Tag: christianity

Reblog — Teen suicide: prayer that helps

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Teen suicide: prayer that helps

By Judith Hardy Olson (via CSMonitor.com)

…The suicides of two of my friends’ teenage sons were a wake-up call to me. Comforting and consoling parents and schoolmates wasn’t enough for me. Deep in my soul I prayed, “Father, how can I best help troubled teens know that they’re needed?” I listened. What came was a sweet, strong assurance that Life and Love are inseparable, for God is both. Pondering Love as the only creator, I reasoned then that our entire being has to be (and is) just as lovely and loving as God is. God’s promise in the Bible that because we’re precious to Him we’re honorable and He loves us (see Isaiah 43:4) came alive to me. It said to me that each of us is because we’re precious. Why, of course. A God who is Love couldn’t, wouldn’t, create a single idea that’s not purposeful, precious, needed, wanted… Read more

Universal message of Christ

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

After reading the news story, “Culture wars: Holiday struggle over public spaces still very much alive“, I prayed to know that the spiritual significance of Christ can unite us, instead of divide us.

I’ve heard that the use of the words: Christ, God, and Jesus are a turn-off for some people and make them think about political parties, war, injustice, etc. instead of their spiritual, healing meaning.
I love the definition of Christ given in Christian Science:

“Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 339)

Christ is not so much a person in Christian Science as it is the divine voice, guidance, influence, attraction, and healing power.

It is also described as: the spiritual and true idea of God; that which alone confers the healing power.

The textbook of Christian Science continues:

“Jesus is the name of the man who, more than all other men, has presented Christ, the true idea of God…” (p. 473)

Each of us has the power and ability to express the Christ and be a healing influence on our friends, families and neighbors.

The Christ is what elevates us, wipes away our tears, gives us hope and understanding, unites family and friends, enables us to rise higher in our life achievements, impels unselfish giving, heals sickness, and focuses our thought on the eternal and peaceful.

It is our link to the divine.

There is nothing in Spirit which can divide us. It’s very nature is eternal, complete, whole, pure and perfect.

In this season and every season, the universal, healing message of the Christ is speaking to us.

Sticky paper

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

I recently had a mouse in my house. We thought the cats would solve the problem but after several weeks we purchased live traps. A few days later we caught the mouse and released it in the woods. Problem solved!

I discussed this issue with a family member who shared her stories of catching mice, including the use of sticky paper.

I’m personally not a fan of the sticky paper method, but thinking about this sticky paper did prove to be a useful analogy in my spiritual practice.

I was praying during the church service this last Sunday. It was uplifting, inspiring and healing. However, now and then, these thoughts would come out of no where: feeling personally offended by a situation, rehearsing another uncomfortable situation, etc.

This was my response: there is no “sticky paper” in my consciousness to trap these thoughts. I could simply let them go — no reaction, no distraction. I did let them go and continued on with my prayers. And I felt so uplifted!

This is a process I would highly recommend to anyone! You could also think of the analogy of throwing spaghetti noodles at the wall — in this case, we don’t want them to stick!