Four Unexpected Reconciliations
My thoughts today are leading more toward New Year's and New Year's Eve. In honor, I dressed for a New Year's Eve party today. It was enjoyable! I wanted to talk to you a little bit about reconciliation as we look back at the end of 2022. We also start looking forward to 2023 and starting a new year. I know one of the things, of course, everybody always talks about is New Year's resolutions. But I feel the thing that I want to talk about today is letting go of the baggage of 2022, so we can step into 2023 much lighter and more accessible, not carrying forward anything that will bog us down. So that 2023 can be a whole new chapter in our lives.
There are four different ways I thought of reconciling today. These all came about because I have specific situations in my life where I have to reconcile. I feel if I'm having these, then maybe you are too.
The first way is reconciling my list. I did today go through my planner. (I'll put a little sticky note on a page if I didn't finish everything, then I move forward for tomorrow's… current day’s Inspired Shortcut…the most essential thing for that day.) I'll make a little sticky note, so forgetting what I didn’t finish is okay. Then when I have a chance, I look at those pages occasionally throughout the month. I like to forget about them, so when I go back, I can see which things on that page have been accomplished. It's always cool to see what things I can check off with the realization that they weren't even on my list for a time. I wasn't even thinking about them. They got done with my focus completely off of them. Rather than pushing the stuff forward constantly, rewriting it every single day, I love putting trust in my daily process so that all things work together for good. I don't have to keep it right in front of me. This always happens. I inevitably go back to look, and half of the tasks have gotten done! The other half goes like this…some, maybe two or three, are not even important anymore, and I can cross them off.
This morning I reconciled my list. I took all the lists from the pages with sticky notes, all the things I had thought were important in the past, and put them all on a master list. It was freeing to be able to do that. A lot of things got checked off immediately because they did get done. A lot of things got crossed off as no longer necessary. That felt good. It was a sigh of relief this morning to get that done. That is one way that we can reconcile today. Go back through all the little lists you've been keeping, then negotiate them onto one master list. Only put the things that are still important that haven't gotten done yet.
Next, I took a yellow highlighter. I highlighted the things that are a priority for me to do immediately. That allowed me to release everything else and only focus on those few things that are really important right now. That's the first way to reconcile…with your lists.
The second way that I want to suggest that we reconcile today is in relationships. I have one situation with a person. I know that something needs to be done. I know that something needs to be said. I have been putting it off, procrastinating the discussion. I'm afraid it's going to upset the person. I've been walking around on eggshells around them. I fear the blowup that might happen once I broach this subject. So I've been putting it off. But what I found is that in not reconciling this situation, it's perpetuating. The person's not aware of it, so it continues. It's making it harder for me. In my mind and my heart, I know it should be reconciled. It's getting so that I'm frustrated. I think, “oh my gosh, would that person stop doing that?” But I need to approach the person. I need to reconcile. I need to negotiate and face the fact that there might be a blowup. I would much rather have a tantrum in a reconciliation conversation than a blowup inside of me because of my frustration! I'm not willing to have that. Reconciliation is much more healthy for me. It'll be more beneficial for the relationship too. I'll be able to release it and let it go. And I for sure don't want to carry it through to 2023. If there's a situation with a person that you have been postponing, procrastinating, or trying to ignore, it is time now to get that taken care of so you don't carry that baggage into 2023.
The third way would be good for us to reconcile; again, this is something I'm dealing with right now. I have been swamped over the last three months creating. I was off social media with my personal and business presence for about two years. I've stepped back into posting regularly. I felt that pull to get back into it for the last three or four months.
And I have been busier than I have in the past. I'm always busy, but there's more to be accomplished right now as I'm in creation mode. I’m finding new ways to get my content out to people, new people. So my finances have been put by the wayside. I usually have a practice every Sunday. I go through and reconcile everything. I do what I call my wealth counting. \Sundays are busy right now with preparing for Christmas singing performances. I'm in a choral group that is performing Handel’s Messiah. I'm also the choir director in my church congregation.
I have let my wealth counting slide. I'm about three months behind on the reconciliation of my finances. I thought it would have to happen sometime as we're heading toward the end of December into January. I will count my income and expenses anyway to prepare for taxes. Now is a great time to do it. Once I get everything caught up on paper, I can see where I'm at. There's still time to meet with my accountant before the end of the year to discuss where I'm at and to find out if there is a strategy I need to put in place this year to make sure that I have a better experience at tax time. My accountant can suggest ways to make a difference to help 2023 go more manageable when I get ready to do my taxes. If there is something I can do now so that I won't owe as much, that is something that I want to accomplish now. Once you get into 2023, 2022 is done. You can't do anything about that. “Oops, you could have made this contribution or done this, but you can't do it now because it's 2023.” Now's the time to catch everything up financially.
I think there's a side benefit to this as well; at Christmas time, we tend to overspend, or at least I do. Every time I see something cute for someone, I want it. “My daughter would love that!” But if you know in advance where you stand financially, then it's maybe a little bit easier to have a plan for your holiday spending and stick to it. Instead of not having a clue and saying, “I'll deal with it in January.” Don't take that baggage of overspending into January. By reconciling your finances now and knowing where you stand (remember, you can make those conscious decisions to spend all the money you want on Christmas.), you can also make the conscious decision of, “I think we spent enough; this is good. I feel perfect about this; I want to go into January a little freer financially.” That's the third way that I thought of that we can reconcile. And we can do it right now.
The fourth way is maybe going a little deeper than I would typically go on a first connection. But it felt important that we do this. I second-guess myself. What? Oh yes, I do. We've been together for 30 days. You know me. You know that I have a heart centered on Christ and God. The only reason I do Facebook live videos or send information out and create content is that I care about you and ensure that you have the same information I do when I get something unique. I want to give it to the world and ensure everybody else has it.
As we go into this next bit, I know it might be a little different from what you have experienced, but hopefully, you'll stay with me, and this will be a positive experience for you. This fourth way to reconcile is with your spirit and your body, to bring your heart and body back together. I know that Satan is honest. I understand that the powers of darkness are natural. I know that Satan has minions that love to attach themselves and even possess a body. They don't have a body of their own. It is a counterfeit experience that they're having. They're living life through another human being when they attach themselves to a person, or they possess a person. When we have an attachment to one of Satan's minions or even Satan himself, I've felt Satan himself attached to me; it comes on subtly, gradually, so that we don’t feel it. Like the proverbial frog being boiled, but unaware because the water feels very tepid at first.
We are spirit and body. Our hearts are pure. Our spirits are full of light. They are light; they are the love of God. Our spirits are one with God. If that happens, if we have an attachment, don't judge yourself for having that because they sneak in. They come in unannounced. They come in uninvited. When we're not paying attention when we're focused on other things, it's not anything that we did wrong. We have to be vigilant and aware that this happens sometimes. So occasionally, we need to recalibrate. We need to reconcile our bodies with our spirits, our minds with our spirits, and our beliefs with the truth that our spirit knows. We need to reconcile the illusion of earthly life with the reality of eternity.
This earth life is an experience we're having, but it is not even real. The temporary thing is the body. The real thing is the spirit. The spirit is the eternal experience we have with God with Jesus Christ with all of our brothers and sisters in the one great human family. There's a need for reconciliation of the spirit and body because if we have these attachments or possessions, then our spirits, because they are pure, are not able to remain within the body. The spirit will separate itself from the body. The spirit is still near, but the body and spirit are not one. The two are not inseparably connected. The spirit cannot reside where darkness is, where evil lives. So our exercise today is to help us reconcile and recalibrate, bring that spirit back into oneness with our body…the spirit at the center, as one with our hearts and minds. Let’s cast out these spirits of darkness that are having a free ride on our bodies, having somewhat of an earthly experience with a body, which is something that they were denied when they chose not to follow God's plan to come here under His direction, under His plan, in His will, for His glory.
The first thing I feel inspired to have us do for our exercise today is cast out. I'm going to walk you through the method that I use. You can; if you have a specific way that works for you to cast out, I invite you to do that now. Here we go:
By the power and authority of Jesus Christ. I command you, all dark spirits, to depart, to return to outer darkness, which is your home, which is where God cast you in the beginning and where you shall remain, never to bother the people that are reading this, never to bother me or my family or our families near and far away, or in our homes ever again.
After we are cast out, then the next thing is to pray that our spirits will return. Right now, I'll go ahead and say a prayer out loud. Again, if you want to add specific things to this prayer, go ahead and do that personally, silently, or out loud. I think out loud it is mighty.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. We are grateful for our relationship with thee, our connection, and our ability to partner with Thee as one according to Thy will. We pray that Thy will is done on earth as in heaven. At this moment, we choose Thy will; we decide to obey Thy will. We choose to be one with Thee. And in so doing, we ask that our spirits and bodies are one; we choose to be one in Christ and He in us. And together, we are in Thee also. We ask that angels come and surround us, that they be our rearward, that they lead us, that they are all around us, and that they go before us to prepare the way for all things to work together for our good. We are one with Thee; we love Thee Lord. As we do Thy will, we accomplish Thy will. My intention, my purpose as I partner with Thee, becomes Thine. My choice is swallowed up in Thy will. I fulfill my purpose according to Thy will. I pray we can use our spiritual gifts to fulfill Thy will and purpose. I pray that we will feel Thy presence and think of those angels all around us that help to protect us. We are grateful for the heavenly help to prepare that our way is easy, that all obstacles are cleared before we even take a step, and that we do move according to I will. And we ask these things in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Again, do whatever else you feel to add to that prayer. Then the final piece that I think will help us to maintain this feeling of oneness, spirit, and body in Christ and God all together…together with God and all people, As I am one with Christ and you are one with Christ, we are one together. If I'm in Christ and you are, too, then we are one. My spirit and your spirit are the same. We feel the same. We want the same things as an eternal spirit. We are one in purpose and will because we are both in Christ and choosing the Father’s will. To maintain this feeling of oneness throughout the day and e rest of his holiday season, create a mantra. This would be a statement that you could make, ‘I am’ statements are the most powerful. Choose a mantra, a message so that if you ever feel your spirit is not entirely centered in your body, you’re trying to do something that is out of alignment, you feel separated from God, or you feel that you've got some darkness that's attached to you, you'll be able to say that statement and know that it is true. A statement that helps you remember that you do have the power. You have more power and authority than Satan does. He never had any power or authority. He does not have the authority because God did not command him to come here. He does not have the power because he is not obedient to God. God has all power and authority, and what we have, we receive as a bestowal from the source of all power and authority.
Satan has no power or authority. As we are one, we have all power and authority. What is the mantra that you can create for yourself? Maybe that's it…I have all power and authority being one with God. Write your mantra, and speak it boldly to the powers of light and darkness every day. Please put it on your bathroom mirror, your car's dashboard, and wherever you need to see it daily. Use that mantra to remember the feeling you have of being one, of being released from all that dark energy. And be free to have light, be filled with light, one with God, one with Christ, one with your spirit, one with all people. When more people can do that, I know we will have peace on earth and goodwill towards men.
I invited you to have an inspired life yesterday. 30 Days to Your Inspired Life is available to you now https://mentoring.wylenebenson.com/30-days-to-your-inspired-life-sp
I would love to continue our journey together. I have a new curriculum to share with you throughout the next 30 days, and I am excited for what's coming for you and, therefore, for the whole world that chooses to be one with Christ. Please also join us daily in our community for new-inspired wisdom. https://www.facebook.com/groups/partnerwithgod
