Tag Archives: peace

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Wishing You a HAPPY New Year … And Me Too

I know I’m four days late, but I’m saying it anyway. “Happy New Year.” And I mean it. HAPPY New Year.

Not happy like “I’m-happy-because-I’m-getting-everything-I-want” happy.”

But “happy-because-I’m-at-peace” happy.

This is what I wish for you.

I was thinking that happiness is really a state of being at peace, a state of contentment. When we “lose our peace” we can’t be happy. But “keeping our peace” equals true happiness and can be had anywhere, in any situation.

It happens in the heart.

Over the holidays I began reading a book which got me thinking along these lines. It’s a book called Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives and is written by an unlikely character, a man who goes by the name of Elder Thaddeus. He’s a scraggly, old, long gray-bearded Orthodox monk who lived in Serbia.

He was a very sickly child, lead an extremely difficult life, and eventually became a monk.

All the pain and difficulty he experienced over his lifetime would have made most people bitter, angry, resentful, depressed and eventually despondent.

But Elder Thaddeus, as the years piled up, became more loving, more infused with wisdom and more peaceful. People would travel for very far distances just to seek his counsel. He was a man who was united with God both in body and in spirit.

Reading about people who have endured great hardships in life and who have emerged as shining reflections of Christ are great encouragements to me.

They remind me that I have nothing to complain about.

They remind me to live in the present moment and see where God is at work and what He’s asking of me.

They remind me to be thankful.

They remind me to be empathetic to others—for I have no idea what battles people face.

I love this quote:

Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
~ by Plato, Philo of Alexandria, or most likely Ian MacLaren.
(It doesn’t really matter. I thoroughly agree with the message!)

This coming year, I am going to make a concerted effort to learn more about those who have endured hard things and who have been able to “keep their peace.” I’m going to pay attention to the times when I “lose my peace.” I want to figure out why I lost it and what I can do differently the next time I’m faced with the same type of situation.

I want to remember that being able to experience peace in the first place is a gift of God. It’s only possible because I’m created in His image and He dwells within me. He’s the Prince of peace, after all. I want to listen to and learn from the best and obey what He’s telling me to do. THAT is the hard part. But I’ve got a whole year to practice … and maybe a few more.

So, with all my heart, I wish you … and me a

VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

…put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful …  Colossians 3:12-16 (NKJV)

QUESTION: Can you recommend a book or film about a real-life person who learned how to be truly happy, truly at peace, regardless of what they were facing in the moment?

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Encouragement For Today

Two people are facing a difficult day today. A day that has been a long time coming. Now it is here.

I sent this email to them in the hopes that it could be an encouragement. I thought I would post it here. Perhaps you need some encouragement and some assurance that He is a good God and loves you, and that “His will governs all.”

Good morning,

Praying for a real sense of God’s abiding presence in you today—filling you, and leading you each step of the way.

May you go forth with humility, courage and boldness, and with the assurance that “His will governs all.”

It’s time to step into this day with confidence that you’ve done all you have been asked to do.
I know that all you have done, every step along the way, has been bathed in deep and serious prayer.
You are ready.

You are not alone today.
You have a host of warriors at your right hand and your left.
You have an army of people standing with you in prayer, both in this life and in the life-to-come.

Don’t forget that this is the Lord’s battle. It is not “up to you.”
Open your heart, wide, and trust Him to fill it and direct you.

May God’s great love overshadow all you do and say today.

Rest. Trust. Be at peace.
Rest in His providence and in His righteousness.
“He IS a good God who loves mankind.”

Remember:

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knows them that trust in Him.”
Nahum 1:7

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1

May God’s good and perfect will be done in the lives of all.

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Wait To Worry: Procrastination at Its Best

Don’t ask me how I got this way, but I just don’t struggle with worry. I know it’s a gift and I am eternally grateful for it. I don’t struggle with fear. My mind doesn’t immediately run to the “worst case scenario.”

Maybe it’s because my folks weren’t big worriers. I grew up in a family with a lot of love and a lot of security. (What a gift to give to your kids!) My folks had a great trust-relationship with God and they with each other. I just didn’t learn to worry.

Whenever there was real cause to worry, the worst-case rarely came to pass. In fact, I’m not sure it ever really did. Not the WORST case.

Sadly, there are people in my life for whom worry is their besetting sin—is it a sin? You may struggle with this.

I wish I could take it away for you. Worry is so destructive. It creates all kinds of problems. It wreaks havoc on our health causing headaches, skin rashes, back pain, digestive disorders, insomnia, dental problems, high blood pressure, just to name a few. It also effects relationships, makes people fearful, anxious, and irritable. It effects one’s ability to trust.

As a mom, when my girls go to a place of worry, I do the only thing I know to do. Since I can’t take it from them, I encourage them to “wait to worry.” Just postpone it. This is procrastination at its best.

“Wait to worry” has become one of my own mother’s modus operandi. The implied message is, “You may have very good reason to worry. The worst-case may indeed come to pass. But … not today. Just wait to worry. There’s plenty of time for that. But not right now. Just wait to worry.”

“But Mom, what if I don’t get that job?”
—Wait to worry.
“Mom, what if we can’t pay our electric bill?”
—Wait to worry.
“What if her fever doesn’t go away?”
—Wait to worry.
“What if this medicine doesn’t work?”
“What if he doesn’t ever call me again?”
“What if she won’t listen to me?”
“What if …”
“What if …”

Wait to worry.

Worry tomorrow, but not today.

Question: Have you ever been glad you waited to worry?