“Are you up for the challenge?”  
            That question out at me from the Facebook event invite I received. The timing couldn’t have been more divine. I had logged on to FB to breath for a minute—taking a break from some soul searching regarding unconscious resentments I had uncovered. I intellectually recognized them as habitual thought processes—those blocks that damn up the river of divine energy moving through you—AND realized I was ready to break down the dame and choose to create new habits. I was bursting at the seems to let the Love flow! I said ‘yes’ to whatever that entailed…and went online to find this invitation to the “30 Deeds in 30 Days” event.
            Are you up for the challenge? Yes I AM! It is a perfect opportunity to practice choosing differently. I had heard of a similar program a few years back from Rev. Paulette Pipe and remembered how uplifting her stories were. I wanted to participate at the time and somehow it went by the wayside. Not going to happen this time!
            Today is day 2, and I’m loving the attitude adjustment. I'm finding that all day long my thoughts are focused on looking for opportunities to give. The idea is “to commit to intentionally performing one good deed every day to make a positive impact in someone's life for the 30 days of November.”  It’s not about the size of the deed—it’s about choosing to make a positive difference in the world. It’s about knowing that when someone else is having a ‘day,’ we don’t have to join them where they are at—we can be the one who Pays it Forward and offers a new possibility. 
            If you go to the Facebook Event Page you will see people leaving comments about their deeds—it’s fun to read what’s going on. It's also motivating as it fills you with new possibilities for things you can do. I decided that I would enjoy sharing my experience with you, so I’m going to be commenting on this blog as the days progress—and hope that you will join me with comments about your experience.

         One Deed…One Thought…One Day…One Person at a time.  Together we CAN make a positive difference in the world. We are the hands of God.

Did you know that there is a difference between being a Pollyanna and being out of touch with reality? Maybe not to most of the world who have turned the word into a derogatory description—however it is definitely the case in my world. Quite a few years back I set myself on a course to reclaim Pollyanna’s good name—and I know that there are many out there who now think twice before they use her name in vain!

Pollyanna is a literary figure who embraces and demonstrates exactly what we teach in Unity. Through her positive attitude and willingness to see beyond appearances lives are changed—and at a time when she is unable to see the highest good for herself, those whose life she lifted up came forward to support her.

I think it’s time I talked about this Pollyanna Paradox again this Sunday…my friends here at Manhattan haven't heard my perspective, and I just gotta keep the campaign alive!

“There. but for the grace of God, go I”
    Do these words ever go through your head?  They do mine—and I’ve really had to get clear on what I mean when I say or think this.
    No one knows for sure where this Idiom came from—though it is alleged to have begun with an English reformer named John Bradford who made a similar utterance about a criminal who was on his way to execution—but then ended up imprisoned and becoming a martyr himself, so maybe it was a little prophetic more than anything!
    I REALLY think it’s important to understand what we are saying when we use such idioms—as it’s truly possible that they can offer us great insight into old ideas or beliefs which we are subconsciously holding in mind—and these subconscious beliefs form our experience just as much as our conscious beliefs.
    In the Old Testament we have Moses and his covenant of law, and in the New Testament Jesus Christ represents a new covenant of grace—from John 1:17:  “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
    The thing is, many see Law and Grace as opposites. For some, the message of the Law is: "You do what is required, and God will respond with blessings".  Given this, the message of Grace would be: "Jesus has already done what is required on your behalf, and YOU are to respond with faith".
    Not exactly a message that works for me. I don’t see Law and Grace as opposites.  I see Grace as a higher expression of Law.  Let me explain.
    When I talk of God as Law, it is in reference to unchangeable Truth—that which underlies the matrix of cause and effect that is the outpicturing of the Creative Process in action.
    It is an unbreakable law that when something is held in mind it expresses. Does this mean that I always reap EVERYTHING I have sown in my human mind? No. “God is absolute good, everywhere present,” and Grace is an effect of that Absolute Good. It is that which keeps us from reaping the full harvest of that which we have sown. Grace does not contradict the Law. Grace is an expression of the creative process on a cosmic scale—an outcome of the constant motion of a universe that at the core is an expression of unlimited goodness or unconditional love.
    One of the great mystics, Julian of Norwich said in the fifteenth century—‘We have been loved before the beginning.”  That’s grace.
    Let me say it another way—the universe’s will for you is the highest good—so anytime you open the door and align your will with God’s will expressing through you, seeming miracles can happen.
    Jesus introduced a new consciousness of Divine Law—an awareness of Unconditional Love—the Grace of God—that is always available to us
    Nothing can alienate you from your inherent worth and dignity. Nothing can alienate you from the Unconditional Love of God. Our inherent nature, created in the image and likeness of God, remains fast and steady, even in the darkest moments.
    Grace is not something you have to earn or deserve –however it is also not something that requires the action of a benevolent God. It is the natural outpicturing of how the universe works when we get out of the way. I was listening to my friends radio show "Unity Happy Hour" on Unity.fm the other day, and heard a description that went something like this (paraphrasing): Think of Law as the alphabet and Grace as the words that are formed using the letters of the alphabet. 
    Most of us have been taught that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually us, Yet when we’re talking about how Unconditional Love impacts the world, it makes all the sense in the world.