~BE OPEN TO RECEIVE AS WELL AS GIVE~ 

~LOVE REPORTER ANN ALBERS~

My dear friends, we love you so very much. 

Today we wish to speak to you on the gift of receiving. It is so easy for so many of you to give to one another and we celebrate your generosity. You feel so good when you give for so many reasons. When you give you feel abundant. When you give your generosity, your gift and talents are acknowledged. When you give, you feel you have made a contribution to someone else's life and this makes you feel good because you are being the love that you truly are. However, while it is so easy for so many of you to give, many of you have a hard time receiving. And yet, it is in receiving, that you allow another to experience the gifts that giving brings.

Some of you feel unworthy of receiving. That is nonsense dear friends! You are all worthy of God's blessings and while on earth, these blessings must come through one another. Some of you are afraid you are taking too much from another who has little, and yet have you not also given, at times, when you have little to spare? Didn't it make you feel that much more abundant? Try not to judge whether or not the giver can and should give. If it is in their hearts to do so, receive graciously. Some of you perceive that there are strings attached to the gift. And in reality dear ones, most of you have also given with strings attached. However, it is up to the receiver to decide whether or not they will acknowledge the unspoken "bargains" or whether they will have the self worth to simply say "thank you" and allow their gratitude to be sufficient "payback" to use your very human words. 

In receiving graciously, you bless the giver. You give them the gift of gratitude, the gift of acknowledgment, the gift of saying, "Yes, I see and appreciate the love within you." By receiving with a grateful heart, you give back so very much. And more importantly dear ones, when you receive with a grateful heart you continue to allow the flow of God's love to move freely through the universe. By all means it is ok to gratefully decline a gift, while acknowledging the good intent. Maybe someone offers you help and you truly do not need or want it. Acknowledge their good intent. Thank them for their generous heart. In this way you receive the spiritual gifts offered and continue to keep God's love in flow.

Just as you love to give dear friends, others love to give as well. Allow others to bless you in this fashion, for as you learn to receive - compliments, assistance when needed, good words and kind thoughts, etc. so too you enlarge your capacity to receive God's love. You all want so very much in your lives, and so begin by making space in your lives, then practice receiving graciously as the love begins to flow freely towards you. 

God bless you! We love you so very much.
-- The Angels

Message From Ann

I was raised by a family of givers. In fact it became a joke in our family that my mom and my Polish grandma would have arguments over who would pay for lunch - as in, "I will!" "No! Let me!" "I insist!" "Carol!!!" "Mom!!!" These continued sometimes to the point where they were stuffing bills in each other's purses! I now jokingly call arguments over who will give more "Polish Bargaining." I remember when I used to teach at a little center in town. I would ask the owner what her rate was and always she offered something I considered too low. I'd offer more. She would counter with something in between and say, "That's my final offer!" And we would laugh over how we both wanted to be more generous. Many of you remember Judith from the Center for Expanding Consciousness - she is now the gracious owner of the White Springs Bed & Breakfast in Florida, and I'm sure, just as generous hearted as she always has been! 

So when I began to learn to receive I had to bite my tongue and learn to say, "Thank you" when someone complimented me rather than saying, "REALLY?" or worse yet debating the verity of their statement. If someone said my eyes were pretty, I'd be more likely to say, "Oh gosh, they're so bloodshot!" or, "Oh yours are too!" It was just an old habit to argue away a compliment or to feel I had to immediately "pay it back." A friend once said to me, "Could you just say thank you?" That hit home. Now when someone pays me a compliment, although old habits die hard, I try to breathe in the love and simply say, "Thank you." I give compliments so freely and easily, it strikes me as crazy that it took so long to learn to receive them.

Likewise I have had to learn along the way that receiving graciously from others when I am in need allows me to give more. It truly does keep the flow going. Two stories really stand out. When I broke my foot in 2004 a dear client offered to make me dinner. Knowing how much I had struggled with cooking on crutches, I finally said, "Yes thank you!" I will remember her roast chicken and potatoes till the day I die. That was one of the most nurturing meal I have ever eaten! And this dear woman made so much that I ate well for days. By receiving I was able to conserve energy and continue serving my clients in the midst of an injury. I was so grateful for this act of kindness.

Likewise, when I was going to teach a class many years ago, I needed a $300 room deposit. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem but it was after the holidays, and I had had some surprise bills. As usual I trusted the money would come. Well, lo and behold, another dear person on this list, out of the blue, said God had told him to send me $333. I was nearly bowled over to say the least and grateful to tears. The money paid for the room deposit and was Doreen Virtues number that says, "The masters are with you." Furthermore the seminar was being held on 3-3. This gentleman didn't even know I was planning a seminar at the time. His gift enabled me to serve others in a much larger way and more importantly reinforced how much heaven really loved and supported me in supporting others.

So many times I have been on the giving side of life, helping friends, doing web site for free when I used to have the time, donating money quietly when needed, cooking for others. I LOVE to give. But I have learned over time, as the angels say, that receiving is also a gift to the giver and an act that keeps the flow of God's love spilling effortlessly from one human being to another. You can always pay it forward when you have the ability, but this week declare willingness to receive and then practice doing so. 

When a homeless man, with only a tattered bicycle, held the door for me at Circle K and gave me a wonderful compliment, I stopped, looked deeply into his eyes, and said, "Thank you. That makes me feel so good." I acknowledged him as if he were the richest man in the universe. I believe in that moment, he felt he was. He was rich with kindness and he had shared that wealth with me. In receiving, truly, we give as well. 

Love and hugs,
Ann