Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I get in these "blogging moods." I could be doing just about anything and all of a sudden I feel like I need to sit down and start writing, journaling, venting, sort of speak. Tonight as I was having some time with my Creator I whole heartedly felt a sense of peace come and wash over my soul and my mind. It was like nothing else in the world mattered in those few moments but God and I and our time together. It really got me pondering the word peace and what it truly means to have a peace in one's heart, a peace in one's mind, a peace within one's whole entire complete body: spirit, mind and soul. How many times a day or a month or a week can you honestly testify that you have a complete peace about a situation or circumstance in your life? Try hardly ever. At least for me that's how it seems. I came across a quote by Joyce Meyer that basically sums up the peace that I am talking about. She speaks far more eloquent than I ever could, so let's try to dive into a little bit of her words: "Before Jesus died, He willed us His Peace. But we forfeit His gift through strife. God's desire for us is that we live in peace with Him, with ourselves and with our fellow man. He wants us to have peace in the midst of our current circumstances--peace in the morning, at night and all times in between. Peace is our inheritance! And it is a wonderful possession." How incredible. We, as children of God, have inherited the free gift of peace through God's son Jesus Christ. He instilled a sense of peace inside of each and every one of us. Search your hearts for it, truly do some soul searching because it is there! Ask God for peace if you can't seem to locate it! Jesus said to the world "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) He left us with peace. A peace from the Prince of Peace!! I want to be in pursuit of that peace. I want to experience that gift that Jesus has given to me! The Bible speaks of it so much; the psalmist in Psalm 34:14 writes that we need to "Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Colossians 3:15 talks of letting "the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." We are CALLED to peace. Not requested that we seek peace, not recommended that we search for peace... but God commands that we yearn for the peace that He has placed inside of us. Peace is one of the fruits of the spirit. As believers we need to produce fruit through the way that we live our lives. The Bible defines the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, and guess what? Peace is the third characteristic mentioned. In order for God to bless us with peace, we must follow His commands. In Isaiah 48:18 the Bible says, "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Choosing not to follow God's commands results in the absence of peace. I do not know about you, But I need peace in my life. I want peace in my life. It just makes things that much more, well...peaceful. Aren't you so thankful for peace that is already in us? We have a God that has promised us peace. Stillness. Tranquillity. Serenity. When we are anxious, the Bible tells us to give thanks to God and pray. Then the "peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). The peace of God is different from the peace of men because Gods peace surpasses all human reasoning. Thank you God for instilling peace in my heart and my mind and my soul, I pray that You would guide me in Your ways and in Your will, in an order that I would receive the peace that Your Son has provided through His death on the cross, AMEN. I am blessed.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

Can I just start off by saying that God is good?! Oh my goodness, is He ever. To start off, a few days ago I was praying ever so fervently about life and guidance and direction and just..pretty much everything! God and I were really having a heart to heart. It was MUCH needed, to say that least! Towards the end of my time with Him, I found myself over and over again asking Him to grant me patience and strength. Those two words just kept flowing from my heart: Patience and Strength. To be quite honest I really lack those two things in my life these days. Well, fast forward to yesterday and today. Events upon events kept piling up that were filled with stress and uneasiness. I have felt like these past few days have really been a constant inner battle. I got to thinking though.... . When we ask God for things, in my case patience and strength, God's answer is probably going to require some action on our part. God puts us through situations to strengthen us and prepare us for what is to come. But when I asked for those two things, I did not have the right heart nor mind set. To be frank, I just wanted to wake up one day and be a stronger person, be a person with a whole lot more patience that I had the day before. Who was I kidding? Looking back on these few days involving trials, I have realized that God has given me the OPPORTUNITY to grow in the fields that I requested. He has a pretty cool sense of humor sometimes .... :) My Savior granted me the things that I asked for. He put me in situations that were tricky and tough because He knows that I will gain insight and strength from these experiences. Matthew 7:7 states, "Ask, Seek, Knock "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." I asked God and He gave it to me. So instead of being bitter over these past days, I need to be thanking and PRAISING my God who hears my cry, who listens to the very depths of my heart and who loves and cares about me enough to refine my souls every need.