Joyous and free

I sing my way today,
My heart is joyous, free,
For what is Thine is ever mine,
I find myself in Thee.

Barbara Worrall

Sydney, Australia

I sing my way today,
My heart is joyous, free,
For what is Thine is ever mine,
I find myself in Thee.

Christian Science Hymnal, No. 16

You’re not invisible!

Dear Mark,

There you are sitting in her bean bag chair in the corner of her living room. She couldn’t tell by looking at you but you feel like you’re coming out of your skin because you’re in such anguish.

I remember how you mentally kicked yourself, “Why did I invite my roommate to join us?” You thought the new volunteer at the youth group was interesting. You set this visit up.

You’d been unselfish and inclusive when you invited your roommate along to meet her. You wanted to be open and free about this rather than keeping her to yourself. This was a new shift. You’ve got a new sense of spiritual strength and you’re done with looking for acceptance and affection to fill a void you thought was there.

But are you? Right now you feel completely left out–invisible.

“I would like some attention please, if you don’t mind,” I remember shouting to them in my head. What a fool I was.

You want her attention. You want to share all the spiritual inspiration you’ve gained in your walk with God. You have so much to contribute to the conversation, so much to share!

There they are, talking away about transcendental meditation. They’re really communicating with each other–and leaving me out completely. She is clearly into eastern religions and they are clicking the way I wanted to click with her.

You feel awful. You don’t like feeling so needy again. You start to pray.

I’ll never forget those prayers. You start to tell yourself that you have God. That you know that His love is all you need. There’s no void that needs filling. You are adamant that you are humble. You are patient. You are loving.

I remember how you really turned to God and said from a deep place in your heart, “Oh God, make me so. Help me feel my true worth, my completeness, my holiness, my goodness right now. Take away this pain of wanting–of wanting attention, of wanting affection, of needing anything but You and your satisfying love.”

Moments later, you’ll say silently, “Ahhhh, I’m beginning to feel you now God. Thank you. Thank you.”

A shift is taking place in thought. You begin to feel a divine sense of completeness. You begin to be glad that your two friends are enjoying their conversation. You begin to be happy you had this opportunity to learn more about who you are as a spiritual idea of God.

And by then you don’t want to talk. You don’t want anything to take away the this feeling you have.

She’s about to turn to you and ask the question about spirituality you longed for her to ask 30 or 40 minutes ago. You feel so different now. You feel happy and satisfied. Not wanting to break the peace you feel, you’ll respond with just two words: “I pray.” End of conversation.

What you don’t know now, but you will soon is that this new friend was awestruck by your answer. She’ll tell you more than once when you’re married that those two short words felt dynamic while at the same time being simple and pure, especially after all the talk with your roommate. The power, the simplicity, the spirituality she felt when you responded made her want to know more–much more.

Best,

Mark

The example I lean on

I had a healing when I was younger that happened just as I was really beginning to practice and understand Christian Science on my own. The healing is as important to me now as it was then.

When I was ten, I discovered a wart on one of my hands. As a kid who just wanted to have fun, I ignored it, assuming and hoping that it would vanish on its own. Months went by, though, and the wart was still there. My friends started noticing when more warts began appearing on my other fingers. I became so embarrassed that I finally gave up my ten-year-old pride and went to my mom. I sat on her bed and told her the bumps on my hands weren’t going away, and together we decided to call a Christian Science practitioner. (My mom had actually noticed the issue earlier, and had been praying for me, and while she’d suggested before that I work with a practitioner, this was the first time I was really open to praying about it through Christian Science.)

I don’t remember exactly what the practitioner said to me, but I do remember something my mom said that really helped. Always one to encourage writing, she gave me the task of putting “wart” into an acrostic poem that reversed the ugly picture and that instead reflected what was spiritually true about me. The results were: W: worthy; A: angel idea; R: reflection of God, pure and whole; T: true idea of God.

The concepts I came up with in writing this poem inspired me to see myself from a spiritual point of view. This was really helpful, since I was feeling discouraged because my friends would ask why I just didn’t solve the problem with medicine.

My younger sister and I were the only Christian Scientists at our school, and it was hard sometimes, especially when it felt like there was no one who would understand us. One of my best friends had a sister who was also dealing with warts on her hands, and this friend constantly asked why I didn’t use a medicinal method. Each time I would explain to her a little bit about how Christian Science healing works, but I quickly discovered that most kids my age at school hadn’t heard of Christian Science, or that they mistakenly believed it to be the same as Scientology. When I think about the situation now, I realize one of the main things I had to deal with was discouragement, which made me feel I was different from my school friends.

As I continued to pray about the warts, I began to read my Bible Lesson each day before school, and I found that it helped me prepare for my day by first preparing my thought. I not only got inspiring ideas that helped me pray about the physical issue, but reading it also made me feel more confident about tests and other challenges during the day. I started to see my friends as children of God and their comments about my hands as merely expressing concern.

By turning my thought around, I was also able to accept and appreciate the help of the Christian Science practitioner and my mom as we worked together toward my physical healing.

I began to see that I really needed to dive deeper in my thinking and my understanding of spiritual sense, instead of just hoping the warts would go away on their own. One idea that was helpful came from the story of Moses. Before speaking in front of Pharaoh, Moses is told by God to slide his hand into his shirt. When he removes it, his hand looks leprous. Repeating the action, he removes it and it is completely clean again, showing that God is more powerful than the thought or suggestion of disease. ¹

I recall really being able to relate this story to my situation. When Moses’ hand came out completely clean, it showed me that God is more powerful than fear, or the thought of suggestion. Because I was able to relate to the story on a material level (since I was dealing with a fear of imperfection on my hand, as well), it helped put the issue into spiritual perspective for me. It was an inspiring example of how what’s spiritually true can overcome and replace a material picture.

After I took charge of my thought, the healing came quickly. As I dedicated myself to praying, the warts faded naturally over the next several weeks. I was so incredibly thankful for the lessons I learned while praying, even though it wasn’t always easy. This was the first healing where I actually prayed myself, too, instead of just having my mom or a practitioner pray for me. I think more than anything, it helped me become the Christian Scientist I am today.

Now, as a junior in high school, I feel that I’ve been well prepared for any more challenges I may face. Even as time passes, the gifts of healing that God gives us are not forgotten; we can always learn from them. My healing is timeless!

Kristin

From the November 2010 edition of the Christian Science Sentinel
Learn more about the Bible Lesson

The center of affections

Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections.

Lesley Mascall

Hatherleigh, Devon, UK

Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 58:21

In this Time4Thinkers Live chat, we’re looking at spiritual healing up close with Doug Jenkins, a professional logger from Missouri who was crushed by a falling tree and rushed to a hospital. But not before he’d managed to reach into his pocket and call his wife and a Christian Science practitioner for immediate prayer. Doug describes how he was thinking and praying as he moved swiftly from the intensive care unit back to his home without requiring the surgery or extensive drugs recommended. We invite you to listen to Doug’s experience and join us for a discussion with him and his wife, Kerry, and the practitioner, Ron Mangelsdorf, about this unmistakable proof of the healing power of prayer.

Doug and Kerry met as students at Principia College, a school for Christian Scientists. They were married the following year, and after graduating returned to Doug’s home state of Alaska. After two seasons of farming in south central Alaska, they settled in Fairbanks, just south of the arctic circle. They built three log homes together, raised and ran sled dogs, and lived without plumbing or electricity until their second daughter was born. Kerry entered the full-time public practice of Christian Science in 1987 while Doug devoted everything to professional auto racing for a short time when the family moved to Missouri. The family grew larger with the addition of 3 boys. Doug now operates a classic car restoration shop and a positive impact timber products company.

Ron Mangelsdorf is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher living in Alaska. His sense of daily living is best described by Mary Baker Eddy’s statement, “We live in an age of Love’s divine adventure to be All-in-all.” In his mid-twenties, he moved from Chicago to Alaska. At the time he felt he had heard “The Call of the Wild,” but later discovered it was really the call of God. What started out as a great Alaska adventure soon shifted to “Love’s divine adventure”–and what an exciting journey it has been. Along the path, he met the love of his life, and together they raised three children, built a home, and have worked side-by-side every day for the cause of Christian Science.

Christian Science lecturer, Chet Manchester, is the host for this chat.

AUDIO ONLY

Tessa and Jay Frost got married last fall, and we’re pretty sure that songwriting and performing together over the past 3 years had something to do with it. Hang out near their cozy Seattle apartment most any night of the week and you’re sure to hear sounds of jazz, hymns, and folk music spilling out onto the street. You might even hear the finishing touches on their first collection of Christian Science solos, called Soulshine. This week’s song is a preview from the collection, which will soon be available in sheet music and on CD. Enjoy!

Learn more about Jay and Tessa, and their music at:
www.jayandtessa.us/soulshine

The Great I AM

Some have said you are a wonder
Dressed in white and heard in thunder,
Or a made up mystery
Dreamed by men who had no answers.

But who is the God of Jacob, of Joseph, of Ruth?
The living good of David’s song and Jesus’ proof -
The great I AM?

Yes, it’s true you are a wonder,
But seen in Love, heard by the humble.
As sure as law and Life can be,
The Soul of all, the Mind of peace.

This is the God of Jacob, of Joseph, of Ruth;
The living good of David’s song and Jesus’ proof -
The great I AM.

Praise the Lord, our Father-Mother
Seen in Love, heard by the humble.
As sure as law and Life can be -
The Soul of all, the Mind of peace.

This is the God of Jacob, of Joseph, of Ruth;
The living good of David’s song and Jesus’ proof!

Praise the Lord, our Father-Mother
Seen in Love, heard by the humble.
As sure as law and Life can be,
The Soul of all, the Mind of peace -

The Great I AM

Music and Lyrics by Tessa E. B. Frost and Jay A. H. Frost

www.jayandtessa.us/soulshine

Life and youth

Here is life! Here is youth! Here the poet's world-wish,

Amy Richmond

New York

Here is life! Here is youth! Here the poet's world-wish,

The Country-Seat, p. 62

The master teacher: Christ Jesus

Jesus taught us that life is eternal and that love always has the last word.  What else is his example teaching you this week?

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Steve Bailey

He proved Life to be deathless and Love to be the master of hate.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.44:9-10