"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 315

"O my child, if you knew what God wills for you, your joy would be complete! And what He wills has happened, for it was always true. When the light comes and you have said "God's Will is mine," you will see such beauty that you will not know it is not of you...The bleak little world will vanish into nothingness, and your heart will be so filled with joy that it will leap into Heaven, into the Presence of God."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 185

Do not say, "I follow the one true path of the Spirit," but rather, "I have found the Spirit walking on my path,"
for the Spirit walks on all paths.
-Khalil Gibran

I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up, I found that life handed you these rusty old bent tools -- friendship, prayer, conscience, honesty -- and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they're enough. -Anne Lamott

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.
-Og Mandino

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

I asked for Strength.........And the Universe gave me Difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom.........And the Universe gave me Problems to solve. I asked for Prosperity.........And the Universe gave me Brain and Brawn to work. I asked for Courage.........And the Universe gave me Danger to overcome. I asked for Love.........And the Universe gave me Troubled people to help. I asked for Favors.........And the Universe gave me Opportunities. I received nothing I wanted ........I received everything I needed!

"The miracle comes quietly into the mind that stops an instant and is still."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 549

Do it anyway People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, others may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. If you give the world the best you have, it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and other people anyway. - Mother Teresa

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
-Henry David Thoreau

as i was walking down life's highway many years ago i came upon a sign that read Heavens Grocery Store when i got a little closer the doors swung open wide and when i came to myself i was standing inside. i saw a host of angels. they were standing everywhere one handed be a basket and said "my child shop with care." everything a human needed was in that grocery store and what you could not carry you could come back for more. first i got some patience. love was in that same row. further down was understanding, you need that everywhere you go. i got a box or two of wisdom and faith a bag or two. and charity of course i would need some of that too. i couldn't miss the Holy Ghost it was all over the place. and then some strength and courage to help me run this race. my basket was getting full but i remembered i needed grace, and then i chose salvation for salvation was for free i tried to get enough of that to do for you and me. then i started to the counter to pay my grocery bill, for i thought i had everything to do the Master's will. as i went up the aisle i saw Prayer and put that in, for i knew when i stepped outside i would run into sin. peace and joy were plentiful, the last things on the shelf. song and praises were hanging near so i just helped myself. then i said to the angel "now how much do i owe?" he smiled and said "just take them everywhere you go." again i asked "really now, how much do i owe?" "my child" he said,"god payed your bill a long time ago."

"There is a place in you where this whole world has been forgotten; where no memory of sin and of illusion linger still. There is a place in you which time has left, and echoes of eternity are heard. There is a resting place so still no sound except a hymn to Heaven rises up to gladden God the Father and the Son...And where they are is Heaven and is peace."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 570

Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself." -Richard Bach

Miracles only come to an open mind, for they cannot slip past a closed door.

Miracles are large in nature, and need an open space,

to place their secrets into the Chalice of the Human Race.
- Nancy Reinitz

All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. They will tell you no. And you will tell them yes. - Anonymous

"Try to realize you are a divine traveller. You are here for only a little while, then depart for a dissimilar and fascinating world. Do not limit your thought to one brief life and one small earth. Remember the vastness of the Spirit that dwells within you."
- Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda

"You can't change the music of your soul."
- Katharine Hepburn

There was an old man, a boy, and a donkey. They were going to town and it was decided that the boy should ride. As they went along they passed some people who thought that it was a shame for the boy to ride and the old man to walk. The old man and boy decided that maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions. Later, they passed some more people who thought that it was a real shame for that man to make such a small boy walk. The two decided that maybe they both should walk. Soon they passed some more people who thought that it was stupid to walk when they had a donkey to ride. The man and the boy decided maybe the critics were right so, they decided that they both should ride. They soon passed other people who thought that it was a shame to put such a load on a poor little animal. The old man and the boy decided that maybe the critics were right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed a bridge they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned. The moral of the story: If you try to please everyone, you will eventually lose your ass.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

"I just look in the mirror and I say
'God, it's really fantastic,
the Lord really gave me something.'
So why on earth should I cover any of it up?
- Edy Williams

I had gone searching for the truth, and found facts instead. I hate that.
- Anonomous

There's a source inside you, all you need do is find it. Once you do, listen carefully, and all your woes will be behind you. This isn't an easy chore, we've all chosen to ignore. Time is of the essence for we all must make our presence. Over and over we try to understand, but tonight I make my stand. I choose to listen and I will not hasten, for time is of the essence! - Linda Smith

"Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only in contradiction to that which is known to us of nature."
- St. Augustine

"It is very important to pray for others, because when you pray for someone, an angel goes and
sits on the shoulder of that person."
-The Virgin Mary to the children at Medjugorje

Make friends with yourself and outer conditions will be friendler, too.

"Do not be afraid to look within. The ego tells you all is black with guilt within you, and bids you not to look. Instead, it bids you look upon your brothers, and see the guilt in them. Yet this you cannot do without remaining blind...Within you is not what you believe is there...Within you is the holy sign of perfect faith your Father has in you...Look then, upon the Light he placed within you, and learn that what you feared was there has been replaced with love."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 244

"Why is it when we talk to God, we are said to be praying, and when God talks to us we're said to be schizophrenic?"
- Lili Tomlin

"Every visible thing in this world is put in the charge of an angel." - St. Augustine

Follow your heart, for it will lead you to beautiful places.

"No one can withold the truth except from himself...Ask yourself, therefore, but one simple question:

'Do I want the problem or do I want the answer?'

Decide for the answer and you will have it, for you will see it as it is, and it is yours already."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 196

Value your thinking. If you don't value it, no one else will.

"Within this kingdom the ego rules, and cruelly. And to defend this little speck of dust it bids you fight against the universe. This fragment of your mind is such a tiny part of that, could you but appreciate the whole, you would see instantly that it is like the smallest sunbeam to the sun, or like the faintest ripple on the surface of the ocean. In its amazing arrogance, this tiny sunbeam has decided it is the sun; this almost imperceptible ripple hails itself as the ocean. Think how alone and frightened is this little thought, this infinitesimal illusion, holding itself apart against the universe. The sun becomes the sunbeam's 'enemy' that would devour it, and the ocean terrifies the little ripple and wants to swallow it."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 364

It is said that the stars in the sky are holes through which our loved ones look down upon us

Man plans...and God laughs

"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."
- Scottish saying

Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
Dance like there's nobody watching.

"Coincidence is God's way of performing a miracle anonymously."
- Anonymous

"The world is full of miracles. They stand in shining silence next to every dream of pain and suffering, of sin and guilt. They are the dream's alternative, the choice to be the dreamer, rather than deny the active role in making up the dream."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 553

"There is no miracle you cannot have when you desire healing."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 598

"By the practice of meditation", the Master said, "you will find that you are carrying within your heart a portable paradise."
- Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda

"Do not deny yourself the joy that was created for you for the misery you have made for yourself. God has given you the means for undoing what you have made. Listen, and you will learn how to remember what you are."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 178

"Do not accept this little, fenced-off aspect as yourself. The sun and ocean are as nothing beside what you are. The sunbeam sparkles only in the sunlight, and the ripple dances as it rests upon the ocean. Yet in neither sun nor ocean is the power that rests in you. Would you remain in your tiny kingdom, a sorry king, a bitter ruler of all that he surveys, who looks on nothing yet who would still die to defend it? This little self is not your kingdom. Arched high above it and surrounding it with love is the glorious whole, which offers all its happiness and deep content to every part."
- A Course in Miracles, p. 365

"The past can not be changed, but the future is whatever you want it to be."

THE CRACKED POT A water bearer in India had two large pots; each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway. Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that "In Him every one of God's promises is a Yes."