Intentional Prayer - Intentional Living - Powerful Stuff

I was raised a Baptist in a southern state. Albeit, Oklahoma is considered a southwestern state, and in fact is the furthest northern southern state there is, it is still quite southern and often a little behind the times in change when it comes to spiritual expression.  If I had told my pastor at the Windsor Hills Baptist Church, that I was praying with rocks in my hand, he may have called me a demon and tried to exercise the Devil out of me in front of the congregation.  He was the type that would have videoed it and made sure he was showing his best side when he did. I don't pray like he prays. I pray to God.

I was born on a Wednesday and in church by Sunday morning, if the tells you anything about my Christian upbringing. My grandmother Edwards would have walked me to church on a daily basis if her hip wasn't so bad. She was about 70 when I born, so as I aged she aged and it was up to my cousins and my own parents to see to it that I was taught correctly about Jesus, the stories of the Bible, and the manners in which a good southern gentle girl was expected to live. This one was a little different. I have always been a seer, I see things. I feel things, I know things. I don't know how or why, but I can tell you that the first time I brought my guardian angel up in Sunday School I was told I was never to do that again. I needed to wash that thought right out of my head with soapy water if I needed to. Angels may exist of course, they told me, but we weren't actually able to see them!  (They may not be able to, I thought, but I do. He's MY angel.)

I knew about my personal guardian angel when I was very young. I named him Sam because he was my friend and I saw him, felt him, talked with him, conversed with him, listened to him, and he has never left me - - but there were many years that as a fool I listened to others and ignored Sam so that I wouldn't look out of place, or be called a "weirdo" by my peers. That was MY mistake. I knew Sam was still on my left side. I felt him there, but I wasn't going to be THAT person I didn't make a big deal out of it.

 Today I hold rocks in my hands when I pray (just one really) because my Bible tells me that rocks are alive and that they will praise God if I forget to. The Bible also assures me that angels come to us in our lifetime and we don't know it, but it doesn't mean that we can't see and know them when they do reveal themselves. Rocks are conduits to the earth and to Heaven, they had to come from somewhere and I believe they came all at the same time when God said "Let there be Light". 

In my spirit I pray to the Lord YHVH and I do so through Christ. I don't believe I am able to pray to Him without Christ, but that is my belief, and I would not force it on another. I hold the rocks to reassure and to remind me that we each have a different and colorful purpose. Why would He make one rock this color, another one stronger, another one only to be found in certain places? In my spiritual path and/or journey recently. I don't do the Eastern religious paths such as Chakra, that would be wrong.

 Psalms. 37:4 ("Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of you heart") is a very strong and powerful truth. I know it to be very very true. Just a few years back I dreamed that Faith (my dog) should be seen throughout the world, and everyone should know that a dog is important to God just as they are important to Him. I wanted the world to know the story, the message of being willing to accept help and the message of being willing to give help when it is needed. The two-fold message of my dog Faith is very real, it is very necessary, and it is very easy to grasp - - do the right thing; help someone. I find that when I make myself available to help others my soul is blessed - - I find peace. The practice of intentional prayer is very very powerful.I don't want to be angry, I don't want to be unforgiving, I want to be ego-free and 100% accepting to whatever I'm suppose to do. 

This is not an easy thing for a woman, a Celtic woman, a Scorpio Celtic woman, but God is awesome as I say, and He was able to show me where to begin my journey - - at the first step. I prayed with rocks for years and I will never stop. I pray with honesty, and I will never stop or compromise that. I pray asking for very very (oh so very) specific things - - and I believe it has already been given.  I put on the incense for sensory pleasure, maybe a little Celtic flute music for the ears, but my focus is in the prayer and the intention of what it is that I desire. I can not live for you. I can not think for you. I can not ask for you, but in this very same vein of thought - - you will never think or feel for me. In fact, trying to will only alienate you from my soul; I would rather release you as being negative energy than to argue and keep you close to me. Prayer is personal, though we often pray for others.

 Because I know what I have come to believe I know that I will never not believe it. What I have asked for I already have in my heart - - and this is good. Powerful? Very. Intentional? Absolutely. Freedom in our spirits is our right - - I choose to be rooted in Christianity, but that doesn't mean I don't see angels and talk to rocks...maybe you could try it. Let's go Sam! (Psst...Sam's real name is Theonopholus).

Postcards from Iraq

It can't all be fun and games in the "Sand Box". Sometimes a man (and/or woman) has to work for a living and do what is needed to be done to protect our nation from the wars that are at hand.

Here in these photos you see clearly that these four man are up to the challenge of being 100% focused on their particular duties. At times our nation's best is required to guard the most dangerous of posts including the backyards of the ally-Iraqi forces just incase a bad guy comes across the fence line and steals a pair of trousers for their own kid! In another shot you see that the Americans are completing their rosters by hiring dual citizens to act upon the nation's great need to have the Mexican-Americans of our great country represented in this war - - armed to the teeth, but ready to party at any given moment!

Reuben's friends and buddies in the war will forever be in his heart and on his mind when he leaves Iraq in just a few more weeks. He may never actually see these guys again, so taking wild and wonderful photos of them relaxing and just goofing off is a great way to remember the lighter side of war! I mean, sure you have missions and you have to blow things up, bust things down, roll over things, and keep your head down at times. Sure, you can't really change out of your uniform unless you're taking a shower and then sometimes taking a shower IN your uniform can take care of the laundry needs as well as getting clean...that makes perfect sense to me, and why not, boys will be boys... and no, I'm not forgetting the women in Iraq, it's just that there are none where Reuben is, and that sometimes leads to the strange behavior I hear about at 3:12 in the morning - - not that I can understand a word out of my son's mouth while he's scream/laughing at me, but he sends pictures to explain it, which is always good.

The kid with the little robot tinker toy thing - - not my son. My son would have built his out of bright plastic Legos and had an OU painted on the side of it. You can't see the OU on the side of his actual tank that he's popping out of to wave to the camera, but just imagine it there - - he didn't please the General, but at least the enemy knows he won't stop - won't ever stop...Boomer Sooner!

Have fun kid, I'll miss you when you go back. Send photos...call later in the day!

Let There Be Love - R.I.P. "Cookie"

Cookie - 6 weeks old 2008

Cookie came to us because Caity had a friend whose mother's two rescue Dachshunds had babies. When people saw Cookie they just KNEW she was a registered dog, one we MUST have paid an enormous amount of money for - - nope, quite the opposite. She was a full blooded Dachshund, and she was a rare and unique colored dog as well, but she was indeed a gift. A gift of love that will forever live on in our lives and our hearts.

There are good and great people in this world, and there are evil men and woman as well. The fact remains that good will always triumph, and it has, but to be fair to our existence we must understand that trusting the wrong person can lead to heartache and even in Cookie's case, death.

My daughter and I decided that yesterday's one-year anniversary of the murder of her little dog should not be a sad event. It should only be, and always be a day of celebration, one which opens up our hearts even further each year to allow more love and more joy to be brought and shared to the world through the eyes and barks of a little yellow dog - - a baby forever. We celebrated with songs and words, we called our friends and reminded them to think of Cookie and to try to share with at least one person the facts surrounding her death, so as to keep it close to us that being vigilant and being wise is important.

A little over a year ago Caity received Cookie. She meant everything to her. When Caity refused to date a certain man, and to follow him down a path of self destruction including but not limited to doing drugs, this man chose to hurt Caity very personally - - he kidnapped our little Cookie and he killed her. To make matters worse he tormented Caity for weeks about his actions and of course we followed through with any legal action we could to prevent him from coming near us and/or being able to hurt us further. Unfortunately, Cookie's life was taken - - but her soul remains constant. Her dear sweet face and actions caught in photographs and on video. She was laid to rest at my mother and father's house along side many loved and cherished pets.

This is not a sad blog - - indeed it is an informative one. If you do nothing else today remember please that you can make decisions about who you let into your home, into your life, and into your heart. Take the extra time it takes to be sure the ones you surround yourself with are good and that they have clean hearts. Cookie's life will forever be linked to an evil act, but her soul remains free to remind us to be forgiving; she awaits us as all other passing pets do - - in a Glorious Heaven!

Rest in Eternal love and peace sweet puppy.

WHOA!!! What a dream.
I woke up thinking I didn't need coffee today, and maybe I shouldn't have drunken it that late at night either. BAM! I was up and running in a physical competition. I was on the obstacle course, I was winning. I did actually win, and the contestant sponsors got it on tape. I was running and climbing a make-shift rope but then I just jumped to the top of it when I found good footing. I somehow propelled myself to the top. At first I thought I cheated because my hands and feet didn't touch each rung but they were jumping up and down and proclaiming me the winner, so there you go. I wanted to go home so naturally I jumped on my black horse and rode off! Naturally.

I love those dreams, and I love the ones where I'm doing upside down gymnastics - suspended hand-springs and such. I can always spot myself in those dreams as I'm the on going extra slow and showing off my talents to do a particular feat...that's how I know it's a dream and I catch myself and say "OH, you're dreaming...do it again." I have always had lucid and vivid dreams, dreams that are in color and more important to me; dreams that have a beginning, a middle and an end. Like a play or a movie. It helps me determine their final meaning when I can wake up write out everything that happened and pick it apart on www.dreammoods.com and other sites. (I have a deck of cards I use too that are helpful and pretty)

So, let's take a look at what Dreammoods said!

"Jumping
To dream that you are jumping, indicates that you need to take a risk and go for it. You will find progress toward your goals. Consider the metaphors "jumping for joy" or "jumping the gun". How you feel in the dream will provide additional significance and meaning to your dream.

Rope
To dream that you are climbing up a rope, represents your determination to succeed and overcome adversity. It may also denote your climb to the top.

Competition
To dream that you win a competition, suggests that you possess the necessary skills to accomplish a goal or solve a problem in your waking life.


Horse
To see a horse in your dream, symbolizes strength, power, endurance, virility and sexual prowess. It also represents a strong, physical energy. You need to tame the wild forces. The dream may imply that you have been horsing around. (Black Horse: To see a black or dark horse in your dream, signifies mystery, wildness, and the unknown)"

YEP...that's what's going on right now and WRITE now. I'm writing my new book, I'm working on the movie ideas for it too. I'm jumping into worlds of entertainment and business that I'm not familiar with, but I trust the men and women surrounding me who are! I really am having the best time and I think it's all a result and a manifestation of intentional thinking, intentional believing, intentional desire, and intentional planning. PEOPLE - - do what you want to do and do it with intention! Karma of course is everything - - pay it forward and pay it forward often. .... and .... DREAM it into reality.