I recently saw the movie War Horse with my family over the holidays. A Steven Spielberg movie depicting World War I, it was brutal and difficult to watch. In fact I couldn’t watch a lot of it. As we left the theater, I was shaken and a part of me wished I hadn’t seen it. But I couldn’t ignore the deep feelings reverberating inside me. I was deeply touched on many levels.

As an animal lover, it is hard for me to put the plight of the horse, Joey, aside. He had a tremendously taxing life as he found himself on both sides of the war, mostly seen as a tool to accomplish the objective of each ‘caretaker.’ In many ways, the horse represented Spirit to me. He was always willing to serve. He applied himself selflessly in every situation that had need of him. He gave his all. He took no side. He held no grudges. The character of the horse, as well as the depiction of the war itself, fueled within me a new way to look at my life and the purpose of our burgeoning spiritual community.

Stop. Breathe. Advent is a season of preparation, of expectancy. Are you taking it in? Or are you finding yourself goal-oriented during this season and missing the holy experience entirely? There can be so much to do – shopping, gift exchanges, teacher gifts, office parties, family gatherings, and church too!

This is a deeply meaningful season. During advent, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of the historical Jesus and the living Christ within. But our egos love this ‘to do list’ stuff. When we get lost in all the stuff we have to do, we cannot hear the message that the angel Gabriel has for us: “You are highly favored!”

Want to transform the frenzy of the holiday season? You have the power to transform every experience you find yourself in. Try on the idea of being a walking blessing and find joy in every experience. It’s a challenge, but it is something we can always remember to do - we can use our words with intention to energetically transform our experience.

Can you envision our spiritual community continually growing, impacting an ever-widening circle of people, while providing care and support for all and encouraging the expression of everyone's area of genius? That is the path we are on.

On October 10-12, five of us from ALUC trekked down to the Bodhi Spiritual Center in Chicago for three solid days of training on a church care structure called the Meta Model. Over a hundred ministers and lay leaders from New Thought centers across the country were in attendance. It was so popular this year that they closed registration a month early. Attending with me (Rev. Carol) from ALUC were Molly Hansen, Susan Sigler, Bonnie DeMartini, and Mathea Jacobson.