Lent: Transformation

I renew my zeal & enthusiasm

"Renewal is the cure for apathy.We reignite our passion for life, for our spiritual practices, and most of all for God.

We notice the signs of love's presence within us and everywhere. We are specific in our appreciation of the world. We find things that bring us joy,laughter, and inspiration. Our appreciation becomes deep gratitude."

Rev. Margaret Flick

Release & Renew 2022

 

Finding Truth Within

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Let There Be Peace on Earth

and Let it Begin with Me!

Creating a Transformative New Year

A New Year To-Do List By Rev. Kelly Isola, M.Div.

Tools for Planning and Affirming Your Spiritual Journey

As a new year unfolds, I find myself not only reflecting on the year that just ended but also looking ahead with great expectation. I find myself wondering what will emerge and how will this spiritual journey of being and becoming unfold. Here’s a to-do list for each one of us for the new year. It focuses on cocreating a world that works for all and seeing our great expectations transform our world.

Checklist for Co-Creating a Transformative New Year

  • I recognize that I am a sparkling gift from the cosmos. It is time to unwrap myself and share myself with the entire world.
  • I sing love songs to my soul. It’s not about carrying a tune; it’s about playing the symphony that is me.
  • I treasure my loved ones, even when they seem unlovable. It is in those toughest moments they are saying most loudly, “Somebody, please love me.”
  • I look each day in the mirror knowing: I am love made visible.
  • I am an angel and an ancestor with this planet. My presence makes a difference—and also leaves an echo of perfection for those who are yet to be born.
  • I find adventure in every day. I have courage to do new things, big and small, and know this inspires others to unwrap themselves for the world too.
  • I recognize with every sadness I am blessed to have a heart cracked wide open. One of the great mysteries in life is that by feeling our suffering we also invite in the possibility of feeling great joy. Suffering and joy are your partners in wholeness.
  • I delight in knowing my light has already illuminated darkened paths. My gaze has lifted broken spirits. My gentle life has changed the destiny of all I have touched.
  • I carry the peace of the world within myself.

Remember that the force moving the stars is the same force that moves the human heart. Embrace this cosmic view, and you will know that this force is alive in all things.

Open yourself to the movement of the stars and the movement of your heart. Realize you are a necessary part of the interconnectedness of all life.

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Monthly Affirmations

 

January 2022

Inner Peace
I am centered in infinite peace.

Guidance
Divine wisdom is the light shining upon my path.

Healing
Realizing my divine nature, I am healed.

Prosperity
I thrive as I live in awe and gratitude.

World Peace
Openhearted and open-minded, I promote peace.

Possibility Thinking

The Prosperous Heart

"Allowing ourselves to see our options, no matter what the situation, is an invaluable doorway to freedom. It takes courage to step out of our comfort zone and open ourselves to the opportunities available to, but as we accept even the smallest steps as progress, we are rewarded with self-confidence."

Julia Cameron

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Work and the Success Syndrome by Eric Butterworth

The spiritual economics of getting into the flow of divinity—and your prosperity

When Jesus says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 KJV), he implies that our bondage in life is caused by our acceptance of erroneous beliefs. A Greek philosopher, Zeno, says, “The most important part of learning is to unlearn our errors.”

In the study of spiritual economics, nothing is more basic or more rife with mistaken beliefs than our attitudes toward work. Why do you work? You may smile at the question, for it seems perfectly obvious that everyone works to make a living. However, if this is the only reason you can come up with, then it is one of the errors that needs to be unlearned. It is an attitude that may well be frustrating your creative flow.


What are you getting out of your work? If you respond in terms of salary figures, fringe benefits, and executive “perks,” then you are underpaid. Not that your employer is inadequately compensating you. That is something else. What we are referring to is that by the evidence of your narrowness of vision, you are shortchanging yourself.

Your prosperity will always be a reflection of your consciousness, the degree to which your thoughts are centered in the divine flow. You spend most of your life engaged in some kind of gainful employment; thus if your attitudes about work in general and your job in particular are not right, then truly you are working against yourself. You may seek diligently to demonstrate prosperity, but unless you unlearn your error thoughts about work, you will forever be out of “sync” with the creative flow of the Universe.

A German educator, Friedrich Fröbel, had a refreshingly positive sense of the cosmic process at work within the individual. How good it would be if his ideal of work could be stressed in our modern-day educational system: 

It is a tremendous realization. What if our young people could be graduated into their work life with a preconditioning of this awareness? You may seek diligently to demonstrate prosperity, but unless you unlearn your error thoughts about work, you will forever be out of “sync” with the creative flow of the Universe.

https://www.unity.org/resources/articles/work-success-syndrome?PromotionCode=EM9EN281&utm_source=Unity4Today&utm_campaign=b456fa61e5-UNITY_4_TODAY_2021_06_08_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d9cb98384b-b456fa61e5-61656077&mc_cid=b456fa61e5&mc_eid=40809715b3

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How to Let God Help You

by Myrtle Fillmore

 God, my Father and your Father has made me to know that no matter what I have done or others have done to me, He has implanted within me the pattern of perfection.  He has given me the life, power, intelligence, and substance out of which I may recreate my soul qualities and physical structures, and so come forth a new creature. 

You, too, by studying and proving this Truth can do the same.   

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Interested in Unity? What to Read First

By Rev. Ellen Debenport

Are you new to Unity or interested in learning more? Unity began as a publishing house, so naturally we have books for you! There’s a century’s worth of material to read, but I’ll refrain from listing it all here.

The foundational teachings of Unity were established by founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who were intrigued by the power of thought, including prayer. They and a few others poured everything they were learning into the earliest books and magazines Unity published, starting in the late 1800s.

Eventually you’ll want to read their work, but the language is dated and the concepts abstract. The books I’m going to recommend put the same teachings in today’s language, so they make a better introduction to a belief system that you could explore for a lifetime.

https://www.unity.org/resources/articles/interested-unity-what-read-first?fbclid=IwAR19mJXdkrhRvLhOHdoumrce7QeTixG28Xv186cAQiD7pdXRYkaekIU6TCc

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The Heart Will Find Its Own

by James Dillet Freeman

The Gifts Love Gives to Us

To love is to find happiness in making others happy. It is to understand what others think and feel and need. It is to say and do the things that make them eager to be with us, and to do these things not for effect but because it is natural for us to do them.

  • It is to know the imperfections of others, yet see them perfect.
  • It is to know their weaknesses, yet see them strong, and because of our vision and our faith, to make them stronger than they are.
  • It is to accept others as they are; and when they fail our aspirations for them or spurn our outstretched hands, to keep open the doors of our hearts.
  • It is to appreciate the importance of others and to help them appreciate their own importance.
  • It is to grow into the hearts of others and to become a part of their lives, yet not bind their hearts nor circumscribe their lives.
  • It is to lose ourselves in something greater than ourselves, as a small spark loses itself in other sparks and becomes a star.
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Healing & Wholeness

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We Are One in the Spirit

How we 'see' God determines our experience and expression of the One.
As spiritual beings, we are made in the image and likeness of God.
As human beings, we seek to follow the teachings of Jesus to realize our Oneness with all of creation.
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Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Surrender

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
Jesus' life and death were an absolute demonstration of surrender, faith, and unconditional love. Surrender contains within it all the support and guidance you need for your journey of transformation... Surrendering is a process that is infinite, and there are always deeper layers to dive into until enlightenment is reached...
"What are you surrendering to? You are surrendering to the God that you defined in the beginning of this journey. It's now time to own your idea of a God that is so powerfully and completely for you that nothing can ever be against you...
"All we're seeking is to know God in and as our life. You shall see love that has no conditions. You shall see joy that has not bounds. You shall see peace that is beyond understanding."
Rev. Mark A Lord
"Release & Renew"
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In the Silence

April 3rd
"I renew myself in the serenity of silence."
 
"In the Jewish tradition, Saturday is the Sabbath, the day of rest. Even Jesus' deceased body rests on Saturday. We cannot go from Friday to Sunday without space in between.
 
"We surrender to the understanding that we can't skip the darkness of the tomb. We pause to reflect on the image of the cross and tomb, both showing how to hold pain and be transformed by it. We trust that after crucifixion comes resurrection, after wounding comes healing, and after injustice comes mercy."
 
Rev Kelly Isola
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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Good Friday

"For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

John 18:37

Today is a day of releasing and letting go of the old habits, thoughts and feelings which have bound us to past hurts. When we bear witness to the truth which Jesus taught, we cross out the negative and rise to claim our freedom in Christ!
Rev. Claudia Naylor

 

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"I renew my understanding of my spiritual nature."

April 1st
"I renew my understanding of my spiritual nature."
 
"As the Last Supper was ending, Jesus had a message for his disciples: 'Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.' John 14:12
 
"How is that possible? Because Jesus came not to be the great exception for us to build a religion around but to be the divine example for us to follow.  I remember that even as I breathe, I am breathing the breath of God. From the smallest thought to the grandest action, the Christ within me shines through, and I live my destiny."
 
Trish Yancey
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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"I release problems that seem to overwhelm me."

March 31st

"I release problems that seem to overwhelm me."

 
"Tomorrow's Maundy Thursday marks the observance of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, sent Judas out to betray him, and gave his followers a new commandment to love one another as he loved them. He knew his time was short and what he faced would be incredibly difficult, yet his focus was on divine love. Can you imagine how different the story would be if he wallowed instead in how big his problems were?
 
"With everything that comes my way I have a powerful choice: fight what is and become mired in the mess or release my resistance and use my energy to create solutions."
 
Trish Yancey
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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"I renew my connection with Spirit, self, and others."

March 30th
"I renew my connection with Spirit, self, and others."
 
"Recently I decided it would be a good idea to organize my garage. I quickly found myself frustrated with the task of untangling the dark mass of holiday lights. I decided to plug them in.
 
I realized that strands of lights are like people who are waiting for an opportunity to connect with others. Perhaps that is why holiday lights are designed with both a plug and an outlet on each strand. When we are plugged in and connected to others, we find the blessing of purpose illumined by the spark of others. It is in these shared connections that we shine brighter than ever before."
 
Rev Kathy Beasley
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021"
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Palm Sunday

Sixth Living Word:

Completion

"It is finished." John 19:30
"When we're completely aligned spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, we can move mountains. The Holy Spirit loves us unconditionally and waits patiently for our readiness and willingness to be free. That which you have put on the cross to be 'crossed out' is absolutely done. Our prayers are answered.
"Let's say you have a garden, and have cleared away all the old weeds and overgrowth. The soil has been tilled, and you have planted new seeds that will produce a beautiful garden overflowing with good. About one month later, you see some weeds starting to crop up here and there. You realize that it's just leftover baby weeds rising from the soil...
"When it comes to crossing out something that no longer serves us, we tend to panic when a 'second crop' idea or experience happens. 'Oh, my God,' you exclaim. 'I thought I was done with this!'
"Refuse to give any substance to the lesser thoughts and refuse to see yourself as a victim. Say no to believing yourself anything but the full glory of God and the fulfillment of the new you."
Rev Mark Lord
"Release & Renew"

https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021

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"I renew the strength and courage of my heart."

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March 27th

Strength & Courage

"Fears can be overwhelming and at times have driven me to despair and paralysis. That condition was exacerbated when I dwelled on worst-case scenarios. Over the decades, I faced many (challenges), as we all do. Remarkably, without the paralysis of fear being at the forefront of consciousness, I was able to deal with whatever arose..."
 
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phil.4:13
 
Rev. Bill Englehart
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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I release my darkest fears

March 26th
"I release my darkest fears."
 
"In childhood, my darkest fear included fear of the dark. My room had an electric heater with coils that glowed bright orange....That glow made everything look different, but then again, everything was the same. The only change was the way I saw and perceived the world. When faced with new fears, I perceive them differently, as if seeing them through a different colored lens. The lens of faith."
 
Rev Bill Englehart
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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I renew my hope with the power of affirmative prayer.

March 25th
"I renew my hope with the power of affirmative prayer."
 
"Today I create positive results in my life through affirmative prayer as I acknowledge the constancy of God within me as a loving, empowering, comforting source. I steer my mind away from judgment, lack, worry, and fear. I focus on wonders and blessings in my life and take delight in positive news and acts of kindness.
 
"I affirm that I have the wisdom, courage, and momentum to move forward in all that I wish to accomplish. In alignment with Source, I am empowered to step forth to do brave and beautiful things."
 
Rev Bronte Colbert
"Release & Renew"
https://www.unity.org/publications/booklets/release-renew-lent-2021
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