For I am persuaded that
neither times of the month
nor times of the year;
neither astrological signs,
nor doubts, nor fear;
neither what’s far away,
nor what lies near;
neither what’s in the past,
nor what’s now and here;
neither war nor pandemic,
nor loss nor tears
can separate us from Love
and all that’s dear.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Love is All. Love is all presence – fills all space. The only Power and Presence. Eternal. Infinite. The Only. “There is no spot where Love is not.”
We are the reflections, expressions, manifestations, creations, ideas, children of Love. Love is our Source. Love is our Cause and we are Love’s effects. We belong wholly to Love. There isn’t the teeniest, tiniest part of us that is unlike our Source, our Father-Mother. All we can be is what Love made us to be.
The belief that we can be diseased is a lie, for disease is no part of Love, our Source. The belief that we are fragile and weak is a lie, for we are the image and likeness of All-Power. The belief that there was EVER a moment when we were outside Love – unprotected, vulnerable – is a lie, for we are never, have never been, will never be, separated from Love – not in the past, present, or future. The belief that we can be separated from Life, Love, Truth is a lie, for we were created by Life, Love, and Truth. God is our Life – never-ending and eternal.
Joy! Peace! Unfaltering hope, fearless and confident, strong and invincible be-ing is ours to claim right now.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
January 28, 2023
The highlights of my day:
– The sunrise!!!
-There’s a shop closing in Bellingham – the owner is retiring. I happened to be walking by the door just as the owner, who was inside the store, reached the door with a big box. I swung the door open like it was choreographed for me to do that. She was surprised and thanked me and I wished her a happy retirement. I love when people connect at the just right moment.
– An aisle at the local supermarket was blocked by a young family – the father was on his cellphone and was unaware that people were trying to get around him. I moved to the side so a gentleman on the other side of the family could try to squeeze through – the gentleman smiled at me and thanked me and managed to get through – “I made it!” he said, grinning. And then I squeezed past the little family, too, without knocking anything over. Victory! I love it when people can adjust to each other, and problem solve and have fun with each other.
– Years ago – in August 2001 (just three weeks before 9-11) my family and I visited NYC. I bought a little necklace at Tiffany’s while I was there. I haven’t been able to wear this necklace for years, though, because the chain got all tangled up. I have another necklace – a locket with pictures of my sons when they were toddlers – that I couldn’t wear because it lost its clasp. Today I decided to see if I could get these necklaces fixed. I brought my necklaces into the supermarket jewelry department to see if they could add a clasp to the one necklace and untangle the other. It would take a couple weeks to add a clasp, the man there told me, but he could untangle the chain for me on the other necklace – and he did! For free!
– I went to a second jewelry store to see if they had a clasp for the locket. They had one that might work, but it would cost $90 and I didn’t feel like I could spend that much for a clasp. The kind salesclerk understood, but she asked me if she could clean the Tiffany necklace for me – no charge!
– I went to a third jewelry store (Dreamworks Jewelry) to see if THEY might have a clasp for my necklace there. And oh! I LOVED this store! It was like walking back in time. There were old clocks everywhere – chiming and clicking – and the place was a glorious, happy mess of projects. A man with a magnifying glass in front of his eye came from behind his desk and asked me how he could help. I asked him if he might have a clasp for the necklace. He said yes, he could take care of my necklace for me. He rummaged around in a drawer, found what he needed, applied his jeweler’s tools, and – voila! – handed me my necklace all fixed! And he only charged me $15!
I’m wearing my locket with the new clasp as I type. It feels good to have it around my neck again.
Come with me!
Join me here
in this place where I AM.
Just there, beyond
the five senses.
A universe of Love.
A presence called Life.
A power called Truth.
Do you feel it with you?
Do you feel yourself
baptized and immersed
in this presence of Love?
Come! Join me here!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I went for a long walk before
I went to the dentist. I needed
to escape from my head for a bit –
to let my thoughts soar
and let Life pour
all its Good into me.
I needed to take
a break
from the pain.
So I walked out of my head
and into the Consciousness
of Good surrounding
me, abounding
all around me.
Swans and ducks sat in a green
field by an old barn. The air
smelled of rain and life.
Children’s toys and bikes
sat in a driveway,
waiting to play.
Dogs wagged their tails
at me from inside their yard.
And I felt no pain at all while
I was there
outside my head.
So I stayed outside my head
when I went to the dentist.
And the dentist said:
“Healthy teeth. Long roots.
These aren’t going to fall
down during a storm.”
And I felt Love with us
as he filled in my long roots
and the crown on my tooth
and sent me home,
feeling no pain.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
the playful Presence
and the protecting Power
peaceful Assurance
All is well and All
is well and All is well and
All is well and All
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I’m praying, but I can’t seem to find God
in my thoughts. I can’t hear Her voice.
It’s 3:00 in the morning when I head
downstairs to read. I sit on the couch
and pull a blanket around me and open
my book. Timid black cat jumps onto
the couch and slowly moves closer to me
until I pull him next to me and he lays
down, belly-up, trusting me, expecting
kindness, and his trust fills me with joy.
And I realize that this is God talking to me.
I pet his belly and click on Facebook’s
messenger on my phone and see
new messages waiting for me.
I open them and find words of love
and comfort and caring and connection
in the voices of my friends.
And I know that this is God talking to me.
The night is still, but I can feel it gently
pulsing with Life and Love. And I am
enveloped in the joy of be-ing.
This is God talking to me.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Yes, our country needs to unite – but not behind the KKK, the Nazis, or anyone who uses hate groups as a tool.
And yes, Love is the answer. But Love shouldn’t be confused with that fear-based thing where we stop ourselves from doing and saying what we know needs to be done and said because we’re afraid of “making waves” or we’re afraid of confrontation. Sometimes evil needs to be confronted and called out. We need to love. We don’t need to appease. We don’t need to placate, mollify, or pacify. If someone’s feelings are hurt because we happen to disagree with them – that shouldn’t stop us from saying and doing what we know is right. We shouldn’t let ourselves be controlled by others like that. That’s not Love. That’s being a scaredy cat.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Neither sympathy nor society should ever tempt us to cherish error in any form, and certainly we should not be error’s advocate…Attempts to conciliate society and so gain dominion over mankind, arise from worldly weakness….If you venture upon the quiet surface of error and are in sympathy with error, what is there to disturb the waters? What is there to strip off error’s disguise?”
– Mary Baker Eddy
(Originally published in August 2017.)
You don’t have to bring the past
into this moment.
You don’t have to bring the pain
with you as you move forward.
Ask yourself:
Is this helpful?
Is this useful?
Is this relevant?
Is there a purpose to this?
If the answer is “no” –
then move on.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
“She could not fix the past and she couldn’t stay trapped there.”
― Janis Wildy, The English Bookshop
thinking they are lost
we try to preach them “the way”
maybe we’re the lost
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 