Some of my articles are repeats from past issues. I find them stimulating "in my now" since I am not reading them from the same standpoint that I had when reading them in the past. I hope this proves true for you, too!

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God's Kaleidoscope
By Dusty Reed

Life is as unique as a kaleidoscope. Every day is different. Every moment is different. Each moment is like a single snowflake. It either melts away to forgotten land or it adds to itself other flakes to make a sparkling blanket. As the blanket grows, it develops more beauty in the slopes and mounds of landscape. There is a fragrance of freshness.

A kaleidoscope reflects shards of beauty, ever-changing. We turn it ever so slightly and the pattern changes. It only requires the decision to turn the prismatic cylinder and we see shards of color building on other colors.

Life expresses in much the same way. Each moment adds itself to others. As these grow into days and years, you become an image of joy and an expression to behold. As a kaleidoscope, these moments are ever changing to give new joy. The facets of color may be called kindness, love, considerate, encouragement, smiles, tenderness, generosity, trustworthy, listening, teaching, enthusiasm, courtesy, compassion, wisdom, friendship, pleasant, appreciative, patience, honesty, and many other favorable traits. We see facets from others everyday, with everyone we encounter. Can we acknowledge the quality of beauty in these refractions?

Riding a beam of color from its origin to its surrounding world, we see the brightness expand. As the facet travels beyond our physical presence, it appears to lose its essence as the color expands into the surrounding ethers. Each photon continues to flow outward as ripples on water, offering its brilliance and influence throughout its expanding world.

What perception of yourself would you like to attain? The capability is yours for achieving this picture, although the patterns leading to the destination may alter. You can have the portrayal you hold of yourself. Once you reach a chosen vision, you will most likely be ready to continue striving toward a new, more Christ-like panorama. Changes occur every moment leading to a never-ceasing attraction toward Christ. The good news is you have His perfect assistance in leading you toward these goals.

Begin right where you are now. Don't allow yourself to insert any unfavorables. You can get where you would like to be. Ask the Lord to touch and show you what steps to take. He will help you reach the patterns that will lead you to your vision. Don't try to turn the wheels too fast; you may miss it. Let the Lord lead you. Listen for His guidance. Once you have developed favorable thoughts, see them, taste them and build additional patterns with them. Carry your vision wherever you go and in whatever you do.

Continue practicing favorable thoughts and evict anything unfavorable. Notice, I say "practice." A kaleidoscope builds a pattern. A snowflake collects moisture to change its shape. God's creatures - people - practice life by taking His hand to follow His path. In God's presence is fullness of joy. At His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

The goodness is there. We only have to align our view to see the sparkle and shards of light reflected for our joy and awe.

We are God's kaleidoscope. In us He is building a perfect Bride.

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Growing
by Dusty Reed

Growing in God's love
is a different world
than what surrounds me.
All of life is effortless
if I'm following His light,
Growing in His love.

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Erasing Yesterday
By Dusty Reed

Erasing our yesterdays and starting anew and refreshed each day is a wonderful concept. Is it possible?

Erasing yesterdays does not mean changing our activity on purpose. That supports effort and to be spontaneous does not require effort. It does require a mindset of today being the day to "begin a new life." As with tunnel vision, we only see today; the healthy, good memories will come along naturally. The less-favorables will fall away.

From studying the scrolls in Og Mandino's book, "Greatest Salesman in the World," I am absorbing the lessons they offer. After studying the first scroll for three weeks, a light bulb in my head began to blink. Mr. Mandino shares a healthy thought: "Experience is comparable to fashion; an action that proved successful today will be unworkable and impractical tomorrow."

Filling a blank page with just today's experiences can teach some powerful truths about ourselves. What do we do automatically, as from habit? How much of our activity involves making an impromptu choice rather than falling back on habits? Do we purposefully touch a new experience?

A friend shared that she keeps a special time free each day for doing whatever she chooses for that time. Some have shared that they go with the flow every day. How much of that flow includes daily, necessary routines? Keeping a running list of what we do through the day will tell us how much we are doing from habit and how much we are choosing to do spontaneously. Do we automatically fix meals for our family at a certain time? Do we make the bed before we leave for work? Do we drive a certain route to work each day? Our habits are myriad, even though we seldom give them any conscious thought. Do we smell the same fragrances each day? Do we only hear certain sounds around us? Or do we see something new?

I have written and allowed to happen, at various stages in my life, what I would consider my "ideal" day. Sometimes this includes a desired schedule of activity. Sometimes it includes a scenario of how I would like to see my life transformed into a desired lifestyle. By focusing on this in times past, with prayer, I now see all of these desires molded into my life as my desired lifestyle. My ideal day now continues by beginning every day with meditation to "clear my slate" and start a new page at that moment.

"Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" - Psalm 16:11.

By staying in God's presence with each "today," we experience success in every moment! We can thus enjoy life to the fullest!

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Some sites I recommend:

Lightworkers

Mitford
If you have read any of Jan Karon's Mitford series, you might enjoy this site!

Hawaii Heart

Free Time Fun ~ Comics

Think Exist.com
Oodles of Quotes

Happy New Year!

New Year Fun Facts

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It is my joy to share with you that I continue to add new rose drawings and some photographs available at art.com! You can view them at ~ Roses

I now have some of my rose drawings at an auction site, ~ Art By Us And, I have a page with note cards (for sale) with some of my rose drawings. You can check it out by going to ~ Rose Note Cards.

I have been posting most of my other drawings now at ~ Dusty's Gallery and at ~ Dusty's Art

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And, for anyone who enjoys playing at ebay, lots of goodies (records, books & post cards - occasionally some nic nacs) are available at ~ Dusty's eBay

You are welcome to forward this newsletter to friends who might be interested! If they would like to subscribe (at no cost), they can write to me at With Expansion Encounters as Subject. Thanx muchly!

Working toward consideration and to better humanity, we want to encourage free enterprise, free speech. We are Life Now, a spiritual happening on and off the Internet.

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~ Pathway

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~ Life Now

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Enjoy every moment!

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