today, we need to remember that call to Unity & to share the harvest the Earth is still providing for us ALL. It is a time to consciously set aside our differences, serve one another with ” the Love of God within us”  and to share the Blessings bestowed upon us daily. It is another opportunity to ” CHOOSE” the path of Love, Peace, & Giving. As we come upon this day I suggest you & your family set aside 20 mins, get a pen and paper, & each of you think about your blessings. Write them down and keep them to share at the table before you carve the Turkey. (you could share your list with your FB family too)  I am confident you will enjoy hearing and seeing how much each of us are blessed in so many ways, not to mention the many different gifts (seeds) that will be shared. In doing this you are planting “Thanks & giving” into the inner garden of all those at the table.

No plans this Thanksgiving or you want to share your abundant harvest in some other ways, here are some other suggestions of how you might spend part of the day:  Volunteer to help feed the homeless in your community. Or make the turkey with a couple of sides – make sandwiches & put them with the sides in one of the nice reusable shopping bags, then you (& family) go to the homeless community in your area and share your gift bag with the homeless personally. Got a neighbor, one of our military away from home, or co – worker who is alone and has no family around…invite them to dinner or take them a plate. These choices are sure ways of “giving and Thanks”

Now I end this post with 2 things:  Thankfulness I am able to write and share the seeds God plants within my garden &  this website with recipes of my Fav Thanksgiving food ” Mac & Cheese!”  http://allrecipes.com/recipes/509/main-dish/pasta/macaroni-and-cheese/

Shalom!!!

Only You determine your Future. God has given you all the tools to tap into your full created “self” – you are created in His image after all. What and who you become is up to You. Yes, the first 18 years were not all yours…but, even parts of those 18 ” you were planting the seeds of the future with your “Choices” – good and bad. Those “your Choices” times are Yours always, you can’t blame the results on anyone else.  The good news is: at anytime you can change ” your Choices” planting new seeds in the inner and outer gardens of your life. And over time how you cultivate and care for what your planting will determine what fruit the new gardens bear. Just like the Earth we came from We have seasons, times of drought, and our environment within and without can be changed based on “Choices”, ” Cultivation” , and Caring. (TLC – tender loving caring bears the best fruit. smile)

A mandatory training at my job really got me thinkin’ deeper into how my choices effect not only itty bitty ole me..but, the Big Picture as a whole. Out of that training I have taken on a new daily manta ” I will treat others as I want to be treated”  Then I had to ask myself, ” Exactly, How do I want to be treated?”  After ponding that question awhile , God showed me there is a way to the road of ” all things work to the good” and “Joy can come in the morning” IF I so Choose to seek it out. Then it All depends on the route I choose to take. Will I go round in circles, cause I can’t let go of whatever?  Or could just a little pulling of the weeds while singin’ ” Love and Happiness. ” bring sunshine to my day?

When God created us He did Not create us to live lives of Misery & Pain. He even sacrificed His Son to take our ass whippin’ for us! ” It is FINISHED”  He said. We ARE Forgiven and Love shall abound. No more abuse, No more whippin’s!  What part can you not see ” I TOOK it already ”  In this Life, We are not called to be abused by others, commit abuse on others, or to abuse ourselves. What part are we Not understanding? Love is the Key and isn’t nearly as hard as so many are making it out to be. Oh and the Lies we believe instead of trusting and believing the family of God. I like Many even believed the lies of Old,  in the thinking ” sometimes you just gotta give them kids a whuppin’ ” Not a beating but, ” get them thighs.” Duh, That is so Not the seeds you want to plant. God showed me, ” Do you like that ? Do I feel like a Loving Father with this method to You?” It is Love that works things to the good and changes things my people. Did that ass whippin’ your brother Yeshua took look like Love to you!  Not did He look like love … I am asking did the Whippin’ look like Love? God allowed Yeshua to come that He might show us how Love does work and the fruit thereof. Stop, get quiet, can’t you hear God saying, ” Look at my Son, He is so full of Love He asked to be allowed to plant the seeds of his Love in the gardens of His Brothers and Sisters” (that’s you and I) so the whippin’s could STOP. He came willingly saying..” Hear me,I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalms 32:8. The foundation of Yeshua’s teaching needing only 2 commandments Matthew 22:36-40. ( please open & read these verses slowly)https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:36-40   In these 2 commandments of His Love  “we are washed clean – white as lambs wool” – (Isaiah 1:18)   What are we doing Choosing Not to cultivate those seeds planted that we Will have a good harvest?”  Why are so many Choosing to allow the weeds of life to bind us in which the only result will ultimately be burying the good seeds of: Love, Joy, Forgiveness, Peace…. Weeds that keep us stuck in the days of old riding the same carousel round and round we go – and crazier expecting a different outcome. Wake Up..the different outcome happens in your Choices and those choices will keep coming all the days of your life and so will the consequences thereof. Have you ever watched the difference in the life that chooses to learn from it’s mistakes & move forward making the necessary changes…changes that are in “tune” with all things around it choosing good seeds to cultivate and plant. Watch how the garden grows, creates, and bears an awesome harvest. You will see some changes in each season but, each time it dies down with some TLC it comes back even stronger..more hybrid better than the last time. Only enough weeds are allowed to creep to keep the gardener on his/her toes that they don’t get carried away into thinkin’ they are greater than the Creator. smile   Then watch a life that chooses to neglect the seeds of Hope and Love popping up within and instead buries them deeper and deeper and just sitting stuck doing what there told or what everyone else is doing. Whoooo is me, what now? That life should it choose to remain unattended and tilled will become ” these dry bones”. Unhappy and dissatisfied with Life. People we need to return to the Love and Peace of our Brother, Yeshua!!! Embrace the fun and good things of the 60’s Love and Peace Era. Get together on Earth in nature and Dance, Laugh, enjoy all the Blessings God created us to have. We need to Choose Good Things if we want a Good Harvest and in your choosing you need to remember part of the Way in having the best garden is to share your seeds of Love. You say you got a bad kid…well Try taking away the phone, TV, Computer, & such and “You” spend time with your bad kid. Do some gardening together, do chores together..make him/her responsible and you take responsibility too – TALK to him/her – Don’t whip ’em and send them off hurt and you hurting too. Hug on them, find out what is the Problem! I am here to testify I have given Love and I have Not given it when I should have and I am here to tell you I got just what I planted. Good and Bad results. And sometimes it is really hard to get to the root of those bad seeds planted and get them out of your garden. But, good news is,” You CaN dO it!! In this moment your next Choice of seed Can begin a New Garden within. Praise God ” all things have overall worked out to the good for me and mine”  just as He promised. But, I did have to go through some droughts before I learned what and how TLC works..but, now I can say with confidence, that’s the sure fire ticket for the inner and outer garden to bear good fruit and abundant harvest for you and those around you. Yes indeed TLC !  I share these seeds of Words because I pray you receive them and they will bear good fruit in your garden too. And on that note, I sign off with a couple of great supporting vines for your garden: 1st what a Sufi master told me, ” Have no Expectations”. 2nd what I learned from Yeshua,  I have to Trust in His Love, LET Go of my past mess so I can Move forward and Bring forth the Best garden within me – oh and don’t look back…the consequences can be rough! Genesis 19:26.  SMILE HUgs!

As I listened to my Fav song, “The Question Is” by the Winans the Spirit washed over me and let me know “My Will is that you Live in Love Today…in this moment..receiving my Love and Blessings. Then go out and Pay Attention to your neighbors, friends, family…I will lead you daily in ways you can do my Will in each moment. And don’t always be looking to go out somewhere else to do My Will.  There are times it is My Will you just Rest in Me, share time and Love with Me, & share My Love with yourself that you will gain strength and then you can go out and share with others. My Will is Not Always joining groups and overextending yourself in the “attempt” to do My Will. There are Seasons in Life when you need to focus on Me, focus on Self, and FOCUS on your Own Family or extended family & sometimes little things could be a very Big Thing in those lives right there in your midst. When I want you to step out in a bigger way, I will let you know. Just seek me, pay attention in the day to day, and allow the doors to open that are My Will.  You will know them because they will open easily without your fretting, pushing, and trying to force yourself in. Listen to your inner voice and listen to What your neighbor, friends, family, Children and Grandchildren are saying or maybe Not saying. EVERYONE has things happening in Life…some shared and some not…some are in a season of Joy while others are in a season of sorrow…there is a reason for that. Those in the season of Joy should be comforting those in the season of sorrow…in this balance, strength, and harmony can be obtained and Both Feel My Love and My Will.

Take a moment and listen to my Fav song & Know You are Loved and doing His Will is Not hard.  I pray this song will touch you as much as it does me each time I hear it. It sure has carried me thru and makes me think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGaZXsRgvo

Over the last few days, I have had several conversations that revealed how important it is to look at the bigger picture. And not just on a person to person level but, in many levels of Life.  Let’s begin with the person to person level. Say you are at work and someone you are dealing with appears to have a nonchalant (indifferent) attitude or they just don’t seem to pick up on all their duties. Initially, you may think, “How irritating, they need to get with it and do their part” or “what is wrong with them?” Stop yourself from these thoughts and consider the bigger picture.Even though someone may have years of experience (or so it appears) maybe at their other job they only did portions of the duties required by the position they are in now. Or maybe they have a health problem that is holding them back and they just aren’t sharing how much it is affecting their ability to do their job. Why wouldn’t they say something? Maybe they are on a very tight budget and scared they would loose their job. Don’t get me wrong I am not justifying people doing a half steppin’ job. But, before we judge, we should take a look at the bigger picture.

Here is another scenario. Religion & Spirituality. Two different walks entirely. So when you are talking to, listening to someone in regards to their beliefs, Remember you need to look at the bigger picture before you determine if you are talking about the same subject. You may be coming from a place of personal spiritual relationship with God & whom you are speaking to may be coming from a place of tradition, culture, Religious foundation in which they believe is a personal relationship with God. What do I mean? Let’s use Christianity. Everyone that says they are a Christian does not have a personal relationship with God. My parents for example. If asked they would say, ” We are Presbyterian Christians & go to church on Sunday. We tithe too”  Unless of course they don’t like how the church is spending the money then all tithing stops and they quit going. When asked do you read your Bible?  “No, we go to church on Sunday.” In fact, if you talk about God very much they would say, ” Let’s talk about something else”  I run into this often in conversations. “Renee’  we know you love the Lord but, it is not politically correct to talk about God with just everyone and let’s just talk about regular stuff OK? That’s just a little to personal”  Don’t get me wrong I am not going to take God out of my conversation but, I am learning I must look at the bigger picture with individuals as to much conversation about my BFF, Jesus can turn someone away instead of draw one closer.

My last scenario is about Earth. As we go thru our day to day we take for granted all this Earth provides. Many throw trash out our car windows, growers spray dangerous pesticides on the food we consume which in turn create disease, we abuse the water in our rivers, lakes, and ocean. It is scary when you go to the beach what trash you find in it and on our beaches. We clear cut trees in the extreme in the name of building new communities. That isn’t necessary, it takes away from the beauty of the neighborhood, and is Not good for the environment. But, it is easier that way to build a bunch of new houses. People seem to think they need a 2,000 sq ft home and there are only 2 people living in the home or maybe it is a 2nd home and NO ONE lives in it 8 months out of the 12. While at the same time we have families with No home, no place to lay their head. We need to Look at the Bigger Picture and what this is doing to our Kingdom here on Earth. We need to look and work on some solutions and have some respect for one another and this Home God gave us. We need to get over ourselves and come together and work together on some solutions…So today I ask you look at the Bigger picture. Peace.