Todd Herzer, CS

#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 13: The final phase…

Todd Herzer — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:23:44 +0000

Commentators are telling us that the OWS movement is moving into a new phase–and so is my own occupy movement. The questions I ask myself are not about what or where I should occupy, but rather what should occupy me or what should I allow to occupy my thought? Here’s how I maintain a spiritual perspective:

Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.
–Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

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#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 13: Getting thru the tough stuff…

Todd Herzer — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:00:59 +0000

I wasn’t always a fan of the old traditional hymns. A bit too anachronistic and overly simplistic for today’s sophisticated society with its complex problems, I thought. But now I’ve come to realize that these sweet, gentle poems set to music are EXACTLY what I need. They are the angel voices speaking to my heart to lift me above all this muck and mire many seem to be wading through these days.

In the following example watch carefully for the repetitive phrases “all will be well”, “all must be well”, and “all all is well”.

Through the love of God our Saviour,
All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favor;
All must be well:
Precious is the Love that healed us,
Perfect if the grace that sealed us,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us;
All, all is well.

Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation,
All must be well;
Happy still, in God confiding,
Fruitful, when in Christ abiding,
Holy, through the Spirit’s guiding;
All, all is well.

We expect a bright tomorrow,
All will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All must be well;
While His truth we are applying,
And upon His love relying,
God is every need supplying,
All, all is well.
–Christian Science Hymnal (Hymn No. 350)

There’s a comforting promise in those words. While we may not know exactly how we’re going to get through a rough patch, sometimes just knowing that “all will be well” gives us the strength that we need to get through it.

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#OMT 12: (occupy my thought) Grace+Tenderness

Todd Herzer — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:25:43 +0000

Lately I’ve felt a heightened sensitivity to the rough edges people seem to be experiencing in their daily lives. In the past few days people close to me have experienced crimes against their property in the form of theft and vandalism. These individual cases seem amplified by the larger picture we face every day–violence on a college campus as a way to express anger at the resignation of a legendary coach; heightened mud-slinging in the political arena; and the general frustration of everyday citizens facing personal health and financial challenges.

Seems to me that the most effective response to a rise of this sort of harshness is to rise up with an increasing effort for more grace and tenderness in our daily thoughts and interactions. Let’s smooth over those rough edges by letting grace and tenderness occupy our thought. Here’s a thoughtful approach…

A little more grace, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest in the movement of body and soul in accord with God.
—Mary Baker Eddy

Filed under: Consciousness, God,, Health

#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 11: Help for the poor…

Todd Herzer — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:00:08 +0000

Help us, Lord! There is not a good person left; honest people can no longer be found.All of them lie to one another; they deceive each other with flattery.

Silence those flattering tongues, O Lord! Close those boastful mouths that say, “With our words we get what we want. We will say what we wish, and no one can stop us.”

But now I will come, says the Lord, because the needy are oppressed and the persecuted groan in pain. I will give them the security they long for.
–Psalms 12

Praying for humility with whatever fervency of expression does not always mean a desire for it. If we turn away from the poor, we are not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses the poor.

–Science and Health With Key To The Scriptures

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#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 10: Greed

Todd Herzer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:00:50 +0000

It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. –Thoreau

STORY OF THE GREEDY FARMER:
Someone out of the crowd said, “Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.” He replied, “Mister, what makes you think it’s any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?”

Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’

“Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’

“That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”

Luke 12:18

Filed under: God,, Materialism, Uncategorized

#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 9: Welfare

Todd Herzer — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:23:42 +0000

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?”

Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”

Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”
–Luke 19

To disregard the welfare of others is contrary to the law of God; therefore it deteriorates one’s ability to do good, to benefit himself and mankind.
–Mary Baker Eddy

Filed under: Chistianity, God,, Jesus, Uncategorized

#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 8

Todd Herzer — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:00:46 +0000

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

–Martin Luther King

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#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 7

Todd Herzer — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:37:47 +0000

God is Father, infinite, and this great truth, when understood in its divine metaphysics, will establish the brotherhood of man, end wars, and demonstrates “on earth peace, good will toward men.”
–Mary Baker Eddy

Now, let’s sing!

Filed under: Consciousness, God,, Inner Peace, Uncategorized

#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 6

Todd Herzer — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:35:41 +0000

Want of uniform justice is a crying evil caused by the selfishness and inhumanity of man. Our forefathers exercised their faith in the direction taught by the Apostle James when he said, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
–Mary Baker Eddy

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#OMT (occupy my thought) Day 5

Todd Herzer — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:00:42 +0000

This is what’s occupying my thought as I think about dealing with the rising awareness of income inequity:
Assistance in brotherhood
The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father, and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shies through the bud.
–Mary Baker Eddy

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