But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ~Matthew 6:33

I know my children have needs and I am capable and willing to provide for you always.  There is no thing you need to chase after to meet your needs.  There is no substance, no food, no programming, no pleasures that will continuously fill where you are empty or sad or hurting.  Your addictions are ways in which you try on your own to meet your needs.  You seek after fleeting joys to fill yourself up, though nothing satisfies for very long.  Some of you will continue chasing these things long after they have failed to comfort you.  But what I am saying to you today (and always) is that I am all knowing.  I know when you need and I know what you need.  Seek my kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well.

Now when I say seek my kingdom,  I don't mean just pray and read your Bible, though those are important for righteousness.  I have placed my kingdom within each one of you.  Included in that kingdom is beauty, purpose, talent, joy.  I have gifted each of you with unique abilities and tasks to serve my purposes in your broken world.  Part of seeking my kingdom is to delve into who I created you to be and expressing that.  It leads to more joy for you and more of my purposes in the world.  And while you are seeking my kingdom I am right there with you, providing for all your needs.  It is a beautiful partnership.  Seek deeper in my kingdom, my child.  Come closer.  Lay down your worries and find your joy.  I am your every need fulfilled, past, present and future.

Let your heart a Manger be

Try not to get lost during this season.  I know it's fun decorating, giving gifts and baking goodies, putting up lights and going to parties.  I want you to enjoy all of that.  I just want you to remember to take time to relax, take time to connect with me.  You don't have to take a stand and go all "Jesus is the reason for the season" on everyone so that Christmas doesn't become so commercial ~ even that slogan has an edge of commercialism to it. 


It is simple enough to remember my gift to you, the gift of salvation wrapped in swaddling and laying in a manger.  And just as the manger was there to receive Jesus, let your heart also receive me.  Let your heart remain close to me and be reminded of my great love for you and all mankind.  Let your joy and gratitude shine like the sun for all to see.  That is your Christmas gift to me.  May  this gratitude be reflected in all your Christmas celebrations so you may glorify me and bring real joy to others during this season, truly the most wonderful time of the year.

Joy of the Lord

Our minds tend to replay something negative in hopes of retrieving some sense of understanding about what went wrong and/or how we can fix it. That never brings about the peace that we are seeking, only more confusion and more negativity.

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein

And though it makes no rational sense, we should not dwell on the mistake or the problem or the hurt, but turn our minds towards more pleasing thoughts.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." ~ Philippians 4:8

Those thoughts are in line with our true nature, the spirit within us, the Truth of who we really are. Those thoughts lead to joy, and that is where our power comes from to rise above the problems of this world...

The joy of the Lord is your strength. ~Nehemiah 8:10

And the Art will set you free

Don't wait until you are through one of life's storms to express yourself, or until you feel strong enough. Make your pain your art, express your frustration or your confusion. Let it loose! In that way, you keep it from overpowering you, you release it's hold over you and in doing so, you clear the way for healing to come. Plus, you lift someone else out of a hard place by sharing it.
And you strengthen yourself for the next storm, which will come, by the way.
There is no one who escapes pain. But there are those who can turn it into something inspiring, so stop holding back!

Why you might feel blocked...

You ARE an artist. You are creative. That is how I designed you. But you misunderstand your design. You are not creating things yourself or conjuring art out of thin air, causing people to notice you. You are the VESSEL that I pour Myself through. Your art, your story, your song, your body of work is really mine. You just allow Me to shine through you. It is a process we do together that you get to put your name on. And if you would just remember that, you could remain humble while receiving much praise, knowing it's because of Me that you can do what you do. You could handle rejection or criticism with grace, knowing it is Me who is being rejected or criticized, not you.

I created all my children to interact with Me, to enjoy Me, to give Me glory. You are not complete when you choose to do anything apart from Me and neither am I. I am the Giver of gifts so that I can be seen in the earth, so that all may draw close to me and find the unconditional love they are searching for.

There is no need to hold back for fear of rejection. That is to place more importance on your self than on Me, which only causes you to become uninspired. You don't have to worry about whether or not anything you make will be a masterpiece, it ALL is. It's from the Master! And really that is just a judgment meant to make you feel more important anyway. If you accept your place in the creative process, you'll see that you already ARE important. Really. I cannot create if you don't cooperate. Remember that next time you get stuck and see if that helps 'un-stick' you. :)

I pray to be able to forgive those that treat me badly, still the actual feeling of it eludes me. What am I doing wrong?

You are so amusing. I see you choosing the 'higher' road and praying to forgive those that hurt you. (Very commendable by the way.) And I've watched you repeat your words of forgiveness in your journal and out loud to yourself. I've seen you begging me to free you from hatred or bitterness so you can truly offer love to your brothers and sisters, but... do you ever pray for them? Do you ask me to pour out blessing upon them?

Oh.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Matthew 5:43-44

...Did you think it was just a suggestion?

Let me tell you a story, He said

She was a caged animal, desperate for escape. It was only a matter of time before she exploded. Did he really hold the key to the cage she was in or could she let herself out? She wondered. How did it get like this? What happened to the kind man she once knew? What happened to their love that seemed to sustain them and bring so much joy? The love that had produced their beautiful daughter? The love she knew would conquer the world?... Sucked into a nameless void she supposed. That was yesterday, a whole other reality, one she dearly missed and desperately wanted to get back to.

But she was here, today. In this reality. More like Hell. His unkindness felt like a dagger plunged straight into her heart that left her dark soul longing for some light, a light she had begun to doubt. Yet, deep down, she knew if she ever expected to see that light again, if she wanted love, if she really, really wanted freedom, she had to accept today. And she just couldn't do it. How? How could she? The man before her was someone she no longer recognized. He no longer held a special place in her heart. He was a stranger and worse yet, a monster. How had she not seen it before? How had he managed to keep it hidden for so long? She mourned the sweetness of yesterday and cursed the bitterness of today. What beauty was there to hold onto? If today was all there is, how could she find anything in it to inspire hope? Laying in her cage, full of despair, she began to fall asleep and she heard a voice...

Ah but acceptance is not about holding onto anything is it? It doesn't mean that you like the situation you find yourself to be in does it? Acceptance means not holding onto yesterday, not longing for it, or trying to resurrect it, not fighting what is. One doesn't walk along a path that becomes rocky and then curse it's rockiness or try to turn back. No. And neither should you. Stand your ground. The path has many ups and downs, twists and turns, but you lose your power to move forward by longing for smoother ground. The path stretches out before you for infinite miles and the power to move forward begins with acceptance. Accept your choices, accept your shortcomings, accept where you are now and know that you can always choose again. You didn't really lose love, it's just concealed for a little while so you may look at your life with other senses, senses that you will need further down the path. You don't walk alone, you never have. I, the Great Lover of your soul, walk beside you and when you come to know and trust in this great love, you will mourn no longer for the one you believe you have lost. You will just see that he was stumbling along his own path as well, looking for my hand just like you. Come now, let's see about this cage...

She woke up startled. What was that? For certain she didn't know but what she came to realize was that the cage she found herself to be in was self imposed! No one held the key to it but her. She could go on crying about the unfairness of her current situation and stay stuck there or she could summon up all her energies to throw herself full scale into the arms of this Great Lover of her soul and see where that would lead. As far as she could determine, these were the only two choices she had and no matter how elusive the second one seemed, it was the best bet. She knew it in her heart and it gave her the peace and strength she needed to carry on...

"And it shall be in that day," says the Lord, "that you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer call me 'My Master'"... "I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord." Hosea 2:16,19-20