Live in the Light of creation being revealed!

Live in the Light of creation being revealed!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“God the Only Cause and Creator”
for June 10, 2018

By Rick Stewart CS, Dresden, Germany
rickstewartcs@aol.com +49 351 312 4736

In Sunday School a couple of weeks ago I was surprised by an observation from my son, Johann. His comments clearly indicated a grasp of the idea that God exists without limits of time. We read together the following, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, KJV) Johann simply said, “But I thought that God’s work is without beginning and without end, infinite?” And how right he was. We talked a little about the Bible and how various writers in the Bible expressed their highest views at the time. Then we both agreed that Johann was indeed correct, God and God’s creation are without limits, no end and no beginning, eternal, infinite.

And Johann’s comments certainly laid a foundation for this week’s Bible Lesson, “God the Only Cause and Creator.” And a historic lesson it is with eight sections to be studied, enjoyed, and put into practice.

The last few days I have found those 8 sections just perfect in their unfoldment! And Mary Baker Eddy’s chapter on Genesis in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is beautiful and complete in its spiritual and practical exegesis of the story of creation. (An exegesis is simply a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a Biblical text.) So let’s allow the citations from the lesson to give us the spiritual import we need. And then we will concentrate on what practical application of those spiritual revelations can accomplish.

Below find some versions of the Golden Text from various translations.

Golden Text | Isa 45:18 CEB –“ For this is what the Lord said, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who established it, who didn’t create it a wasteland but formed it as a habitation: I, the Lord, and none other!”

NLT –“ For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the Lord,” he says, “and there is no other.”

MSG – “God, Creator of the heavens—he is, remember, God. Maker of earth—he put it on its foundations, built it from scratch. He didn’t go to all that trouble to just leave it empty, nothing in it. He made it to be lived in. This God says: “I am God, the one and only.”

Now that is a clear thought, God made creation to be lived in and He made it to be harmonious and not chaotic.

With the explanations in this week’s lesson we will see that this creation is to be lived in –in complete harmony and fulfillment. You might say that God’s creation works just fine. Especially when seen in its true Light. So let’s get busy.

In our Responsive Reading we are clearly told by the Psalmist that all creation shall “Praise the Lord.” Now there are different Hebrew words for praise and different actions that fulfill these Hebrew words. But could we simply say praise in whatever form we do it is giving God the recognition He/She deserves?

Section 1: Divine Light revealing creation in all its beauty.

The Psalmist glimpsed that God was the fountain of life and light. See citation B3. And Mary Baker Eddy observes that “Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered… (S1). Then Mrs. Eddy devotes an entire chapter to the first book of teh Bible, Genesis, in order that we get a clear view of God’s creation as it is unfolded and revealed. She asks, “Was not this a revelation instead of a creation?” (S4)

Mary Baker Eddy brings out the point that the Light in creation is not solar nor volcanic, but spiritual. And she also states, “This also shows that there is no place where God’s light is not seen, since Truth, Life, and Love fill immensity and are ever-present. “ (S4)

The practical aspect of “Light” as being God, Mind expressed is not just for the creation story. It is an ongoing, eternal aspect of God’s unfolding creation. We must require of ourselves the demonstration, and “living in creation” that allows its manifestation when needed. This true Light shines through all darkness, including the darkness of mortal mentality, and human experience!

Here is an example from the Christian Science periodicals. And there are many more to be found through the JSH Online resource of the Christian Science Publishing Society.

“Several months ago our daily newspapers carried a story of a soldier adrift on a raft. Having no light to signal with, he prayed fervently to God for deliverance. A pilot flying high above the raft saw a light, guided his plane to it, and effected a rescue. "I had no flashlight," explained the pilot on the raft, when he was rescued. Meekness calls for absolute reliance on God, and such reliance is always accompanied by divine illumination.” THE WAY THROUGH THE VALLEY IDA G. EVERSON From the February 1945 issue of The Christian Science Journal

And from my own experience I share the following. As a teenager my father and I were on a fishing trip originating on the Gulf Coast of Florida near our home. We launched from a tiny island town, Ozello. After a successful day of fishing, a very rapid outgoing tide had left us stranded but safe on a small island at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. It was late at night before the returning tide floated our boat so we could motor back to where we had launched our boat. But the return course was through a maze of oyster bars, small islands, and false channels. Many times when the water was too shallow to run the motor I had to go over board and pull the boat through knee deep and waist deep waters. I can guarantee my dad and I were in constant prayer for guidance and protection since these waters were filled with string rays and lots of sharks. It kept coming to me to follow a certain direction as I directed dad’s piloting of our small cabin cruiser. At one point I began to doubt my sense of direction and just then a small light appeared in the dark. I felt that was the specific answer to our prayer. We then travelled about two more miles as we followed that tiny light.

Eventually we arrived at a small harbor about 30 feet across and tied up to a small dock. There before us stood a tiny trailer with the porch light shining bright—a bare, 55-watt bulb! The trailer resident had not been able to sleep, so he got up, turned the light on, and began to read. Little did he know that his insomnia was actually a needed response to our ongoing prayers. He was completely surprised by our arrival and in wonder as to how we came into his little harbor without seriously damaging our boat. It seems the opening into the harbor was only about five to six feet wide! We were indeed grateful when he agreed to pilot us to the boat ramp where we had launched earlier in the day. We were only a couple hundred yards from that very boat ramp over land, and with his piloting we were there after about one more mile by water.

Since that night I have always known that our guiding Light in creation is most certainly a manifestation of the Mind that is God, in Creation and in our daily lives.

Section 2: Living in the firmament of spiritual understanding, the kingdom of heaven.

In His ongoing revelation of Creation God calls forth a firmament between the waters. (B4 and S5) As Mrs. Eddy writes, “Genesis i. 6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Spiritual understanding, by which human conception, material sense, is separated from Truth, is the firmament. The divine Mind, not matter, creates all identities, and they are forms of Mind, the ideas of Spirit apparent only as Mind, never as mindless matter nor the so-called material senses. Spirit imparts the understanding which uplifts consciousness and leads into all truth. This understanding is not intellectual, is not the result of scholarly attainments; it is the reality of all things brought to light.” (S5 | 505:4–12, 16–17, 26–28)

The contrast of a mortal, material, human sense of creation versus the unfoldment or revelation of a harmonious, divine creation is illustrated by the following experience. A young mother was in the hospital for the birth of her first child. She had employed a Christian Science Practitioner throughout her pregnancy and while she was in the hospital this practitioner was praying. As is often required there were certain tests required by the hospital. It seemed physical appearances and these tests seemed to indicate that there were conditions present that would severely limit this new little baby in his life. The new mother contacted the practitioner immediately. The practitioner prayed. In a short while the indicators of this inharmonious and limiting condition were reversed. Like the citation from Science and Health quoted above, S5, “the reality of all things were brought to light.”

This little boy grew in absolute harmony. “HEAVEN. Harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul.” (S7 | 587:25) He excelled in school, sports, and business. He has been an inspiration to many throughout his life. And the false, mortal sense of creation that threatened a limited existence was completely expelled through the Light of true creation, the Firmament of Heaven. Praise the Lord!

Section 3: The earth and growing things.

A couple months ago I was busy finding plants for our Christian Science Reading Room. While shopping in an Aldi supermarket I met a little lemon tree. This tree was greatly reduced in price because the leaves were all shriveled. But something called me to this little tree. I added it to my items on the checkout band. As the cashier saw the tree she very lovingly shared that she had tried to do what she could for this tree. She said she had watered it and placed the pot in a plastic bag. She was happy someone had found it.

When I got back to the Reading Room I watched as this little lemon tree lost every single leaf and all the lemons hanging on its branches. I was tempted to think I had made a big mistake. It may have been reduced in price, but that was only because it was about to die. That was the suggestion being presented to my thought. Until…I began to pray. I affirmed I had been led to that tree. I affirmed that the cashier did all she could to love and care for it. And I chose to think of that little lemon tree as a spiritual idea of God’s creating. So my prayers and care began as I welcomed that little lemon tree to our Reading Room.

Over the next week or so that little lemon tree responded to the Love and Light found in a Christian Science Reading Room. Soon it was sprouting new leaves all over. Countless blossoms appeared and I had the joy of pollinating these blossoms with one of Martha”s paint brushes. The aroma of those blossoms filled the room. And in a week or so, new little lemons began to appear. It occurred to me that that is exactly what this Science of Creation does for all shriveled ideas. The Science of Light, The Science of the Christ awakens our thought to what is eternally true in creation. There is no destructive element, there is no too-late, there is no neglect, there is no twisting.

As you study the citations in this section you will also discover or have revealed what is true about our earth, its trees and fruits and all the wonder of creation that is eternally present. Creation is indeed appearing, busting out all over.

Here is a glorious example from our periodicals that sounds like the way our campers are cherished at CedarS!

The Bible kept our ranch afloat

They prayed every morning before tending the crops.

Pamela von Reckers

From the August 2001 issue of The Christian Science Journal

“The most exciting class I had in college was my Sunday School class. My favorite times were the one-on-one classes, where I could ask all the questions I wanted to. I was a new student of Christian Science, so I had a lot of questions. And I had a wonderful teacher.

The local cannery had not renewed the contract for our family's crop.

What I was learning had a direct effect on my life. I was at a large university, over ten times as big as the town I'd grown up in. What a shock! Each week I would copy a Bible promise on a scrap of paper and stick it in my pocket. When I felt afraid or overwhelmed, those verses comforted me. I memorized lots of Bible promises that way. One of my favorites was from Isaiah: "I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."1

In Sunday School my understanding of God increased, week by week. We talked about God as Spirit and Love and Mind. Gradually I began to see that God's children—you, me, and everyone—reflect God's qualities. I got frustrated sometimes with how much I didn't understand, but my teacher encouraged me to stay with what I knew. The rest would come, she said. She was right. Not only did my understanding grow, but I began to experience physical healings.

The Bible Lessons we studied were like a work book to me.2 They were alive, interesting, useful. My thoughts about myself were changing: my fears were lessening and my character, softening. Even my family noticed these changes when I was home during school breaks.

Then, near the end of my freshman year, my father called. He knew I had plans for a summer job that I was looking forward to. But he told me that the local cannery had not renewed the contract for our family's apricot crop, so he needed me to work on our ranch that summer. He also warned me that they might not be able to send me back to the university the next year.

My reaction surprised me. Because of my growing understanding of God and His goodness, I wasn't disappointed. Instead of being resentful or depressed, I thought of this as an opportunity to see if Christian Science really worked. I knew just what to do: I studied the Bible Lesson for inspiration and listened for God's guidance.

When I arrived home, I asked my family if they would be willing to get up early each day and read the Lesson with me. They agreed—perhaps because of the changes they'd seen in me. We got up at 4:30 every morning to read before heading out to the orchard at daybreak. We discussed what we read, and kept a dictionary at the table so we could look up words we didn't understand. Each day we also picked a statement from the Lesson, which I wrote on index cards and posted—one at the sink, the other at the water can out on the ranch. These ideas helped us keep our thoughts on God and on all that we were learning about His goodness and power.

I affirmed that a spiritual law of abundance was governing.

That summer, the Bible Lessons seemed to have been written just for us. The very first week, for instance, there was this reassuring statement from the Bible: "I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality."3 We posted this statement, and often when I stopped for a drink, I affirmed that this spiritual law of abundance was governing us.

We weren't the only family who hadn't sold their fruit to a cannery that year. All around the valley, whole orchards of apricots were being neglected, the fruit left to fall on the ground. This just didn't seem right to us. So my dad decided that we would try to sell the fruit ourselves at roadside stand. (No ranch in our area had ever done this before with an entire crop. Everyone had assumed one couldn't sell enough fruit to make it profitable.) My sisters and I painted a big sign, which we set out on the side of the road, and put a small advertisement in the local paper, offering our fruit for sale. That was all. The real work we did was at 4:30 every morning, and during the day, as we turned our thoughts to God.

Soon, people started coming and picking their own fruit. Someone at the local paper noticed this new phenomenon and came out to interview my dad. The next day a picture of our orchard and the interview appeared prominently in the paper. Then the phone started ringing and wouldn't stop. My dad spent a whole day directing traffic in front of our apricot orchard. Church groups came to pick fruit for their food banks. Several communities in the foothills sent representatives down to pick. And preschools came out for field trips.

Others wanted to have the fruit picked for them, so my father asked me to pray about how to do that. I turned to the Bible promise quoted above. A few minutes later a carload of people drove up asking for work as pickers, even though we hadn't had a single person ask for work for a week before that. Within fifteen minutes we had so many people stopping and asking for work that my father asked me to stop praying— he didn't want to have to turn help away! God's law of abundance was working; His power was clear for all to see.

We wound up selling our entire crop. What's more, we made more money than we would have if we had sold it to the cannery. Not only did I go back to the university in the fall, but I was even able to spend the last part of the summer at the job I had arranged earlier. I had gained a deeper understanding of God and of how to live according to His laws.

Letting go of old ways of thinking and following God's guidance aren’t always easy, but the results are incredibly exciting. No wonder I still think Sunday School was the best class I had in college.”

Section 4: The lights in the firmament of heaven

A clearer understanding of the lights in the firmament of heaven awaits you in this section. Not exactly an astronomy class, but more a further appreciation of what God’s creation is all about. And it definitely includes a big dose of harmony, order, and good, good, good.

Since I grew up in Florida with lots of time in the outdoors I have tried to really appreciate the harmony of what God has made. I often found myself affirming there is no destructive element in God’s creation. And then a very sunny day on a snow covered volcano in Colombia forced an even deeper understanding. I had to learn that no mistake, such as not wearing proper eye protection, on a near equator snow field, could cause me to suffer. The result was a quick healing of snow blindness.

Then I discovered this delightful and clear article from the Christian Science Sentinel.

Afraid of the sun? Apply prayer!

By Estey Silva

From the Christian Science Sentinel – June 4, 2012

”Have you noticed how much news coverage has been given to the sun lately? Even so early in the summer (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) there are stories about expected heat waves, causing widespread fears about adequate sun protection. Combine that with increased media attention about the importance of sunscreen to protect one’s skin, and you have a very hot topic!

Last summer I wondered, “What can I do to combat fear about the sun?” I decided to turn to prayer. I’ve found that prayer can and does calm fears about the sun, replacing them with the confident assurance that God is in control.

There are thousands of sprays, lotions, oils, clothing, and masks designed to protect us from harmful rays from the sun. I noticed that the marketing campaigns for these products often promote all kinds of fears—of chemicals, of oiliness/dryness, of not enough protection, and of too much protection—just to name a few. Just a simple Amazon.com search for “sunscreen” brings up 18,551 results, and there are now SPF 100+ sunscreens on the market.

Enough! There must be a better way! I want to enjoy summer—not frantically rub sunscreen all over every 15 minutes or every three hours, depending on which manufacturer’s advice I follow.

It occurred to me that the root of these fears is the assumption that the sun can be harmful. That’s why we put sunscreen on, right? I decided to see what Mary Baker Eddy had to say about the subject, and discovered that she mentioned “sun” 42 times in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Not a single mention has anything to do with fear! My favorite one is the Glossary definition: “SUN. The symbol of Soul governing man,—of Truth, Life, and Love” (p. 595). Wow! The sun symbolizes God, Soul, governing each of us—not fear governing us. In other words, only Soul governs you, only Soul affects your health—not fear of a damaging sun.

In the midst of all this fearful attention about sun damage, I wanted some spiritual ammunition to really take down fear of the sun, and this Glossary definition was so helpful. I wrote it down on a little sticky note and put it up next to my computer screen at work. Throughout the day I’d take a moment to get a clear, spiritual view of what the sun really is, and this gradually started to dispel the fear. Soon I realized that I could spend my lunch hour outside without burning! This was a big breakthrough for me, as my skin is very fair. This experience taught me that it’s not the sun that’s harmful. The only thing that can harm me is the false assumption that the sun is dangerous and can hurt me. By changing my beliefs about the sun, I dispel fear and feel the sweet calm that comes with understanding that God is in control, and all is well.

Does this mean that I’ll never use sunscreen again? No! On the contrary, I use it—but as I rub it on, I remind myself that my real defense from all harm is the understanding that the sun is a beautiful, spiritual idea that has no power to damage me. The sun is part of God’s harmonious creation.

I look forward to another burn-free, and fear-free, sunny summer!”

Let’s add to our ammunition a deep study of this section’s citations.

As our Leader writes, “Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light. In the order of Science, in which the Principle is above what it reflects, all is one grand concord.” (S16 | 240:7–11)

Oh yes, concord! Check out these synonyms—agreement, harmony, accord, consensus, concurrence, unity, unanimity, unison, oneness!

Section 5: The fowls of heaven.

The joy of this section is learning of fowls of the earth. So many beautiful lessons from the Bible and Science and Health.

My love and appreciation of the birds all around us began with Mrs. Leonard, my first grade teacher. She took us on a birding field trip and I can still picture the setting—and many of her instructions that day are loved memories. And oh, the lessons the birds have taught over the years. The upward soaring aspirations.

As citation S20 says, “The fowls, which fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven, correspond to aspirations soaring beyond and above corporeality to the understanding of the incorporeal and divine Principle, Love.” (511:28)

Oh, I love this one. I was sitting on a park bench in Decatur, Georgia. After Association I had stopped in Decatur to visit my beloved, former Sunday School teacher, Lonita Jones. As I sat there waiting for the time of my appointment, I prayed. One of my prayer topics was brutality in Africa. It seems there were relief convoys that were being hijacked before reaching their intended destinations. Children were starving. And here I was far-removed geographically and helpless to make any difference. That is until a pigeon taught me a lesson.

As I prayed in frustration a pigeon that was acting like a normal pigeon changed its actions. Rather than walking all around with head bobbing and seeking food this particular pigeon walked directly to me. It fluffed up its feathers and then sat down right by my foot. It was so obviously on a mission to deliver a message I paid attention. I looked at him (or her) and I listened. Suddenly my thought was filled with ideas. What would a pigeon do if threatened like those suffering children in Africa? It would fly away. I thought of the verse in the Psalms, “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.” (Psalm 55:6, KJV)

I remembered that the real name of a pigeon is “rock dove.” So realized this all applied. This was something more than nice thoughts. This was a divine impartation.

I argued with myself, “But these kids are being attacked and their food being stolen. They can’t just fly away!”

But what can you know about them? I found a flood of thoughts about purity, innocence, the power of innocence, the lack of power in evil. On, and on. I found such a powerful presence of peace and certainty about this situation. It was profound. And all the while my little pigeon sat there. When I knew, really knew that all was well I looked that pigeon right in the eye and felt him (or her) assuring me that all was indeed well. He (or she) then stood up, rustled its feathers, and walked away to do what pigeons do, walk around, bob their heads, eat and fly away.

That very day there were press reports of aid caravans successfully making their way to the area of need. And the hijackings stopped!

Oh, what the fowls of the air can teach us.

Section 6: “All of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science…”

The wonderful citations in this section have long been an inspiration to see the creatures of God’s creating that are indeed inhabiting earth with us. I have paddled my surfboard for miles surrounded by a school of dolphins including half-sized babies. On three continents I have spent hours just observing, enjoying, and praying for God’s creatures. I have witnessed healings of both wild and pet animals. All arising from the Science of Light and Creation that reveals the true nature of us all, including animals.

I may have mentioned before that I received a phone call from one of my surfing buddies. He was a law enforcement officer, a deputy sherriff, and he could not get away from work. Someone had called to say his Rottweiller dog, Bear, had gotten out of his back yard. Could I go over and put him back in? When I arrived there was a police officer there and Bear was very aggressively confronting the policeman. Could I do anything? Well, I knew Bear, but at that point he was indeed at the edge. The police officer had his pistol drawn. All I could do was pray and love. What came to me was to approach Bear in the confidence that he wanted to do what was right and be back home. So I walked over, opened up the gate, and with prayer at full-speed-ahead, called him to come back in. And glory hallelujah!—that sweet, big dog just trotted back inside like it was all he wanted to do. What did I pray with? Most of it you will find in citations in this section of the lesson!

I will never forget witnessing the expectant, powerful love of one of CedarS “horse whisperers”. We had a large grass fire to deal with after some bales of hay had ignited while in transport. There were lots of busy CedarS’ first responders helping and praying. The response was so beautiful that even the professional fire fighters who had been working another location of the fire commented about what the CedarS folks had accomplished. In the midst of the fire-fighting and extinguishing some of the horses that were in the pasture were getting nervous. One of them broke for the open gate and seemed a bit wild-eyed. One our top wranglers responded. While others tried to block the escape with hands held high this wrangler went up to the horse, grabbed his halter, and they headed together to the far side of the pasture. In a few moments the two of them were trotting side by side. No fear. No panic. Love and trust. It was a beautiful moment to witness.

We can see with the Light of Creation, the Christ the harmonious relationship between all of God’s creatures.

Section 7: What is man that thou art mindful of him!

The wonderful “My Bible Lesson” from the Christian Science Publishing Society is such a fun addition for study of the Bible Lesson. In this section there is an interesting note of explanation. It is regarding the words image and likeness as it relates to man’s creation.

“If you’ve ever studied a language like Spanish or French, you know that some nouns are masculine and others are feminine. It’s the same in the Hebrew language. For example, in this passage “image” comes from a masculine noun (tselem) and “likeness” from a feminine noun (demuwth).” https://mybiblelesson.christianscience.com/current-lesson

As stated in citation S29 “Let the “male and female” of God’s creating appear.” (249:5)

Citation S27 adds, “In divine Science, man is the true image of God. The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow, — thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, — perfect God and perfect man, — as the basis of thought and demonstration.” (259:6)

Christian Scientists are so supremely appreciative for what our Master and Savior Christ Jesus has done for all mankind. A clear, shining example of what the Life as the only begotten son of God means to all creation. His example, his salvation offered to all creation comes through understanding creation as God intended it. In the view of creation that Christ Jesus taught and illustrated there is no room for discord, disease, death, or inharmony of any kind. As the passage above illustrates the Light of the Christ reveals what creation truly is.

I was thinking about a very special event in the life of my brother, Scott. What made me think of it was the great delight that he has been feeling recently as he studied his Bible Lesson from his marked books, The Bible and Science and Health. He was studying as he watched his humming bird feeders. As described it it sounded like a holy event. Nature and the Bible Lesson. Hard to beat.

But I was reminded of the family stories of Scott’s arrival in a home birth. My mom was of course present, a doctor, and Emily Daniels, a beloved friend of my mom’s who was also a student of Christian Science teacher, Mary Sands Lee, CSB. The doctor was completely distraught because of a situation where the umbilical cord was wrapped around Scott’s neck. Mom alerted Emily. They prayed. What does that mean? They turned to this Christ Light, this view of creation that sees no accident, disease, injury, as part of what God has made. And it must have been darn good praying.

In a moment the “emergency” situation turned to what we love to think about at CedarS, an “emerge-and-see” situation. The birth proceeded in complete harmony. The doctor commenting that he had never seen that situation resolved before. And there were no after effects. Scott was always one of the spelling bee champions in our home town. And when he was in the army he scored so well on the initial exams that they did everything they could to talk him into accepting a full West Point scholarship!

This is indeed the image and likeness of God as created in the eternal Truth of God’s creation!

Section 8: Thank God, in the completeness of holy rest, that divine Creation is very good.

This sweet rest is described in citation B19, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”

Science and Heath citations S30 and S31 expand this holy rest in completeness concept:

• “Deity was satisfied with His work. How could He be otherwise, since the spiritual creation was the outgrowth, the emanation, of His infinite self-containment and immortal wisdom? God rests in action. The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work. Unfathomable Mind is expressed.” (519:3, 25 (only), 28–3)
• “All that is made is the work of God, and all is good.” (521:5–6)

Lately I have been finding myself pausing often in the day and simply saying, “Dear God, I am so, so grateful.”

It is when I am delighting in my family. It is when I am delighting in our faithful dog, Theo. (Completely healed and untouched after being run over by a fully-loaded dump truck.) A stranger once offered “I think God’s angels just lifted the truck over him. Thank you God, as I look at and enjoy our 24-hour-a-day Christian Science Reading Room. Thank you Father, as I hear reports from Africa, India, South America, North America, Europe and Asia where the reality of God’s creation has come shining through and healing has been revealed.

This kind of gratitude feels like a wonderful form of rest. It’s our Father-Mother God enjoying the glory of the Light of divine Creation—Ever unfolding—Ever being revealed in its infinite nature.

Yes, I think Johann was right. A divine creation without ending and without beginning, continually unfolding and ever-revealing itself new in every moment.

Thank you, dear God!

---

(You can see pictures of the opening of our best-yet summer this past weekend with a great group of 220 Family Campers and staff—as well as of our continuing two-week, staff training precamp before 1st session at www.cedarscamps.org or on FaceBook or Instagram.)

Especially helpful are your much-needed MONTHLY gifts, past and ongoing, that can be started and adjusted as you wish at: www.cedarscamps.org/giving ] All of your gifts add up to big blessings in the lives of today's Sunday School students (tomorrow's joyous workers in our Christ-centered church)!

2. CedarS “Adopt the Herd” Matching Fund is close to being met!

In the time since Giving Tuesday you helped raise ~$60.5k for the Riding Program, which will be doubled through the Adopt the Herd Matching Fund, for a total of ~$121k to help feed and care for CedarS wonderful horses. We still have ~$4.5k to raise to take advantage of the $65k Adopt the Herd match. (More info at http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/adopt-the-herd/)

With advance and ongoing gratitude and love,
Warren, Gay, Holly & your CedarS Family

P.S. If you haven't yet given, or are blessed with more to give, we still have many needs, big and small, that you can help meet by clicking on https://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/tree/.

You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 417-532-6699.

or MAIL to our Summer-Fall address at camp (in red below) your tax-deductible support to our 501-C-3 organization. (Our not-for-profit, Federal Identification Number is #44-0663883):

The CedarS Camps
19772 Sugar Drive
Lebanon, MO 65536

THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS FOR YOUR ONGOING, GENEROUS and NEEDED SUPPORT OF CedarS IMPORTANT WORK!

CedarS weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who have requested it. However, current and planned gifts are a huge proof of your ongoing LOVE made visible and are greatly appreciated!! They not only defray the costs of running this service but also provide greatly needed camperships and essential program and operations support.

The Met application ideas above are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of studying and applying the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp! YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/