Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Nate, Benjamin and I delivered the food to the Food Pantry at the Escondido offices of InterFaith the next day. When a volunteer with a cart arrived at the cars he simply stated, "We're going to need another cart!" The people volunteering in the kitchen were SO appreciative! Everyone we talked to thanked us profusely and wanted to know who had been so generous. I was happy to tell them that the congregants at The Center for Spiritual Discovery in Vista were happy to help! We should be very proud of ourselves for making such a difference in our community! So thank you, thank you thank you for helping to make this food drive a big success!
Hugs,
Cindy Huff
**Photos coming soon!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
InterFaith Community Services Food Drive
The best way I felt we could help would be to sponsor a food drive for their Food Pantry in Escondido. Last year InterFaith provided over 26,000 people with enough food for 3 days. They give away over 1,500 food items per DAY and their needs are increasing about 30% each month. 90% of the food items in their pantry must come from donations. When I visited their food pantry many of the shelves were bare. They need our help!
Here is a list of the most needed food items. While all of these are important there is currently a critical need for the first 3 items.
- Canned Tuna Fish
- Macaroni & Cheese (Not Easy Mac!)
- Canned Beans (kidney, black, etc.)
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Hearty Soups
- Canned Chili
- Dried Pasta
- Canned Panta Meals
- Cold Cereal
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit
- Peanut Butter
- Jelly
- Diapers
Beginning Sunday, Sept. 14th I will provide a brown paper grocery sack with a Food Needs list attached. Just take a bag (or 3 or 4!) and fill it/them up with the requested items. Bring your donations to church and I will do the rest! The deadline for donations will be Sunday, Sept. 28th. For any additional information or questions please leave a comment on this post, or see Cindy Huff! Thank you for your help in making this Food Drive the HUGE success that I know it will be!
Do You Want To Quit Your Job?
While Dr. Sheila was speaking I began to remember a few years ago when I did work outside the home full time. Monday through Friday (and sometimes Saturdays!) I woke up, dressed in my business attire (panyhose...yuck!) and put on my happy demeanor for work. A lot of days I would have rather woken up, put on some shorts and gone to the beach! But it was a job and it earned a decent living and helped pay the bills. But there was something else to that job, something that I didn't realize until I wasn't there anymore. It really fed my soul. Every day I felt like I had, in some way, helped another person. And helping other people has always been a passion for me. Before my "job" as Mommy I had worked for 10 years in the "Long Term Care" Industry. I worked at nursing homes and, at my last job, an Alzheimer's Assisted Living. I spent every day at work with some of the most fantastic people, Seniors with health issues, family caregivers, and nurses and caregivers that worked very hard to take care of their residents. So even though I had to go to work every day...in pantyhose....I was still feeding my soul. I never realized how lucky I was until it wasn't there anymore.
So now I work at a job that, while not stressful, is about as boring as they come! Those few hours a week that I spend copying and pasting serial numbers from an Excel spreadsheet into an Oracle database just doesn't seem that important. I do know that my tiny job is part of a larger process that does help others perform their jobs. And I know that some are very grateful that THEY do not have to copy and paste those silly serial numbers! But I don't have that same feeling of living my passion. So I began to think about what would make me feel like I was making a difference, and it just came to me, volunteer work!
I've always wanted to spend time volunteering in some capacity, but it's a challenge to find ways to do that with a 3 year old son. But after Dr. Sheila's message I just had a fire burning in me!! I just knew there was something I could do. On the internet I found InterFaith Community Services and read about all the great work they are doing in the community. I felt instantly that this would be my new passion! Something I can do to make a difference to people in my community. Are you ready to find your passion? Are you ready to follow your heart? What is it about your job that feeds your soul, or makes it possible to pursue other things that feeds your soul? I encourage you to really get quiet in your mind and look inside to see where your passions lie.
Hugs and Love,
Cindy Huff
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
This Is My Stick!....This Is My Bowl!
So, how many of you attended Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones' seminar? We weren't able to attend the afternoon seminar but we were at church that Sunday morning when he spoke. He was fantastic! I will definitely make arrangements to attend any seminar of his if it's offered again. That Sunday morning Dr. Jones told a story that many of you may have heard before. It has really stuck with me and come in handy over the last couple of weeks. So I thought I'd blog about it a bit. I will be paraphrasing the story a bit but the general message is still contained.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Sunday You Will NOT Want To Miss!
Who Do You Want To Be?
I can still remember what I wanted to be when I grew up.....it was a tie between a Singer and a Psychologist. Well I don't sing for anyone any longer (except in the shower!) and, although I love listening to people, I am not employed as a Psychologist. I am sometimes amused thinking back at my childhood dreams, but when was it that I decided that these were things I could not become? I asked the children if their dreams for the future were really something they thought they could become. I actually broke down and referenced "Hannah Montana", asking if they thought they could attain their own goals the way Miley Cyrus has certainly attained hers. I asked them to close their eyes and really picture themselves as that thing they wanted to be. They all seemed very certain that their goals were attainable.
So I guess my question now is....have you become the grown up you wanted to be? Do you approach your current employment or hobby with the same exuberance as an 8 year old child? When did we decide that our childhood dreams could not become a reality? I think now, every time I tell my 3 year old son that he really can be whatever he wants to be when he grows up (yes...even if it's Superman!), that I will remind myself that I can also be whatever I want to be. It's never too late to realize a childhood dream!
August Affirmation and Book of the Month
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy!!
The week before last Rev. Brian spoke about prayer. I have to admit...I've been thinking about much of what he said ever since. One sentence in particular seems to have been rolling around in my head since that morning, "Prayer doesn't change God's mind." It made me think back to when I was a teenager and involved in the Protestant Church. Prayer was something we talked about quite a bit and, like in Religious Science, there was a way in which we learned to pray. This may sound familiar to those of you who were involved in more traditional/fundamental religions before finding Religious Science.
- Acknowledge you are a sinner and ask forgiveness for those sins you have committed.
- Ask God for what you want/need.
- Thank God for everything you have been given.
- Amen.
I can remember laying in my bed at night (why was prayer more effective when spoken at night?), clasping my hands together and begging forgiveness for whatever teen aged transgressions I had committed that day. Then I went about the business of asking for what I wanted...the whole point of the prayer. Usually it was for some material item or for the boy of my dreams to fall madly in love with me. But so often those prayers did not come true, it was as if they were only a dream or fairy tale that would not be realized. And it was only this week that I realized.....I never felt like I deserved what I was asking for! It seems so obvious now....why would I ever feel like I deserved the things my heart truly desired when I was so busy being a "sinner?"
Prayer or Spiritual Mind Treatment is such a breath of fresh air now! The steps we follow remind us that God is all there is and that we are made of God. We know that we have a divine nature and that, not only do we deserve the desires of our heart, but they are already ours. That is what the "Realization" step is for...not to ask for what we want, but to realize that it already exists. When I'm not getting what I want from my life, and if I take a moment to assess the situation, I usually discover that there is some fear or doubt that is creating an obstacle. I forget who I really am and who God really is. When I go into prayer or meditation it is a way to reconnect with Spirit, to remember that I am perfect, whole and complete. Only then do the fears and doubts fall away, as do the obstacles, and then I can create all the things I truly desire. So as Rev. Brian said, prayer really doesn't "change God's mind." But I do think it changes OUR mind....it REminds us of our true nature and allows us to create the life we really want. Isn't that awesome!!
If you would like more specific information on Spiritual Mind Treatment please click HERE.
Hugs and Love,
Cindy Huff
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Importance of Personal Belief
Someone else’s belief in me is of no consequence if I don’t believe in myself. In fact, it’s impossible to discover the answers that give me a life I love without it.
This is because when I choose not to believe in myself, I will automatically make negative judgments about myself, substantiating my non-belief. When I do this, the only thing I get is to be painfully right.
So goes the law of mind.
My belief in myself is my ultimate Spiritual security. I believe that my highest belief in myself is God’s belief in me.
What do you think?
See you in church…Rev. Brian
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Choices
Mary started the morning with a wonderful and colorful meditation designed to help focus the children and prepare them for their morning message. Mary spoke of us all being born with "free will" and how we all had choices. Interestingly (but not surprising) the children initially felt that they did not have many choices. Then Mary helped them realize the choices they make every day...little things like what (or if) they eat for breakfast, what they wear, etc. Then she began to show them how they have a choice about how they feel. They can decide if they are going to be angry or happy. And it struck me that, even at that young age, children really can create their reality!
After church I began to think about the kinds of choices we adults make on a daily basis. Some choices are little...what's for dinner, what am I going to wear today, am I going to exercise today, etc. Some are larger choices like am I going to marry this person, am I going to have children, etc. But what about those times when we feel like we don't have a choice? Do you experience situations (I can think of one right now!) where all the choices are up to other people, or no one at all. Do you ever feel out of control? Then it hit me, that's when we can choose our reaction to the situation.
Why is being out of control of a situation considered to be so bad? I think perhaps it is the way we deal with being out of control that does not serve us well. I don't know about you, but when I don't have control of situations I sometimes feel anxious, angry and even depressed. I think to myself that there is no hope for a good outcome, I beging to expect the worst. And aren't those the emotions that create barriers in our lives? So what do we do differently, what can we do to feel we have more choice in a seemingly out of control situation?
In his book Man's SearchFor Meaning Viktor Frankl discusses his years spent in several concentrations camps during the war. Talk about a situation where you have no control! Though his situation would be considered untenable to most he was able to find a way to cope and ultimately help others. In the book he discusses how we cannot always avoid unpleasant situations but we can choose how to cope with them, find meaning in them and ultimately a renewed purpose in life. His theory is referred to as "logotherapy."
So I wonder, what would it be like if we looked at every bothersome situation as an opportunity? Can you find the silver lining in yours? What if we decided that the highest and best purpose was always being created? Can you trust that there will be a wonderful outcome? I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Hindsight is always 20/20." How many times has an "out of control" situation turned out to be the best thing that's ever happened to you?
I hope you are all enjoying this blog, it's been fun for me to write! Feel free to leave me comments and let me know if there is anything else you would like to read about!
Hugs & Love,
Cindy Huff
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Belief-Ware That Programs Reality
Dr. Sheila said that we must first challenge or rewrite our belief system. Gregg Braden in his book, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief, refers to this as "the belief-ware that programs reality." We need to have higher expectations in order to create bigger possibilities. Take a look at what's not working in your life. There is likely a limiting belief behind it. Do you wish you had more prosperity? Are you still looking for the "perfect" relationship? Do you want better health? Can you discover what limiting belief might be behind that?
One thing that I realized is that while it is sometimes easy to "think" about these ideas of prosperity, the perfect relationship, better health than it is to "feel" them. I can talk about how I am pure and perfect and whole, and how everything I desire is already available to me in the present. But I'm just intellectualizing it. I am not always feeling it. And in turn I am not always demonstrating what I want in my life.
Dr. Sheila encouraged us to determine what our barriers (limiting beliefs) are and to work in consciousness to change them. The first step, of course, is to focus on what you really want. Sometimes that is more difficult than it sounds! I catch myself occasionally stating what I don't want instead of what I do want. Dr. Sheila suggested spending 30 minutes a day visualizing what it is you really want. It's important to tap into how it would really feel to have, be or do that thing. Her challenge to the congregation was to really find that one thing that we really want to transform in our lives. Then to do that work in consciousness that will result in a demonstration. What is it that you really want? Are you willing to spend 30 minutes a day to have it?
Hugs and Love,
Cindy Huff
July Affirmation and Book of the Month
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Summer Celebration BBQ
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Welcome to the new Blog!
Hugs & Love,
Cindy Huff