It’s not everyday you meet a small business owner as kind and giving as Marcie, of Mustard Seed Jewelry. Her business has been founded on goodness and the desire to give back, all while creating the most beautiful and meaningful jewelry. I am so excited to present this weeks FFF, keep reading for inspiration!

It really is a simple concept to live life with ease, why is it so hard to do this very thing? It’s way too easy to try difficult in a world that thrives on, and focuses on, the difficulties and struggles of life. I believe we have to train our minds and hearts to invite easy into our days. There is a unique and divine order to our days. Every morning we get the invitation to live in accordance with God’s divine will. It’s kind of like waking up and choosing to be on the amazing treasure hunt for your day. The hard part for most of us to understand is that in following your joy and the ease of the day, it might not look like what your current “to do” list holds. Letting go of all the ways we micro- mange our days is a work in of itself.

There is a natural flow to life, that happens when we allow God to carry us vs. us trying and struggling to carry the burden of our days.

This is a very different way to live, and it might feel a bit like going against the grain of the way the rest of world and society thinks. I speak only from a place of personal wisdom and discovery. I have found that when I follow the flow of my days with ease and joy, things just naturally fall into place. God knows exactly how to fill my days and what I should be really focused on. In this simple practice, I actually experience more productivity and feelings of true freedom and peace.

Struggle = resistance. Ease and letting go = Alignment with God

God is truly a better manager than I ever will be of my days. I find that when I center and focus on the happiness of my heart and start my days with gratitude of all my blessings, the orchestration of my day is far greater than I could have ever planned. Center on your purpose and align with something far greater than yourself each day, and then allow the answers,timing and schedule to unfold with ease. The right people will come, synchronicity will happen, situations ease up, money comes (or whatever your prayers are holding), and a happy heart is the result of your efforts.

Please understand that I’m not negating that we won’t go through difficulties in life or will continually be presented with challenges and painful situations.

This is how God grows us. I believe in those situations we get to choose, struggle or ease. The key to the “ease” is letting go and reminding ourselves that it’s that easy to turn our struggles over to God, the letting go for some may the hardest thing to do; but a worthy cause.

GOOD FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Think of a simple prayer or situation that you were really stressing over. Think of how it resolved or was answered. Was the delivery of the answer or prayer up to you? More than likely it was a surprise or orchestration that happened beyond your control. And in that moment that the answer was revealed, a lot of times it all seemed so simple. I propose that it was through the allowance of inwardly turning it over to God that you received the answers to your heart. The struggle can come when you internally doubt or don’t believe you’ll receive your answer. Recalling and acknowledging God in the actual times where everything did unfold with ease is what will bring the increase in your life.

Talk about it, share with others that support you in this belief and highlight the good of your days. The more you acknowledge the ease and good, the more God gives. In the acknowledgment, you are heard and in some ways asking for more of that very thing. So cultivate the treasure hunt of life and ask yourself “where can I find the ease in this?” A simple question, yes. I believe the fun part is that you will receive the answer in miraculous and inspiring ways.

Easy breezy, is BEAUTIFUL.

Love truly is the answer. I mean agape love. I don’t know about you, but I’m going with Love’s response these days. We live in an increasingly difficult world and this question of “what would love do?” is really simple and can snap us back into right thinking and action.  Agape love is no easy endeavor; it’s a rather high calling and worth the price of admission. And when we really tune into our hearts, we can feel its tugging and calling us to truly demonstrate Christ’s love in the world. Through the demonstration of this love, it mends us to God’s side through our every thought and action in the world.

What does Agape Love really mean?

Agape love is God’s kind of love. I love Kevin Weaver’s definition of this in his book Re_Orient. He describes it as this,

“The kind of love that is always contending for the highest possible good in every situation and relentlessly contends until it’s a present-tense reality.”  “Agape love is also the kind of love God says we are to have for all people, whether they are friends or enemies.”

Tall order. YES. Possible. YES. The willingness of your own heart to dive right in is the first step. Step two, never give up; strive to be an example of unwavering steadfast love in the world. The world is so desperately seeking a true love, Christ-like love. As you all know, we need real world demonstration of this, our hearts hunger to experience this. Deep fulfillment is the end result if we make it a daily practice in our lives. Moment to moment practice is essential, let’s face it a lot happens in each of our days. Present-tense awareness of our thoughts and actions is the tall order of the day.

God who is love, is present in you, love is the fruit of HIS residence in YOU.

You love others because He first loved you and lives in you to love through you. Be blessed with holy, powerful, unfailing love in you. There is no limit or measure to this love. We stay mended to God’s side as we extend this love to everyone around you. And my friends, I assure you it will be uncomfortable, and there will be times you really just don’t feel like it. Remember, there is great fulfillment of your soul in begging the question of, “What would love do?”

INSPIRATION FROM THE WORDS OF FATHER THOMAS KEATING

I’d like to quote him from the amazing book “ Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit.”

A PASSAGE ON THE SPIRIT OF GENTLENESS.

“Gentleness is a participation in God’s way of doing things that is at once gentle and firm, sustaining all creation with its enormous diversity, yet without effort. We labor in service to God more than ever, and yet there is a sense of stepping back and watching God make things happen according to His will both in ourselves and in others. Like God we labor and we rest at the same time. We work hard but we know by experience, that our efforts are not going to go anywhere except insofar as God makes them fruitful. …leaving immense freedom just to be who we are and to serve the special needs of those around us.”

A PASSAGE ON THE SPIRIT OF GOODNESS.

“Goodness is the affirmation of creation as good, together with a sense of oneness with the universe and with everything created. It is the disposition that perceives events, even the tragic things in life, as manifestations of God’s love. It recognizes the beauty of all creation in spite of the damage that human selfishness has imposed upon it. As a result, gratitude to God abounds in our hearts and a positive attitude characterizes our relationship with others and with the normal wear and tear of daily life.”

Simple yes. Let’s face it life is filled with many situations and people that can in a sense become the kill joy’s of our days. These experiences invite us to look away from our good. It takes great courage in the face of any adversity to look for a deeper perspective, to self reflect and to look for the good. Even when a situation seems adverse there is always good unfolding behind the scene. Many times this is not for us to know, it’s God’s job to delivery the answer. It’s our job to ask for the answer, and to cultivate the faith in action to receive the answer. See each situation for it for what it is and be at peace that your good is coming and will be answered. People love to gossip and chatter about what’s going “wrong” in our world. What happened to the notion that many things are going “right”.

It takes courage to swim up stream and invite a different perspective in the world.

I do my best each day, to look for the good in people and the experiences of my day as it unfolds. I have my challenges just like anyone else. And the real work behind Looking for the Good comes when that person just cut you off on the road, you loose your job, you loose the love of your life, the nasty e-mail, we  could go on and on. This is when the most important work begins and the true joy is fostered. Can we look past the gray areas of life and seek to find what good and what God is unfolding before your eyes. Finding the good, is the seed. The more seeds of positive thought and richer perspective we plant, the more positive our lives become as a whole.   Hold positive expectancy for all situations and people in life. Even when you don’t feel like it. The moment will pass, the situation will change. Everything heals in time. You hold the seed in your hand, it’s up to you to choose to plant it. When you put this simple concept into action, what miracles and joy will unfold is unlimited.

There is goodness in everyone. There is good in everything.

I invite you to find the courage to begin looking for it in your life. In all ways. In all times. Find people and friends in life that support you in this. There is power when two or more gather and agree. Empower yourself to find the joy and goodness that your life holds. For truly, God is good. And life is good. And this I believe is a simple truth.