Thank You for You and Your Gifts

What are we talking about today???? YOU! You and your gifts.

Drink that in…we are honoring you and all you bring to not just Unity but to this world…this Multiverse.

And before you start into that…who me, I’m nothing, routine…let me stop you right there. Yes you!
Remember that Marianne Williamson quote from last week?

That means you do have the right to feel appreciated, to feel the love we have for you.
You are the heart and soul of Unity of Rehoboth Beach. YOU make this Spiritual Center tick. Hear those words…YOU are the heart of this Unity.

Jesus frequently begins and ends parables with the command, “Listen!” It is a call to not only hear the messages with our ears, but to listen with spiritual understanding.
With a spiritual heart…a thankful heart.
A THANKFUL heart is one that is oriented to the good in all persons and in all situations. A thankful heart recognizes even the slightest bit of good that is apparent, for it is attuned to God and believes in God’s omnipresence. In fact, a truly thankful person gives thanks for the good he or she cannot see, knowing that it is present on the spiritual level.
And a person with a thankful heart knows that thankfulness has the power to increase and to bring forth good.
That is why it is a true blessing when we BLESS anything….we are asking for an increase in the goodness that we have.
When we begin to acknowledge our blessings, our vision expands to include all good.

I include you in my good.
Ephesians 5:18-20 “Be filled with the Spirit . . . always and for everything giving thanks”

Many of us question our worth…no matter how often we are reminded that we are holy, blessed of the Creator.

Wayne Dyer reminds us, “no matter what the problem, the main issue to work on is LOVING THE SELF. This is the “magic wand” that dissolves problems.
Remember the times when you have felt good about yourself and how well your life was going? Remember the times when you were in love and for those periods you seemed to have no problems?
Well, loving yourself is going to bring such a surge of good feelings and good fortune to you that you will be dancing on air. LOVING YOURSELF MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD.”
Take the focus off what is “not working” and instead, lets look at what IS working. Take some time now and bring to mind the things and people that are working in your life.
No looking back at what was, what happened in the past. This is NOW. What is good NOW.
See! Look! Pay attention to what is right in front of you!

Write down your good qualities. Write down what’s going on in your life. List the people in your life that are good for you and your life. Write small because you have a lot to be grateful for!

Now you have a go to list of good. Something for your Tool Box of helping ideas to get you through a tough day. Any time you need a lift, a reminder of who you truly are…of all the good in your life….you take that list out and remind yourself of WHO YOU TRULY ARE.

Don’t let your mind go on and on with old chatter. You have trained your mind to belittle you and be resistant to change. Ignore those thoughts and get on with the important work at hand…loving yourself!

All good begins with accepting that which is within one’s self, and loving that self which is you. It can take quite a while to develop a peaceful, loving relationship with yourself.

When we are grateful, we are present to everything in our lives. We are grateful for it all because we see God in it all.
Too often we think of gratitude as the result of something. Someone does something nice for us, and we feel grateful. That is passive gratitude.
Dwyer suggests active gratitude. Conscious gratitude. Active gratitude is a way of living, a way of being.

When we choose active gratitude, we are choosing to change our energy. We are using the law of attraction to bring to us more love, more good health and more abundance. We are co-creating our life with God.
As you begin a gratitude practice, you will be guided to the next logical step. Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore said, “Pray and move your feet.”
If we don’t take the action we are guided to take, we are doing nothing but magical thinking. Nothing happens in life until we make a commitment. Commit to see your blessings and feel grateful for them.
And commit to those actions that make your heart sing. Whatever that may be. I am hoping some of that action, some of those gifts that are crying to be expressed, will be shared in whatever way with us at Unity.

One way to tap the power of gratitude is by keeping a gratitude journal. I have a Gratitude Journal for you to get started.

Most of us focus on the 10 percent of our lives that make us unhappy instead of the 90 percent for which we are grateful. Try reversing that. List the things from the 90 percent you are grateful for. By focusing on these, you enact the law of attraction and begin drawing to you even more good.
Then look at the 10 percent of your life that includes the “problem” areas—the things you want to change. Write them down, but instead of seeing them as problems, look for the blessings in them.
If you can’t see the good, then ask or, if necessary, demand to see the blessing. This is what Jacob did when he wrestled with the angel of God. He wouldn’t let the angel go until he got a blessing. You can do the same. As you begin to see the blessing in each “problem” area, write the blessings down. You’ll be surprised at how many you find.

Practice gratitude daily and your life will change in ways you can hardly imagine. Discover the beautiful life you already have, right here and now!

With each grateful thought we hold, we develop a more positive attitude about life and open ourselves more fully to the goodness of God. Each grateful thought we hold is a healing balm that transforms our lives.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another.”—John 15:12

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
(Galatians 6:9, NKJV)