put on.

Look at the birds of the air; they neither

sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of there. O
men of little faith. Therefore do not be anxious
your heavenly Father knows what you need (before
you ask).
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be yours as well (Matthew
6:25-33).
J
esus lessons are filled with parables and
metaphors, stories and symbols that were
meant to help his people understand a new
way of thinking and improving their lives. As
beautiful as they are, His metaphors are sometimes a
little challenging to make sense out of, especially
from our perspective, 2000 years later. The parable
of the lilies of the field is one of those.
In part He says: Therefore I tell you, do not be
anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what
you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall
Issue # 40
UPWARD BOUND J* O* U* R* N* A* L

SPIRITUAL LESSONS FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH
Lilies of the Field
Lilies of the Field

Photo by Art Holt
Today we think in terms of the need to work and
make a living, buy a house and car and clothes; save
for our retirement and the childrens college
education and vacation travels; and on it goes.
Thats just the way it is. We cant even begin to
imagine abandoning all those efforts and activities,
putting our energies instead into sitting in the lotus
position all day while God puts a shelter over our
heads, food on our tables and gas in our new SUV.
And, rightly so. I dont think that is what Jesus
meant, at all.
There is a popular saying that you gotta do what
you gotta to do. That idea hasnt changed since
antiquity; we all have a purpose to fulfill. The point
of Jesus parable and the popular saying is for us to
focus on what is ours to do, right now, and do it
today. And if we do that, tomorrow will take care of
itself. We live in the NOW moment and this is
where we need to place our attention.
That doesnt mean that were here completely on
our own, and without anything to look forward to .
God has a plan for our lives, each and every one of
us; a plan greater than anything we have ever
imagined for ourselves. I believe that from the
bottom of my heart; it has been my experience. And
I have also experienced good and wonderful things
being added to my life, things that have come out of
the blue, completely unexpected and impossible for
me to have created. These things happen to all of
us, all the time, no matter who we are or where we
go. Sometimes they are little things, almost
insignificant, and sometimes, even those small things
can and do change our lives.

Are they random luck, serendipity, simple
coincidence or something far greater? Some might
call those things Grace.
Would you live your life any differently if you
knew that God is always a step ahead of you, setting
up opportunities for your joy and pleasure? There is
no circumstance so difficult, no time or space or
place so remote that God is not with you, and at the
same time, way ahead of you preparing another act
of love for you. We need to become aware that our
joy is Gods pleasure because we are loved with an
everlasting love.
I always wonder, but I never worry about what the
subject will be for the next issue of Upward Bound
Journal. I just know that when I put my mind to it,
IT will unfold. As I was contemplating this issue,
several little awakenings crossed my path.
I have to admit that I rarely pick up on the first
hint, it generally takes a mild whack with the
cosmic two-by-four to get my attention, but Gods
swing is really quite gentle and eventually I become
alert enough to see the next one coming before I
wind up with a lump on my head. This time it has
been a news story, a little book, a best-selling novel,
the preparation for the class Dottie and I are
teaching, and a few memories recalled.

A heart-warming news story provides a
wonderful illustration. Dirk Pratt went to see a
movie. Big deal, youll probably say, but going to
that movie actually changed his life. In one scene
the movies character went to his computer and
Googled his own name, to see what the internet
had recorded about him. Dirk began to wonder the
same thing about himself and Googled Dirk M.
Pratt. What came up was a comment from a writer
who was searching to find Dirk Pratt. The writer
turned out to be his daughter, Francesca, absent
from his life for 27 years because she had been told
that her father had been killed in a diving accident.
Likewise, Mr. Pratt had been told, way back when,
that his daughter had died from an insect bite while
visiting her South American grandparents when she
was just a pre-schooler.
They were reunited in time for him to find out
that he is about to become a grandfather. Francesca,
now married and all grown up, is going to have a
child of her own.
Its a touching story and a wonderful example of
Gods Grace, opening up a whole new tomorrow in
the form of serendipity. Going to the movie, the
idea of Googling his own name, and the timing of
Francescas internet search all came together in a
way that no one could have pre-arranged, reuniting
two people who longed to find each other and never
gave up hope, despite the lies they were told that
kept them apart for so many years.
Divine Coincidence is not something that you can
arrange or even predict. It is simply a way that you
can know you are receiving Gods abundant love,
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
2
and is often a key step in putting your life back on
track or setting the direction for your life that will
lead you to fulfillment.
One cannot explain the chance crossing of paths
or the odds of being in the right place at the right
time that we all have experienced. SQuire Rushnell,
author of When GOD Winks at YOU, describes an
experience that is hard to believe, but one that
actually happened.
For twenty years Mavis Jackson drove past the
Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, California, and nearly
every time she told herself that someday she would
stop and attend a service. Then one Sunday morning
she decided to actually do it. And on that first
Sunday morning, she arrived early and found a seat
right in the middle. Three thousand people followed
and filled up the glass ceiling pyramid. At the end of
the service she stood up and waited for the throng to
clear the aisles, finally speaking to the young lady
who had been sitting next to her.
Wasnt it wonderful? Im so glad I came here
today, she said.
The young woman nodded in agreement.
Are you from here? Mavis asked.
No, Im from the Midwest, and then added,
Im actually here on a mission to find my birth
mother.
There was a pause before Mavis responded. I
know how you feel. A long time ago I had to give up
a little girl for adoption. I didnt want to, but
Another pause. Do you remember her
birthday? the young lady asked.
October 30
th
. She said with a sigh.
Thats my birthday, gasped the young woman.
Almost beyond belief, Mavis and her daughter
were reunited on the spot. What are the odds that out
of all the Sundays Mavis had passed by the church
she would pick this day to enter? In searching for
her birth mother, why would the young woman
choose to make the trip to California now and then
be led to the Crystal Cathedral? And what was it that
drew them to the same row and adjoining seats?
Perhaps Proverbs provides the answer. In his heart
a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his
steps (Proverbs 16:9). And to that I might add
and when to take them.
Serendipity, Divine Coincidence, random chance
or just plain good luck; some will say these events
dont prove one way or the other the Presence or
Power of God. For me, however, these are just small
examples that God is ever Present and capable of
arranging the most complicated scenarios for each of
us, just for the sheer pleasure they will bringand to
redirect our lives when we are ready.
The reason we all dont have such dramatic
examples of Divine Coincidence is probably because
we foil the experience by our state of consciousness
at the time. I have come to believe that there are
several factors that will be very helpful in getting into
that righteousness (right thinking) state of
consciousness. Jesus told us seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, and all these things shall be
yours as well Mat. 6:33) When our primary state of
consciousness is one of faith; we are following Jesus
words, whether we get down on our knees in fervent
prayer or simply walk our walk with the quiet
confidence of an inner knowing of Gods love. We
have faith.
It also helps to have a sense of expectancy, not
expectations (there is quite a difference). When we
are expectant we are open and receptive to great
surprises and wonderful turn of events. Being
expectant is truly being in the moment, free of
anxiety or fear. But expectation is the ego trying to
control or define some future outcome; setting us up
for disappointment or worse, for things rarely turn out
the way we think they should, and yet
Im reminded of another story from When God
Winks at You, Expecting the unexpected. Mary was
filling out her churchs annual donor form when she
noticed a box at the bottom, [ ] check here to tithe
unexpected income. As she thought about the
possibility of winning the lottery she agreed that she
would be delighted to tithe ten percent to the church,
so she happily checked the little box. Several times
that day she thought about unexpected income and
decided that $50,000 would be completely
unexpected, but certainly would be welcome, and
give her the opportunity to buy the condo she wanted
for her retirement. With that thought in mind, she
affirmed the amount as if it was already was hers, and
let it go.
Three days later she received a letter from her
broker. In her fathers will was some stock that had
only been worth pennies at the time of his death, but
had unexpectedly surged and was now worth exactly
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
3
4
$50,000. The following Sunday she gleefully wrote
a $5000 check to the church and marked it tithe on
unexpected income. As the Pastor was blessing the
offering she commented they were $5000 short of
finishing the Sunday school building. Mary smiled
knowing that now her church would also be receiving
just the right amount they needed as unexpected
income.
Norman Vincent Peale reminds us, If you expect
the worst, you get the worst. And if you expect the
best, you will get the best. I believe that being
expectant is the open minded way that eliminates the
worst by aligning your consciousness with Gods
best for you and everyone else concerned.
Another example of opening up to Gods Presence
as Divine Coincidence is the element of awareness.
Serendipity happens all the time, but without our
awareness, it can be just another event. I went
through a rapid series of Divine Coincidences in the
process of transforming my life as I entered the
ministry, but they all happened so quickly that it took
several weeks to sink in. Taken together the events
were profound, but singularly, as they happened, they
were simply a delightful series of people, places and
things.
If we are to experience the full blessing of Gods
intricate plan unfolding in our lives, we have to
become aware of the serendipity when it happens.
We need to bless it, giving thanks to our Creator for
the gift of Divine Coincidence and the complex
matrix of arrangements that are beyond human
capacity to accomplish.
A friend of ours recently told us of her personal
experience with Divine Coincidence. She and Ed
were High School classmates, casual friends at the
time, and after graduation the two went on
independent journeys: career, marriage, children, and
as is too often the case, divorce. Then came their 25
th

class reunion, each deciding rather reluctantly to
attend, where they met once again. After dancing the
evening away, they found the attraction that was
missing in high school, romance blossomed, and very
shortly they joined together in a marriage that would
last a lifetime.
Their story doesnt seem that coincidental until
you hear the rest of the story. The Divine
Coincidence occurred just days before the reunion
when Patricia and Ed each decided to go to the party
alone rather than with the persons they were dating at
the time. Had either of them taken a date it would
have been impossible for them to have made the
connection with each other that evening. She really
didnt know why, but Pat just knew she had to go to
the reunion and had to go by herself. Ed said later
that the same was true for him as well. Gods plan
was for them to join together; they just had to
cooperate by listening to their intuition, without
asking why.
Throughout our lives we all encounter moments
when our paths change direction, the result of choices
we make or circumstances we encounter. Sometimes
those changes are serious set-backs, sometimes just
short reprieves from a difficult challenge, sometimes
life altering, joyous and celebratory. All the while
our journey is Upward Bound. Eric Butterworth, in
Discover the Power Within You, says that even when
we find ourselves considering temptations, we are
actually trying to make our lives better, because a
temptation is connected to our aspirations to go
higher. If it werent for the aspirations we would
simply be content in our negativity.
If we can grasp that Gods love for us is so great
and so universal, we will see that even those who are
mired in negativity, still receive the gift of Divine
Coincidences and the corresponding opportunity to
become Upward Bound. For the rest of us Divine
Coincidences are signposts that God is watching us,
loving us and planning ahead by joining us with the
right people at the right time and in the right places.
It is His way of letting us know that He is always
there, a reminder that our prayers are heard and our
path is made clear.
Like the lilies in the field, we do not need to know
how or why, or even what happens next. When we
live in the present moment, we live in His Presence,
and tomorrow will take care of itself (just like
today has).
God bless each and every one of you,
Amen

Art Holt,
Upward Bound Journal #40
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
M E D I T A T I O N
I AM Created In the Image and Likeness of God


There is a part of me that is created from God, a higher part of me; the part of me that
is my Spirit self. This is the part of me I know as I AM. I go there now and as I rest quietly in
my favorite place of Peace and understanding, I relax and take a deep breath, slowly exhaling
and softly repeating, I AM. (breathe) I AM.

"I AM Created In the Image and Likeness of God." I give my attention to those words and
quietly speak them to myself in the silence: "I AM Created In the Image and Likeness of God."

As in the beginning, (Genesis 1:26-31), ... God said, "Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness;" ..."so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, ...And it was so. And God saw
everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."
Knowing I am made from God fulfills a longing of my heart, for it is in this knowing that I
am able to feel Gods Presence. I have been created out of the mind of God to be His hands,
and feet, His voice, His eyes and ears, His heart. I have been created to be a visible aspect of
the invisible and infinite God. In this way I am truly one with my creator.
I take a moment now in the silence to reflect on this profound thought; "I Am created in
God's image, therefore I am one with the Lord God of my being."
Pause and reflect

To feel that oneness, to feel God's presence, I turn my thoughts to God in prayer; Dear
Lord, Your love fills my heart, and I respond to that love now. My heart sings with joy, and I
feel the warmth of Your presence clothing me softly and tenderly. You know all of my hopes,
my dreams, all of my needs and desires, long before I ask. I turn those desires over to You
now and quietly await your Divine guidance; the guidance that directs each day of my life and
all of my affairs. Each time I pray, each time I turn within to the silence, I become more aware
of my oneness with You.
Each time I pray I become more aware of who and what I am. And so I say, thank you
God for this growing awareness of Your presence, and for the realization that you have
created me to be Your image in expression. I commit myself today to be Your hands and feet,
Your voice, Your eyes and ears, Your heart. Here I am Lord, let Your life be expressed
through my life, fully and completely, this day and everyday, now and forever more.
Thank You, God.
Amen.
5
WORDS TO LIVE BY
Our thoughts and words create our reality. Let us
acknowledge one thought that will impact our lives in
wonderful ways. This time its in the form of a song I
wrote, but its a song in need of a melody. If music is
you passion, feel free to compose the tune. Then we
can all sing along together.

Faith & Joy

1. Life has its up and downs - Its true;
Its a journey that goes round and round.
God gives me Faith to carry me through,
And Joy as the memory to cling to.

Faith & Joy; Faith & Joy
The journey goes round and round.

2. Life has its up and downs - Its true;
Its a journey that goes round and round.
But whenever Im down, Faith is my guide,
And Joy is the God-stuff in which I abide.

Faith & Joy; Faith & Joy
The journey goes round and round.

3. Life has its up and downs - Its true;
Its a journey that goes round and round.
I know Gods watching, I know that God
cares,
Cause Faith and Joy are the answer to
prayers.

Faith & Joy; Faith & Joy
The journey goes round and round.

Thank You, God, for Faith and Joy
And the Journey that goes round and
round.








Rev. Arthur Holt
3/17/2009


U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
Rev. Arthur Holt,
Unity Minister
Dottie Holt,
Licensed Unity Teacher

Upward Bound of Unity, Inc.
10870 SW 71st Circle
Ocala, FL 34476
Phone (352) 861 - 5518
Email: UpwardBoundRev@aol.com


Upward Bound Journal
is a Unity publishing ministry based on Biblical
teachings and dedicated to writing and presenting
spiritual, inspirational, and metaphysical principles
which empower people to enrich and transform
their lives.





For more information about Upward Bound email us at:
UpwardBoundRev@aol.com
or check our website:
www.upwardboundjournal.com.

Issue # 40
Upward Bound Journal is of Upward Bound of Unity,
Inc. 2009














Member: Association of Unity Churches International, SunCoast
Unity Ministers Association, and affiliated with: Unity Institute and
Silent Unity, publishers of Daily Word.
Upward Bound of Unity, Inc. is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), charitable
corporation sustained entirely by your tax deductible gifts.
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Upward Bound Upward Bound Upward Bound Upward Bound
Journal, Journal, Journal, Journal,

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U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L LL L
Photo by Art Holt
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
The time has come for our
once-a-year subscription/fund
raising effort for Upward Bound
Journal.
Your donations are fully tax
deductible. A donation should be
whatever amount is meaningful to
you. A single Tithe to Upward
bound Journal, once a year, is all
it will take for us to continue
writing, photographing, printing
and mailing to fulfill our purpose
of enriching and transforming
lives.
For those who anticipated
our annual fund raising event and
already sent a check, we extend
our sincere thanks and richest
blessings. Like the Lord above,
you knew our needs before we
asked.
Whenever we receive a
donation for Upward Bound, we
rededicate our efforts to make the
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words more meaningful, and our
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We hope the it shows.
Thank you one and all.

Rev. Art & Dottie Holt Rev. Art & Dottie Holt Rev. Art & Dottie Holt Rev. Art & Dottie Holt
The Light of God surrounds us,
The Love of God enfolds us,
The Power of God protects us,
The Presence of God watches over us.

Wherever we are God Is, ...and all is well.
P
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