Tag Archives: God

I Am Published!

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This is a celebratory blog!

Today, after approving the author copies of My Precious Life, Westbow Press advised that the book is going to print tomorrow morning (or this morning, depending on your part of the world.)

I am thrilled and excited and can’t stop saying “Thank You, God!”

“Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you,” He said. And once started, the pages just kept filling up until the work was completed. That scripture, Jeremiah 30:2, has meant a lot to me this past year. It seemed like God was always whispering that encouragement in my ear. I’m so glad I listen to His still, small, voice. Like I wrote in the introduction to My Precious Life, it is exciting, and holy and fun.

So, to all my new blogger friends, My Precious Life is available at 25,000 online book stores around the world: Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.uk, Westbow Press/Christian Book Store, Barnes and Noble, to name a few. If you choose to buy from your local book store, simply ask them if they carry it, and if not, would they order it for you.

The same goes for friends in California, Channel Islands, U.K., Australia, (except my grandsons; you guys get a complimentary copy!)

My Canadian friends have the option of purchasing directly from me, when the first shipment of five hundred books arrives on my doorstep.

Thank you so much for letting me share this very important life event with all of you; it means the world to me.

I never dreamed when I began blogging the excerpts from the first forty chapters of my book, that it would lead me to a host of interesting people in cyberspace. Every day there is a brand new reading experience to look forward to from all parts of the planet.

It will be wonderful if those of you who purchase My Precious Life would share your thoughts on the book by leaving a comment on my blog site.

And now, I’m off to bed with a song in my head, “To God be the glory, great things He has done….”

About Celeste

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After yesterday’s blog, someone asked me to write about Celeste. Although Celeste resides, among other places, on the menu, My Poetry, of my blog’s home page, not many people appear to be aware of that site.

Let me tell you a little bit about this special angel of mine.

The Mustard Seed Gift Shop was my home away from home for almost fourteen years of my life. It was my “pretty little gift shop” as I liked to refer to it. One day a shipment of beautiful porcelain dolls arrived, and one in particular caught my eye. She was dressed in a lovely, emerald green, sharply pleated dress with matching hat, and had an angelic face with pretty green eyes.

Just before the shipment arrived, an assistant and I had been discussing whether or not angels had names, and I said I loved the name Celeste. When I decided to call this beautiful new doll by that name, my assistant commented, “Maybe that is your guiding angel’s name.” That thought stayed with me for the rest of the day, and was still on my mind as bedtime drew near that night.

The urge to communicate with my angel was so strong, that with pen and paper in hand, I said, “Okay, Celeste, if you really are my guiding angel, let’s write something.”

This is what appeared on my paper:

CELESTE

Longing to write

through an angel guide

the words I seek

come from deep inside

the heart of me

where they cannot hide

from Celeste.

Pen to paper

an open mind,

wonderful words

of every kind

waiting in turn

to blend and rhyme

through Celeste.

Softly the words

flow to me

spanning space

through a Spirit free,

God-sent words

reminding me

of Celeste.

Longing no longer

the time has come

the words will be written

great works will be done

by Celeste.

©Patricia Ann Boyes

That was so easy to write, and yes, the words did flow to me. Would you call this synchronicity in writing? I’m not sure, but whatever one may call it, it ended my day on a beautiful note, and Celeste has been in my consciousness ever since.

Do I Believe in God?

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Today’s blog is another Julia Cameron exercise, on the above title. It is really amazing how much delight I can get from a little exercise in writing. Perhaps it is because writing is my passion, or at least one of my passions. These daily blogs have been a blessing to me, keeping my creative juices flowing, while pushing my boundaries to complete one hundred blogs in as many days. By then my book should be out and maybe the blogs will go on a back burner for awhile…or maybe not. So, here is another of Julia’s inspiring exercises from 2002.

Do I believe in God? (Another exercise from Julia Cameron) Oct. 17/02

I believe in God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind. If it were not for God my life would be a dismal mess.  God helps me see myself as I really am and so many times I don’t like what I see.  But knowing that He loves me in spite of myself makes me feel somewhat better.  Still, I need to change the things I don’t like about myself.

God has been so wonderful in my life; so many blessings, so many answered prayers.  He is always just a prayer away.  He helps me creatively as well.  I remember the night I prayed in my bed, “Oh God if I really do have a talent within me will you please bring it out?” The next day I wrote “God’s Summer Day” and have been writing ever since.  And I’m told  that what I write is enjoyed by many people.  And I say Thank You God!

 Do I believe in Angels?  Yes, very much so.  They are messengers of God and I have my very own angel code, so to speak.  I have written a story about my angels also.  I would really like to be more in touch with my angels.

Regarding a writing experience that was somewhat uncanny was my experience with Celeste.  To make a long story short a colleague had mentioned that Celeste might be my “angel”.  Anyway, I sat down that evening and said “ok Celeste, if you really are my angel, let’s write something”.

And we wrote “Celeste” and I think it is one of the better pieces I have written.

I am very willing to experiment with the use of synchronicity in my writing.  Perhaps this afternoon I will begin that process.

One topic I would like more information on for my writing is spirituality and how it affects our everyday lives.  I must stay aware for a week to see how this manifests itself in my day to day journals.

This ends the exercise experiences with Julia Cameron. And only God knows what I am going to write about tomorrow! Hmmm maybe Celeste!

 

 

A Garden Full of Flowers

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I have met many different people while visiting long-term care facilities, nursing homes and hospitals, as part of my volunteer duties.

One man I met, Mr. Flowers, was an amputee, and while he had no legs from above the knees, he sat high in his wheel chair and had a commanding presence. He was of sound mind, whereas some of his fellow residents had lost this faculty, and Mr. Flowers often found it difficult to find someone to talk to. He had been a high school teacher in his working years, and it was easy to engage him in conversation.

When he learned that I wrote poetry, he asked me to write a poem specifically for him. Being the kind of man he was, and his unusual name, it didn’t take me very long to come up with the following poem:

A Garden Full of Flowers

      (for Mr. Flowers)

 A garden full of flowers

when tended with great care

or tended not at all

if wildflower seed is planted there

will reap its keeper plenitude

in fragrant showy splendor

and bring the memory of spring

come blustery December.

Blooms spring forth upon the mind,

deep wine rose and purple phlox,

daffodils of yellow,

multicolored hollyhocks

replace the snow and blizzards

in the darkened winter hours

and keep alive in mind’s great eye

that garden full of flowers.

©Patricia Ann Boyes

March 7, 2005

You would think I had given him back his legs when he read that poem! He beamed the brightest smile that nursing home had seen in a very long while, and I got a hug that almost toppled him out of the wheel chair.

What a blessing to see the happiness a string of words, placed in the right order on a simple piece of paper could bring to a person.

Mr. Flowers, who didn’t seem to have any religious affiliations whatsoever, shouted, “God bless you!” as I entered the elevator to leave that day’s visiting behind.

“He already has, Mr. Flowers,” I said, “He already has!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Getting Along With Others

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God has always granted me the grace to be happy in spite of myself and/or certain circumstances, which is why I sometimes found myself happily living an unhappy life. (How’s that for an oxymoron?)

Some things are not always as they seem.

The major cause of most of my unhappiness was not getting along with some people…not for the lack of trying. People pleasing is my passion, but admittedly I am not always very good at it, and when I tick people off, I really tick them off!

Here are a few examples of how not to do that; some Biblical, some not. Again, my comments are in parenthesis.

If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you…The Purpose Driven Life – page 143. (This book has taught me so much.)

I am resolved in all human contact to meet petulance with patience, questionings with kindness, hatred with love, eager always to do the kindly deed that brings the joy of service and that alone makes human life truly human…Ralph Waldo Trine, In Tune with the Infinite. (Easier said?)

Love your enemies for they tell you your faults….Benjamin Franklin. (And that can be a good thing.)

…Encourage each other daily….Hebrews 3:13. (Don’t we all need daily encouragement?)

Compassion is to share with another whatever it is that circumstances are bringing to bear on that other. It means to be with, to share, to overlap, no matter how difficult or painful it may be…Madeleine L’Engle, Author. (Remember “A Wrinkle in Time”? This author was a great encourager.)

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can…John Wesley. (This is a tall order, but you don’t have to be tall to fill it.)

Let everyone you meet be happier for having met you, for having spoken to you. This you can do by spreading joy….Edgar Cayce. (Ah, joy…that elusive, fleeting feeling of euphoria…I love it!)

Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend…Albert Camus. (Even if I tick you off!)

And finally, “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments…”2 Timothy 2:23 NIV (I love this advice but don’t always take it!)

Please, just walk beside me and be my friend…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Gifts

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I was working at the Canadian Bible Society Book Store on Monday, April 30, 2001, when a new shipment of Bibles came in, which included a beautiful family Bible, NKJV, with illustrations by the painter of light, Thomas Kinkade. It took my breath away!

As I priced and shelved these Bibles, the thought came to mind that I would love to give one to each of my five children for Christmas. (Yes, I thought of Christmas in April!) These Bibles were very expensive and it occurred to me that by purchasing them now, on a lay-away plan, they would be bought and paid for by December. However, not sure of what my family’s reaction would be, I decided to think about this idea for a few days.

The very next day I opened the following e-mail from my daughter-in-law, Sonya. It was a forward, the most timely one I had ever received; and here it is in its entirety:

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As graduation day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study, and told him how proud he was to have such a fine son and how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely leather-bound Bible with his name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realized his father was very old and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since graduation day. But before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, “If you then, though you are evil (meaning not perfect) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words…PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

You guessed it! I bought those Bibles the very next day, and by December they were all paid for, and each was embossed in gold with its recipient’s family name. To my mind it was the best gift I’ve ever given, and no, there were no car keys or hundred dollar bills tucked inside, only my undying love and God’s undying Word.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Quotes from Great People

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The longer I live, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I want to learn. Now, onto more famous quotes. (Once again, my comments are in parenthesis.) By the way, I saved the best for last; it’s a real thought provoker.

No man’s life can be encompassed in one telling. There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record and try to find one’s way to the heart of man…Mahatma Ghandi. (I always wondered what this meant until I wrote my book, and then it became clear.)

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience…Pierre Tielhard de Chardin. (This one keeps my thinking cap on!)

Never be entirely idle but either be reading or writing or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good…Thomas A Kempis-early 15th century. (I found this one in a cemetary.)

All that we are is a result of all that we have thought…Buddha. (It reminds me of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.)

I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I ever knew), their names are what and where and when and how and why and who…Rudyard Kipling. (It is said that this is a journalist’s mantra.)

The individual human personality has bound up inside itself, a connection to all the wonders of the universe…Sidney Poitier in The Measure of a Man. (I like to think of this as truth.)

Focus on the front windshield and not on the rearview mirror of life…Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State. (That goes for driving a car too!)

It is one thing to talk about God. It is quite another thing to experience God…Leonard Sweet, Methodist Theologian. (The experience is what encourages the talk.)

Life is God’s gift to you, the way you live it is your gift to God…Leo Buscaglia. (Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.)

Live that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip…Will Rogers. (That’s why I never had a parrot.)

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give…Winston Churchill. (This doesn’t mean just money…does it?)

I expect to pass through life but once, if therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now…William Penn. (I hope this cures me of my procrastination.)

And finally…

What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep you dreamed? And what if in your dream you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand?…Samuel Taylor Coleridge. (No comment.)

Just for Laughs

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It appears that most of my blogs have been on a more serious bent and I am about to change that. Proverbs 15:30 says A cheerful look brings joy to the heart…and Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine…

Today’s post will include some Christian humor…just a little…just for laughs. Here goes….

A man appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. “Have you done anything of merit?” St. Peter asked. “Well, I can think of one thing”, the man offered. “Once on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of high-testosterone bikers who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone but they wouldn’t listen. So I approached the largest and most heavily tattooed biker, smacked him on the head, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring and threw it on the ground. I yelled, “Now back off biker boy or you’ll answer to me!” St. Peter was impressed. “When did this happen?” he asked. “Just a couple of minutes ago.”

 A man, his wife and mother-in-law went on a vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there the mother-in-law passed away. The undertaker told them “You can have her shipped home for $5000 or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.” The man thought about it and told him he’d just have her shipped home. “Why? Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when it would be wonderful to be buried here and spend only $150.” The man said, “A man died here 2000 years ago, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead.” I just can’t take that chance.”

This is about a middle-aged woman who wanted a new improved self.

Unfortunately she ends up injured in a car accident and is rushed to hospital. As she floats in and out of consciousness, she begs God to keep her alive. God tells her not to worry and promises her a long, long life.

While she’s in hospital recovering from her broken bones she figures she might as well get a few other things done. She opts for a tummy tuck, a breast augmentation, has her eyes lifted and her nose reduced.

She looks and feels like a new woman and can’t wait to show the world.

She had just left the hospital for home when a bus rounds the corner, slams into her and kills her. When she gets to heaven she’s furious and tells God “You said I was going to live a long life. What happened?”

God studies her face and says, “I didn’t recognize you!”

 

A man was taking it easy, lying on the grass looking up at the clouds and decided to talk to God. “God” he said “How long is a million years?” God answered, “In my frame of reference, it’s about a minute.” Then the man asked God “How much is a million dollars?”

God answered, “To me it’s a penny.”

The man asked “God can I have a penny?”

God said, “In a minute.”

And that’s it for my attempt at Christian humor. My apologies to anyone who may take offence; especially bikers, mothers-in-law, and those prone to gilding the lily.

In case you are wondering where my material came from, I borrowed it from one of my Alpha experiences. My pastor loved to open each session with a bit of humor.

Until tomorrow….

Wake Up! There is a Better Way

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Who of us is immune to the effects of vandalism, terrorism, random acts of violence, and the life-snuffing behavior of some people who seem to have a complete disrespect for their fellow person?

We see it around the world; Russia, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, America, Canada…each country has its own lack of human values to deal with: guns, knives, machetes, bricks, sticks, stones, whatever…to prove what?

I even noticed it in our own recent Provincial elections, to a lesser degree but noticeable, indeed. I call it a new kind of party animal (if you will pardon the pun) where,  instead of sticking to their own agendas, and offering voters some substantial food for thought, two of the three candidates went on a bashing spree against the third one; verbal yes, but still bashing. It reminded me of Genesis 50:20 when Joseph said to his brothers, who sold him into slavery, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…”

It is all an assault on my senses, and I go on a writing spree. The G-20 Toronto Summit riots in 2010, and the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots in 2011, prompted the following:

WAKE UP! THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

To all who are asleep in vandalism and violent acts,

unconscious to the fact

that destroying the lives of other people and their property

is not a joke, hear this!

What gives you the right to take a rock

and with your might

smash the life another person lives?

Hear what I say:

“Wake up! There is a better way.”

Look at you!

What do you see?

That thoughtless, senseless person

is not who you’re meant to be!

Wear the shoes of the destroyed

rather than the destroyer.

See how it feels

to be ground

under the heels

of people

who are not aware

of their good side.

Again I say,

“Wake up! There is a better way!”

Find it! Change your wicked ways!

Humanity awaits the new you.

©2011

Can you imagine a world where we work together instead of against each other? Do you remember John Lennon’s Imagine? Imagine if we try.

More on Not to Worry

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In 1989 the Canadian economy experienced the beginning of a downturn, and the booming business I had been used to for four years in my pretty little gift shop was suddenly not booming anymore. In fact it got to the point where I was behind on my rent. While trying to get past this hurdle without reverting back to the old worry habit, I turned the radio on to this line of Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 hit, Don’t Worry, Be Happy…The landlord says your rent is late…he may have to litigate…but don’t worry, be happy.

It made me laugh, and freed my mind to thinking through my dilemma, which got suitably sorted out in the end.

And then there’s this from Alpha’s Challenging Lifestyle by Nicky Gumbel:

It’s an excerpt from the chapter, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

There are seven reasons why we should not worry:

First…To worry is to miss the point in life

Second…Worry is illogical…it is a slander on God’s character

Third…Worry is a complete waste of time; it is futile, unproductive and pointless. So many things we worry about never happen.

Fourth…Worry is incompatible with faith

Fifth…Worry is un-Christian

Sixth…Worry is unnecessary

Seventh…Worry is incompatible with common sense. (This is my favorite)

And then there is this from All Things Are Possible Through Prayer by Charles L. Allen

Worry? Why worry? What can worry do?

It never keeps a trouble from overtaking you.

It gives you indigestion and sleepless hours at night

And fills with gloom the days, however fair and bright.

It puts a frown upon the face and sharpness to the tone.

We’re unfit to live with others and unfit to live alone.

Worry? Why worry? What can worry do?

It never keeps a trouble from overtaking you.

Pray? Why pray? What can praying do?

Praying really changes things, arranges life anew.

It’s good for your digestion, gives peaceful sleep at night

And fills the grayest, gloomiest day with rays of glowing light.

It puts a smile upon your face, the love note in your tone,

Makes you fit to live with others and fit to live alone.

Pray? Why pray? What can praying do?

It brings God down from heaven, to live and work with you.

Finally, this from an unknown poet:

In life there are only two things to worry about,

whether you are well, or whether you are sick.

If you are well, you have nothing to worry about,

but if you are sick, there are only two things to worry about;

whether you will get better or whether you will die.

If you get better, you have nothing to worry about,

but if you die, there are only two things to worry about;

whether you will go to heaven or to hell.

If you go to heaven, you have nothing to worry about,

and if you go to hell, you will be so busy shaking hands with your friends,

you won’t have time to worry!

That’s the end of the worry topic. Now for tomorrow’s post. Hmmm, let me think!