Gloria to God:

Dear God, something seems to be happening to my mind. Or, maybe it was always so, and I am just noticing it more now. What happens is that that I seem to take words literally, and then I am confused. Most of this is stuff that doesn't matter really. For instance, my daughter said she had ordered a turtleneck for me.

In my mind, I pictured just the turtleneck — just the neck part. That's what I thought the whole time until it came. I was surprised when I saw it was a whole top.

I really don't know a lot of the time what someone is meaning by what they say, and I have to ask: What does that mean?

It is like I haven't been around in life, but I have.

God:

It is like you are a clean slate. That is different from not having been around.

It is a return to simplicity.

To really hear what someone is saying and not what you think they mean is a fine thing.

It is a return to innocence.

It is a beginning.

You don't have everything sorted out beforehand.

Didn't you want January to be a month of clean slate?

Clean slate means you don't know anything.

You used to think you knew almost everything.

Knowing nothing is openness.

It is willingness.

You start blank.

It's good. Don't worry about it.

It is also always good to ask someone, "What do you mean?" It makes them pause a minute and pay attention to the meaning behind their words.

Be glad to be simple.

What do you think I am? What do you think angels are? Sophisticated? No. Simple. Aware. Simple awareness. In a place of no assumption, presumption. No pre-empting, no predicating, predicting, insisting, requiring. Just hanging out. No old. Only new. Not remembered. Just what comes. Unwalked-on snow.

You are afraid of what someone might think of you.

This is ego.

Never mind what someone thinks. Never mind what YOU think. Mind what I think.

You know that you want to follow Me and not the world.

Be glad of how I made you.

Gloria:

Dear God, I know in essence that You will never run out of things to say, but sometimes I worry. Like next year, what more can You say about New Year's, for example? Sometimes I worry that there will be a clean slate, and nothing will go on it!

God:

Yes, one day, have just a blank page for Heavenreaders. That will make them sit up!

But that will be for another day.

You are not concerned that I will have nothing to say. You are concerned that you don't have anything else to ask today, or, that one day you simply won't hear Me. You are running out of things to worry about so you develop this one. You have half an idea that: no problems, no Godtalk.

In a way, that is correct.

When you are in such a state of joy with Me that you see only joy and love, what would you want with words?

But, don't worry, that is far off.

Gloria:

Would You talk a little about animals, dear God? I know they teach us pure love.

God:

They teach you yourself.

Your little dog Sunshine teaches you what you (My children) can be. He is strong, determined, one-pointed, and has no doubt that all will go as he wants. He never considers that he might not be loved or receive friendliness. He greets the world and accepts its greetings.

Ginger, your other little dog, teaches you where you have been. She is the sweetest thing in the world and yet always fears she has done something wrong. She fears she is responsible for catastrophes, like something dropping to the floor. She waits for trouble to come. She is always so amazed when love comes her way. She can hardly believe it. She doesn't know she deserves love.

Gloria:

It doesn't stop her from giving it, God. You know that she had been severely and constantly abused before we got her. It was a month before she would even let us go near her. Now she snuggles, and doesn't nip at strangers' heels anymore. We remember the first time in her whole life she frolicked.

Sunshine, on the other hand, came to us young, and he has only known friendliness.

God:

How you feel towards your puppies is how I feel towards you.

I do anything for you to make you happy. But you don't quite believe it.

Like Ginger, your worries are in the past, but you think the past is all that there is and that it will return. You wait for it. That is your expectation: trouble must be ahead because trouble is behind.

I have said that "surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life". Look for goodness and mercy, and that's what you will have. Whatever befalls, goodness and mercy are yours.

Where your attention goes, so go your thoughts, your decisions, your life as you see it. Your life is as you see it.

See differently, and different life follows.

Consider Me the Pole Star that guides you. The golden threads I hold you by seem invisible, but they are strong. They are unbreakable. Look up, and you might just begin to see the golden thread that connects Us all. Do you see how you revolve around Me?

You roam on a sea of love.

Love walks on itself and knows it not.

You are on a beautiful merry-go-round.

It stays in its orbit.

You think you are off by yourself somewhere.

You are never out of My love.

You are never away from it.

Let your heart come to Me like a kite.

Set your heart on its course.

Your heart is a sailboat.

Sail it to Me.

Point it towards Me.

That's the only direction you need.

You don't need the measurements and scale.

You just need to point your heart to Me, and to Me it will sail.

* * *

Katrina to Gloria:

Dear Gloria, I was touched by Lauren's question Wednesday about how to go about loving one's self more. I thought I would share My Godwriting on the subject with you. I know we are all growing along together with God's infinite love.

Bless you.

Katrina to God:

Dear God, I am asking for your help today to learn more about You and loving myself.

I loved your answer to Lauren, and I want to have this practice of asking you daily for the power to love myself as You do love me. And to see the things you have sent to me as reminders of You and a nudging towards what Your will for me would be. Let me not be blinded by my own harsh judgment and perfectionism, Lord.

I am curious why I am so grumpy about being at the shop and irritated at people asking me questions. Will You please help me with this. Dear Father, I thank You and love You so much.

From Katrina's own Godwriting…

God to Katrina:

Dear Katrina, I am helping you always and forever. I am directing your life at this very moment also. Keep turning to me everyday, every minute, and then your attention won't be on how irritated you are with others.

When you think too much about what is going to happen and about your own concerns, you get too serious and you don't let yourself rely on My power to carry you to your destination, which is going to be a very good place that I have planned for you already.

All you need to do to keep yourself from trying so hard to fix and manage things is to show up, take care of yourself, and you will arrive at your destination. In every step I am there.

You are beginning to understand and feel this deep within. So just believe this is true and live by it. No matter how you feel at any given moment, I am always there to turn to.

So then, turn to Me always, and at all times. I do lay all at your feet. First there is Me, and then the rest will follow. That is all.