“You like to imagine how I will speak to you. Whether I will be guiding you toward something new, or if I will be telling you something you already know. You wonder if it is information you need—or if the information I give you will matter. But, let me ask you this: when I speak to you, are you open to responding? Will you take my words and consider them in the deep place within your heart…”

“It isn’t easy to discover something about yourself that you didn’t realize before—something you regret, something you wish you could change and you can’t. Alone, by yourself, you are capable of hurting people more deeply than you ever dreamed…”

“Will you wait on me now? Will you let me speak? Will you expect me? Will you believe I am here? I am not in disguise. I do not play games that are malicious and unkind. I am not coy or deceptive. I am not manipulative or hard-hearted towards you…”

“You have never been a disappointment. Not to me. You have always been perfectly enough. But in the ways you have believed false things about yourself, deeper lies have come in. They have immobilized you. You are afraid to risk, to try something new because it might not work, or you feel it will be too hard to accomplish, or you feel you don't have what it takes to do it. You are swallowed up by insecurity—and a lack of motivation to try new things pulls you under to where it is dark and quiet and still. But come up to light now, child…”

“The days roll in and out like waves, one after another. How much different does one feel from the next? Can you imagine approaching this day, this moment, as a miracle? For it is full of possibilities. It is filled with hope. It doesn’t have to feel different from another day to be miraculous. For it is in the moment that feels like any other that I can develop in you a keen sensitivity to me…”

“I am right here. In all the disruption, in all the noise. I often invite you into silence, into stillness. For I want you to remember who I am and that I have everything under control. But sometimes, I know, peace feels difficult to find. A moment of rest, or a place to catch your breath, feels like something that slips by you, again and again. It is short-lived. It does not stay…”

“You are not numb. Jaded. Unaware. You are not overwhelmed, distracted, distraught. You are filled now. With love. With life. With hope. Can you see it? Feel it? I can help you. It is so simple, really…”

“It is confusing, isn’t it, how you feel both strong and weak? You are confident in your ability to push when things get hard, dig in and do the things necessary to accomplish a task or work through a problem. And those things get done, usually: that problem addressed, that challenge dealt with. But the next day, when new problems and challenges arise, will you continue to approach them like a test that is being graded, a mountain that simply needs to be climbed…”

“You can be skeptical of the power of my presence if you want. You can hold back, deciding to not be free—free of worry, free of anxiety, free of idols, free of performing, free of insecurity, free of doubt. Because these freedoms come as the result of being with me…”

“You do not have to fear a right or wrong answer. What you speak from your mouth is a reflection of your heart. But before you even speak, be attentive to your heart. Make sure you are not swaying in different directions, unsure of whether or not you love me. For feigned affection makes the heart suffer. It is better to be honest with yourself about what you love and what you don’t…”

“Do not be confused about who you are. Do not even be confused about where you are. There is not a different place you need to be. There is not a different personality trait you need to have-- for there is no personality trait in you that I disdain. Do not be paralyzed with worry that you are not living your life in the way I hoped you would. But listen: your life is a gift most enjoyed when it is lived with me…”

“I hear all your questions: How do you reconcile sorrow with joy? How do you stay present in your circumstances, while at the same time having hope for the future and peace for your past? How do you hold onto and feel your emotions while surrendering them too so you don’t become overwhelmed by them? How do you let yourself feel and not ignore what is painful? How do you find consolation in desolation? How do you live in peace and hope and joy all at once when nothing is perfect and few things feel like they can be fixed…”

“You were made by one God, one Father, one King, one Creator, one Family. You were crafted with precision. Every cell. every propensity, every desire. You were dreamed up by me—and then I executed that dream, with excitement and delight…”

“There is much to distrust in this world. There is much anger and pain. There is much angst and striving for more and more—more things people feel they are lacking. But not me. Not many know they are lacking me…”

“Come close now. I am right here. I have known you always. There is nothing to hide. Not from me. There is no need for shame. That is not the kind of relationship you are built for. There is no need to fear, for that is not what you are made for either…”

“There is terror in this world, things outside your control. There is malcontent, intentions to do evil. There are always things that can hurt you. Envy and greed, pride and evil desires pursue you. While on earth they will not be escaped. For you are in the midst of a battle waging—a battle already won for your heart. And there is much discord because of that. Strife and disharmony, anger and pain…”

“To be human is to feel emotion. To let sadness blanket you in its heaviness. To let anger sweep over you, ravaging your thoughts. Happiness skips in, a refreshment and a balm. And excitement adds spice to the routine of a day. Fear can come in many forms, difficult to trace at first. And all these feelings and many more, make up the complexity of you. They reveal the emotions of the Father. They reveal the emotions of me…”

“So many questions about me. I love them. I love to answer them. But knowledge doesn’t mean knowing. Information about me will not make you closer to me. Not in the way you think. Information about me acquired at a distance from me will keep you distant from me. It is that simple. Why do you place so much value, so much importance, on knowledge versus experience? Isn’t it about maintaining control…”

“Fear is a thick covering over your heart. It clouds your vision—the vision of seeing what is possible, the good that is possible, in taking what feels like risk. And what I mean by risk is this: doing something you could never do on your own without my power. Fear, you see, is the source of your stagnation emotionally, mentally, spiritually…”

“I see you. You are not alone. The weight on your shoulders is not yours to carry now. Not alone. Not without help. I hear your calls in the night. The silent pleas. The under-the-breath whispers in the day…”