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Grand Canyon Rafting Story: Journey into Scientific & Spiritual Truth – Part I

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October 5, 2019/0 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

Sheryl on Into the Light with Dr. Jim Dorman

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Sheryl Dawson

Living 7 Decades: The Milestone Story

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Related posts: He Lives! Easter 2020 The Beach Cross Story: A Personal Testimony The Father’s Prayer: A Story of Blessing The Story of the Bristlecone Pine: Resiliency in the Face of Change The Silver Lined Clouds Story: A Personal Testimony Grand Canyon Rafting Story: Journey into Scientific & Spiritual Truth – Part I

February 5, 2019/1 Comment/by c3l3br4t3x

A New Year With Purpose

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Achieve Your Purpose with Improved Life Balance: Whole Life Profile & Workshop

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Making new year’s resolutions is a tradition for many. Yet, while we celebrate the arrival of a new year, it is often repetitive of the one that just ended! We anticipate four seasons to come and go. Day in and day out we get up, follow our routine, eat 3 squares, work and play and depending on our stage in life, care for our families, keep in touch with friends, celebrate birthdays and holidays and despite the routine, hope for a good year. In the unfolding of each year’s cycle, what is to change this repetitive pattern? Without our focused endeavor to alter our patterned existence, life just seems to happen.

Diminishing Resolutions

No wonder we make new year resolutions – they are designed to give us some sense of control! Despite good intentions, how often have you made a new year resolution only to experience it diminish quickly as your old patterns re-emerged and took precedence? What is it about human behavior that tends to take control of us as though we were automatons?

All Is Meaningless and Vanity

Solomon in Ecclesiastes tells us:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace…
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart…
All is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 3 – 4.

If Solomon, the wisest person of all time saw life with such a jaded view, who are we to contend otherwise?

The Unexpected

There are those unexpected events that often blindside us and create unplanned change and even chaos. It could be something in the economy, a weather event, natural disaster, a career crisis or layoff. Perhaps a personal health issue, family crisis, or accident disrupts our otherwise patterned life. In times like these, we cherish the old and resist the unanticipated negative challenge.

On the other hand, there are welcomed changes – a growing family, a marriage, promotion, graduation, or other milestones that we celebrate. We seek to advance our careers and provide for our families. Whether planned or unplanned, these are changes we embrace and often promote through goals, plans, and accomplishments.

Life’s Paradox

Life is meant to be both predictable and unpredictable. If you hold too tightly to the predictable, life can become monotonous and lose meaning. There are traditions and patterns that help us stay grounded, feel needed, and provide order. Then there are both the unexpected and planned life-altering events to keep us sharp and engaged. Perhaps a vacation, a new home or car, a remodel, or just a change in schedule. These combine to fill our time, expand our horizons, and bring hope for a better tomorrow.

Add Value

Where are you in the trajectory of life? Are you mired in the routine, or seeking new horizons? Are you focused on your past accomplishments, or pursuing new goals? Are you caught in a seemingly meaningless trap of busyness, sociability, and distractions? Whatever life stage you are in, the ability to gain a sense of control and navigate change effectively provides purpose and meaning. Do not succumb to life’s vicissitudes lest decline and despair overtake you and hijack your year.

Do not wait for change in others to bring meaning to your own life and situation. Yes, you should enjoy your maturing family, the new generations, and advancing career with accompanying changes in home and work environments. But in each new event, each opportunity, each challenge, seek your own purpose and meaning. How will you add value to every moment of the new year?

Purpose Overcomes Vanity

Solomon concluded, “Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear (love, reverence, worship) God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastics 12: 13-14

Through all of life – the predictable and unpredictable, the good and the evil – when you faithfully seek His purpose there is genuine hope for a new tomorrow, a new year with purpose. Solomon’s father David admonished God, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

The Hebrew meaning for “numbering our days” is not simply awareness that they are finite, but also that our days are “appointed”. When one recognizes the God-given purpose of life and seeks to fulfill His appointed times, life is enriched with meaning.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. The former refers to chronological or sequential time, while the latter signifies a proper or opportune time for action. Chronos is quantitative, while kairos has a qualitative, permanent nature. Recognizing this distinction helps us to endure in our daily routines while anticipating the opportunities to fulfill our appointed times.

It’s a Wonderful Life

The traditional Christmas movie classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, is a perfect example of how one’s life can be purposefully fulfilled regardless of circumstances. George Bailey had dreams he could never realize because of unanticipated family, business, economic, political, and war-time situations, yet from boyhood, he confronted every challenge with courage, integrity and love. Every event was turned into an appointed time, every responsibility met with commitment, every relationship honored with others placed before self. When confronted with a business crisis, he thought all was lost and he was worth more dead than alive; his family and friends prayed for him and in the end of the movie rallied to his aid.

In despair, George wished he had never lived and was given a vision of how things would have changed had he not lived. In his vision, the entire community and world beyond were altered for the worse without his actions that impacted many lives! He awoke to the revelation of the importance of a purposeful life. George rushed home to embrace his family and life anew, not knowing if he would go to prison over the missing savings and loan funds, yet he was prepared to face the situation regardless of the outcome. God answered all those prayers including George’s desperate call for help, not only through George’s vision, but through the generous help of many people whose lives George had touched for good. The angel Clarence said it well, “No one is a failure when they have friends.”

Live Abundantly

God has given us the desire for life, and through spiritual rebirth, a reason to live abundantly. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. II Timothy 1:8-9

Jesus is our best friend, who gives us hope and purpose for our new year’s resolutions, all of life on earth and ultimately for eternity. As Solomon observed, without Him life is merely vanity! Seek His will, make your resolutions for His purposes, dedicate yourself to your appointed times and you shall find meaning the whole year through and for eternity. Live the new year with purpose!

By Sheryl Dawson
New Year’s 2019
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December 31, 2018/2 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

Christmas Peace

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December 20, 2018/0 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

Christmas Journal

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November 26, 2018/3 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

The Summit Story: Planning, Preparation and Perseverance Pay-off

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October 22, 2018/3 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

The Father’s Prayer: A Story of Blessing

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The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn His countenance toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6: 23 – 25

Having grown up in a Bible-centered church, every Sunday I experienced the tradition of our Pastor speaking this prayer of blessing over the congregation at the end of each service. Even as a small child it impressed me as a powerful prayer. It would be years later that I learned more about the context of the prayer and recalled my early sense of receiving an all-encompassing blessing as it was spoken. Last year when we moved to Flagstaff, I wanted to bless visitors to our home upon entering our foyer. I was moved to have this prayer superimposed on a picture I had taken over Lake Michigan when I was flying into Chicago after a family wedding. It now graces our entrance as though God Himself is imparting the blessing from heaven. Then just this year I was introduced to Warren Marcus’ book, The Priestly Prayer of the Blessing: The Ancient Secret of the Only Prayer in the Bible Written by God Himself. I was struck anew by the power of this seemingly simple prayer.

The Mountain Impartation

To understand the full impartation of the Priestly Prayer, one must know the story behind it. After the Israelites were released from bondage in Egypt by the ten plagues of God, and then escaped the pursuing Egyptians by the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, Moses led God’s people into the desert where God called Moses to the mountain top. At the summit Moses was given the 10 commandments written by the finger of God on tablets of stone. Upon carrying the stone tablets down the mountain, Moses returned to the camp site to find that the people had erected an idol of a golden calf to worship, a remnant of their Egyptian bondage. Moses was so furious he broke the tablets, had the calf melted down, and returned to the mountain to implore of God how he could possibly deal with “His” wayward people. In God’s infinite grace, He rewrote the 10 commandments and gave to Moses the Priestly Prayer, instructing Moses to have Aaron the Priest speak the prayer over the people every day.

Supernatural Provision

Moses obeyed and for 40 years in the desert Aaron spoke the words of blessing over the people; they were fed by manna from heaven and quail when they tired of the manna; their clothes and shoes never wore out, and when they thirsted water came from a rock. This supernatural provision was a result of the daily Priestly Prayer of blessing. Based on extensive research, Warren Marcus shares the amazing story of the amplified meaning of this ancient Hebrew prayer. As simple as it seems in English, the Hebrew reveals an expansive blessing.

First of all, Lord in Hebrew actually refers to God the Father, Yahuwah; amazingly this blessing is the only prayer given directly from the Father. We know the prayers of His Son Jesus and the apostles from the New Testament and are familiar with many prayers of the patriarchs, prophets and kings in the Old Testament. There must be something very special about this singular prayer to have been spoken by the Father to protect and provide for His chosen people as they wandered in the desert.

Journey to the Promised Land

God knew that His people, who had been in bondage for 400 years, were not ready to go directly into the Promised Land so through their desert experience He taught them to follow Him by fire at night and pillar of cloud by day, to trust in Him for daily provision, and to worship Him alone. The older generation, who had known only Egypt as their home, died in the desert, and it was the next generation born in the desert who would enter and conquer the Promised Land. Even Moses died prior to the Jordon crossing, imparting to Joshua the mantle of leadership. Indeed, it was the daily Priestly Blessing that sustained the Hebrew people on their long journey to their Promised Land.

The Amplified Prayer of Blessing

After reading Marcus’ book, also available in CD, I have listened to this prayer often as I start my day. Since discovering the origin and amplified meaning of the Father’s Prayer, I have shared it with friends and family to bless them. I believe as Warren Marcus does, that this divine prayer is an impartation of supernatural blessing from the Father Himself and, as of old is meant for us today.

Receive the Blessing

Do you need a blessing today? Perhaps you are going through a desert experience of financial, health, relational, career or spiritual crisis. Adapt the prayer of blessing and you will enter an oasis of the Father’s provision, protection, inspiration, and revelation. Look into His face as He intimately shines His grace on you. Allow His whole being to embrace you, transform your perspective on life’s challenges, bring order to your life and reveal your purpose. I can attest to the transformative power of the Father’s blessing as I read, hear, and recite it for myself and others. Receive the blessing now as you listen to the amplified English version of the Father’s prayer: www.warrenmarcus/prayer In addition, Paul Wilbur, a Messianic Jewish musician, chants the inspired Hebrew blessing. Your heavenly Father desires to bless His adopted children, as He has blessed His chosen people over the centuries. Receive the Father’s prayer of blessing and your life shall be renewed in love, faith, and joy.

Sheryl Dawson
May 14, 2018
Honoring the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of Israel

June 21, 2018/1 Comment/by c3l3br4t3x

Journey to Forest Peak Retreat: Mountain Top Testimony of Provision

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From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth.
Psalm 33:13-14

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As we RV’ed across the West over 20 years ago my husband and I discovered Flagstaff. Subsequently, on vacations, we visited mountain resorts and national parks with a dream of one day living in the mountains. While we had no real plan for how that may come to pass, today we live in beautiful Flagstaff in our custom home affectionately called Forest Peak Retreat. Indeed, living in the forest with a peak view of Mt. Humphrey’s is truly a life-long dream come true!

Over these many years Flagstaff was a magnet and we often returned to enjoy this highly rated “destination city” with so many interesting things to see and experience, including the Grand Canyon only an hour and half away, Sedona just a 45-minute drive through amazing Oak Creek Canyon, the National Monuments of Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater and Wupatki, Mt Humphrey’s Snow Bowl, hiking trails galore and a captivating picture-perfect view of the San Francisco Mountains from every direction.

Our dream became a walk of faith in early 2014 when we unexpectedly sold our consulting practice of many years and began a transition that took four years to complete. In the fall of 2014 I was hiking in Lockett Meadow in Flagstaff; walking among the golden aspen shimmering in the wind, I looked up into the clouds to see this inspiring view through the aspen — my “Portal to Heaven”. Deeply moved by the thought of capturing a glimpse of heaven, with tears in my eyes I retraced my path through the aspen and evergreens breathing a prayer, “Lord, make a way for us to live here, as this is where I belong.” At that time, I was still seeking to rebrand my consulting business and our dream seemed a long way from realization. Yet the Lord was faithful in the summer of 2017 to answer that pleading prayer when we completed the construction of our new Flagstaff home, sold our Houston home and relocated. After four decades in Houston, it was no small feat to move across the country, yet all the details worked out in His perfect timing.

As I think about the prophetic fulfillment of my simple prayer among the mountain aspen in Flagstaff, I recall the many Biblical examples of the Lord’s mountaintop provision, protection, and prophetic fulfillment. In Genesis, we read how God sent Abraham to a mountaintop to sacrifice his long promised, and only son Isaac. As he climbed Mount Moriah with Isaac, in faith he told his servants to wait below and they would return. Isaac questioned as they climbed the mountain trail, “Father, where is the sacrifice?” to which Abraham reassured his son that the Lord would provide. Even as he laid his bound son on the altar and raised his knife in obedience, his faith sustained him. In that fateful moment, God called out, “Stop and look in the bush for a ram to replace Isaac.” This amazing story foretold God’s sacrifice of His Only Son, Jesus, who on Passover would become the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world and provide salvation to all who received Him.

Later Moses climbed Mount Sinai and received God’s law; with His finger, God inscribed on stone how His people were to live during the centuries preceding the arrival of Emmanuel, God with us. The Ten Commandments were His provision for the chosen people from whom Messiah would come; in God’s perfect timing He replaced the written law with grace, as Jesus carried the cross up Golgotha to become the final sacrifice and reconcile mankind to the Creator.

During His time on earth, Jesus climbed the Mount of Olives with His disciples to pray and seek His Father’s will. From that high point overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, He prophesied of its destruction and His own death and resurrection. Biblical archeologists and historians believe the Temple Mount is the spot where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice. The Holy of Holies accessed only by the High Priest annually may have been over the very spot where God provided the substitute sacrifice for Isaac. When Jesus died the heavy curtain separating the outer court from this Holy place was torn in two, signifying direct access to the Father through Jesus’ own substitutionary death that paid the price for all human sin.

After the dispersion of the Jewish people in 70 AD, 2000 years passed before the world would see the fulfillment of many other prophesies on the restoration of the promised land to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. As He spoke through the prophets, God was faithful to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses bringing to pass His provision, protection, and prophetic fulfillment for His people and the entire world.

Our journey to the mountaintop seems insignificant in comparison to these grand mountaintop miracles, but for us it is just one more miracle of the Lord’s faithful provision. When we discovered Flagstaff over 20 years ago and then traveled here in 2014, we did not know how our dream could possibly become reality. Looking back now, we realize that the unfolding events over the subsequent years were His plan for us; we merely held on to our dream and stepped out in faith. As with any mountain climb, ours was no walk in the park, yet as we traversed the rugged trail through the valleys to new heights, He was always with us. We praise the Lord for our mountaintop journey to Flagstaff and desire to share our joy with others who visit us in our Forest Peak Retreat. Come to the mountaintop and rejoice with us!

By Sheryl Dawson
Easter, April 1, 2018

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March 25, 2018/0 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x

The Story of the Bristlecone Pine: Resiliency in the Face of Change

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After the global economic tsunamis of 9-11, resultant recession and collapse of Enron, like so many in Houston, I personally was impacted in dramatic ways. Seemingly overnight the business climate turned chaotic, capital fled, and client business seemed to vanish. Everyone was either scrambling to sift through the ruble or hunkering down to weather the storm. Ex-Enron executives handcuffed for perp walks captured the headlines. Meanwhile, victims of the carnage – both individuals and businesses — implemented survival tactics. I laid off half my staff, went into debt to keep the doors open, and devised strategic initiatives to diversify. Nothing seemed to work.

While we put our best face forward in marketing and sales, behind the scenes I was in a cauldron of anxiety, uncertainty, failure, and self-doubt. I wondered what was wrong with my business agility? I was literally in the “valley of the shadow of death” – in Hebrew it means the blackest of black darkness. There seemed to be no light. As consulting firms shuttered their doors around me, I clung to my faith and believed that somehow I would keep my doors open.

Overcoming
I developed new business models – they failed. I invented new services based on research and a changing Talent Management environment and slowly, painfully opportunities materialized. I built a team of expert coaches and partners in the changing talent management space. Fortunately I landed a talent development opportunity that seemed to come out of nowhere. We expanded into recruiting and achieved placements, celebrating every new piece of business. At the time I owned the local CPI global brand and they too diversified and expanded our international footprint. The parallel paths of the local and global brands enabled me to slowly rebuild my business. There were several very tough years in which progress was discouragingly slow. Yet I persevered, grew through the challenges, and learned new skills.

New Challenges Arise
As though my resilience were not sufficiently tested, other challenges arose with family relationships, a personal health crisis, a major legal battle, and betrayals that shook me to my core values. Nothing seemed to come easily. Yet, I had been through the” valley of the shadow of death” before, and I knew that these challenges too would pass. I persevered. I sought out the help of my coach friends who were more experienced in many of the situations I confronted. With every need, it was as though the right person, with the right expertise was available at the right time to help me. I never walked my journey alone. The Lord impeccably selected those who like angels would appear on the scene with just-in-time solutions and support.

Prevailing in the Face of Hardship

Just as I stood holding up this Bristlecone Pine while hiking in Bryce Canyon, I stand today to prove that I not only survived, but have thrived. In early 2014 I sold my global CPI practice and reestablished my legacy Dawson brand providing talent solutions with a focus on assessment. Everything I have experienced in my life and business, including the failures, have culminated in my consulting capabilities and a love for transforming organizations and individuals to achieve their potential.

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The Ranger Persona
I have many other passions and one is to don my hat, pull on my hiking boots and with camera in hand explore and capture in photographic clarity the beauty of nature. Several people we accosted in the national parks wondered if I was a ranger! When I shared that with one of my certified assessment coaches, he asked whether I matched the ranger career success template. That question brought me back to reality! But, I do enjoy hiking in my “ranger” outfit!

Regeneration & Resiliency
The Bristlecone tree is the oldest living organism on earth. How does it live for centuries? It has the unsurpassed ability to regenerate. After every natural disaster that kills all other plants, the Bristlecone sprouts new life. In the same way, within each of us is the power to regenerate. Resiliency in the face of change comes from within. You too can have the faith, fortitude, and fighting spirit to overcome whatever challenge you face. When your capacity wanes, around you are people who care and have the expertise to help. There are new opportunities to explore. New ideas to develop. New contacts to meet. New skills to learn.

What I found in my journey over a long and gnarly career, is that whatever the economic challenge, natural disaster, or personal failure, we have the God-given power within us to regenerate, to survive and thrive. Rather than a stumbling block, every challenge or failure is a stepping stone. Rather than the worst thing, it can be the best thing to happen. The choice is ours. We may not outlive the Bristlecone Pine, but while we are here we can regenerate, reinvent, and re-energize. We can rise from any valley to tell our personal story and help a fellow sojourner. Resilience always finds the silver lining in every dark cloud.

February 22, 2018/0 Comments/by c3l3br4t3x