A Cherokee Feast of Days
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Once a person gets despair out of the way, few things can slow his progress. Despair is the dividing line between those who can take impossibility in stride and those who wilt at the first sign of opposition. Too much energy is absorbed in despair. Strength gives way to weakness and weakness robs us of the will to overcome. Anything that wastes energy should be left behind. Energy cuts doubt to the bone. When a word of power is spoken, new strength is generated. Power words are not just u wo du hi, pretty words, but strong words of courage that are heard in the ear and then in the heart where they stay to do a perfect work.
~ This is a serious time with you. May the Lord bring you out of all your troubles. Trust your course with Him. ~
CHIEF JOHN ROSS
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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 13
"I wanted to feel, smell, hear and see, but not see with my eyes and my mind only. I wanted to see with CANTE ISTA - the eye of the heart."
--Lame Deer, LAKOTA
Why is it that some people seem to have peace of mind every day? How do some people remain so darn positive? How do you stay positive if you work or live in a negative environment? How is it that two people can observe the same difficult situation, but one person is upset about it, and other isn't? Two people experiencing the same situation react entirely different. If each morning we ask the Creator to allow us to see with His understanding and with His love, we will open a new way of "seeing". This eye of the heart is a free gift given to us if we ask for it in prayer each day.
Grandfather,
allow me to see the world and all things
You have made through "the eye of my heart."
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THINK on THESE THINGS
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Courage must have its everyday face. We can't preserve it just for special occasions. We must have courage when we are disappointed, because disappointment is a robber of reason and faith, and even dignity. We must remember that whatever we have to meet there is something within us to help us meet it. But it is like a vein of rich ore. We must tap it, know what it is, and turn it into a finished product that will serve a purpose.
Every day we must have courage to forgive. The adamant we shall always face, but to forgive is to disarm. To forgive is to release and to release is to remove the graceless things that make it necessary to forgive.
A little common, everyday courage can give a life so much more to live for and to find contentment in the knowledge that today I did not give in to the smaller self. And I can draw on the strength from One who bore personal suffering with supreme courage.
A comforting adage is that it is always darkest just before the dawn. The darkest of fear and worry and misunderstanding can last only so long, and then the light of dawn breaks through to show everything in its true perspective.
To someone who is troubled, the darkness holds only the most frightening difficulties. This kind of night seems to have no end, but given a little time it will pass, as will our problems.
The very fact that we are not alone should give some comfort, for no matter what we are experiencing someone else has been there too. We must not delude ourselves with notions that we are meant to be cross-bearers forever.
And frequently, they are much better people who emerge from their own night to remember that it is as important to have faith in the dark as it is easy to have faith in the sunshine.
A Cherokee Feast of Days
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
The Cherokee can agree with Sir Francis Drake when he wrote about the herb garden, "A perfect garden planted with herbs, when trod upon gives the very air a delightful fragrance." But to the Cherokee it meant even more - food and medicine. As a child, I spent much time following my Grandmother Essie in search of herbs, mullein, lamb's quarter and other things I hoped I wouldn't have to eat in greens, but the hunt was a joy. Kneeling to dig the herbs, feeling the soil and the warmth of the sun, gave me the realization that the plants were only a part of a gift from Asga Ya Galun lati. I was also being given the day to enjoyment, the songs of dozens of birds, the little meal I shared with Grandmother, and her company away from others.
~ A Cherokee woman is never idle and has no time to tattle or to create mischief. ~
WILLIAM FYFFE
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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 12
"The spirit still has something for us to discover-an herb, a sprig, a flower-a very small flower, maybe you can spend a long time in its contemplation, thinking about it."
--Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The world today is about hurry up! Get there faster! Work harder, produce more, hurry up, eat quickly, be on time, don't get stressed-headaches, conflict, drink to calm down, go to training on stress management, time management-STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! Go spend 5 minutes with a flower or a plant. Look at it-think about it-look at its beauty, smell it, close your eyes and smell it again. Touch it; touch with your eyes closed. Listen to it; listen to it with your eyed closed. Slow your mind down. Think about the little things. Now close your eyes and pray.
Great Spirit,
this feeling of calmness that I have,
let me have it all day long.
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THINK on THESE THINGS
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Aim high, even though it seems at the moment you'll never reach that cherished dream. It is your duty to lift yourself above mediocrity. And if you're afraid your dream will sound foolish, then don't talk about it, work for it.
Some dreams have gossamer wings, too fragile to discuss. We can be so zealous about our plans that we talk away the mystery and lose interest in the things we’ve begun. Zeal can burn itself out in one, quick, bright flame, or it can be nurtured into strength that is the basis for greatness.
If dreams have substance, then they may well come true. And if they are in line with the law of good, then there will be someone who wants to help. To have the desire to do something that will benefit others, the desire to serve, is to have a dream with solid possibilities.
The aims, then, must be deserving as to become duties. It falls to certain individuals to develop a gift and use it in helping other people. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant has written, "What are the aims which are at the same time duties? They are the perfecting of ourselves and the happiness of others."
February 12 - Daily Feast
Beauty and ugliness are everywhere - even in some of the same things. To some a wide-open prairie is empty and colorless - but to others it is uncluttered simplicity - the way life itself ought to look. Physical appeal is high on some lists, but nu tso se dv na, which is Cherokee comfort, lasts longer. Whatever is in our hearts is in our sight. To love something or someone makes us see the beauty of it - not the wrong. It is to our advantage to be gentle in our observations - to see and cultivate the best in who we are and in those around us.
~ We love quiet; we suffer the mouse to play; when the woods are rustled by the wind, we fear not. ~
INDIAN CHIEF, 1796
"A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 12
"The spirit still has something for us to discover - an herb, a sprig, a flower-a very small flower, maybe you can spend a long time in its contemplation, thinking about it."
--Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The world today is about hurry up! Get there faster!
Work harder, produce more, hurry up, eat quickly, be on time, don't get stressed- headaches, conflict, drink to calm down, go to training on stress management, time management-STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! Go spend 5 minutes with a flower or a plant. Look at it-think about it-look at its beauty, smell it, close your eyes and smell it again. Touch it; touch with your eyes closed. Listen to it; listen to it with your eyed closed. Slow your mind down. Think about the little things. Now close your eyes and pray.
Great Spirit, this feeling of calmness that I have, let me have it all day long.
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THINK on THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
This is a day that God has made, rejoice and be glad in it.
What we do with each day is largely decided by the thought we give it in the beginning and how we start a new day plays an immense part in the success or failure of either carefully laid plans, or helter-skelter activity.
We should open this day with as much reverence as if it were gift-wrapped and presented to us personally, which it is.
What wonderful things can I do this day that no one else can do! Shall I spend these precious moments complaining? Shall I sit glum at my work to make others feel morbid? Should I continually acknowledge how little I have and how badly I feel?
Or should I speak kindly, think kindly, feel kindly, and be so grateful that I have another opportunity today to do something for others that will bring them joy and lift their spirits? This day is in your hands.
You will reap from it what you plant. If you would be loved, then be lovable; if you want peace, be peaceable; and if you would ask freedom, grant freedom. And learn to forgive without reservation.
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February 11 - Daily Feast
Success, in part, depends on staying power. What seems to be a remarkable idea on paper may be a colossal failure in practice. This is why we have to have more to us than just what shows. Whether we are building a house or a business, a bridge or a life, we have to have something to back it up. Most losses result from investing in what looks good but has no substance, a flash in the pan that dies as suddenly as it began. The strength of anything is to know it, to give it strong, moral character - and to decide there is a principle to be kept.
~ Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and he never forgets. ~
IN-MUT-TOO-YAH-LAT-LAT ~ NEZ PERCE
"A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 11
"Oh God! Like the Thunderbird of old I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success- his education, his skills, and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society."
--Chief Dan George, SALISH
One thing the Indian people do well is adapt. This is why we survive. We must learn to keep our culture, but also to learn the good things that other races have to offer. Education is the future weapon of Native people. We must learn the legal system, health, science and engineering. Indian people have great contributions to make to the world. We need to educate ourselves so we can better protect the land and our children. Otherwise, we will lose the things and the land that we have.
Great Spirit, make me teachable today.
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THINK on THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
What is it that keeps us from doing the creative things we want to do? Fear of venturing and losing, fear of the unknown. And yet, every day of our lives we venture and seldom acknowledge the fact that we didn't lose. We too often accomplish something because circumstances forced a courage we could not muster from mere desire.
Frequently we must simply have the audacity to lay aside the taboos we have built for ourselves, for fear of appearing foolish, and follow a creative curiosity.
When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "Give me a young man with brains enough to make a fool of himself," he didn't mean intentionally acting foolishly. He meant that a fearlessness of appearing foolish can enable us to step outside the realms of what others would call the limits.
The simplest ventures often bring joy to many, particularly to those who in the beginning dared to stand on their own chances of winning or losing.
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God's Minute
Now today's message...
LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND, DOES NOT ENVY, IT
DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE, IT
IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT
KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. LOVE DOES NOT
DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. IT
ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES,
ALWAYS PERSEVERES.
( 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7 *NIV )
Dear Member's,
Our society today often confuses love with lust. True love,
like the kind God shows toward us, is directed outward toward
others not inward toward ourselves.
Therefore we are to show others God's unselfish love
everyday. For it is written: NOBODY SHOULD SEEK HIS
OWN GOOD, BUT THE GOOD OF OTHERS.
( 1 CORINTHIANS 10:24 ) So; LET US NOT BECOME
CONCEITED, PROVOKING AND ENVYING EACH OTHER.
( GALATIANS 5:26 ) Instead we should be: BE KIND AND
COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH
OTHER, JUST AS IN CHRIST GOD FORGAVE US.
( EPHESIANS 4:32 )
Also Member's, remember that there is joy to be found in
giving to others without expecting anything in return! After all
that kind of unselfish love is the kind that God fills His
Children with, and expects His Children to show to one
another as well.
Have a wonderful Friday my friend, and let your love light
shine brightly. For after all, GOD IS LOVE. ( 1 JOHN 4:16 )
and you are His Child! So smile and have a Wonderful
Weekend. Aho , Amen , e-men .
With My Love & Prayers,
your servant , Pastor CougarMoon
