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11/22/2012 Grateful for Grace Grace is a long-ago friend who pushed me forward on my spiritual journey. At a mental lowpoint, with my life-prospects feeling awfully narrow, Grace insisted that I pray for myself for an hour each morning. Even better, she had me write down my prayer so that I could prove to her and to myself that I did it. Life-changing. Life-saving. That discipline of daily, thorough prayer for myself, established through her encouragement, has served me well. Shortly after, I lost track of Grace. I always wished we would meet up again so I could tell her what her help meant to me. As the decades passed, I contented myself to thank God for His grace and for His Grace. Then a week ago, thirty-one years later, we were at the same place at the same time. I finally got to thank Grace! Is there someone who has made a contribution to your life that you long to thank? The links in today's post will take you to other Thanksgiving blog messages around the web. I hope you will click on them and meet more inspired bloggers. Happy Thanksgiving to you! Pure humanity, friendship, home, the interchange of love, I hope you enjoy this blog. And if you do, I doubly hope you will share it!
If having a full-text version delivered to your email inbox would interest you, you can find the subscription box in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT  Things really took off in the comments on Part 1 of the series, "Getting a handle on what we eat", over the weekend. The post delved into some common food concerns and the healing response of seeking harmony and balance by engaging with God's goodness and our spirituality at mealtime.
Sue said, "I must confess to not having noticed the extent to which Mrs Eddy deals with this [food issues]." Kathleen highlighted, "I love what you wrote here: 'I think Jesus begs the question, “Are you willing to stay awake to spiritual identification long enough to carry it into your daily routine?'" Tamara asked, "What does it mean enjoying something in a spiritual perspective?" This opened the discussion wide to all sorts of inspiration from Kim :" I love the idea of harmony and balance in eating" - and from Béatrice: "I think I got it! It's about 'seeking first the kingdom of God'!! :-)" That just gives you a tiny taste. Check out the original post to see more. Thank you to everyone who wrote in and helped take the subject deeper. Today's post considers what constitutes a healthy relationship with food and offers practical tips. 11/23/2011 What's in your garden? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Turkey and pumpkin pie, parades, church, football, family, feeding the homeless, Black Friday... Thanksgiving represents different things to different people. And I love it all.
Away from home this year, I will be a guest at another family's holiday table. I have been asked to come with no dessert in hand because they have so much already. So I have been thinking about what I have to contribute to the festivities. I have decided to bring some things from my garden. One of my favorite hymns begins with the thought, "A grateful heart a garden is, where there is always room for every lovely Godlike grace to come to perfect bloom." (Christian Science Hymnal, 3) 11/18/2011 The purpose and power of Amen It's not a random little word. Like a period is not a random little dot. Without punctuation at the end, a series of words is considered a fragment, not a sentence. So what is prayer without an amen?
I am not really talking about a single specific word here. I am discussing the concept of finding a solid and clear conclusion to a prayer. When there is no amen, prayers can tend to stay in "to be continued" mode - the "dot dot dot" (...) of doubt, insecurity, or a of flimsy, open-ended hope. 11/5/2011 An unlimited supply of good A woman had lost her job and, being unable thus far to find another one, was in desperate financial straits. She received notices indicating that her utilities would be shut down, one-by-one, if she didn't pay her bills. Moments before the phone company was to cut off her telephone service, she called a Christian Science practitioner and asked for prayer. The practitioner just had time to tell her, "If what you need is an oil well in your front yard, it is already there. Love never leaves you without what you need." Then the line went dead... What she said to the woman was inspired by something found in Mary Baker Eddy's book on Biblical law and its application to daily living, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 494)  The practitioner then began to pray. Her prayers couldn't change the law of God or produce something that wasn't already there. Prayer doesn't change what is, but it can help one to see what is really going on in the light of Christ - the perpetual message of spiritual and divine Good flowing from Love, God, to Her creation. Love is like a mother who always has what you need in her purse before you know you need it. Prayer reminds us that Mother, Love is on the scene, and gives us a peek at the treasures in Her bag. These treasures aren't material things. Love's treasures are abundant spiritual ideas that are liberally distributed to everyone in the form that meets the human need. Whether what is most essential is love, patience, hope, inspiration, strength, opportunity, grace, gratitude or any other quality - Mother's purse, the consciousness of divine Love, is full and overflowing with good.  Some hours passed.
During the day, the Christian Science practitioner prayed until she was completely certain that there was no cause for fear. Her prayer showed her that God's law of Love was operational in this woman's case. Then she heard back from the woman, who had a remarkable story to tell. A short time after her phone service was cut, she thought about what the practitioner had told her - "Love never leaves you without what you need." She understood that she needed to stop focusing on what she didn't have and couldn't see (ie. money in her account). She needed to focus on what she did have and could see. She loved her home and was grateful to still have it. She started appreciating the good around her and expressing gratitude for it. Then there was a knock at the door. A truck was in her driveway and the driver, a local landscaper, said that he drove past her home every day on his way to and from a job. He explained that he had been searching for some weeks for a tree of a certain type and size to complete a project for a new home in the neighborhood, and he had been unable to find it in all the area nurseries. Only today, on his way home from the work-site, he noticed that the perfect tree was sitting in her front yard! He asked if she would be willing to sell it to him. She agreed, and he gave her a check in an amount that would restore her phone service and pay another large bill. She did have an oil well, right there, in her front yard. Prayer opens our eyes - and those of others, too - to an unrestricted supply of good that is always at hand. You may wish to visit my: WEBSITE HOME PAGE TOP OF MAIN BLOG PAGE LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT Feel free to explore the links in the post that take you deeper into the subject. I welcome your comments! |
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I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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© 2011-2024 Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, CSB. All rights reserved. Pages updated October 10, 2024.