"JOURNEY WITH SPIRIT"
     -Joyce (JOY) Be Lynda Russaw



Awaken Your Highest Potential
  1. Try new things.

  2. Learn new things.

  3. Connect with a new person.

  4. Stop doing things that have lost meaning or relevance.

  5. Write a description of your best future self (not your best life). ...

  6. Express gratitude for two things every time you notice yourself complaining.



Ways to Awaken your Potential


  • Develop your spirit through yoga, meditation, or adult education

  • Find a mentor or life coach

  • Attend a retreat

  • Travel

  • Adult learning

  • Learn to play a musical instrument



HONORING THE ANCESTORS


I pay homage to the ancestors in my daily prayers. Their life journey began from the very roots of the Tree of Life. They are God's first creations, and we are the beneficiaries of their struggles and accomplishments. Future generations will be direct descendants of what we achieve for the betterment of humankind and the earth.

 If you believe that your ancestors are dead and gone, I can assure you that their spirits are still near. Human beings are bodies that hold a soul. Your soul is the part of you that consists of your mind, character, thoughts, and feelings. As George MacDonald said, "You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." A soul is what is required. Repeatedly in the Bible, people are referred to as "souls" (Exodus 31:14; Proverbs 11:30) in contexts that focus on the value of human life and person-hood or the concept of a "whole being" (Psalm 16:9-10; Ezekiel 18:4; Acts 2:41; Revelation 18:13). When death comes, the soul returns to God. The spirit is free and roams the earth until it is at peace.

 Places where mass death occurred hold a spiritual energy. The waterways of the world where millions of Africans/Egyptians died in transport from Africa to the Americas_ hold the spiritual energy of the stolen souls _ and are thrown overboard for inhumane reasons. The ovens of the Holocaust, the trail of tears, have a spiritual energy. Some of this energy is good, while others are restless and still seek retribution.

 When you are spiritually aware and open to visits, you, too, can receive visitations. There is nothing to be ashamed of, and you shouldn't feel uncomfortable about your experience. It means you are operating according to God's law and the universe, and departed spirits are watching over you. They grace you with their spiritual presence to reassure you that they are always close. It is a gift that can be a blessing.

Nothing is as it Seems


We live in a world of contradictions. If you examine your spoken word, thoughts, and the way you treat others, your behavior and beliefs are interchangeable.. What are your thoughts on human life? Are your views on abortion vs. the death penalty consistent with your value of all life?  Your answers are between you and God.

 Another issue of controversy deals with your christian beliefs and how your actions support your beliefs. Are your beliefs consistent? Believing that God is good and is the Father of all humans_ you accept that the u.s. constitution and america are built on a foundation of God’s principles. Do you live a life consistent with supporting those principles? If this is what you believe_ you can not be silent on things like racism, church burnings, lynchings, starving children, blocking health benefits, and openly oppressing other children of God.

Your actions for or against such things represent your beliefs.

 Our lust after material things or the tendency to elevate ourselves over others endangers humanity. God has given us the freedom to behave freely, but we have not measured up to expectations. Now_ we can only learn to be better people and pray it starts a tiny riple of hope that touches the heart of all human-kind. 

 Repent- turn from your evil ways

I ran across a headline in a foreign paper that stopped me in my tracks. “What else can we say about America’ it read. It was not a question, it was an article that responded to all the negative articles written around the globe. The fall of America is on the minds of many people. Humans who cannot understand how this is happening and why they are feeling fearful.

 Fear is a powerful emotion that cripples the brain, blocking one’s ability to think clearly. All of God’s children have faced something in life that caused fear to enter the spirit. There is good fear and bad fear. When you face something that threatens your being, like a vicious dog _ that fear sends you into action that may save your life. Fear starts adrenalin pumping and send you into a fight or flight mode for survival. That fear is not invited, but welcomed.

There is a fear that is crippling. It is a fear caused by mankind’s inhumanity to mankind. A fear that comes at the hands of people who abuse power. We sense and energy and know something is there_ you just don’t realize what it’s capable of- or how to meet the challenge. We are living in a time when dark spirits feel a need to make their presence known. But spirits of light must make their presence known..

There are dark clouds of suffering for each of us, but God says, “I come to you in the thick dark cloud of suffering.” By faith you can see His blessed face in the dark. God has His plan and purpose in all suffering. It’s going to be Okay.


 

Stay in the LIGHT_