In my message from this last Sunday, January the 15th, I offered some practical techniques for Overcoming Struggle.  I share those techniques with you here as some have requested more information.

I have to admit that I got thrown off my train of thought at first.  When I started speaking, I noticed that the microphone was a bit too loud, so I said to Phil who manages the sound system during services, "Phil, I'm a bit hot."  Much to my chagrin, the whole audience broke out into hoots and hollers and laughter!  Too funny!  To make matters worse, Phil grabs the mic in the sound room and adds, "There's nothing I can do about that right now."  More laughter!  All that knocked me off my game a bit, but I prevailed and shared the following insights.

It is important to remember that Divine Source (God, Higher Power, All That Is, what ever you may call that) loves us beyond belief.  We cannot comprehend the level of love and care available to us all the time.  One verse that helps us understand this is Luke 6:38 - as it describes the gifts given to us as been tamped down and overflowing. 

That reminds me of brown sugar.  You can scoop up a cup of brown sugar and it looks full.  If you press on it, the sugar compresses and you can add more brown sugar and press that down and add more!  So it is with our spiritual blessings coming from Spirit.  a measuring cup cannot hold it all even when it's pressed down!  It is beyond measure!

Yet, we can feel blocked from that outpouring of love and care.  We can feel like we struggle without any help.

It is important to remember that NOTHING can cut us off from that love.  Romans 8:38, 39 acknowledges all the things we THINK block us from that love, yet those canmot block us at all.

We diminish the flow when we feel fear or when we hold resentments or bitterness, but the flow is still there ready to pour down in our behalf!

What blocks us up is our struggle to feel heard and our need to be right and our desire to have our needs met.  Often other people are struggling for the same thing and their will conflicts with our own.  And yet, Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us that our struggles are not in this physical world, but rather in the spiritual. As we put on spiritual armor, the angels can do their part and fulfill the victory that is Truth and Love!

We get to have assistance from angels in the spiritual world!  Angels are very respectful and will not interfere unless given permission or if it's a life and death situation. A few days ago, a woman was driving her car across a bridge when a semi truck hit her.  The truck plummeted over the bridge and the driver died.  She and her children were in a mangled car that hung precariously to the edge of the bridge.  Attempts to free her and the children caused the car to slip.  Unbelievably, the Army Corps of Engineers "just happened" to be in the area with an extending fork lift.  They positioned themselves on the opposing bridge and extended the fork across the gap to steady the car so the mother, her 10 year old daughter and a sleeping baby could be extracted and brought to safety!  Their angels were certainly on duty that day!!!

Call your angels to you and as for their assistance!  Call the other person's angels to you and ask for their assistance toward a resolution of the issue that is for everyone's highest and best good!

We cannot ask an angel to make someone love us or make them yeild to our will.  That overrides free will which is one of the greatest gifts given to us by Spirit.  So, asking for a resolution that serves the highest and best good of all could be even better than you can imagine!!

So, write out the difficulty and then write, "This issue now dissolves" and slip that piece of paper into your Bible at Luke 6:38.  (Okay, even if you don't read the thing, you probably have a Bible that belonged to your grandmother laying around!!  You can get one at the used book store for cheap, if you need one.  I prefer the New American Standard or The International Version for their ease of reading, but for this process, any Bible will do!)  As you look at that verse, notice that the first word there is Give - so find something that you can do that is an act of service or a kindness or a blessing to someone else.  That gift opens the floodgates through which Spirit can bless you in an immesurable level.

Know that your angels and the angels of those involved can now work to the highest and best good.

Try this technique and let me know how it works for you!  It may not be instantaneous, but it will happen!!  In the meantime, knowing that you no longer have to struggle, but rather can be at peace about ANY situation is a real blessing. In that calmer state of mind, more blessings can flow from the unlimited source of all love!

(Reprint of the article written by Janice for the Divine Fellowship monthly calendar)

If you are reading this, you’ve survived to set foot into 2012!  What an accomplishment!  This last year held a lot of challenges for many of us, to say the least.

I sincerely hope this New Year brings new insights and new blessings for us all.  Great opportunities for personal development abound with some new classes and workshops being offered at The Divine Fellowship.  (Hope you get a chance to check them out.)

Individually, we get to take stock of where we are in our world, where we hope to go, what we hope to become.  The choice is ours.

Unfortunately, we often choose our course of action based upon someone else’s yardstick for success or failure.  What others value may not be valuable to us!  What we value may not be of importance to others.  Time to release other people’s value systems and awaken to our own.

The spiritual growth we strive for and attain often doesn’t even hit the radar of success in the minds of most folks.  Yet, what could be of greater value?  Knowing our own mind and our own heart gives us the power to move forward upon our spiritual path. 
Spiritual advancement may look like finding a new way to interact with family members or that troublesome person at work.  Spiritual advancement may look like opening to a deeper connection with Spirit so sweet contact with Spirit feeds our senses all the time.  Spiritual advancement may present itself as an awakening of intuition or an advancement of healing abilities.

What does your heart value?

What does your inner being wish for you learn?

How can you be of service and share your talents and abilities?

As we bring our bright focus upon the New Year, our spiritual focus falls upon our heart’s desires.  No one can choose for you! 

Is this the year to reinvent yourself?  Is this the year to try something new?  Is this the year to set clearer boundaries?  Is this the year to learn to use the spiritual tools you already have?

We don’t have to know what those changes will look like.  We just get to know that opportunity awaits choice.  As we take the first step, Spirit will lead us to each new step as we become ready.  That’s a wonderful feeling!  May 2012 be Blessed and Happy!

As this year, 2011, comes to a close, it’s easy to just start figuring out what we hope to manifest in 2012 or to begin a list of New Year’s Resolutions.  I hope each one can take a moment to look at the year past and celebrate life’s victories and successes.
The successes that matter may not seem monumental.  Being able to say “no” and stick with it rather than relinquishing newly-found boundaries constitutes a HUGE victory.  Sticking with a healthy life style when we used to abuse our bodies with neglect or over-indulgence represents a tremendous victory.  Speaking up for one’s self rather than playing the doormat – again – amounts to a tremendous achievement.

Do we take the time to celebrate those triumphs?  Do we take the time to celebrate life?  Can we stop the hustle and bustle for a bit and rejoice in the beauty of the moment?

It’s all too easy to focus upon those things yet undone or those things looming over our heads and over our hearts.  Yet, taking time for worthwhile merriment feeds the soul.  Without this soul nourishment, our challenging lives deplete our reserves.  We get to take a moment to acknowledge those achievements.  Can’t see what you’ve accomplished?  Ask someone!   Sometimes others see our progress better than we do.

Once we celebrate our own victories, we can help others celebrate their accomplishments.  Perhaps they haven’t seen that they’ve grown and you have.  Point it out and celebrate with them!

Jesus told a story of a lost coin and how happy it’s owner was to find it, He said, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner (one who misses the mark) who repents (corrects his aim).”  Luke 15:10 (notes are mine - jl.)  Angels celebrate when we make improvement.  We have our own cheering section in the spiritual realms!!  Those cheering angels (ministering spirits sent to render service Hebrews 1:13,14) are here to help as well.  Ask for help and Divine forces are immediatelysent to your aid!

So, before the year ends, take a minute to take a look back.  Acknowledge those successes and have gratitude for Divine assistance.

We don’t have to be perfect . . . we just aim in the direction of perfection and every step we take brings us into a closer, deeper relationship with that which is Divine.  Way to go!  Angels celebrate!

I had a delightful time at the Kirkman House Museum this last Saturday. 

For the 11th year in a row, I linked people with their loved ones on the Other Side in the Whispered Memories Tea.  We did two sessions again this year and some remarkable connections were made.

I was surprised by the first session as there repeatedly was a lion that made it's presence known.  For one person, the lion linked them to the trip to Africa they were considering.  For another, they had watched a TV show about an African person leaving abject poverty and discouragement and finding abundance and joy in America.  For another, she was a Leo which in astrology is the sign of the lion.  For the final person, the lion showed up as the MGM trademark at the beginning of their movies with the lion roaring.  She and her friend with her laughed at that because just the week before, her husband had purchased a taxidermy, full grown African lion that was in her living room. 

At first I thought was it odd that so many people that were connected to Africa or the lion present in the same session.  But of course, there are not accidents, so they came together in that session because they were energetically connected.  I attempted a deeper connection with the stuffed lion (eewwww!).  To my surprise, the lion was proud to be on display and like the lion of MGM fame, he roared with great power at the opportunity to be seen.  He didn't hold any ill will regarding how he got there.  He was honored and respected and appreciated and he was honored by that attention and affection.  What a surprise to discover that!

Since I only have a short time to read a whole room full of people, I tend to read them, disengage, and then move on.  Often things don't stick in my memory, so the lovely connections that were made are gifts without strings for me to hold on to, so they dissipate quickly.  I wish I could remember every single connection to share with you.

There were a couple of interesting things that remained in my memory from the second session.  For several years now, a group of sisters attend the afternoon session.  They came from a family of 13 kids and I believe 8 or nine of theme were in the room, along with other relatives.  One of the sisters was reminded of a story about a chicken.  The whole group laughed and one of the other sisters said, "I know a story about a chicken, but I'm not telling it here!"  We all laughed and wished we knew the secret.  The funny thing was the one that received that message was too young to know the story, so she was looking forward to hearing about it.  Then I was told there was a funny story about a cow or a moose.  The sisters laughed again.  Apparently, a calf chased their mother up a tree.  Dad butchered that calf before the end of the day!  Nobody and nothing messes with mamma!  We all laughed about that.

One of the most touching connections earned a delayed response.  A woman asked to speak with her husband and immediately, I saw a journal full of carefully written entries.  She didn't know what that was about, so we gathered other information and made a lovely connection anyway.  Before our group session closed, she acknowledged that she just remembered what the journal was about.  Her husband was a surgeon and after he passed, she had found his notes from school.  They were in a notebook and the entries were carefully written with amazing drawings among the entries.  She was so blessed to know that in her darkest times of grief, he was there beside her when she discovered those journals and went through them.

At one point a little bee (maybe it was a yellow jacket) flew in and circled my head and landed on my hand.  It didn't bother anyone else, so I got that the message was just for me.  According to Ted Andrews in his "Animal Wise" writings, bee reprsents community and communication along with multiple choices.  With choice, there is clear signs as to what should be given priority and preference. 

This totally rings true for me as this is the last year I will be doing The Whispered Memories Tea for Kirkman House as I have passed the torch on to a capable young woman whose loving heart will carry messages with joy and grace.  At the same time, I release Kirkman House, it is so that I may pursue other things . . . Like webinars.  I've got several that I'm prparing right now.  I've been confused by what to present first and how to do it.  After the Kirkman House session, one of the participants said they really wanted to learn how to develop their own abilities, but just didn't know how they would squeeze in a one-hour trip one way to take classes from me.  I indicated that I was preparing a "Spritiual Awakening" seminar and she was overjoyed as that was an answer to her prayers! 

I guess "Bee" fulfilled it's purpose and clarified my communication and validated my choice to let go of something familiar and reach for something new - even though it's a bit intimidating and overwhelming.  I feel more determined and calmer as a result.

After reading 30 people in the aftenoon session, I don't remember much more than these highlights I've shared with you.  I know there were some amazing connections and some wonderful healing happening through our communication.  I am always blessed knowing that our loved ones don't leave us, rather love and those loving connections continue on.  As I remember the people sitting around the room, see their faces in my memory, I remember the deep feelings of connectedness and joy that transcended the grief and sorrow for their loss.

It has been an honor to serve in this capacity and I am grateful that the Kirkman House Museum benefitted by the fund raiser.  On January 20th, at The Divine Fellowship, I'm scheduling a "Voices From Beyond" session to communicate with our loved ones.  I will give you more info as the time gets closer in case you would like to participate in that session.  Until then, know that love remains long after this life's journey come to an end.  Love endures, supports, and cares. 

(It hasn't been an easy journey for me to accept that we can talk with The Other Side.  If you want to know more about my journey into connecting with The Other Side, you can read about it in my e-book, Spiritual Awakening, a Visionary Journey of Faith, Intuition, and Divine Connection available at Amazon.com.  I am waiting for a hard copy from the printer as I type this.  I'm hoping for it to be ready by next week.  If you want a paperback version, let me know by e-mailing me at janice@janicelynch.com)

Spiritually speaking, there are some four letter words that cause us to shudder.

Wait.

Move.

Stop.

Wait asks us to have patience during a prolonged delay.  Move asks us to pick up who we are and what we are and do something new and different.  Stop asks us to resist the urge to return to our old stories, habits and struggles.

Yet, sometimes "wait" becomes the most apprpriate action.  The time between themoment we creat a dream set a goal, or begin manifesting what our heart desires and the time it happens can drag on and on, it seems.

I'd rather make a wrong decision than wait.  Until Spirit asks me to move forward in a new direction and then I throw on the brakes and ask Spirit to wait until I feel better about it.

Don't you imagine Spirit has a great laugh when we whine about the delay and then dig our heels in when the door of opportunity opens.  Not that Spirit laughs AT us.  It's not mocker or shame-based.  It's a joyful expression from Spirit at the delight of seeing us behave as the physical, spiritual, emotional, mental humans we are! 

It's funny when we're waiting on God we get all cranky about stuff.  When God is waiting on us we justify our lack of action based upon our own fears.

We want to hold back because we feel insecure or we don't know what's expected of us.  We drag our feet because we feel unacceptable or less-than what is asked of us.

Why do we do that?

Because we can!  Because it's part of the process!!

When we move (there's that word again!) through our own doubts and fears, we blow past risistance.  It is the resistance that teaches us abo8ut our own willingness and our own heart's desires.  Not fun, surely, yet a powerful gift-giving experience.

So, what are we waiting for?  The right moemnt?  The right action?  The right inspiration?  The right goal?  The right tools?  The right door to open?  Or is God the one waiting?

Let's "Wait for Divine Inspiration, "stop" whining out of fear, and "move" into our true awesomeness!!!