{"id":1729,"date":"2011-11-10T21:42:12","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T02:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=1729"},"modified":"2013-02-28T07:29:27","modified_gmt":"2013-02-28T12:29:27","slug":"smiling-at-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Smiling at God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1733\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/107\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Every day, I open myself to divine guidance and yesterday, mine came in the form of a message from my friend Cass Forkin who asked if while I was in Sedona, I would pick up a bracelet of deep spiritual significance\u00a0for her from the Chapel of the Holy Cross.\u00a0 Had she not asked, it would never have occurred to me to go there.\u00a0 Raised Jewish, Catholic shrines were not part of my upbringing, although I do like going to Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown and sitting peacefully in meditation.\u00a0 As I drove up the winding road to the site, I found myself taking deep breaths and not just because of the physical altitude. I felt as if I was experiencing spritual upliftment as well. Walking up the path, I noticed visitors from all over the planet\u00a0who had come\u00a0to this haven surrounded by energy vortices and it was confirmed when I signed and then perused the guest book. My typically busy mind slowed dramatically and I found my pace did as well; meandering through the gardens and sculpture of angels and St. Francis, a Madonna and Child. Entering the chapel itself, I was delighted that the reverent hush was puncuated by the laughter of a young child.<\/p>\n<p>As I was leaving the gift shop, which carries all manner of interfaith items, \u00a0after picking up the bracelet for Cass, I heard a song that had signficance for me. Ordained as an interfaith minister\u00a0in 1999 from The New Seminary in New York City, this piece was a response to the call to serve. It is called Here I Am Lord. I found myself singing along as time rolled backward and I was in the grand and glorious Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Enrobed in white, drenched in sweat on a sweltering June day since the huge gothic structure is neither air conditioned in the summer, nor heated in the winter, I joined my classmates as we walked down the aisle to answer the call. Since that time, I have been honored to join loving couples (same sex and heterosexual), welcome babies into the world, be present at the time of passing and officiating funerals, performing rites of passage. My own spiritual practice is enhanced as a result, as I have learned that <strong>everything is spiritual;<\/strong> from washing the dishes and doing laundry, to taking a shower and shoveling snow, \u00a0if done with attention and mindfulness. As I was heading back to the car, this image beckoned my attention&#8230;.flowers that reminded me that since God is always smiling in my heart, it would be my honor to return the favor.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\">Words and Music by Daniel L Schutte<br \/>\n\u00a9 1981 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #cc0000;font-size: small\">Genesis 46:2<br \/>\n&#8220;And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night,<br \/>\nand said, Jacob, Jacob. \u00a0And he said, Here am I.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>I, the Lord of sea and sky<br \/>\nI have heard my people cry<br \/>\nAll who dwell in dark and sin<br \/>\nMy hand will save.I who made the stars and night<br \/>\nI will make the darkness bright<br \/>\nWho will bear my light to them<br \/>\nWhom shall I send?Here I am Lord<br \/>\nIs it I Lord?<br \/>\nI have heard you calling in the night<br \/>\nI will go Lord<br \/>\nIf you lead me<br \/>\nI will hold your people in my heart.I the Lord of snow and rain<br \/>\nI have borne my people&#8217;s pain<br \/>\nI have wept for love of them<br \/>\nThey turn away.I will break their hearts of stone<br \/>\nFill their hearts with love alone<br \/>\nI will speak my word to them<br \/>\nWhom shall I send?<\/p>\n<p>Here I am Lord<br \/>\nIs it I Lord?<br \/>\nI have heard you calling in the night<br \/>\nI will go Lord<br \/>\nIf you lead me<br \/>\nI will hold your people in my heart.<\/p>\n<p>I will hold your people in my heart&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite><a href=\"http:\/\/www.czestochowausa.com\/\">www.<strong>czestochowa<\/strong>usa.com\/<\/a><\/cite><\/p>\n<p><cite>www.chapeloftheholycross .com <\/cite><\/p>\n<p><cite><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/EcxOkht8w7c\">http:\/\/youtu.be\/EcxOkht8w7c<\/a>\u00a0 Here I Am Lord<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here I Am Lord\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/K6fYAiqV-Bs\">http:\/\/youtu.be\/K6fYAiqV-Bs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Every day, I open myself to divine guidance and yesterday, mine came in the form of a message from my friend Cass Forkin who asked if while I was in Sedona, I would pick up a bracelet of deep spiritual significance\u00a0for her from the Chapel of the Holy Cross.\u00a0 Had she not asked, it&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,1,13,19,50,3,4,54,30,24,46,10,38],"tags":[206,1074,1081,212,1080,4869,1077,1078,1079,1073,1076,1072,4866,1071,1044,1075],"class_list":["post-1729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affirmations","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-blissfull-thinking","category-empowerment","category-god","category-gratitude","category-inspiration","category-interfaith","category-love","category-peace","category-prayer","category-spirituality","category-transformation","tag-cass-forkin","tag-catholic","tag-daniell-schutte","tag-doylestown","tag-genesis-462","tag-god","tag-here-i-am-lord","tag-israel","tag-jacob","tag-jewish","tag-maddona-and-child","tag-our-lady-of-czetochowa","tag-prayer","tag-red-rocks-chapel-of-the-holy-cross","tag-sedona","tag-st-francis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Smiling at God - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smiling at God - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Every day, I open myself to divine guidance and yesterday, mine came in the form of a message from my friend Cass Forkin who asked if while I was in Sedona, I would pick up a bracelet of deep spiritual significance\u00a0for her from the Chapel of the Holy Cross.\u00a0 Had she not asked, it&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-11T02:42:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-28T12:29:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smiling at God - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smiling at God - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"&nbsp; Every day, I open myself to divine guidance and yesterday, mine came in the form of a message from my friend Cass Forkin who asked if while I was in Sedona, I would pick up a bracelet of deep spiritual significance\u00a0for her from the Chapel of the Holy Cross.\u00a0 Had she not asked, it&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html","og_site_name":"The Bliss Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","article_published_time":"2011-11-11T02:42:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-02-28T12:29:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg"}],"author":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EdieWeinstein1","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html","name":"Smiling at God - The Bliss Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2011-11-11T02:42:12+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-28T12:29:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/11\/smilingflowersphoto2-300x225.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/11\/smiling-at-god.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smiling at God"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/","name":"The Bliss Blog","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Edie Weinstein","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386","name":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","caption":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW"},"description":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, editor, radio host, BLISS coach, event producer, Cosmic Concierge, the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and co-author of Embraced By the Divine: The Emerging Woman\u2019s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose. She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. Edie is the founder of Hug Mobsters Armed With Love, which offers FREE HUGS events on a planned and spontaneous basis. www.opti-mystical.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.opti-mystical.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","https:\/\/x.com\/EdieWeinstein1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/author\/eweinstein"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1729"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1737,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1729\/revisions\/1737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}