WHO DOESN'T LOVE YOU.""No man is my friend, no man is my enemy but every man is my teacher"...Florence Scovel ShinnAnd it is the teacher's job to educate me on the truth of Selfless Love (Unconditional Love). Therefore, I would do well to learn my lesson, thank the teacher and move on.

INVEST: To commit for a future return ; to endow with an authority or power... Invest is a powerful word - and is exactly what Jesus and avatars before and after Jesus have charged us with: To LOVE our Higher Power and LOVE one another. The return on LOVE is health, wealth, happiness, prosperity.I understand us choosing not to invest the greatest gift ever given to us in another human being but to make it a RULE - seems to be counterproductive and will inhibit our growth...
"When was the last time you "STOOD 'STILL' " and just waited for your faith to do its job?
Flight 453 to Boise was scheduled to land at 8:29 pm...it was already 8:40 and we had descended and climbed twice. Captain John prepared us for the moderate-to-severe turbulence over Boise before we left Denver. Still we didn't know we were going to need the proverbial "Wing and Prayer" to land. But there we were 110 passengers and 5 crew members flying the "not-so-friendly skies" on Saturday night.
Prior to Saturday night I didn't fully understand the meaning of being still, yet it was the second time I experienced it and on a plane no less. The pilots were working to get our plane down (in one piece) through 80+ mile per hour winds while dodging micro-burst winds that were covering the Boise airport. (Background: a micro-burst is strong winds that pop up and are known to take down planes)
A hush fell over the plane - as it did the last time I was flying through perilous weather conditions in the early 90s. I was strapped in my jumpseat but I could feel the passengers were frightened. In that situation instead of panicking, for that does not serve faith, they, we all became still ...
The pilots did their job -(yes I agree faith without works is dead when you look at it from that perspective,) but they knew what they were working with. They knew their job wasn't to calm the winds or battle the winds...
They were "STILL" to nature's working as they prepared to land the plane.
Maybe because I am trained to evacuate a plane in an emergency - I was STILL (my emotions were in check) and I let my faith to do its job. I mentally PREPARED to safely deplane my passenger through the jet bridge..
When we were landed (I just realized I wrote "WHEN WE WERE LANDED" ) it was as if we landed in a dust storm in Dorothy's Kansas . It was then I realized (again) that we had passengers on board the plane because my flying partner let out a loud "THANK GOD" and the passengers applauded! .
As we were taxiing -it was almost to the gate when I heard myself saying THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU almost near tears to 'holy ghost' type shouting - but I was poised with emotions in check (STILL) the whole time.
Like I wrote, I didn't know what BEING STILL (POISED) in adverse situations meant fully until Saturday night. "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD" however is what we 'train' for in our churches. It is that component of FAITH that we very rarely talk about. It is the part of FAITH where we learn, no matter what religion, (although for me it was Christianity so it was to Trust in Jesus Christ) to be POISED i.e., keeping our emotions in check while preparing for THE GOOD.
It is reported, we only have to two emotions, Fear and Love - all other emotions fall near those two... it is those two emotions that scientists are discovering alter our DNA resulting in how we respond to the world we see. In my job, I see and feel only LOVE. For I've prepared to serve and keep safe the passengers in my charge.
Fear has no place in the friendly skies.
Just as we flight attendants and pilots train to keep poised (STILL) with emotions in check in an effort to handle adverse situations in flying; we also train in our churches or in life how to be poised (STILL) during the adverse times so that faith can do its job.
We weren't on the rough seas Saturday night but we were certainly being tossed and blown about - but I can testify panicking does not work in those situations it only throws you into a ball of confusion... BUT PEACE BE STILL We on that flight knew who calmed the rough seas.
We landed safely. Although we had a lot of filled airsick bags and one passenger was taken to the hospital, whatever our other passengers were going through when they boarded Flight 453 to Boise, Idaho - it was as if they didn't have a care in the world when they deplaned..
There she was Laurie Metcalf, former co-star of the television show "Roseanne", asking me and anyone within earshot of the broadcast commercial to help save the children. Metcalf's plea was one of the most heartfelt request I've heard in a long time. Her pitch resonated with me so deeply, I had to stop writing and instead listen. 
Before social networking sites I, like many of you, probably lived in a
vacuum. My thoughts were my own and if I wanted to know what other
people were thinking on any given topic, as a member of the CBS Network
affiliate "press corps" I would just ask.
While waiting for crew scheduling to call this morning (My day-job is flight attendant), I took the opportunity to go through the blogs I've subscribed to in my Google Reader. Now since I don't do this often, I had more than 200+ blogs to scroll through. So as I was scanning I would pause at key phrases that caught my attention. one such blog "The Truth" stated that "Bloomberg says we need more immigrants because they work harder than poor blacks."Now I doubt that Bloomberg actually said that, but you know what - I'm going to go out on a limb and say I agree.
I felt like Madea <---- over there after reading a man had given up on his dreams. He wrote ,"No matter how bad you want something if it isn't in God's plans it isn't going to happen." WAAAA I thought as I reached for the duct tape to wrap up my head to keep it from exploding. If your dreams aren't coming to fruition, please don't blame I AM by saying it isn't I AM's will for you to have what your heart desires. What parent wouldn't do anything and everything in his/her power to help a child's dream come true? None! (Ok maybe the deadbeat parents wouldn't, but that's for another post.)
However, I AM rejoices in our triumphs for we reflect I AM's greatness right here on earth even if it’s an infinitesimal amount.
I AM loves Its creation so very much that I AM has given us humans the greatest gift ever - Free Will combined with Grace...and with that generous gift we can achieve greatness.
"If this is true" you are probably thinking “then why aren’t my dreams coming true?” you ask.
It's simple; you've taken your focus off of your dream.
Often times we lose focus of our goal and replace it with a new one before we've even finished that task at hand. We don't do it intentionally but because we are created in the image of I AM we can conjure up all kinds of thoughts instead of focusing on one thing at a time. We start day dreaming and forget about our current mission...and all of sudden our goal moves out of our reach. It doesn't have to be that way. We can achieve our heart's desire. I AM left basic instructions to show us how we can accomplish our goals.
I'm often reminded of the creative process as it is illustrated in the scriptures. In Genesis, I AM said "Let there be Light"and then light pushed out the darkness (ok so I am paraphrasing - don't get so caught up in semantics - FOCUS!). I AM said "that is good." I AM then move to the next goal.
Do you see a pattern?
...I AM didn't say "oooh, I'll do this light thing and then it will be so bright that maybe I'll get a tan...and then I will…blah blah.
No!
There was thought, word, action followed by peace and contemplation between each goal.
So before you throw up your hands and say I AM doesn't want you to have your desire...Stop, look and see what you've attached to that singular goal.
Have you attached to the goal - all the money you are going to make; all the people who will be impressed; how much money you will be able to tithe when you accomplish this one goal. If that's the case, then you have taken your eye off the goal and you are wandering in the wilderness without direction.
Go back to the genesis of your idea, focus on it and be determined to achieve that one goal. You will succeed. How can you not? After all you have the best heavenly parent in the universe and just like your earthly parents not one wants you to fail.
President Barack Obama and Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean 

Think about what happens to your house when you are trying to swat a fly
While testifying
before the federal grand jury on August
17, 1998 regarding his alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky, former president
Bill Clinton had a moment of Zen when he offered testimony defending his response
denying "sexual relations with that woman, Ms Lewinsky."
President Clinton said:
"It depends on what the meaning of the word
'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that
is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true
statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind
of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the
present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."
Because
of his existential response, lovers engaging in extramarital affairs the
world over would never again have to admit to adultery unless they were caught
in the act.
Fast forward to almost 10 years after that infamous
testimony and we now have the former president's wife, Senator Hillary
Clinton, joining her husband in changing the landscape of our dialect.
This time, determining professional work experience comes under scrutiny.
At the vibrant age of 60, Senator Clinton is claiming 35 years professional
experience in politics. This would include the work experience gained since she was 25 years of age or 26 (give or take a year) until the present.
Maybe it doesn’t matter that she was first
elected to the U.S. Senate in the year 2000. By my calculation that is about 10 years professional
political experience for Senator Clinton including about 2 years of campaigning .
That leaves 25 years for which are unaccounted.
Now if Senator Clinton
believes it's fair to pad her political resume with her years of
experience as a corporate attorney then I counter that office politics
doesn't count. Not even if she was successful at making partner. Another
on-the-job experience disqualifier is “wife of" governor, or "wife
of" president.
I was the wife of a plumber but trust; you don't want me anywhere near your
pipes.
So what "Is" a qualifier for Senator Clinton’s
political work experience? Oh wait, we already had this public discussion; our 42nd
President laid the foundation when he said “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is'
is"
What I believe IS; we are ready for change - not a change in discourse but a change in policy and a change in leadership. (c) 2008 Mel Hopkins