One in Joy - Call for Love Devotion August 10

In my early twenties, I had a palm reading done for me, just for fun.  One of the things he told me was that, when I was fifty, I would have more than most people ever attain.  At the time, I thought two things,  one was that I was going to be rich, and the other was that it was so far in the future that there was no point even thinking about it.  Fifty, to me, was an eternity away!  I didn't give much thought to that reading again, and I certainly have not become independently wealthy.  This week, when I was thinking about the topic of One in Joy, the palm reading kept coming to mind.   I kept shaking it off - thinking it had nothing to do with Joy.  Even as I sat down to write, I had no intention of sharing this story, but here it is again.


It is now apparent to me that the riches I imagined I would attain at the age of fifty were not riches of possessions and money.  It wasn't material stuff that was seen for me, it was more real than that.  It was Joy.  That prediction of so long ago really has come true.  What I have received as a gift, at this time in my life is the Joy of having a meaningful purpose in my life, what I consider to be the meaning of life, which is to truly love others, to truly give of ourselves, to truly care about each other and our planet.  I feel these things in my heart, whereas before, I knew what was good and right, but did not necessarily FEEL it.  I learned to truly FEEL joy in my heart, from Michael Jackson.

I believe that God is Love, and the FEELING aspect of Love is Joy.  I think that Michael's purpose here was, and is, to teach us about Joy.   Our true Joy comes from doing what we love to do, and sharing it with others, as Michael always did.


We are starting to prepare ourselves now for the trial that is ahead.  Feelings are rising,  we all love Michael so much, we can not bear for his passing to go unpunished.  My question is, can we place our focus on Michael's life as an agent of change, rather than the very unsatisfying possibility of a 4 year sentence being the goal.  We will feel no better the day after that sentence is pronounced than we did the day Michael was taken from this physical world.  The only thing that will help to heal our pain is to show the world and ourselves, that we will never allow his message to fade, that no meagre prison term will compensate for the value of what he gave to the world.  My intention is to focus on the resurrection rather than the crucifixion.   This does not mean that there should be no consequences for the person, or people, who caused the loss of life, it only means that those consequences are not what will heal us or the world.


I am so proud to be a part of the MJ community.  The wonderful work that has been done in Michael's name has already made a huge difference to so many people.  It is uplifting to read the writing, watch the videos, see the donations to worthy causes, the projects of all kinds.  This is the way we are changing the world.  This is how we become One in Joy, for Michael.


What we know about how the Universe works, is smaller than a drop in the ocean.  We can only see the tiniest part of the whole picture.  How can we possible understand the meaning behind events from our perspective.  All that is ours to do, is to follow our own Joy.  This is how we can show Michael that we understand his message of LOVE.  I am so grateful for the gift of Joy that I have received.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Leaps of Faith - Call for Love Devotion August 3

Faith, I think, is that thing in our souls that tells us we are right when everyone else is telling us we are wrong. This is a quote from Diana's devotion of earlier this week.  It really touched me, because this is the message that I am inspired to share with others.

  It is my passion and joy to encourage
 people, including myself, to 
say Yes to our Hearts and do whatever
 it is we are here to do, as Michael 
always did.  This is the message I hope is conveyed in Ever After, with the story of Michael's life.  His faith never faltered, no matter what, and we can use his example to help us to do the same.  If we listen to that faith, that truth, that knowing inside us, our lives will change in ways we never could have imagined.   Faith is believing, that the Universe is a safe place, that God is with us, that everything is happening just as it should, and all is well.





This is
where the leaping part comes in.  We can say that we have faith, we can think that we have faith, we can hope and imagine that we have faith, but when we really find out if we do or not, is when we are standing on the edge of a decision, something new and unknown, and we need to take that step forward.  No matter how hard and long we look ahead, we can not see where we are going.  There are no guarantees, that's why it's called faith.  The amazing thing is, that as soon as we take that step, the bridge is there for us.


I have taken leaps of faith in my life, sometimes I have waited so long at the edge of the decision that it was more like being PUSHED off the edge instead of leaping.  Since Michael has come into my life, I have made many more leaps, and they seem to be getting bigger and more meaningful as time goes on.  They also are becoming easier, as my faith grows.

My Unity Talk about My Lightning Bolt Experience

Unity Talk          Unity Talk Part 2

This is an audio link to a talk I did at my church on May 8, 2011.  It is about my journey with Michael.
Siren has kindly posted this audio for others to hear.

You Are Not Alone

You told us

 countless times

 in your songs

I'll be there

You are not alone

I'll never let you part

You're always in my heart

You're just another part of me

Yet we wonder,

is it really true?

we doubt

that we are worthy

of such unconditional love

But you are eternally patient

We have as much time as we need

to let the truth sink into our minds

our hearts

our souls

You have told us

countless times

the truth

but it is hard for us to imagine

that we could be worthy

of such devotion

Sometimes 

we feel alone

we think we might be losing our minds

we long for that connection with you

reassurance that all is well

you never fail to tell us once again

  

I'll be there

You are not alone

I'll never let you part

You're always in my heart

You're just another part of me

After two years

we are starting to understand

we hear you, feel you, know you

as much as ever

we realize

that you will never leave us

we can not be separated

we are one with you

as the sun with its sunbeams

the ocean with its waves

the symphony with its notes

we are your sunbeams, your waves, your notes

when we feel alone

it is not because you are not there

but we have chosen

not to see you

temporarily

we can choose again

and when we do

you will still be there

and we will finally really KNOW

that we are not alone

Peaks and Valleys - Call for Love Devotion July 20

We all know what it's like when our life is laid out before us like a never-ending road of sameness.  We look around and can predict exactly what will happen each day; the same job, the same people, the same routine.  I am pretty sure most of us are not truly satisfied with this kind of life, although it may be comfortable.  The peaks and valleys in life are what give it the texture, the joy, and the growth.

It is in the valleys of life, that we become better people, develop compassion, perseverance, and faith.  The peaks are often fleeting moments of joy, that we try so hard to recreate, thinking we want to live our lives in that place.  We can never stay at the top, nor will we stay at the bottom.  It is how we deal with our peaks and valleys that is the important part of living.  That is what makes us who we are.

Have you ever seen a person who behaves the same way when they are at their peak, as they do when they are in the deepest valley of their life.  Jesus and Michael come to mind.  They are both EXTREME EXAMPLES of how we can strive to handle our peaks and valleys with grace.
Their message was "If I can accept the totally unfair, cruel crucifixion that has been thrust upon me, with dignity and unfailing faith and love for all humanity, then you can also handle whatever problems and situations come up in your life."  They both have shown us that what happens to us is not who we are.  They demonstrated that we become who we are by how we handle what happens to us.

In my life, I have had my share of ups and downs.  Now, at the age of 53 I look back on my life, and give thanks for all the experiences I have had.  I see the challenges I have overcome, as events that have softened my viewpoints about life and people.  I am glad I have experience to draw on when making decisions now, or when watching my children handling their lives.  From my present viewpoint, I am confident that everything is happening for the best, even when it doesn't appear to be that way at the moment.  My life has proven this to be true, so now I try to remember it beforehand, so that I don't struggle as much against the things I see as my valleys.   I am more gentle, less judgemental and very much happier than I was when I was trying to control my world.  My goal is to look at each event in my life as part of the great adventure it is to be alive.

Since Michael came into my life, I have had a much easier time handling my peaks and valleys with grace.  It reminds me of when I was a child, waking up in the morning and realizing, with delight, that it was my birthday.   This is how I feel every day when I remember that Michael is with me.  Whatever is going on in my regular life, whether it is a peak or a valley, I know it will pass, things will change, life will go on.  What will not change is my love for Michael, my devotion to him, my determination to be, do and say whatever he ask of me, and my faith that he will always be there.  It permeates every minute, every action, every thought in a warm and safe, as well as exciting and exhilarating way.   No roller coaster can ever come close to this.

What Would Michael Do? Call for Love Devotion July 13

In any given situation we can imagine what Michael would do.
In the area of work, he would work hardest and longest.
In the area of play, he would play with total abandon.
In the area of love, he would transcend time and space to give his love unconditionally and forever.
In the area of creativity, he would think without limits and believe anything is possible.
In the area of giving, he would give the most.
In the area of learning, he would ask questions, listen, remember.

In other words, he would always give all of himself to anything he was doing.
What Michael would do, is break the barriers, stretch the boundaries, create new vision, think BIG!
It's what he always did.

He is asking us to fill those beautiful, spinning, dancing sparkly-sock filled shoes.
He wants us to be the most we can be.
He wants us to imagine the possibilities.
He wants us to be filled with joy and laughter.
He wants us to love each other.
He wants us to do what he would do.
If we aren't sure what that is,
He will tell us
If we listen

Call for Love Devotion July 6

June 21, summer solstice, longest day of the year.  To me, always a special day, but this one was extra special to me.  We had spent the day at Neverland.  It had been our dream, Mimi's and mine, to take a copy of our book to the gates of Neverland.  We had intended to do it on Michael's birthday in 2010.  Due to many unforeseen circumstances, we had been delayed until now.  On this special day, I sat and read Ever After on a rock, and left it, with notes to Michael from Mimi and me, tucked behind a vine on the wall by the gate. It had been a perfect day.  We had cried and laughed.  Met people from China, Denmark, and one online friend who lives in Solvang, who showed us around the town, and is the guardian of the gate when all of us have to be at home in our own countries and towns.

 I felt as though love was flowing out of the ground at Neverland.  It was in the air.  In my mind's eye I could see a fountain of love rising from inside Neverland and flowing out to permeate the air for miles around.  At one point I was overwhelmed with the desperate need to do more for Michael, to honor him and serve him.  Nothing seemed to be enough to give back for what he has done for me.

We were driving home to Mimi's house, an hour and an half away.  I was sitting in the back seat and leaning forward to tell a story of a dream that I had in the summer of 2009, just after Michael was gone, at a time when I was learning about him and who he really was.  (This dream is here on my blog in an earlier post.)  We did not have any music on, as the IPOD was dead and was being charged up.  Right in the middle of my story of my dream, a song started playing by itself.  It was a song I had never heard before and Michael's angelic voice was singing "I have this dream.  Which I believe.  We are children of a distant family.  Every child that is born, needs to believe that he belongs.  I have this dream."
I could not believe my ears.  It was the most beautiful song I had every heard, and it was about his dream for children, which was exactly what my dream had been about.  Tears poured down my cheeks, I was vibrating all over, and my heart felt as though it was opening again, as it had two years ago when I had first been struck by Michael's love.  It seemed to be an answer to the plea I had made earlier, telling me that Michael's dream and mine are in line, and I am doing what he wants me to do.
During the remainder of the week in California, I Have This Dream came up on our random selection numerous times.  It was the song that was playing as we drove out of the gates of Forest Lawn for the last time, and headed for the airport to come home.
At home once again, the song is still haunting me, and I tried to find the lyrics online.  The words I found were different than the ones I had heard.  They express a beautiful sentiment.

some people say

I live in a fantasy

because I see the world

differently

visions come to me

in my sleep

I closed my eyes

to see what God is showing me

close your eyes

and imagine with me

see the wonder

in every living thing

if we can live

the way it is in my dreams

love will take us to a place where

god can be seen

this is my dream

I have this dream

this i believe

the world a place for all humanity

if we could take love to it's highest level

more than the world has ever seen

I have this dream

let's put Gods love on display

angel of love come my way

it's really up to you and me

one world together in harmony

in my dream I see heaven

and the face of the one perfect being

I see people turning into angels

and God giving them their wings

I have this dream

this I believe

the world's a place

for all humanity

if we could take love

to it's highest level

more than the world has ever seen

I have this dream

Michael, my love, my inspiration, my maestro, I promise that I will do my best to see your dreams come true.  I will use any abilities I have, to help to teach a new generation about you, your message, and your love.  And every child that comes into my life, will know that he belongs.  I share your dream.