Acquaintance with the original texts, and willingness to give up human beliefs (established by hierarchies, and instigated sometimes by the worst passions of men), open the way for Christian Science to be understood, and make the Bible the chart of life, where the buoys and healing currents of truth are pointed out.
SH 24: 4-10
Sausalito Sunset by Jennifer
The colors are changing in Hope Valley, California – between Kirwood and South Lake Tahoe – aspen, willow and pine trees. From Cindy Cowen.
From Cindy Cowen
Here is a definition of dream that might be interesting and helpful for this week’s lesson:
SH DREAM, noun [G.]
1. The thought or series of thoughts of a person in sleep. We apply dream in the singular, to a series of thoughts, which occupy the mind of a sleeping person, in which he imagines he has a view of real things or transactions. A dream is a series of thoughts not under the command of reason, and hence wild and irregular.
By Linda Berckmann
Last month I received a phone call from a family member who was struggling with a very challenging situation. I was quite fearful for him. After the call I attempted to pray but my thought kept getting pulled back to the problem. I lay awake all night, swinging back and forth between prayer, and trying to figure out what I could possibly do to fix what seemed like an unfixable situation. I felt helpless. It was a very fitful night. By morning I was exhausted.
As I was getting ready for work, the tears started flowing and I literally was down on my knees in sadness. I turned to God in desperation and asked, “Father, what can I do?”. In the clearest, most beautiful voice I have ever heard, God answered, “Lean on me”. In that moment, the burden of feeling a sense of responsibility to make it all okay, totally drained away. Fear was replaced with trust, and sorrow with joy! The remaining tears were cleansing tears of gratitude.
I finished getting ready for work, trusting God’s protective care of all involved. Within the hour I received a phone call that the situation was turning around dramatically. Within a couple of days, no remnants of the problem remained. In fact, things were better than ever!
This has been such a reminder to me to lean completely on God…always. Our Father-Mother is here, right now. “…and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever.” SH 578:17
PSALM XXIII
[Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [love] leadeth me beside the still waters.
[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.
[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever.
(SH 578:4–18)
From Duffy
Humility is a form of prayer
Let your moral excellence shine through
Your love and care, the gift you give mankind
Honor, glorify and praise your Father Mother God
Radiate God’s Principle
Knowing and sharing in His Love
Expecting honorable interactions
Seeing humility reflected in each being
A quality we all include because we are God’s
Be selfless and open to God’s kingdom
Acknowledging His government
Yielding to His authority, dignity and grace
Humbly recognizing His works in your day
And the protection and guidance He provides
Hello friends and Pam’s students! I have volunteered and am honored to help with this “blam”. We will hear from Pam regularly and she would like to hear from us. I think we would also like to hear from each other!
So – let’s share our healings, our news and our gratitude. Let’s share our insights, stories and anecdotes. We can also share our questions and introduce topics for discussion! We may not feel that we are “writers”, but we all share a common bond of love and inspiration. We also share a very special way of looking at life!
We are quite privileged to have wonderful resources to draw on for wisdom and inspiration. I always enjoy the periodicals and would like to start the ball rolling by sharing a quote from the October 1 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. I like to “bookmark” articles which I find especially meaningful and I also enjoy the articles directed to teens.
This is from the article to teens entitled “How Does a Christian Science Healing Happen?” by Jenny Sawyer:
As we pray about a problem, it’s easy to think that we’re making something happen, or causing God to do something for us. But that’s not what prayer does. What prayer does is help us wake up to what’s already true, what’s already in place. It clears away the doubt and fear so we can see that everything God made is just as intact as it’s always been. When you see this clearly, it’s an “aha” moment—and an adjustment in your thoughts and life inevitably follows.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Jennifer 🌸
(Thanks, Jo, for sharing ! Love your bright smile!)
Just wanted to share the dearest example of Love’s care and comfort —
For one reason or another, it had been almost a year since I had been to the dentist, and when a cancellation came up at my dentist’s office, I was happy to run over and get my teeth cleaned. As the hygienist began to do her thing, it seemed that the procedure was not going to be as easy we both would like. When it got to be painful, I just turned to God to ask him what I can feel, really. Right away, the words from a familiar hymn came to thought — “I feel the calm and joy of things immortal…”. (Hymn 64: From Sense to Soul…)
I was immediately comforted, and another phrase came to mind — “calm and exalted thought, or spiritual apprehension.” That is part of a statement from Science and Health on page 506:11-12, …”The calm and exalted thought, or spiritual apprehension is at peace.” I thought for a moment about spiritual apprehension, and what that meant in that moment. My thought was led to consider the what was true about man as God’s expression, rather than the suggestion of an unpleasant experience.
Really, just a moment or two passed before I was completely comfortable and pain free. I smiled that sweet smile of gratitude when I realized that even the hygienist was more comfortable. Her touch was lighter on my jaw, and she was more relaxed. And there was not one more moment of pain or discomfort as she completed her task!
I am so grateful for Christian Science!
Jo Scoville
Thanks, Kit Kurtz, for posting this lovely piece!
We have a beautiful dining table. When the two leaves are added it seats eight people, ten if you double up on the ends. My mother and I would search for friends and acquaintances that needed a place to share gratitude and Thanksgiving dinner. We were usually able to fill the table.
My mother had passed on earlier in the year so I was on my own to carry on our tradition. I had invited people at church and although I hadn’t heard back from everyone it looked like a full table again this year.
The weekend before Thanksgiving I was not feeling well, struggling with a runny nose and other cold symptoms. On Sunday I really understood the service to be God’s and I was able to perform my job as Second Reader perfectly. But after church I seemed to be sneezy again. I tried to put aside worry about my ability to read Thanksgiving and make a 1pm dinner after church for everyone. I love the idea of worry being ingratitude in advance and I CERTAINLY did not want to be ungrateful AT THANKSGIVING!
Tuesday morning I went swimming in the ocean even though I still wasn’t feeling well. As I prayed and swam I was reminded that a Christian Science Teacher had once told my mother that a cold is a sense of feeling unloved. While I didn’t want to be formulaic about my prayers I decided to examine the idea that perhaps I was feeling unloved. I discovered that with the holiday coming up I was thinking a lot about my mother and missing her. Also, my daughter had just left after spending a beautiful visit with us and I was missing her too. A hymn popped into my thought that has the line “Come ye disconsolate where air ye languish.” At that moment I felt quite disconsolate. But the hymn is about coming to God’s everpresent love—a stanza ends with the line, “Earth has no sorrow that Love cannot cure.”
I also knew that feeling sad or unloved was not my nature. I know that all love comes from Mother /Father God and is expressed by her creation, man, but man is not the source. My mother and my daughter certainly expressed love that I felt and gave back but that love was always, is always from God. As I continued to pray, a beautiful sense of everpresent Love came over me. I held to that feeling of infinite Love’s tangible presence all day and also knew that that love was there and known by everyone wherever they were in the world. By the end of the day all symptoms of a cold had vanished.
Also, just after my beautiful prayerful swim, my son and I were invited to an evening Thanksgiving celebration. I accepted. All the people that I had invited to our dinner had accepted the invitation by Wednesday evening. I felt so very loved by God in the expression of the nineteen people at dinner. If you ask God for love you get abundance. I had a wonderful two Thanksgiving dinners surrounded by Love. And yes there was just enough turkey.
Thanks Kathie, for your inspiration.
Continuing in prayer regarding ongoing fires, was grateful for new inspiration that came from studying the Lesson today.
It began in Section 3, citation 12: “It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love.” Today I saw more clearly that we don’t all have separate lives, some fortunate, and others not so much. Life is All, is good, is omnipresence. We all live the same Life filled up full with abundant blessings from our Father-Mother Love. And this Life is one of infinite, uninterrupted harmony, provision, peace, lovingkindness, generosity, comfort, strength, wisdom, purity, wisdom, freedom, truth, inspiration, trust and joy. Never for an instant can anyone ever be separated from any element of God’s goodness and loving care. No one can lose their home, their employment, family or friends, for these all harmoniously flourish in His kingdom where we all forever safely dwell, permanently employed and companioned by divine Life, Truth and Love.
In Section 4, citation 10, Jesus told the nobleman, whose son was near death, “Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went (H)is way.” Here I saw not only “thy son liveth”, but also further clarification that “thy home liveth (survives/continues), thy job/purpose liveth, thy abundant provision liveth, thy friends and family liveth”……… even right now where the carnal mind may be declaring otherwise. It’s a liar, and as unsettling and scary as its reports may sometimes seem, they are never true, never valid and never touch, determine or identify our one and only, true, spiritual being. God/Good, is our only Life. He alone gives us our day, and it couldn’t be better. And the nobleman accepted, and believed this truth despite the appearance of things, and before he saw tangible evidence of it.
In citation 15, we are told that: “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts…” Our atmosphere may literally appear dark and foreboding, and our minds may temporarily appear to express that darkness. But in reality, right now where we are, the light of Christ, Truth, is shining brightly at God’s command. We are all that light, and dwell in that light, so our experience can only express that light. There is no other presence, power or activity that can prevent God from shining throughout His kingdom. This light opens our eyes and ears and hearts to recognize the forever omniness of infinite Love, and our forever oneness with Her.
In Section 2, citation 8, it says: “…divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; …joy cannot be turned into sorrow…” I see these as promises from God, so it must also be true that Love’s idea cannot be deprived of his comfort from, and trust in, Love’s allness. The reality of “what is” forever outshines the lies of “what ifs” or “what appears to be”. Never has anyone ever been deprived of this light and joy “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”
Thought by thought, His legions of angels are communicating all we need to know to continue to go His way with a clear sense of Truth, and a calm trust in God’s ability to always meet every human need. I pray to know that every one of Love’s precious children can feel the calm and comfort of this Christly love embracing them, permeating every thought and action. And that this understanding, and conviction, of Love’s allness brings peace to all.
(Thanks, Duffy! So very needed now.)
Love is the motive
Love is existence
Love is what we do, why we do, how we do
LOVE IS IT
Love is caring, sharing, repairing
Love is working ceaselessly
Love is my angel manifestation of God
Love is my spiritual unity with God, my inseparability from God
Love is the reason
Love is absolute
Love is guaranteed
Love is Being
Love is all encompassing
Love is infinite, abundant
Love is huge
Love is Oneness
Love everyone, everywhere, every moment
Love always
Love completely
Love endlessly
Love is why God made us
Love is the purpose
Love is pure
Love is beauty in all things
Love is a shield
Love protects
Love supplies
Love leads and guides