Praying when shopping

One way that I utilize prayer is to know what to buy and when to buy it. Pray has helped me make right purchases at the right time and has also saved me from unproductive shopping & useless transactions. Prayer saves time & money.

I’ve learned that nothing in God’s kingdom is wasted. And that something isn’t a waste if there is a right motive behind it.

One definition of economy is:
the management of the resources of a community, country, etc., especially with a view to its productivity (dictionary.com)

Everything in God’s creation, or what I think of as the Kingdom of Heaven, has value. There are no worthless or unproductive ideas. Therefore everything in our experience can be useful and productive. This saves us from the unsatisfying cravings of commercialism (or buying things just because we like to shop & spend money). It also saves us from being too tight with our money and hoarding it. Neither of these tendencies can occur when we have a spiritual perspective.

Here’s an example:
Last year I decided I wanted an eReader. However, intuitively I knew it wasn’t right to buy one. I still explored the possibility and researched all the eReaders that were out there. Nothing fit the requirements that I wanted in a device. I continued to want an eReader but decided to be obedient to my intuition and be patient and see how things worked out (even though I really wanted to know WHY I couldn’t have one). Well a few months later patience paid off. A new eReader was released on the market that had all the features I wanted. And I knew it was the right device for me immediately. It was given to me as a Christmas gift by my family just a few weeks later. I was saved from making a wasteful purchase that wouldn’t have met my needs. And it was a perfect gift for my family to give me, which I have continued to enjoy and use a lot.

I’m sure we’ve all had experiences like these where we follow our intuition and things work out. This intuition, or divine guidance, is speaking to us ALL the time. Listening to it and being obedient is a skill we can cultivate and practice more and more each day.

Reblog: Finding peace and home

This article is so helpful for seeing home in a spiritual light. 

Finding peace and home 

By Elizabeth Mata                                                                  

My husband is from Spain, and I’m from the United States, so we divide our time between the two countries. It’s not uncommon for people to ask which country I consider home. Preferences aside, that question has made me think more deeply about the spiritual meaning of home.

Most of us want our home and surroundings to include warmth, stability, and peace. As normal as it is to have a home that has these things, circumstances such as foreclosure, destructive weather, or divorce can uproot all that we hold dear about home. Or maybe there’s a necessity to sell one’s home, and there’s no buyer in sight. Then what to do? Read more

What is the Scientific meaning of salvation?

I was reading the weekly Bible lesson this morning (which is comprised of citations from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) and it talks about “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

I began thinking about how the Christ (the activity of God) “saves” us from sin.

I think popular theology says we are “saved” from sin so that we don’t go to hell afterwards and have eternal life.

However, Scientific understanding realizes “sin” (or ‘missing the mark’ as the Latin implies) to be a kind of cloud that covers up God’s light, grace, and love.

So this “salvation” from sin, is actually saving us right now in this present moment.  Sin results from the belief that we are separated from God, good, divine Love.  But we are not and never have been separated with that Love.  We are at one with God, divine Love, right now.

When we live in accord with God’s spiritual nature we are open and receptive to more light, more opportunity and God’s blessings.  We are magnifying good, which is another term for God, and therefore we experience more good in our lives.  We are able to have better, more enriched relationships; confidence in knowing God is supplying all of our home, financial, and job-related needs; and a greater sense of peace along with loving our neighbor & communities better.

So this salvation isn’t meant to deprive us of all the joys of material living now so we can have eternal bliss after.  It is realizing, since God is Spirit, to live in accord with Spirit, to be at-one with Spirit, is where true goodness, peace, and, therefore, happiness comes from.  This is realizing eternal life now – the seamlessness and continuity of life, being, and existence right now.