Giving, Gratitude and the God Seed

[Guest guest]

Fillmore writes Gratitude and thanksgiving are both necessary

in demonstrating prosperity through divine law. Be grateful to God

and thankful to the friends whom He uses to supply you.

All metaphysicians have found by experience that being thankful for

what they have increases the inflow. Gratitude is a great mind

magnet, and when it is expressed from the spiritual standpoint it is

powerfully augmented. The saying of grace at the table has its origin

in this idea of the power of increase through giving thanks.

Imagine arriving at a

Universal Well of Gratitude,To discover instructions for use.perhaps

one might read this: Well Come Allthis Source is pure, draw with

pleasure.Self reflection is highly encouraged,as calm waters offer

clear views.peer deeply into watered wells -

you may cast change to invoke chance

or chant charms for Love's romance.

remember to heartfully pour forth

all gathered blessings

so others will benefit, as well.

We are channels of God's love. We are the conduits God uses to send

out a multitude of blessings, of abundance, of joy, of love and of

life to this world. God uses us by no will but our own to bless other

people. But, how can I care for another if I am hungry? How can I

cloth another If I am naked? How can I love another if I am lonely?

How by become and providing that which we seek to obtain.

We are here to help someone along the way so that our living won't be

for naught. During the time of Abraham there were no churches or

temples. When the people of that time tithed, a tenth was offered to

God and blessed, but, they didn't just leave it on the altar to rot

and decay; Abraham shared the offering with the people that joined in

the tithe. He shared with the poor and those who were experiencing

difficulties.

Now here in the present age things have not changed as much. We now

simply have a building for the churches to attend for we each are an

individualized temple of

God's Love and this place we come to gather is the fellowship hall of

our soul's home. We come to this place as like minded individual

seeking to feed our souls and to impart our offerings in the

Storehouse of God. This is why we must support the fellowship hall.

Its continued work in unifying us, the churches of God's Love, is

vital not only to our community but to our lives as well. When we

support the fellowship hall, we can then call the churches together

when one church is in dire need. We can call the church of Ms. Kim

for some food. You can call the Church of Mr. for some

intellectual support and help. You can call the church of Mama Jane

for some financial need. You can call the church of Uncle for

spiritual guidance. It this form of service that must be revitalized

in all of our churches nationwide in order to bring forth the healing

this world is seeking today.

Often times, people give to the building thinking that it will bring

them peace and salvation. They think if I give to this building that

releases me from having to help somebody because now it is someone

else's responsibility. But tithing is not only money but also our

time, our effort and our love. Giving is God's way of providing a

catalytic effect towards finding the kingdom of heaven.

We give in three ways: first to God's work, second to ourselves and

third to charity. In giving of oneself, we open the doorway of

abundance to care for others. It is about loving others and without

love for oneself, it is impossible to love others. It is our

stewardship that units us in care for one another. As the instruments

of God's blessings, we can't be a blessing without first caring for

ourselves, and loving ourselves.. In do this, we become an active

presence in all that is wondrous and beautiful about life.

This presence is accomplished by being present for and with

ourselves. It is the small things we do in caring for ourselves that

brings about the abundance we can readily share with others. By

caring for out bodies, by making sure we are fed and clothed, by

putting money in our = saving account, by volunteering and being of

service to this fellowship hall, we create for ourselves the

opportunity for increase in all areas of our lives. Participating in

the children ministry, cleaning the church, acting as a Chaplin,

serving on the board, tithing our money or simply by being an able

body ready to be of service where the need arises helps us to stay

present in the moment.

Often we make New Year's resolutions to loose weight or go back to

get that college degree. While this is fine and wonderful we must

keep the promises we make to ourselves or we will never accomplish

our goals and dreams in life. We must keep our vows that we make to

ourselves because those vows are the stepping-stones to our success.

For within us is a seed of greatness waiting to be nourished and to

blossoms.

Life is a staircase. With each level of growth, we reach a plateau

until we have mastered that level. Every time we betray ourselves, we

take one step back on that staircase. Never accomplishing that innate

desire; that dream; that God seed of Greatness until we reach a point

where the staircase looks so big and high up; we become afraid to

climb it.

In the circus, people often wonder how they are able to hold an

elephant at bay with just a rope. When and elephant is just a baby,

they take a heavy chain and tie it around its leg. Try as it might I

cannot break the chain until one day it gives up trying. This is what

happens to us in life. We become weighed down by the naysayer, the

failed attempts and the deferred dreams. We become fearful of our own

wealth, abundance and prosperity. We betray ourselves in order to

satisfy others and defer our dreams even further. Self-betrayal is

the most destructive betrayal there is. In the book, A Return to Love

by nne on, she states it thusly:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.

Here and now, in this place, the nourishment needed to bring your

greatness forth is offered. Right Here and right now is provided the

Divine wisdom and Agape Love that cultivates the God seed in us and

makes it flourish. The most abundant source of dreams deferred can be

found in the graveyard.. There you have dreams never awakened. There

you paintings never painted. Building never built. Songs never sung.

All because someone did not nourish their God seed.

So how do we defer our dreams? My grandmother Lil Lowe explained to

me in this way one day as she had me cleaning the house while she was

cooking Sunday dinner.

Boy baby, as she would call, I want to take a look at this orange

seed. It is old, dried up, and got all these wrinkles. It has

probably been here for days or even weeks. But, here is the good

thing about a seed. It has no life or death. It simply is. It is the

completeness of itself. This seed contains the wholeness of being an

orange tree. Depending on whether or not it is planted in fertile

ground, will determine its growth to its full maturity. Depending on

the care it is given, will determine on how much fruit is produced by

the tree.

This is why we tithe to the church and the fellowship hall. We bring

our tithes into the storehouse so that God will open up the windows

of heaven and pour out blessings for us until we shall say, it is

enough. The reason God gives us more than enough , is because the

more is for us to bless someone else. The abundance of food is to

feed someone. The extra room is to house someone. The extra clothing

is to cloth someone. The extra money is to help someone financially.

To put it simply, he anoints our head with oil and our cup runeth

over. Well, that run off is to fill another's cup.

Tithing keeps in a giving mode. I cannot give with a closed fist. If

I take a coin and put it in my hand once I close my fist there is no

way you can get it from me without a struggle. When I open my hand,

you can freely get the coin; just as you can freely put the coin into

my hand. Now, I can freely receive the blessings of God. By opening

my hand, it is free for whoever wishes to give or receive and that

openness keeps me in a constant unending flow.

Struggle makes us feel inadequate, unworthy, and lowly. It requires

force and no one like to be forced to do anything. Because, God is

not a God of forcefulness nor is he a God of struggle; & because the

universe provides only abundance anything we focus upon with enough

thought and attention will come to us in abundance. Take a look

around you at the beauty of nature and see all its lush and abundant

beauty. Flowers don't seek abundance of pollen to create the next

generation, they simply produce so much of it in the springtime that,

here in Georgia, you car turn from its original color to a yellow

haze in minutes.

All of this started from a seed. Here today in this place, we have

fertile ground and in this place we can choose to nurture and nourish

the our God seed. Here the soil is moist and well watered. Here that

soil has been tilled and rows prepared. Here in this place the soil

is fertilized with love, nourished with wisdom and protected by

faith. Here in this place during the time of growth the seed is cared

for and looked after. And at the time of harvest we find the seed did

not just produce one other seed but an abundance of seeds.

Not only that but it made a plant, with leaves and vines, and it gave

oxygen to the air and it gave nutrients to the soil. And upon its

death, we use the old plants and leaves as compost to nourish the

soil. The new seeds and plants will use that nourishment to grow and

feed themselves. It is a never ending process.

It is the same with everything in our lives. As, I plant a money seed

in my savings account it grows. As I plant seeds of love in my

children, they grow. As I plant a seed in the wisdom in my family; it

grows. Here today we stand on fertile ground. We must be open to it,

nurture it and love it. We are spiritual beings incarnated as human

to learn how to be humane.

The bottom line is God is our source and supply. God is our infinite

abundance in everything now and forever. Everything in our lives is

the effect of our believing or lack of belief that God is our

ultimate source and supply. Because I keep my focus on God, every

good in my life flows to me abundantly, quickly, frequently and

easily. Because I joyfully give my good to the care of myself and

others, the flow of good always continues. God is okay with us taking

care of ourselves so that we may take care of others.

Filmore also worte

It is necessary to give freely if we are to receive freely. The law

of receiving includes giving. The knowledge that substance is

omnipresent and that man cannot, therefore, impoverish himself by

giving (but rather will increase his supply) will enable man to give

freely and cheerfully. " Freely ye received, freely give " (Matt.

10:8).

When we give, we get back. And then some. Remember that one?

Life is all about circuitry. When we give, we receive more so we can

continue to give. When we hoard, we create black holes, and we aren't

as prosperous because we don't have circuitry and flow.

Take a risk today - give. Give something that counts. Don't be

afraid, as most personal trainers say; to feel the burn—Only then

will we have given the universe permission to create an opening for

us. Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.

Luke 6:38 from the Aramaic Biblical interpretation puts it best for

me.

Give, and it will be given to you; good measure shaken down and

running over they will pour into your robe. For with the measure that

your measure, it will be measured to you.