Angels are such interesting beings. It seems they are different from spirits and ghosts. When you see an angel (more commonly you “feel” one), you are swept up in warmth, safety and unfathomable tender love. Mother! cries your soul, or Home!

Unlike humans, angels know that all things proceed from God. We humans, on the other hand, give way to doubt and even deny the existence of God when things don’t appear to be working out the way we want—or on our timing. We forget that what seems a misfortune may come with a golden crown, or that the delight we desired may carry with it a nest of thorns.

But angels know one thing that we poor humans don’t (it’s one of the laws of the universe): Whatever we want will be given us, not necessarily when we want it, but if it is good for us, we receive it when we’re not thinking about it!

In other words, you get everything you want, when you don’t care anymore!  

My friend Judith wanted a horse when she was young. Her colleague, Stuart, told her to get a vanity license plate for her car with the name of the horse she’d like. She chose the Welsh name, Ceilhe, pronounced Kay-lee, and for years she rode the horse of her dreams as her car. 

One day years later, when she owned several horses, she was riding, Aquella, her white Lusitano when she heard herself say, “Whoa, Quellie,” and remembered her dream, her car named Ceilhe (Kay-lee). God had brought her the horse with almost the same name!

As a child you wanted a dog...and 30 years later you find yourself buying a dog for your own child. You wanted a particular job...and one day, to your surprise, it pours itself on you. You broke up with your childhood sweetheart...and marry him 40 years later. 

How many examples in your life can you think of where you received the prayers of your heart after you’d totally forgotten wanting them?

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Author of 13 books, Sophy Burnham is a mystic, healer and seer. She is best known for her ground-breaking books on the spiritual dimension of life, including A Book of Angels, The Ecstatic Journey and The Path of Prayer. She is a frequent public speaker and gives workshops worldwide.

Find out more at SophyBurnham.com.

Recognizing miracles just takes practice.

I once read of a primitive tribe in Africa who sends each teenager out to live in the jungle alone for a certain time period.

While there, the kids’ main purpose is to commune with tribal spirits, and then to bring back advice and perspectives to the elders. The clan expects this interaction, and it happens. 

In our more “sophisticated” society, such events as angel sightings or miracles aren’t as readily expected. I think we miss a lot of signs from heaven not because they aren’t there, but because we aren’t conditioned to watch for them. We expect miracles in epic proportions.

But I think miracles are more often very subtle. They’re intimate signals from God that happen every day to people of all faiths, small touches that often go unnoticed. We would more readily recognize these glimmers if we were aware of their possibility.

During this week, it might be fun to take note of how many times we ask God for little things: a parking place, healing a child’s cough, that the milk lasts through dinner—and see how many are quietly addressed.

These marvels won’t be covered by the press. It’ll be you, communing with the Spirit.

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Find more blogs and articles by Joan Wester Anderson.

Is there a place that refreshes your soul, simply by being there? If so, please let me know where it is. I’m making up a plan for the next 100 places I want to travel to! In the  photos, you can see a few favorite places of mine. Can you identify any?

Larry gave me a T-shirt last Mother’s Day. (I’ll admit it…when I saw it, I wanted it, and told him it was exactly what he should get me for a gift…nothing subtle about me!) Across the front, in bold letters, it says: “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” The place Larry bought the shirt was Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia, in May 2009. 

The words across the front, though, were written in California nearly 100 years ago by John Muir, founder of the 630,000-member Sierra Club, the same man whose enormous enthusiasm and persistence carried our nation to the birth of its national parks system.

Some of the places that refresh our souls are in national parks, such as Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yellowstone in Wyoming or The Everglades in Florida. 

Some are in state parks, like Silver Falls in Oregon or Tyler in Pennsylvania.

Some of the closest and easiest for us to get to are the ones right in our backyard…in community parks like Langhorne Heritage Farm and Catawissa Creek Nature Preserve that folks in my own town worked so hard to save, and to which I donated thousands of hours in the negotiating and the raising of funds to purchase. 

Some places that refresh our souls were saved by people unconnected with government Places like Williamsburg, Virginia and the Redwoods in California.

Those open spaces that refresh your soul might be the snow-capped mountains, a tranquil lake, or a meadow with waving grasses, or a rushing stream, or an ocean beach….

Wherever those places are that refresh your soul, chances are 9 out of 10 that someone had to work hard volunteering time and energy to save it, other people had to donate money, someone else had to bear the attacks of those who wanted to commercialize it, someone else had to negotiate with the owner, the neighbors, the prevailing government. Someone, still today, has to maintain it. 

Whenever I visit one of the many, many places that refreshes my soul, I pause for just a moment to thank God and the many unnamed people who helped make it possible. 

So, I’d love to know: where is a favorite place that refreshes your soul? Tell me about it.  

Carol

Feel free to email me your environmental tips and questions!

A Time to Pass It Forward   

Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to a weight-loss group at the gym where I work out. It was so humbling to be able to share with them all that I have learned about proper nutrition and exercise. 

As I spoke to them I noticed many headshakes of understanding as they were able to relate to the struggles that all of us who are overweight experience.

For example, one thing we shared is that many of us understand what it takes to lose the weight, but often we feel that we aren’t capable of doing it or don’t have the time. We think it’s hopeless, and we are so wrapped up in our daily lives we believe we don’t have the ability to devote ourselves to the process. 

In addition, with so many hats to wear being an employee, wife, mother, among many other titles...we seem to lose ourselves. I reminded the group, however, that we must take time for ourselves in order to become healthier, and I was so glad to see that they were willing to take time out of their busy schedules and devote it to improving their health. 

Like many of those in the group, and maybe many of you, I also thought I never had the time to exercise or cook a healthy meal. I was always so busy being a teacher, wife, mother, chauffer, Awana leader, and the list goes on, that I left no time for myself to even enjoy a little free time much less time to exercise. Besides, where would I find the energy? 

I have come to realize, however, that after six months of eating healthy and exercising six days per week I have more energy than I ever thought possible, and I actually look forward to my time of exercising each day! 

As I continued to talk to the group I reminded them that nobody can make you become a healthier person, and there are no quick fixes. You have to want to do this for yourself, so that you can be a better mom, wife, employee, etc.

We also have to realize that this is for the rest of our lives, so we must make changes in our daily habits that are manageable and can last a lifetime. 

I believe that you will find, as I did, that your family will be very supportive and appreciative that you have taken this time for yourself, once they notice the many wonderful changes that occur. So, do this for yourself and do it for your family—you’ll never regret it!

Read more of Tammie's blogs!

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What Can Change and Contrast Teach Us?

I remember seeing the stage musical Fiddler On The Roof when I was a teenager. I loved movies and theater, and my dad had bought season tickets to the 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle.

It was clear to me that a major theme was how daughters rebelled against their father's wishes, to choose their own happiness, rather than what tradition dictated.

This didn't strike me as very revolutionary—after all, I grew up in the '70s and '80s and completely took it for granted that women could make their own choices in life.

But of course in 1905s Tsarist Russia it was a big deal, and to Tevye, it was scary. Because things were changing, and he felt he had no control over them.

I think about the things that are a big deal now that may not be in 100 years. 

We all know change is a huge part of life, and resisting it can cause a lot of heartache.

That doesn't mean it's easy.

When my feathers get ruffled by people or events, I try to ask myself: "What am I afraid of?" I have come to believe that fear is at the root of most resistance to change—whether it is a move, a job, a change in relationship, and also the root of reacting negatively to anything or anyone who is different from us. That kind of contrast can send us into outrage, as we try to change it to something more comfortable, and feel helpless to do it.

I have a friend who recently sent me a political joke. Don't worry, I'm not going to go there! But I was immediately frustrated and annoyed that she'd sent it, since I've asked her several times not to include me in those kind of joke emails. Sure, I have a sense of humor, and support anyone wanting to improve things in the world, but I don't feel good when I participate in hate.

I took some time to cool off, so I wouldn’t blast her with anger, and then I sent her a heartfelt email, and let her know why they bothered me—that I thought fear was the basis of those jokes, and what plagued those who created and sent them.

"I understand that people are afraid," I wrote to her. "They are angry about things they don't like, and the way the world is changing, and they feel powerless. I also think they are afraid of those who are different. They are afraid of loss, of the unknown. They are afraid there isn't enough to go around, and someone is going to take something from them. Since they are afraid and express their fear as hate, they think the "other side" is also after them, and will in kind respond with hate. They feel helpless and powerless, so they rage and hate, disguised as humor, as a way to deal with their feelings."

"I think we can be better than that," I concluded, "I think I can, and I think you can, and that's why I don't like to be part of these battles."

At the bottom of these two issues—change and contrast, there is fear, but when we uncover it, shine a little light on it, maybe give it a hug, it has less power to manifest itself in a negative, ugly, and polarizing way.

I struggle with change, and I struggle with those I strongly disagree with. But how I respond is what affects and creates my world.

In this very big and very complex world, there is a lot we really can control—we can control our actions and responses, our thoughts, and we can process our feelings in a healthy way. We can create a more loving, trusting, peaceful life by focusing on love, and allowing love, from a source that's bigger than we are.  

I like to think this opportunity for conscious choosing is the lesson that change and contrast can teach us. It's a lesson I need to remember and continually work on—with a lot of help from within and above.
 

On Our Knees

I’m in Abilene, Texas, this week, helping my daughter as she recuperates from knee surgery. Arthroscopic knee surgery, ACL replacement and meniscus repair, to be exact. Christina is only 27 years old and this is her second knee surgery.

Chances are you know a young woman that has had this type of surgery, or perhaps you’ve had it yourself. Females who take part in sports involving jumping and pivoting like soccer, basketball, and gymnastics have a risk of knee injury that is 4-6 times higher than for males taking part in the same sports.

Christina was a dancer from the age of 3 to 17. She did tap, ballet and jazz six days a week with the Owensboro Dance Theater, and then with the Apollo High School of Owensboro, KY. Her legs hurt her for years. I took her to an orthopedist when she was a teen and he told her, “One day your knees are going to just give out.”

That day happened this fall. To get back in shape Christina began working with a trainer. He paid no attention to her history of knee problems and had her doing jumping lunges with weights. There was a pop and she collapsed. 

There are many theories about why girls and women are more at risk of serious knee injuries than their male counterparts. But one thing research definitely shows is that strength training has an astonishingly protective effect. The Bible says, “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” (Hebrews 12:12)

Here is an exercise that Christina is doing to build strength in her quadriceps muscle. You can do it to strengthen your knees.

Straight Leg Raises
Lay on your back on a flat surface. Bend the knee of your left leg to a 90-degree angle with your foot flat on the surface.

Contract your abdominals and breathe deeply. Keep your right leg straight without the knee bent. Exhale and slowly lift the right leg six inches off the floor (by contracting the front thigh muscles). Hold for two breaths and inhale and lower back down. 

Repeat 10 times and work up to two minutes of straight leg raises. Switch legs.

• Progression: Lift leg up to the height of the opposite knee and hold for two breaths, continue lifting for two minutes. 
• Progression: Sit up tall at the edge of a chair as you contract the abdominals. Exhale and lift the leg off the floor about 6-12 inches or to the height of the opposite knee. Inhale and lower back down to the floor. 
• You can also use a stretch band and wrap it under their foot as you lift and lower your leg.

 
Blessings,
Theresa

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Get more advice from Theresa!

Find all you need to know on whole-person 
wellness in Shaped by Faith.

Theresa is a former model and nationally certified fitness professional who teaches people to use their faith to inspire fitness and their fitness to strengthen their faith. She is the author of Shaped by Faith: 10 Secrets to Strengthening your Body & Soul, and two exercise DVDS: Pilates for the Soul

She and her husband, Robin, have seven children and live in Calhoun, Kentucky.

You can email her with any questions or concerns.

The Ultimate Relaxation Music Collection

Mornings are my most hectic time. I have two elementary school-age children and both of their buses come at 7:30 a.m.

Before that there’s breakfast, packing lunches, help untying yesterday’s double knotted sneakers, feeding the cats, giving the chicken water and corn, making sure one child has their recorder and the other has her spelling binder…you know what I mean.

Today, Lisbet wanted beef burritos for lunch and so I got up a bit earlier than the rest of my family to get the ingredients for those ready. While the meat was cooking, I put one the CDs of The Ultimate Relaxation Music Collection into my laptop and began to listen. This is a 4-CD instrumental music collection GUIDEPOSTS is releasing in February 2010. One of my jobs, as the music editor for GuidepostsBooks and Inspirational Media, is to make sure the song selection is just right.

“Near to the Heart of God”… “Abide with Me”… “Shenandoah”… Pachebel’s “Canon”… My morning rush slowed as I remembered my mother playing some of these songs on the piano when I was young.

Eight-year-old Kalle came down in her nightgown and immediately started humming along to “Morning Has Broken.” “I know this song from church,” she said happily playing with the volume control.

“Ah, my people’s song,” said my husband Dave, listening to next song, “Be Still, My Soul,” with the wonderful, stirring melody by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Lisbet, my violin-playing daughter, brushed her hair quietly to a Vivaldi violin concerto, blew a kiss and went out the door.

There was peace in the kitchen this morning, a restful calm that has stayed with me all day.

Lenore Person
GuidepostsBooks

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