What do you do by yourself?

"I do nothing by myself..."

Pssh! I have heard that we're not supposed to do anything on our own so many times it makes me sick! Like a good engineer (and a good American male!) what I always wanted to know is, "how is that possible?" And let me tell you something. Nobody ever told me! That is until one day when I was in my spiritual direction class, and Prof. Gonzalez got to talking. One of the things he taught us was the power of questions, ok? Questions control what we focus on and how we focus on it. What that means is they also control how we feel at any given point in time. That's pretty powerful, don't you think? Exactly!

Anyway what Prof. Gonzalez taught us that day was 3 very special questions. Questions that, if used consistently, could change your life forever. Sounds like a big claim, right? Well just hear me out and see if I'm right or not, ok?

First question: Father, what is your hope for me (today, in this moment, in this situation)?

That'll rock your world won't it? And we're only on the first question. Just imagine if you started everyday asking the Father what his hope is for you. Or what if you ended your day that way? What if you used it throughout the day? Do you think something would change then? I bet it would. I bet a million dollars it would. (I don't have a million dollars, you all know that, but you know what I mean, ok?)

Second question: Spirit, what are you doing in me right now?

Now is that going to change the way you handle a situation like standing in line, Mr. Impatience? You bet it will! And I'll tell you what else, it's great in any situation where you start to feel stuck. Just whip out the Holy Spirit, and some major "Holy Ghost Power, Power of the Holy Ghost" (You've all seen The Apostle, right?) will shift your attitude in a jiffy. Still, what good is inspiration if it's not backed up by action, you know? So the

Third Question: Jesus, what would you do in my place (right now, in this situation)? (Yes, I know WWJD, but this is better because you get to talk to Jesus, ok?)

That's when things really start to change, when we take action. Somebody once said, "Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result." If we're not happy with our lives (aka "results"), then let's do something new today. And maybe the place to start is with some new questions.

Bonus tip: Don't freak out if at first you get silence, or like a blank stare, or worse your brain chimes in "nothing" or "I don't know". That's all totally normal. You can just soften the question with the word "could": Father, what could be your hope for me today? Spirit, what could you be doing in me right now? Jesus, what could you do in my place here? Stay out of the pressure-cooker, ok? This is easy. Just have fun with it, and things will be better, ok? Right!

God bless,
Live from your hearts,

Scott

PS. I've actually been developing a whole "life ascetics system" based on these three questions. When I get a little further along, I'm sure I'll have plenty more to share with you all, or if you can't wait, get back to me and we can try to set up something on a more personal level, ok? Awesome! Enjoy today, and enjoy the power of questions too!