A LETTER TO SOMEONE FACING HOMELESSNESS

There is so much in the news today that frightens people, not the least being the problems in housing. There is so much being said about the possibility of people losing their homes or people being unable to afford them. These fears are in almost everyone’s thoughts, whether they own a home or rent a home or have no home at all.

I’ve found relief from these fears through understanding what Jesus has said about home. Home is within us. It’s within our thought. What we understand of the qualities of home in our thinking, is what we bring into our experience. In the book of Genesis, in the first chapter of the Bible, it says that God created man in His own image and He created man good. (Remember when the Bible speaks of man, it is referring to men and women)

To me that says that God has created us to reflect everything that God is. He has created us complete and whole, needing nothing. When we were created, we were created with an understanding of our own completeness which has to include a place for home in our experience. We therefore can never be separated from home. And since God has created man complete, then that also includes usefulness and employment. These truths can never be taken from man or hidden from man, because they were given us by God.

So what is it that hides these things from our view so that we don’t have them in our experience? It has to be a lack of understanding of what is already true. And that lack brings a sense of fear that good is not present, or that we don’t believe we deserve good. God has created man out of His own all-embracing love. He intends for man to express Him. Do we trust this? We should. That’s what Jesus taught. He came to show each one of us the truth about our relationship to God: that we can never be separated from our creator. This truth sets us free from the imprisoning effects of fear and lack of understanding.

Listen to some of Jesus’ words to us:

“Therefore I say unto you, don’t worry about living---wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much more valuable to him than they are?

“Can any of you, however much he worries, make himself even a few inches taller? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They neither work nor weave, but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these! Now if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are alive today and burnt in the stove tomorrow, is he not much more likely to clothe you, you of little faith?

“So don’t worry and don’t keep saying, “What shall we eat, what shall we drink or what shall we wear, [or where will we find a house to live in?] That is what those who don’t understand are always looking for; your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things. Set your heart first on His kingdom and His goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.”
(These thoughts can be found in the Bible (J.B.Philips translation), in the book of Matthew, chapter 6)

Seek out the kingdom of God, the knowledge of God’s love for you. See and feel that you can’t be separated from Him by anything. Then everything that you have need of will be added to you. Remember, the state of your thought determines your experience. When your thought is filled with the goodness of God, and gratitude for that goodness, it will show in your experience in some way.

Just for today, take one of these truths that Jesus gave to us, and live it as if it is true. Watch the result that it will have on your experience. Refuse to doubt or let fear intimidate you. When you start seeing the results of this change in thought, write me and tell me about it. I’d love to talk with you more about this.

Wendy Manker

PS…If possible, I’d be happy to have your email address, so that I can answer you personally.

SPIRITUAL PROGRESS IS OUR DIVINE RIGHT

Hello,
I’ve had to take some time away from my blog to help a family member, but have been missing the opportunity to put down my thoughts about all that has been going on. Sometimes we feel that our life has taken a difficult turn, but in retrospect, we find that the spiritual progress during this difficult time has been immense.

Mary Baker Eddy has written some words in her writings other than Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that I have found to be very comforting during difficult times. They show us that there is always spiritual progress regardless of whatever the picture seems to be. In Miscellaneous Writings, she writes, “He who has named the name of Christ, who has virtually accepted the divine claims of Truth and Love in divine Science, is daily departing from evil; and all the wicked endeavors of suppositional demons can never change the current of that life from steadfastly flowing on to God, its divine source.” (Mis. 19:11)

It’s good to remember that these “demons” are suppositional. They are not sent by God, but exist only in the darkness of thought that is not enlightened by the Christ. And when the light of Christ flows back into thought, these dark visitors flee into their native nothingness. And we realize that the entire experience has faded into a “non-event”. It no longer has a fearful hold on our thought. We are free, expressing the dominion over the earth that God has naturally given man, as spoken of in the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible.

I hope to be sharing more with you in the future. Thank you for your patience.

CAN WE STAY SAFE?

It is difficult to read about stories in the press, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech or the violence in Iraq. We may wonder sometimes, “Is it possible to be in the right place but at the wrong time?”

I’m in the habit of turning to God when I have these kinds of thoughts. I ask myself, “What does God say about that?” Is evil natural? Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from evil? Are we helpless before it? I don’t think so.

In her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” Mary Baker Eddy often uses the words “omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient” to describe God’s nature. She also uses the word “omniaction” regarding Him. “Omni” means “all”. Therefore God is all-powerful; He is all-present; He is all-knowing and all-active good, so how could there be an opposite to Him?

It seems to me that as we understand more of His presence and allness, we can feel assured that we are safe. When we become convinced that He is the only power and is all good, then we can understand that there is no evil power that can touch us. We feel surrounded by this power and know that we are safe. And when we trust that God is all-knowing, then we see that there is no evil mind to focus on us and make us afraid.

I’ve always loved the story of Christ Jesus simply disappearing in the middle of an angry crowd intent on throwing him off a cliff. They lost sight of him and he proceeded on his way safely. How did Jesus do that? His consciousness was so spiritually filled with the presence and power of God’s love at that time of great danger, that hateful, unloving thoughts simply could not find him or see him. Jesus knew that God, His Father, had created him and was ever with him, and he trusted this with all his heart.

The Bible begins with the knowledge that God created all of us in His image and he created us to have dominion over the earth. (Gen 1:26) Couldn’t that also mean we have dominion over the evil that tries to make itself known in our experience?

Years ago, I was leaving my office about 3 in the afternoon. It was on the fourth floor of the building. I came down in the elevator alone. When the elevator doors opened and I started out into the lobby, I instantly felt evil all around me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I looked into the lobby but it was empty. I looked at the mailbox area but it was empty. There was no one around, just an eerie silence. I looked into the windows of the bank that opened up into the lobby but couldn’t see anyone. So I proceeded through the lobby praying to know that I couldn’t be separated from God’s love and presence. Paul, a follower of Jesus’ teachings, says in Acts (17:28) that we “live, move, and have our being in Him (God)”. I totally trusted in that truth and felt safe. I went out to my car and headed off to another appointment.

That night as my husband and I were watching the news on TV, we heard that the bank located in the lobby of my office building, had been held up at 3 that afternoon. There was a robbery going on by two armed gunmen, at the very same time that I walked through the lobby. They got away with a great deal of money, but were caught within 2 days.

No evil touched me because my thoughts were totally focused on God and His constant presence. This saves us, no matter where we find ourselves. Remember the promise given to us in the Bible, (Psalms 91): “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go……..The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.” (from the New Living Translation.)

This promise from God is for every one of us right now.
God-speed.

CAN LONELINESS BE HEALED?

It’s amazing, considering the number of people on this planet, that so many of us feel alone and lonely. Often I am surprised when someone tells me how lonely they feel, because to me they give the appearance of exactly the opposite. They appear to be surrounded by family and friends, and their lives have all the ingredients of what the world says is needed to be happy and fulfilled. But it does seem possible to be in the midst of a crowd and still feel achingly lonely.

Might these feelings of loneliness be a state of thought that comes upon someone when their thinking becomes too self-absorbed? I found this out many years ago when I felt myself feeling very dissatisfied, sad and lonely. I had everything I needed to be supremely happy: a wonderful family made up of a caring husband and two rambunctious and joyous little boys. We had a home that we loved, and relatives and friends that we were close to. We both had jobs that were fulfilling. What was wrong that I would feel so alone and unhappy?

For many years when I have felt unsettled, I have turned my thoughts to God in prayer to find the answers that I needed and this was one of those times. I yearned to find an answer that would end these sad thoughts. I have often studied the words and works of the Master Christ Jesus, as well as the spiritual laws that I have found in the works of Mary Baker Eddy, who was a devoted follower of Christ Jesus. So I set about to find the spiritual truths that would comfort me. Very quickly I found some helpful ideas that began to point the path out of these helpless thoughts. During this time of turning to God in deep yearning, a message came to me, loud and clear: “You are starving spiritually.”

When I heard this message, I knew exactly what it meant. It meant that I had lost sight of my relationship to God. I needed to take more time during my days and nights to learn the nature of God better and to see more clearly my relationship with Him. He was my creator and was giving me the truths that I needed to hear that would inevitably bring me happiness. He was causing me to live by these truths. Also, during this time of deep yearning, I saw very clearly that my thoughts had become way too self-absorbed, too filled with thoughts of what I wanted. What was needed was a greater focus on embracing others - turning my thoughts outward instead of inward. There is a statement in one of Mrs. Eddy’s other writings that gave me the answer: “To love, and to be loved, one must do good to others. The inevitable condition whereby to become blessed, is to bless others:” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 127)

Things didn‘t turn around overnight, but I had found the way out of those depressing thoughts, and I began to set in motion a different way of viewing my world. I found myself reading more from the Bible (especially the words of Christ Jesus) and from Mrs. Eddy’s book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” Both of these books were helping to awaken me to the love of God that was surrounding my life right where there had seemed to be such a deep sense of loneliness and discontent before.

I never knew when those thoughts ceased talking to me, for I had gotten so busy looking for ways to bless others, I had stopped thinking these sad and lonely thoughts, and they completely dissolved and have never returned.

There is a quote from “Science and Health” that has helped many people through the years. It explains the way out of these difficult times: “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.” (S&H 261)

Stop sitting in despair and grief, and start feeding yourself spiritually. Let God lift your thoughts up to His realm, where you become aware of His love enveloping you and blessing you and yours right now.

"THY SLEEP SHALL BE SWEET"

So many shows that you watch on television these days run commercials that recommend certain drugs for those who have difficulty in sleeping. There seem to be a variety of new drugs now that help with this problem. Recently I was told that many, many people are having sleep problems. It seems to be almost epidemic today.

The darkness of the night tends to bring the fears of people to the surface of their thought, causing great anxiety. It seems to be a universal problem, but it is not an unsolvable problem.

The solution lies in quieting one’s fears, in quieting the fear of being separated from good. I have always taken great comfort from the Bible verse in Proverbs, chapter 2, verse 24: “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” It seems to me that this is a beautiful promise to anyone who leans on it.

Recently while visiting relatives, the conversation centered around the nightmares each one of them always have on a fairly regular basis. These relatives are not the type to pray about their problems, and so expect to experience these nightmares as a normal part of living. But it brought back to my memory the fact that I no longer have nightmares. I cannot remember a time when I have had one. They apparently stopped after I had discovered a short paragraph in one of Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, other than Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. This small book talks about her life and what led her to the discovery of Christian Science. It is called “Retrospection and Introspection.”

The paragraph that I read in this small book is this: “…if you fall asleep, actually conscious of the truth of Christian Science, ---namely that man’s harmony is no more to be invaded than the rhythm of the universe, --you cannot awake in fear or suffering of any sort.” (Ret. 61:8)

These words spoke to my heart and I have done exactly as they say to do for many years now. Every night as I close my eyes, I fill my thought with the truth in this paragraph, that my harmony can no more be invaded than the rhythm of the universe. The results have been no more nightmares.

But there is another wonderful effect, as shown by what happened to me last night. I awoke with a stomachache. It came to me that the dinner I ate did not agree with me. But immediately, another thought came that the dinner had been prepared by a family member with love and therefore could not harm me. I fell sound asleep for the rest of the night and the stomachache faded into oblivion. Because of this prayer that fills my thought as I fall asleep each night, I now find that I am more spiritually ready to pray and whatever has tried to trouble my sleep leaves quickly.

There is a wonderful saying that my aunt has near her bed. When I go to stay with her, I love to read it. It says: “Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.”

We are never outside of God’s care, nighttime or daytime. Hold to this fact and your rest shall be sweet and peaceful.

MY FIRST BLOG

One’s first Blog causes one a lot of thought. What is the subject that will do the most good?

Almost everyday I am reminded of words that my mother would say to me often: “Listen for an angel thought each day. God is sending it.” Sometimes at night, before I retire, I’ll think, “What angel thought did I get today?”

Someone may ask, “How do you know if you are getting an angel thought? I would answer that it is a feeling you get in your heart. It will always be a good and loving thought. It is a feeling that everything is okay right now. Mary Baker Eddy, the author of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, wrote about this subject in another of her writings, “Miscellaneous Writings”, p. 306. She tells us there that we will “know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Oh, may you feel this touch,---it is not the clasping of hands, nor a loved person present; it is more than this: it is a spiritual idea that lights your path!”

Some of my most precious moments, when I have felt the closest to God, have come when I was pondering the 91st Psalm in the Bible, verse 11, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” I have a friend who reads the 91st Psalm every night before going to bed.

But do we only get one angel message? Christ Jesus gives a glimpse into his thought about this question. Jesus sensed that his disciples were starting to get very concerned for him right before the crucifixion. He told them “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verse 53)

Twelve legions!! In Bible times, that meant somewhere around 72,000 angels!! Actually I think God, like the sun pouring forth its rays, is pouring forth His angel messages on us all. They are bombarding us even as we speak. He is constantly communicating to man. So it really is amazing that we think we can only hear one!

Probably the best thing we can do for ourselves is to develop a listening ear throughout each day, letting God know that we are listening. This requires us not to get too deeply involved in all of the static going on around us in our environment. It is possible to do this. In fact, to my way of thinking, this is what the apostle Paul meant when he said we were to pray without ceasing. Keeping our ear attuned to God’s presence at all times.

Cultivating angels is the best way to stay safe in our world today. It is the best way to stay peaceful, even at night, when the nights seem long and uneasy. I love the thought that God cares for us past measure. He does this by wrapping us up in His angel messages. This is true for anyone. We can trust this.

Try listening for your angel message today.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new Blog!