In all relationships, new and established, it’s wise to build upon a solid foundation of friendship. A real friend never gets in your way and will remind you when you’re getting in your own way.
If you want more happiness in your life – create happiness for others and feel it spill over into your heart.
Love is friendship set on fire. ~ Jeremy Taylor
Tolerating one another is not the same as enjoying one another and being together.
Peace and love on the outside comes from knowing God on the inside. Let your spiritual awareness redirect your priorities and attention. Your faith and perseverance defines you – don’t allow anything to set you back when God is bringing you forward.
Larry James is a professional speaker, author, relationship coach and an award winning nondenominational Wedding Officiant. He performs the most “Romantic” wedding ceremony you will find anywhere.Something NEW about relationships is posted every 4th day on this Relationships BLOG.
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG – written by Larry James – are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
When I perform my “romantic” wedding ceremony, I always ask the Bride and Groom about their spiritual beliefs. I get a wide assortment of answers which often leads to some very interesting conversations.
I need to know because each ceremony is always customized to their complete satisfaction. They always get to choose just how spiritual they want their wedding ceremony to be. My belief is that what is in the wedding ceremony should only and always be the choice of the Bride and Groom, not what the Minister thinks should be in it. I never push my beliefs off on anyone. They get to choose.
It is also my belief that you must never forget the importance of the spiritual side of your relationship.
“My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn’t.”
Affirmation ~ My love partner and I share similar spiritual values. Higher spiritual values give meaning and purpose to our relationship. They determine what we will turn away from and what we will move toward. Shared spiritual ideas are the basis for a lasting, fulfilling love relationship.
Marriage is sacred. So are the vows you make. Making a relationship work should not be totally dependent upon what you or your partner do or do not do.
God, a Higher Power – or whatever you choose to call what you believe in – can only inspire you to make the right choices. He alone cannot do it for you. You and your partner must do the work.
Listen for God’s soft whisper. He speaks to you in the stillness of daybreak and in the midst of conflict.
Are you listening?
I highly recommend the following list of priorities for your relationship: God, you, your relationship and your work – in that order!
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” ~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross
Here is my take on Religion and Spirituality:
Religion is a specific church’s organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of rules, narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, not unlike a “how-to” guide, that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to God or a higher power usually within that church’s denomination. It puts limits on us and often traps us in its dogma. God is too big to be confined to any one religion or denomination.
To me, spirituality means that, once one has accepted his or her faith in God, Great Spirit or a Higher Power (or whatever they choose to call it), how they personally choose to express it is their own personal choice not particularly what a church denomination chooses to impose on their followers. Spirituality is natural. We all have it, whether we know it or practice it, it is in us.
Spirituality has to do with what we make of what religion offers us and what we make of our place in life relative to the Divine, to self and to others. Religion could be thought of, at least in very general terms, as a large shared human activity organized and passed along in time to help individuals in their relationship to the Divine and to one another.
Spirituality is all about finding the truth that resonates the highest with you. Religion is based on a fixed belief-system, and to be included (or to be saved) you need to adopt this belief system.
So to some, to be spiritual may mean the individual expression of their faith without religious interference from a church or any reference to God. It is only and always a personal choice. It is the connection we feel to something greater than ourselves. In a sense, spirituality is personalized religion. It also means that you recognize and acknowledge a power or sensibility within yourself and outside of yourself, beyond the purely physical or mental.
“Every religion on the planet, and there are so many more than you are even aware of, has the potential of absolute thriving. But when you think that you must prove that you have the only one that is right – and you use your condemnation to push against the others – your condemnation separates you from your own Connection that, before your condemnation, you were finding in your own religion.” ~ Abraham
It is your way of loving, accepting and relating to the world and the people around you. It cannot be found in a church or by believing in a certain way. It is independent of religious beliefs, dogma or doctrine.
Spiritual beliefs are developed individually and quite often deal with issues of a more personal or intimate nature than those addressed by religious doctrine.
Many followers of religion feel that only their path can lead to salvation. They have tremendous faith in their own religion, but at the same time they feel other religions are wrong and cannot lead a seeker to God.
“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness should be part of our daily lives.” ~ Dalai Lama
Spirituality feels that all religions are valid. Spirituality knows there are many paths to the same goal. Spirituality embraces all the world religions, but at the same time, is not constrained by any religious dogmas or forms. It does not require membership in any group.
The religious beliefs of spiritual groups do not necessarily lead people to the same conclusions as organized religions, but that doesn’t make them less religious. Being religious or spiritual both usually connote belief in a Higher Power of some kind. Both also imply a desire to connect or enter into a more intense relationship with this Higher Power.
Although this may be controversial thought, it also seems to me that some atheists are spiritual, in their own way. If being spiritual also means following good, life-affirming principles, then any atheist would be thought of as a spiritual person who passionately believes in, and lives, a life that includes helping others, being honest, and sharing oneself.
Few men are so obstinate in their atheism, that a pressing danger will not compel them to acknowledgment of a divine power. – Plato
By the way, neither religion or spirituality are bad because what you personally believe is what is true for you. Both give order to a world in chaos; they provide a moral foundation upon which to base behavior. Religion is a path to God. Spirituality is also a path to God. However there are differences in the approach.
Holding on to your religious beliefs can often inhibit spiritual growth.
My friend, Jennifer Scott put it this way: “I deeply believe in God but only through my personal relationship. I believe that God is everywhere and in every living thing. I personally do not believe in the rules of any church yet strongly support those who do.”
I concur.
You choose!
Seen on a bumper sticker: “My car ran over your dogma!”
God is smiling.
Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there. – Bonnie Raitt
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
Every “religion” on the planet, and there are so many more than you are even aware of, has the potential of absolute thriving. But when you think that you must prove that you have the only one that is right – and you use your condemnation to push against the others – your condemnation separates you from your own Connection to God that, before your condemnation, you were finding in your own religion.
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG – written by Larry James – are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
In the desert, we do Christmas differently. The winter grass is growing, the palms are swaying in the breeze. We decorate our houses and the cacti in our desert yards with chile pepper lights while wearing our t-shirts and shorts. We also drive around town looking at the Christmas lights in our convertibles with the top down.
White Christmas? It’s rare, at least in Scottsdale. Snow is something we don’t see much of around here. During December the temperature will seldom dip below 35 degrees. The average temperature on Christmas day is 65 degrees.
We experienced a 15 minute snow storm, with the wind blowing hard, about 2 years ago, however it melted as soon as it hit the ground. Some say that was the first heavy snowfall in nearly 30 years. If we must have snow, we can drive two 1/2 hours north to Flagstaff and go skiing. I love this place!
There couldn’t be a better time to tell you how very much you are Loved.
During this Holiday Season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. It is in this spirit we say . . . Thank you for your continued support of our work in the relationships and wedding ceremonies areas.
We wish you a Happy Holiday Season and a New Year full of great relationships, health, happiness, prosperity and other good stuff!
May the Christmas Spirit of Love, forgiveness, prosperity and generosity be with you through this holiday season. My prayers and hopes for you in the coming years are that you will draw closer to God’s Divine Light and that His Love and His Grace will be evident in and through your life.
As part of my Holiday gift to you, please enjoy a heartwarming story called, “The Selfish Giant,” read by Og Mandino.
I wish you a blessed Christmas or a Happy Holiday. . . your choice, to people of all faiths and Spiritual persuasions! And. . . have a very Prosperous New Year!
Now. . . go give someone you love a big “Holiday Hug!” Or. . . kiss someone under the mistletoe! Or both!
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
Seems to me that there may be only two prayers worthy of praying. One prayer is to know God better. The other prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
Pray a prayer of self-discovery and one of gratitude, and know God is listening.
It is useless and wastes God’s time — and our mental energy — to pray for things. God has given us the ability to choose. Our greatest power is choice. To use this power to choose to pray for things that God has already given us the power to create may not be an effective use of our time.
I can imagine God being amused. I can hear him saying, “Why don’t they get it? I have given them everything and yet they insist upon asking me for the same things, over and over again.”
It may not seem logical that you should only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. If you are someone who has always used your prayers for asking, this may sound strange to you. This, to some, may appear to be an arrogant way to speak to God. Hardly.
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is, ‘Thank you,’ it would be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
God will view your prayers with greater reverence when you acknowledge that you have already been given the power to choose. Stop asking God to give you a great relationship. Instead, choose to thank God for a love relationship that transcends your own imagination, then do whatever you can to help it turn out that way.
It’s up to you to do. Take whatever steps are necessary to accomplish what you want. Do at least one thing everyday towards accomplishing what you have thanked God for. Make a call, attend a seminar; do whatever it takes.
Thank God every day for guidance. Listen to the still small voice within. When you respond to what you “hear,” the rewards are often more than you ever expected. Listen to your heart. It always tells you the truth.
In the past we have asked for a great relationship, never received it, and never bothered to do anything differently and wondered why God didn’t answer our prayer. Hopefully, we have learned that lesson by now. That’s like asking God for a great job and never going to look for one. Excuse me! I don’t believe that’s what God had in mind. We must be thankful and do something.
Being thankful for the relationships you already have is one of the keys to attracting the relationships you want. Cultivate the practice of affirmative prayer. An attitude of gratitude is faith in action. It is a very satisfying feeling to know that what you are thankful for, you will experience. What you focus on, manifests.
“Stay in a state of gratitude and awe. You can’t feel stressed and appreciative at the same time.” – Dr Wayne Dyer
A grateful prayer begins the creation process. Let go of the “wanting” of it and focus on what it feels like to have what you desire.
Someone once said, “Pray without ceasing.” God hears your quiet thoughts too. Another good reason for keeping your thoughts focused on what you desire. Thinking positive is a good thing. Caution: Negative prayer (or thought) works too.
Saying a prayer of thanksgiving has you focus on the good things that are happening to you and the good things that are about to happen to you. That alone may be a good enough reason to only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. It creates a thirst for more of the good that God says is already yours. Think about it. You get what you really believe.
Is it true that when something bad happens we tend to not want to take responsibility that the bad we see is what we created? Not taking responsibility means we try to find someone outside of ourselves to blame. When we ask God for things and the things don’t come, who do we blame? When we blame God for not answering prayer, our love for God becomes conditional. There is no room for blame in an unconditional love relationship.
“Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie, author, “Codependent No More“
How can we justify loving Him conditionally when we, in our self-serving arrogance, resist believing that our misfortune is our own fault?
God always answers prayer. Always. It may not be the answer you want but he always answers.
Can we look at ourselves in the mirror, take complete responsibility for our relationships and all areas of our lives, and know that we do have choice and we do create our own reality? As within, so without. Consider saying ‘yes’ to prayers of self-discovery and thanksgiving and experience the miracle of good that God has already given to you. Then get busy and do something different. Change your thinking and your behavior and you will change your life!
Pray to know God. Thank Him for being there for you. Be grateful for the gift of constant and faithful devotion He has given to help you get to know Him better. Pray to thank God for His abundance. Let Him know how grateful you are for the relationships in your life. Offer thanks for your present circumstance, regardless of what you think or feel about it. Thank Him for the lessons of good you learn from the things you often call bad. Thank Him for the tears of joy and the tears of sadness.
Be grateful for your abiltity to create an attitude of receptivity. Thank Him for more love, courage and understanding. Express gratitude for the everyday miracles that occur that you often take for granted. Be grateful for the power of choice. Thank God for creating the possibility of unconditional love and for the self-discipline to stay on that path. Thank Him for the opportunity to express gratitude. Be thankful for all that God has freely given.
Now. . . receive it!
Whatever you want in your relationships. . . wants you! Thank God for that, too!
“To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.” – Oswald Chambers
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
You must never forget the importance of the spiritual side of your relationship.
Marriage is sacred. So are the vows you make. Making a relationship work should not be totally dependent upon what you or your partner do or do not do.
God, a Higher Power – or whatever you choose to call what you believe in – can only inspire you to make the right choices. He alone cannot do it for you. You and your partner must do the work.
Listen for God’s soft whisper. He speaks to you in the stillness of daybreak and in the midst of conflict.
Are you listening?
I highly recommend the following list of priorities for your relationship: God, you, your relationship and your work – in that order!
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG – written by Larry James – are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
LoveNote. . . Trust brings lovers together. Consider it a Divine joining; the inevitable interweaving that occurs when two people love unconditionally and become as one.
A feeling of deep inner security comes from the trust that is present with unconditional love; a love that never needs to be negotiated.
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG – written by Larry James – are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” ~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross
NOTE: All articles and “LoveNotes” listed in this BLOG – written by Larry James – are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
Seems to me that there may be only two prayers worthy of praying. One prayer is to know God better. The other prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
Pray a prayer of self-discovery and one of gratitude, and know God is listening.
It is useless and wastes God’s time — and our mental energy — to pray for things. God has given us the ability to choose. Our greatest power is choice. To use this power to choose to pray for things that God has already given us the power to create may not be an effective use of our time.
I can imagine God being amused. I can hear him saying, “Why don’t they get it? I have given them everything and yet they insist upon asking me for the same things, over and over again.”
It may not seem logical that you should only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. If you are someone who has always used your prayers for asking, this may sound strange to you. This, to some, may appear to be an arrogant way to speak to God. Hardly.
“If the only prayer you ever said was, ‘Thank you.’ that would be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
God will view your prayers with greater reverence when you acknowledge that you have already been given the power to choose. Stop asking God to give you a great relationship. Instead, choose to thank God for a love relationship that transcends your own imagination, then do whatever you can to help it turn out that way.
It’s up to you to do. Take whatever steps are necessary to accomplish what you want. Do at least one thing everyday towards accomplishing what you have thanked God for. Make a call, attend a seminar; do whatever it takes.
Thank God every day for guidance. Listen to the still small voice within. When you respond to what you “hear,” the rewards are often more than you ever expected. Listen to your heart. It always tells you the truth.
In the past we have asked for a great relationship, never received it, and never bothered to do anything differently and wondered why God didn’t answer our prayer. Hopefully, we have learned that lesson by now. That’s like asking God for a great job and never going to look for one. Excuse me! I don’t believe that’s what God had in mind. We must be thankful and do something.
Being thankful for the relationships you already have is one of the keys to attracting the relationships you want. Cultivate the practice of affirmative prayer. An attitude of gratitude is faith in action. It is a very satisfying feeling to know that what you are thankful for, you will experience. What you focus on, manifests.
A grateful prayer begins the creation process. Let go of the “wanting” of it and focus on what it feels like to have what you desire.
Someone once said, “Pray without ceasing.” God hears your quiet thoughts too. Another good reason for keeping your thoughts focused on what you desire. Thinking positive is a good thing. Caution: Negative prayer (or thought) works too.
Saying a prayer of thanksgiving has you focus on the good things that are happening to you and the good things that are about to happen to you. That alone may be a good enough reason to only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. It creates a thirst for more of the good that God says is already yours. Think about it. You get what you really believe.
Is it true that when something bad happens we tend to not want to take responsibility that the bad we see is what we created? Not taking responsibility means we try to find someone outside of ourselves to blame. When we ask God for things and the things don’t come, who do we blame? When we blame God for not answering prayer, our love for God becomes conditional. There is no room for blame in an unconditional love relationship.
“Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie, author, “Codependent No More“
How can we justify loving Him conditionally when we, in our self-serving arrogance, resist believing that our misfortune is our own fault?
God always answers prayer. Always. It may not be the answer you want but he always answers.
Can we look at ourselves in the mirror, take complete responsibility for our relationships and all areas of our lives, and know that we do have choice and we do create our own reality? As within, so without. Consider saying ‘yes’ to prayers of self-discovery and thanksgiving and experience the miracle of good that God has already given to you. Then get busy and do something different. Change your thinking and your behavior and you will change your life!
Pray to know God. Thank Him for being there for you. Be grateful for the gift of constant and faithful devotion He has given to help you get to know Him better. Pray to thank God for His abundance. Let Him know how grateful you are for the relationships in your life. Offer thanks for your present circumstance, regardless of what you think or feel about it. Thank Him for the lessons of good you learn from the things you often call bad. Thank Him for the tears of joy and the tears of sadness.
Be grateful for your abiltity to create an attitude of receptivity. Thank Him for more love, courage and understanding. Express gratitude for the everyday miracles that occur that you often take for granted. Be grateful for the power of choice. Thank God for creating the possibility of unconditional love and for the self-discipline to stay on that path. Thank Him for the opportunity to express gratitude. Be thankful for all that God has freely given.
Now. . . receive it!
Whatever you want in your relationships. . . wants you! Thank God for that, too!
“To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.” – Oswald Chambers
Read a special thought and prayer about gratitude from Rev. Richard Rogers.
NOTE: All articles listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
If you want more happiness in your life – create happiness for others and feel it spill over into your heart. 
Copyright © 2011 – Steven Eric Connor. All rights reserved. Reprinted with Permission. – Steven Eric Connor is a seasoned Transformational Life Coach, Communication & Relationship Coach, Professional Sales Trainer and Profitability Consultant. Steven Connor knows firsthand the challenges of stepping outside one’s comfort zone to create and live a vibrant, more meaningful and fulfilling life. Visit Steven’s Website at: http://www.transformationalsuccess.com/ and follow him on Facebook.
Larry James is a professional speaker, author, relationship coach and an award winning nondenominational Wedding Officiant. He performs the most “Romantic” wedding ceremony you will find anywhere. Something NEW about relationships is posted every 4th day on this Relationships BLOG.
When I perform my “romantic” 
Are you listening?
Spirituality is all about finding the truth that resonates the highest with you. Religion is based on a fixed belief-system, and to be included (or to be saved) you need to adopt this belief system.
So to some, to be spiritual may mean the individual expression of their faith without religious interference from a church or any reference to God. It is only and always a personal choice. It is the connection we feel to something greater than ourselves. In a sense, spirituality is personalized religion. It also means that you recognize and acknowledge a power or sensibility within yourself and outside of yourself, beyond the purely physical or mental. 
The religious beliefs of spiritual groups do not necessarily lead people to the same conclusions as organized religions, but that doesn’t make them less religious. Being religious or spiritual both usually connote belief in a Higher Power of some kind. Both also imply a desire to connect or enter into a more intense relationship with this Higher Power.
My friend, 
There couldn’t be a better time to tell you how very much you are Loved.
Seems to me that there may be only two prayers worthy of praying. One prayer is to know God better. The other prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
“Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie, author, “
