Faith

December 28, 2014 – The Journey

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12/28/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The Journey

This year I spoke about the parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s about the long journey from the head to the heart, and the journey to forgiveness. Our heavenly father has never held anything against us. I spoke of the parable of the Sower. It’s about the words of truth we hear. Some words of truth we hear and apply in our lives, and then the old stuff no longer has power over us. The third parable was about the Weeds that grew in the crop of wheat. Negative beliefs will come up, but don’t fight them. When your truth is strong you will be able to ignore the “weeds”. These parables clear away the darkness so our light can shine.

Then we talked about Transitions, tragic changes like the loss of a spouse, a home, a job. It’s like a death. It’s Endings. You’re disengaged. You are no longer the person who has what is now lost. You’re angry and disoriented. Then, in the Void, you’re just lost. It is painful, and you take this journey alone. And you’re not out until the message from all this is received—like who am I or what am I to do? Pray, “Come Holy Spirit.” (Holy Spirit is the movement of God.) Finally, you get to the New Beginning—you see a glimmer of light, of hope. You recognize you’re in transition. Then all resources of God show up for you. It’s like the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness, still thinking as slaves. But when you’re in bondage to something you still have the ability to say “Let my people go.”

Then a few weeks ago I spoke of the ADVENTture beginning. During Advent millions of people are excitedly awaiting an arrival. The “soil” is fertile for planting whatever we want to come into our lives. Reflect on the previous year without judgment. What worked, what didn’t. Ask, how did or didn’t I show up? As God? Or not? Then paint the picture of how you want the new year to look. List goals for getting there. Then add “by when” dates, which spur you into action. If you miss a date, simply set another. Be good to yourself. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Set smaller goals which together make a big one. Then fully imagine this new life—all the way into each of your 150 trillion cells. They will be energized and draw these things to you. Expect it to happen. I expect it to happen! I expect it to happen! I expect it to happen! The universe will bring it! Go forward enthusiastically! Pray Yes! Go ahead, feel the doubt and fear but affirm your good. Clear away those things which no longer serve. That which we are attached to keeps our attention and there is no room for the new. Say, I move forward enthusiastically toward unlimited possibilities. I move forward enthusiastically toward unlimited possibilities. I move forward enthusiastically toward unlimited possibilities. Go get ’em!

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December 7, 2014 – The ADVENTure Begins

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12/07/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The ADVENTure Begins

Advent is the expectation, the excitement around an arrival. This Advent season, energy around the world is focused on the coming, the rebirth, of the Christ. Why not put into this energy the seeds of that which you want to arrive in your life? Use all this energy as support. Holy Spirit guides us by universal laws like the Law of Mind Action (thoughts in mind produce after their kind) or the Law of Compensation (whatever you give out will come back to you). The universal laws are absolute, no shakey, not some-timey. They can’t be coerced. They simply act. When we are aligned with them, they support us, we have the force working for us. When we go against them we get “the full force of the law”.

I was coaching a lady who wanted to get away from her boss and start a new job when I got from Spirit that she was not supposed to have a job. As we worked with the universal laws, her situation at work began to shift. The company opened a position for a consultant to travel to their sites around the country (away from her boss). She got it. Not much later she was offered part ownership in a thriving company in Sacramento. Now she no longer has a “job”, she has a business.

In “expectation” of what you wish to “arrive” in your life, begin by asking yourself how you could have played at a higher level with the things that showed up this year. Then focus on living in alignment with what you want to bring into your life, like perfect health. Then list what things you can do to support that; list what goals will lead to those things. Now put a by-when date on your calendar or tell Siri. Putting a by-when date on a goal spurs you to action. Then be sure to visualize what your life will look like when you have these things. Really feel it. It is a scientific fact that what we are most excited about we draw to us. What you are giving out there must come back!

Now don’t “hope” or “wish”—expect. You are an off-shoot of the Creator. Just like you inherited characteristics from you parents, you inherited the ability to create from your Creator. Only when you doubt this do you lose your excitement, your expectation. Affirm, I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! And I am excited for you!

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December 7, 2014 – The ADVENTure Begins

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12/07/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The ADVENTure Begins

Advent is the expectation, the excitement around an arrival. This Advent season, energy around the world is focused on the coming, the rebirth, of the Christ. Why not put into this energy the seeds of that which you want to arrive in your life? Use all this energy as support. Holy Spirit guides us by universal laws like the Law of Mind Action (thoughts in mind produce after their kind) or the Law of Compensation (whatever you give out will come back to you). The universal laws are absolute, no shakey, not some-timey. They can’t be coerced. They simply act. When we are aligned with them, they support us, we have the force working for us. When we go against them we get “the full force of the law”.

I was coaching a lady who wanted to get away from her boss and start a new job when I got from Spirit that she was not supposed to have a job. As we worked with the universal laws, her situation at work began to shift. The company opened a position for a consultant to travel to their sites around the country (away from her boss). She got it. Not much later she was offered part ownership in a thriving company in Sacramento. Now she no longer has a “job”, she has a business.

In “expectation” of what you wish to “arrive” in your life, begin by asking yourself how you could have played at a higher level with the things that showed up this year. Then focus on living in alignment with what you want to bring into your life, like perfect health. Then list what things you can do to support that; list what goals will lead to those things. Now put a by-when date on your calendar or tell Siri. Putting a by-when date on a goal spurs you to action. Then be sure to visualize what your life will look like when you have these things. Really feel it. It is a scientific fact that what we are most excited about we draw to us. What you are giving out there must come back!

Now don’t “hope” or “wish”—expect. You are an off-shoot of the Creator. Just like you inherited characteristics from you parents, you inherited the ability to create from your Creator. Only when you doubt this do you lose your excitement, your expectation. Affirm, I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! I expect the very best in my life and I am excited! And I am excited for you!



October 26, 2014 – Transitions

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10/26/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
Transitions

Look at what’s going on—ebola and terrorism in our own country, even changes in our own congregation. The best book I’ve read on change is Robert Brumet’s Finding Yourself in Transition. He says that change is similar to rights of passage. It is inevitable and extremely painful. But the suffering is optional. When we have a drastic, unexpected change in our lives it is a kind of death. Something we had depended on, loved, and felt we needed is ripped away. Our impulse is to grieve it. But we can embrace it.

Like the Israelite’s journey out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Promised Land, there are stages to our transitions as identified by Brumet. First is Endings. You’ve lost your feeling of safety, or your health. You retire or become an “empty nester”. There is disengagement, followed by disidentification—you are no longer a husband or wife, or part of a unit, or one of the healthy. You move into disenchantment, where you have lost your faith in love, or in your employability, and so on, even your faith in God. You feel lost, hopeless, discouraged. You don’t know who you are anymore. You are disoriented. But when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on!

The second stage of transition is the Void. As the Israelites did, you are wondering in the wilderness. It doesn’t feel very good. Your only connection is to the God of your understanding. But know you are being guided. It is painful but it also has purpose. It is said that this is the point at which suicides occur. Don’t give up. The light is just around the corner. You are like a seed in the soil that has lost it’s covering, but now you can send down roots and grow into a strong new plant ready to bloom and bear fruit. You are being reborn into a more perfect self. You can appreciate the beautiful transition moving through you. You have the tools and ability to move forward into the unknown without giving up. In my Void, I was literally on the carpet with the pain, but then I saw clearly what it was for. I saw a new vision, a new way of being, the third stage of transition. It brought me to Unity.

Each time we set out on a journey that is pulling us away from what we feel we can’t live without, there is this divine spark within that will lead us through. It empowers us. Understand the power of transition. This is an inside job. You will know yourself more deeply than before. Keep making the effort to let go, to open to what Spirit has for you. Trust. Each transition lifts you to a higher level.

There is so much change in our lives right now. Expect the good, the Promised Land. What shows up isn’t what you prayed for, but what you expect. Trust. Expect. “…and goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.”

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October 26, 2014 – Transitions

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10/26/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
Transitions

Look at what’s going on—ebola and terrorism in our own country, even changes in our own congregation. The best book I’ve read on change is Robert Brumet’s Finding Yourself in Transition. He says that change is similar to rights of passage. It is inevitable and extremely painful. But the suffering is optional. When we have a drastic, unexpected change in our lives it is a kind of death. Something we had depended on, loved, and felt we needed is ripped away. Our impulse is to grieve it. But we can embrace it.

Like the Israelite’s journey out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Promised Land, there are stages to our transitions as identified by Brumet. First is Endings. You’ve lost your feeling of safety, or your health. You retire or become an “empty nester”. There is disengagement, followed by disidentification—you are no longer a husband or wife, or part of a unit, or one of the healthy. You move into disenchantment, where you have lost your faith in love, or in your employability, and so on, even your faith in God. You feel lost, hopeless, discouraged. You don’t know who you are anymore. You are disoriented. But when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on!

The second stage of transition is the Void. As the Israelites did, you are wondering in the wilderness. It doesn’t feel very good. Your only connection is to the God of your understanding. But know you are being guided. It is painful but it also has purpose. It is said that this is the point at which suicides occur. Don’t give up. The light is just around the corner. You are like a seed in the soil that has lost it’s covering, but now you can send down roots and grow into a strong new plant ready to bloom and bear fruit. You are being reborn into a more perfect self. You can appreciate the beautiful transition moving through you. You have the tools and ability to move forward into the unknown without giving up. In my Void, I was literally on the carpet with the pain, but then I saw clearly what it was for. I saw a new vision, a new way of being, the third stage of transition. It brought me to Unity.

Each time we set out on a journey that is pulling us away from what we feel we can’t live without, there is this divine spark within that will lead us through. It empowers us. Understand the power of transition. This is an inside job. You will know yourself more deeply than before. Keep making the effort to let go, to open to what Spirit has for you. Trust. Each transition lifts you to a higher level.

There is so much change in our lives right now. Expect the good, the Promised Land. What shows up isn’t what you prayed for, but what you expect. Trust. Expect. “…and goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.”

October 12, 2014 – From Fear to Wisdom

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10/12/14 Rev. David McArthur
From Fear to Wisdom

We talked about letting go of the fear by saying I gently cherish God’s Presence in you. We have many chances to gently cherish God’s Presence in those who bring out our fear.

In the gospel of John, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them… If we love each other, God lives in us… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” When seeing from the heart, there is intuitive, spiritual intelligence. It sees the Presence, the goodness, the love of God. There is no fear.

In Matthew, “For this people’s heart has become callous [we shut ourselves off from our heart with fear and hurt] and they hardly hear with their ears [we do not hear our guidance] and they do not see with their eyes [we do not see the presence of God]. Otherwise they might see with their eyes [see the beautiful abundance and caring which is the nature of the divine, and on a deeper level see the differences among us fall away]. If they turn I will heal them.”

Turn within, where the power, the wholeness, the wisdom, the Divine is. You’ve had that guidance that bears wisdom and direction again and again.

Lao Tzu said, “There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” It’s amazing to have no fear. What a way to live!

We are beginning to know this. This is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The campaign has become a vision of wholeness and wellness. At first based on fear, the attitude changed, and that is what creates. They saw that this was something to be created on a higher level. Years ago a member of our community told me her doctors had given her a very short time to live. There was nothing more they could do. But she moved beyond her fear. She asked her internal guidance and got a clear message to go to another health care system, and now such an appreciation for God’s love and support flows through her! But first she got rid of the fear. So this week, focus on I gently cherish God’s Presence in me. Whether we’re afraid or not, it is there. It’s just sometimes it’s hard to hear it. We have open hearts that love is holding and unfolding. I am lovingly guided every moment. It is there. You are the presence and power of that wisdom. Fear is the illusion. We’re all here to transform the world and the whole world is set up to let us do it! So Have fun!

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October 12, 2014 – From Fear to Wisdom

by


10/12/14 Rev. David McArthur
From Fear to Wisdom

We talked about letting go of the fear by saying I gently cherish God’s Presence in you. We have many chances to gently cherish God’s Presence in those who bring out our fear.

In the gospel of John, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them… If we love each other, God lives in us… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” When seeing from the heart, there is intuitive, spiritual intelligence. It sees the Presence, the goodness, the love of God. There is no fear.

In Matthew, “For this people’s heart has become callous [we shut ourselves off from our heart with fear and hurt] and they hardly hear with their ears [we do not hear our guidance] and they do not see with their eyes [we do not see the presence of God]. Otherwise they might see with their eyes [see the beautiful abundance and caring which is the nature of the divine, and on a deeper level see the differences among us fall away]. If they turn I will heal them.”

Turn within, where the power, the wholeness, the wisdom, the Divine is. You’ve had that guidance that bears wisdom and direction again and again.

Lao Tzu said, “There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” It’s amazing to have no fear. What a way to live!

We are beginning to know this. This is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The campaign has become a vision of wholeness and wellness. At first based on fear, the attitude changed, and that is what creates. They saw that this was something to be created on a higher level. Years ago a member of our community told me her doctors had given her a very short time to live. There was nothing more they could do. But she moved beyond her fear. She asked her internal guidance and got a clear message to go to another health care system, and now such an appreciation for God’s love and support flows through her! But first she got rid of the fear. So this week, focus on I gently cherish God’s Presence in me. Whether we’re afraid or not, it is there. It’s just sometimes it’s hard to hear it. We have open hearts that love is holding and unfolding. I am lovingly guided every moment. It is there. You are the presence and power of that wisdom. Fear is the illusion. We’re all here to transform the world and the whole world is set up to let us do it! So Have fun!

February 16, 2014 – The Long Journey Home

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2/16/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The Long Journey Home

The fourteen inches from the head to the heart can be a long journey indeed. We have learned the 5 steps to the heart, and to receive unlimited good. Now let’s look at the parable of “The Lost Son”, also known by other titles. Among so many things, it illustrates our long journey of spiritual development. Metaphysically, the characters in the Bible represent aspects of us, and their stories illustrate our spiritual development. Many of us, during a “dark night of the soul”, can identify with stories about hitting bottom, when there is only up. That’s when we need to ask, “What is it I need to bring me up from this desperation?”

Well, we always know what we need to overcome. These challenges help us use our God muscle. Otherwise, how do you know you have faith if you never used it? And we always have what we need for overcoming our challenges. There is nothing we can’t do because magnificence is with in us to overcome anything before us! When we know we are one with the Creator, when we know we are Creator, we know everything has been created for us by us.

The steps on this journey line up with the steps to the heart. First, wake up! Remember who you are and whose you are. 2nd, look up! Raise your vision above the current situation. Then 3, get up! Step out of the mess and into the message. 4Th, turn around! Go back to what you know. Go back to the heart. 5, ask for directions! Go to the Heart, call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. From A Course In Miracles, if you don’t know what to ask, say What would you have me do? Where would you have me go? What would you have me say? And to whom? 6Th, Take One Step at a Time! Make your way steadily along the Heart’s Direction. 7. Don’t Give Up! Keep the Faith and Rest in Knowing.

You were not put here to fail. You cannot fail. We are continually developing in consciousness. Charles Fillmore called it the upward spiral of the spirit. We can avoid letting our challenges destroy us! Emma Curtis Hopkins tells us, when facing a challenge, know that “This too is good. This too is God. This too is for me and I demand to see the blessing in it for me.” Welcome home! Forgive yourself and others; revel in the journey and settle in at Home. Home is where the heart is.

I am at home in the haven of my Heart! I am at home in the haven of my Heart! I am at home in the haven of my Heart!

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February 16, 2014 – The Long Journey Home

by


2/16/14 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The Long Journey Home

The fourteen inches from the head to the heart can be a long journey indeed. We have learned the 5 steps to the heart, and to receive unlimited good. Now let’s look at the parable of “The Lost Son”, also known by other titles. Among so many things, it illustrates our long journey of spiritual development. Metaphysically, the characters in the Bible represent aspects of us, and their stories illustrate our spiritual development. Many of us, during a “dark night of the soul”, can identify with stories about hitting bottom, when there is only up. That’s when we need to ask, “What is it I need to bring me up from this desperation?”

Well, we always know what we need to overcome. These challenges help us use our God muscle. Otherwise, how do you know you have faith if you never used it? And we always have what we need for overcoming our challenges. There is nothing we can’t do because magnificence is with in us to overcome anything before us! When we know we are one with the Creator, when we know we are Creator, we know everything has been created for us by us.

The steps on this journey line up with the steps to the heart. First, wake up! Remember who you are and whose you are. 2nd, look up! Raise your vision above the current situation. Then 3, get up! Step out of the mess and into the message. 4Th, turn around! Go back to what you know. Go back to the heart. 5, ask for directions! Go to the Heart, call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. From A Course In Miracles, if you don’t know what to ask, say What would you have me do? Where would you have me go? What would you have me say? And to whom? 6Th, Take One Step at a Time! Make your way steadily along the Heart’s Direction. 7. Don’t Give Up! Keep the Faith and Rest in Knowing.

You were not put here to fail. You cannot fail. We are continually developing in consciousness. Charles Fillmore called it the upward spiral of the spirit. We can avoid letting our challenges destroy us! Emma Curtis Hopkins tells us, when facing a challenge, know that “This too is good. This too is God. This too is for me and I demand to see the blessing in it for me.” Welcome home! Forgive yourself and others; revel in the journey and settle in at Home. Home is where the heart is.

I am at home in the haven of my Heart! I am at home in the haven of my Heart! I am at home in the haven of my Heart!