Gloria:

Dear God, I read somewhere, in Catherine Ponder or Florence Shin, I think, the idea that nature doesn't pick up inflections or the irony of what we say but the actual words themselves, and that we need to be careful of what we say.

As an example, I once bought a magnificent VW for only $50. The engine was so sweet and quiet, the first time I went to fill the tank up, the guy at the gas station offered me $200 for it. While I had that wonderful car, I kept saying, "I got a steal. I got a steal." And then the car was stolen.

I thought I would tell myself that whatever I say, I am saying it about You, and then I would less casual about what I say! Then I would say only wonderful things. Maybe higher speech makes a higher life?

Would you please comment about speech?

God:

Your speech reflects your thoughts. Your thoughts reflect habits. You are talking about careless habits of thought.

My children say a lot of put-down's. "What a jerk I am. How stupid can you get?" and so on.

These are echoes from faraway of what was said to you.

Words have power. They are sound vibrations, and they echo throughout the world.

Revise your thinking in a truthful way. That is a good technique.

When you said about yourself, "What a jerk," you could have focussed on another quality of yourself. You could have said, "I persist. I am kind. I will pay more attention to myself…" Even when you say or think, "I am tired," you could better say, "I have untapped energy", and that would be true.

Consider your plaintive put-down thoughts and words as whips. Every time you disparage yourself, you have pulled out a heavy whip and lashed yourself with it. It is called self-flagration. Yes, watch what you say.

Gloria:

And then sometimes I kind of skip along like everything is just fine, like pretending makes it so.

God:

I ask you to pretend nothing. I suggest you look at truth. My children make mistakes, but do not think that even one of My children is anything less than My child. That would be pretending.

Think of how you feel when you say, "What a jerk am I?" Do you feel how it shrinks the universe?

Think of how much lighter you feel when you say, "I am learning all the time" or "I am a human being who participates in life" or "I let go of the past, including the past from a minute ago."

Gloria:

I had an email from someone yesterday who loves to help people. Then she realized that there was something she was doing that she thought was for others but discovered that she was doing it for herself. I had the impression that she thought there was something wrong in doing it for herself and not others. I might have misunderstood.

God:

She has misunderstood. Many misunderstand.

You must do for yourself what you would do for others. You must find your joy. That is your duty. Find yours, and then you can help others find theirs.

I never asked one of My children to deny himself. I certainly never called that virtue.

I put a feast before you called life, and I say, "Eat!" and you had better eat! Do not leave the table hungry.

Your worth is not based on how much you do for others.

Christ was who he was. In the process of living life as the being he was, he did for others.

Mother Theresa did as her heart directed. She sacrificed nothing. She performed from the place where she was. She did not assume a place.

No one serves me with sacrifice. Be a model of Me by being who you are. You are no less than the person next to you or ahead of you.

If you are waiting in line at the bank, you do not let everyone get ahead of you in line!

Know why you do or don't do something. Don't do to be virtuous.

Christ never said, "I will do this act because it is the virtuous thing to do." Never.

A heart full of joy does what you call virtuous, but the virtue is a trailer that follows.

Sacrifice benefits no one, not the sacrificer, not the one sacrificed for.

Your life is the life you lead. Tend to your own fields.

You have My permission to give happiness to yourself. You have My blessing. You have My instruction. It is My law.

Gloria:

Dear Mother Divine, what would you like to say?

Mother Divine:

I will translate the thinking of this person, as you understood it, into words. If it does not truly apply to this person, it does apply to someone who will be reading this.

"I will refrain from giving myself joy because that is unGodly. I will give others joy before mine because that is Godly. If I do for myself, I am less. If I do for others, I am more. I will not eat because others are hungry. I will not sing or dance except for others, not for myself. I let myself be the table for others. I lay myself out flat and deny my own right for joy because I want to do God's Will. God doesn't want me to exist. He gave me life, but I think He said it is mine to give away, as if I were not His child as much as others are. My heart should always bleed for others. I cut off my hands for others. I do this to show how much I love God…"

Say rather:

"I will use this gift of life God has given me. He gave me the cup of life, and He said, 'Fill it.' He did not say, 'Keep it empty.'

"So I fill my cup of life with flowers and pretty stones. I do what I enjoy because that serves God best.

"Along the way, I share my cup of joy with others. But I never give it away. It is not mine to give.

"God entrusted me with it. He said, "This is your cup of life. Fill it to overflowing.

"He did not say, 'Hide this cup. Put it aside. Ignore it. Neglect it. Help others fill their cup but never fill yours.'

"If God is a God of Love, He is a God of Love. He favors not one over another.

"An empty cup does not become full by filling others'. Fill your cup, share it, and it will stay full.

"Let outer actions reflect the fullness of your cup of life. Honor yourself. Your name in on this cup. You are the one who drinks from it.

"Treat no one, not yourself, less than God would."