Weclome to season 3 of the Creative Spiritual Journey Podcast! we are beginning another journey around the sun with some birthday wishes.

Welcome friends to the Creative

Spiritual Journey where GUI and I

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walk with you for just a moment and

share with you the things of our soul.

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Together we're discovering how to

create beauty and joy by connecting

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with nature and our heavenly parents,

and you, our fellow travelers.

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We desire to tune our ears to hear the

whisperings of the spirit and share it

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with you in meditations and celebrations.

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Thanks for joining us on the Trail.

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Today is the first episode for

season three, episode number 93.

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Can you believe it?

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Woo.

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Let's celebrate.

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And today is also my 62nd

birthday, and what begins for me

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another journey around the sun.

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If you've been with us for season

one and two, we hope that you have

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found some joy in the journey.

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The first two seasons

I was in South Africa.

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I'm back home now still navigating

that T Trail of Life just on

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the other side of the world.

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you know how it is to begin a new journey.

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It takes some preparation, a clear

destination, and of course courage to take

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that first step onto the path forward.

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So being my birthday, I have thought

back on birthdays throughout my life.

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One fond memory.

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I guess it was maybe five, and having a

real fun birthday party with my friends.

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I remember when it came time for

opening the gifts, did you have that

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tradition of standing behind the

birthday girl and saying, heavy, heavy.

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Hang over thy poor head.

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What do you wish this person

with the bump on the head, you

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bump their head with a gift.

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I asked Gia if she ever heard

of this, and she said she had

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never heard of such a thing.

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I remember so vividly everyone saying,

oh, A wish for her a pony, a wish for her.

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A pony.

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Can you imagine if they had all gone home

with a pony in our suburban backyards?

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We had no idea how to care for a pony.

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Maybe that's where the old saying,

careful what you wish for comes from.

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When I was a little girl,

wishing was serious business.

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Remember when you were about to

blow out your birthday candles on

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your birthday cake and everyone

saying, make a wish, but don't tell

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us because then it won't come true.

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So our wishes then became

secrets of our Heart.

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I am still a wisher.

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How about you?

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When I drive over railroad tracks,

blow dandelion seeds, see a shooting

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star or even see the numbers.

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11.

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11.

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I make a wish and My wishes are all the

same every time, and I'm not going to tell

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you because then they won't come true.

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Like I said, wishes are serious.

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Business.

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Now, this word hangover.

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Hangover.

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I poor head.

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In the older English hangover didn't mean

a hangover from drinking too much alcohol.

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It referred to a lingering ache,

something left hanging over a

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physical heaviness or soreness.

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So heavy, heavy hangover

likely meant a heavy aching.

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Of your heart.

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Um, these were also echoes of

healing charms, some folklorist,

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is that how you say that word?

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Folklorist believe it resembled

medieval healing rhymes or charms

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where words are spoken rhythmically

while placing hands on the head

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I like the idea of granting wishes like

a fairy godmother or a genie for those

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heavy hangovers weighing over our hearts.

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What would you wish for today?

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Surely not a pony, but maybe some

peace of mind concerning a loved

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one or strength, maybe healing.

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I know some friends in South Africa

that would wish for employment.

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I know some amazing single adults

who wish for a husband or a wife,

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and who hasn't wished to lose those

stubborn 10 or more extra pounds.

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So what miracle are you wishing for?

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This got me to thinking about how fun

it could be to be my five-year-old Judy

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who believed with all my heart that

wishes come true, and to give birthday

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wishes to you today on this podcast.

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Before I wave my magic wand though,

let me tell you one more story.

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Years ago while on a hike, I made some

wish, I can't remember what it was.

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It was probably wishing I had

that pony to carry my pack.

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But I caught myself saying, if wishes

were fishes, we'd have a fish fry.

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This is what my dad would cleverly say

to us girls when we tell him our latest.

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I wish I had.

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It was his way of telling us don't count

on it, because if wishing were enough

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to bring something about, then everyone

would have everything they needed.

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Plenty for a fish fry.

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As a mom, I sometimes would say that to

our children's wishes, but on that hike

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I realized My childish wishes for things.

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Where things just for me, but wishes that

are truly the desires of our heart, I

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believe God wants us to have righteous

desires of our hearts, and in fact, I

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think His Holy Spirit plant some there.

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I know that the Lord has said

that we will be judged by the

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desires of our heart and our works.

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And so wish big, but yet get to work

because there's a lot of fishing to do.

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So I rode a rebuttal hiking that

day for my dad and lost wishes,

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and it goes something like this.

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If wishes were Fisht, I'd jump in

and swim and catch as many as I can,

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and I toss 'em on shore where the

hungry man stands, and together we'd

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feast on delicious fishes and more.

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Okay.

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I'm no Dr.

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Seuss, wishes are the righteous

desires of our hearts and when aligned

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with faith, and I'm not talking

about wishing for worldly riches or

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ponies, but really wishing with faith.

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Having faith in the wish giver, Jesus

Christ, in heartfelt prayers for

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miracles, I believe our Father in

heaven is a God of miracles and wishes.

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This may seem like a silly question,

but if our Heavenly Father is going

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to give you a birthday wish on your

head for those heavy, heavy hangovers,

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those things weighing heavy on your

mind, what do you think it would be?

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I'm guessing it would be exactly

what is best for eternal.

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Progression, something to help you

grow and become your best divine self.

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In the book, A Mormon, a man

named Alma tells us of his wish.

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In Alma 29, he says, oh, that I were an

angel and could have the wish of my heart.

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He longs to cry, repentance to

the people, not for his glory, but

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so that there might not be more

sorrow upon the face of the earth.

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Now that sounds like a

pretty, pretty awesome wish.

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It's one I wish for.

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Alma also says that he sins

in his wish that he needs to

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be content with what he has.

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That's interesting, isn't it?

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Gratitude makes me think

of another fish story.

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When the savior took two fish and

five loafs of bread, blessed it and

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gave thanks to his father, then he

fed the thousands till they were

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filled and he had leftovers tos spare.

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That is the power of wishes and prayer.

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And gratitude, that

simple childhood rhyme.

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what would you wish this person

with a bump on the head becomes

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Something deeper through Alma.

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A wish shaped by compassion, a desire

to heal, worn lift, and bless our

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loved ones and our family and friends.

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A reminder that righteous wishes are

less about ourselves and more about.

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Easing the burdens of others.

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Alma is also offering us a

gentle lesson, a reminder.

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He teaches that.

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Righteous wishes are welcomed, even

given to us by God to seek him.

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And when we have gratitude and are content

with what we have right in our hands, this

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is where the magic of wishing begins and

the multiplying of the fishes we can wish

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for more light in the world while thanking

God for the light already entrusted to us.

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Many times I've read Alma 29.

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And I think to myself that

God did give him his wish.

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with missionary work and with the

Book of Mormon, he has received

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his wish, his desire of his heart.

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Think about it.

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The Book of Mormon has been translated

in over 150 languages, taught and shout

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from the rooftops by hundreds of thousands

of missionaries, sharing the desire of

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Alma's heart to preach repentance, and

to bring joy, the joy of Christ to heal

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hearts, to bring some light to the world.

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President Thomas s Monson taught

that to fulfill your divine role.

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We need to decide to be a little better

each day rather than just wishing for it.

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That sounds like wishes

require some work and prayer.

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So how do we distinguish between

wishing and prayer, or even better,

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how can we prayerfully wish?

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Wishing is sometimes described

as a line cast from the present

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into an uncertain future.

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much like fishing and wishing, but

prayerfully offering up the desires of

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our heart is more of a conversation with

our lovingly heavenly father, where we

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seek to find out what God wants for us

rather than just telling him what we want.

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Prayerful, wishing takes faith.

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It takes saying, thy will, oh Lord.

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Ah.

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And that's hard sometimes And trust

the wish that he grants for us is

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better than what we can imagine.

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We think we want the pony when his will

for us is to become something grander.

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Even more than a purebred

Kentucky Derby winner.

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His wish for us is eternal life

and joy to receive all that he has.

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Yay much more.

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But we must first prove

ourselves with the small stuff.

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How are we at handling our agency?

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Our day-to-day choices.

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How are we with our relationships?

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Are we loving one another or

there's still some contention?

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How are we caught up in the

vain things of the world?

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Are we distracted from the more important

matter or are we following him or the

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world with big wishes and desires?

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Comes big responsibility.

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Okay, are you ready

for my birthday wishes?

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Swish.

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Swish.

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That's my my fairy godmother wand.

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I wish for you to delight

in your body and your life.

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See it for the miraculous

creation that it is.

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No matter your age, I wish

for you to have a good belly

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laugh, and so what if it shakes?

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Maybe you will break out in dance.

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Your body rejoices in

movement, so shake your booty.

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I wish for you swish.

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Wish to find wonderment and to step

outdoors and experience the world

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created for you to feel God's love.

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When's the last time you rolled

in the grass or picked a wild

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flower or found a heart rock?

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Okay, it's winter here, so you may

have to bundle up no matter what The

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season there is beauty to be found.

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I wish for you swish, wish for you a

special moment of stillness with no hurry

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to hear all the magical sounds of life.

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Feel the breeze, soak in the sun.

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You can do this anywhere,

even in the chaos.

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Simply stand still and be

quiet and find the words.

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Thank you in your heart, and

listen to what echoes back.

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I wish for you swish wish to have

the courage to say, I am sorry, and I

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forgive you to an old heartache in the

past to an enemy so you can release

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it back to the past where it belongs.

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and hopefully you will feel your soul

take flight because it will be so light.

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And last of all, swish swish.

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I wish for you to have that

childlike faith and know

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that Jesus knows your heart.

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He's aware of your wishes and your

heavy, heavy hanging over your heart,

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and all that seems unfair in this life.

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And all those broken and lost wishes

can be made right in the grace of

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Jesus Christ and God's love for you.

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I love you.

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Delight in the Lord and he will

give you the desires of your heart.

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Reread that in Psalms 37.

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Four, what are the desires of your heart?

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What are your wishes?

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Your heart's desires equals

everything you secretly dream about.

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Visualize or imagine our prophet,

president Oaks invited us.

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he said, I hope each of us will

search our hearts to determine

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what we really desire and how we

rank our most important desires.

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Desires, dictate our priorities.

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Priorities, shape our choices and choices,

determine our actions, the desires

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we act on, determine our changing,

our achieving, and our becoming.

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So happy birthday wishes, my friends, my

wish is that you return to the trail with

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me next week, where you will discover a

wishy meditation created just for you.

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And tell then, and the words of

Mark Twain I found on my morning

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celestial seasoning tea box quote.

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To get the full value of joy, you

must have someone to divide it with.

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If this episode brought you joy, I invite

you to like, share or leave a rating.

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It's one of the simplest ways to

help others find us on the trail

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So they can walk with us also.

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Thank you for sharing my birthday with me.

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I'll see you on the trail.