Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts

Object Lessons



Have you ever noticed times in your life when God teaches you something.  It starts with a Bible verse and upon meditating on it you have this nugget of wisdom that you can use and share.  I happen to be a slow learner at times, so God will often follow that up with an object lesson for me. 

I had one of those ah ha moments just this week. God impressed upon me that it is a good trade when we bring our frustrations to Him in exchange for His peace.  So I shared it with others.  And then came the object lesson.  I had been working very hard on a new batch of my mosaic clay crosses for an upcoming craft show.  They are a little labor and time intensive so I was only able to get about fifteen of them completed.  And I had favorites, a beautiful purple and lavender one and a gorgeous green.  The story behind these crosses is that when we bring God all of the pieces of our life, the pretty ones and the broken ones, He makes something beautiful out of them.  I stored them on the table in my home studio and late in the evening, just before bedtime, my cat became overly curious exploring the table and knocked five of them off the table, including my two favorites, and three of them were destroyed. As you probably have suspected, my two favorites were in those destroyed and boy was I ever frustrated.  “All that hard work, all that lost income, all that waste” were the thoughts that began to run through my head. The irony of broken crosses designed to show how God transforms brokenness into beauty stung me just a bit. 



And then God so graciously reminded me of that very thing He’d impressed upon me earlier that same day, “Bring me your frustrations, exchange them for my peace.” I don’t know about you, but sometimes the concepts are so much easier to grasp for me than the practical applications are.  So God gives me a chance to practice what He has taught me.  His peace can accomplish so much more in our lives than a temporary frustrations ever could.  By trading those in for His peace, we are trading sorrow and anger for joy and hope. I would much rather walk out my days in the latter.

My prayer for you this week is that you will see opportunities to exchange your frustrations for God’s peace, that you will hear the lessons He has for you to learn, and when given the opportunity to put those into practice, you will be able to do so easily.

Many Blessings,
Cherry Fargo

cherryscreations.etsy.com
12:30 AM | Category: , , , , , , , | 1 comments

Monday Devotion - Peace In the Midst
As I write this post on Sunday evening the television is 
broadcasting horrible images of tornado damage in the heartland
of the United States.

I've never actually seen a tornado in person.
I hope that I never do.
But, with technology today we can get a closer look
than ever before.

The Bible refers to many storms.

There was poor Jonah...
on his way to escape a direct command from God
when a huge storm got in the way.
Oops!
Wrong move, Jonah.
That cost him three days in the belly of a fish
AND he still had to complete the mission.

(Perhaps we should learn from this lesson)

Paul was shipwrecked in a storm
that probably should have taken his life.
But he survived to minister some more.

Jesus calmed a storm with a very simple 
instruction.....He spoke, it obeyed.

Storms.
They are a part of our reality.
Both the kind with wind and rain
and the kind that happens in our hearts 
when our marriages struggle, 
our children wander or 
we suffer a job loss.

But here is another reality.
Something we observe in the storm "stories"
we read in the Word of God.

As powerful as these storms are,
HE is more powerful.

As alone as we may feel in the midst of the storm, 
we are not alone.
He is there with us.

Storms tend to cleanse the atmosphere.
They leave behind brilliant sunshine and often times 
stunning rainbows.
One of the best known storms of our world history
occurred pretty early on.
Only Noah and his family survived that one to see
the rainbow promise.

Storms in our lives may make us doubt our ability to go on.
We may be panicked like the disciples in the boat before Jesus miraculously
appeared to them as He walked on the waves.
However, Since we know that God is unchanging we must
believe that just as He walked to the disciples in that storm
He will walk with us in our troubled times.

I'm sure we will all be in prayer for those who have lost 
so much in the tornadoes referenced at the beginning
of this post.
Also, we continue to pray that the people of the Philippines 
will be able to get the help they need both physically 
and spiritually after the typhoon that was so 
decimating. 

Even so, let us pray for those around us who are 
enduring storms of emotion or life events.

May we always remember that none of this catches our 
Heavenly Father by surprise.
And He is way more powerful than the strongest 
of those storms.
He is at work in every situation.

Hugs,









6:09 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , | 2 comments

Sunday Scripture - Perfect Peace
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV)

Have a blessed Sunday!
8:04 AM | Category: , , | 5 comments

A Time of Thoughtfulness
Wall Art by PlumPixel

In the United  States we have just completed celebrating Thanksgiving... and have been trudging through Black Friday (the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season) and Cyber Monday.  Our society puts huge focus on shopping aspect of Christmas and we all want to get the best bargain we can. In order to do that, people stand in line for hours. In recent years the stores which are competing for the most money and the first customers have started having  Black Friday on Thanksgiving evening. And there have been incidents of physical violence to get those deals.

I do try to take advantage of the sales but I found most can be gotten online with free shipping.  Much easier to handle!  Though I have to say it still took me hours to find what I wanted and check out because my ordered disappeared at least twice!
Card from Ambrosium

Another major event starts right after our Thanksgiving is Advent. Though I come from a religious background that celebrates Advent, I personally have not given it much thought. Today in pondering what to write about, my thoughtlessness of Advent weighed on me.

If I am to do, whether in word or deed, everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, I should be focusing on Him daily not just in Advent.  Do I strive for that on a regular basis? Yes.  Do I achieve it? No. 

Scripture Art by KWhiteselCreations
During these next 4+ weeks I plan to commit to be thoughtful of God's incredible gift of eternal life through Jesus. During this time I put extra work into decorating my house for Christmas. I put extra care into getting the right gifts at the best prices.  Considering all that I do for the "event" of Christmas,  I want to challenge myself to put extra time into my daily Bible reading and into prayer...to challenge myself to not fret about the holiday and its trimmings but to be thoughtful to putting extra care into the heart of our Christmas blessing in Christ.

I know our CAST Team prayer list is full of many great needs but during this season my heartfelt prayer for each of you (and myself) is that the peace of God would rule your heart and that which Paul stated in Colossians 3:17:

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


God bless,
Phyllis

pfdoriginalartworks



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Sunday Scripture - Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13 (NIV)



Hope -- Personalized Stamped Wire Wrapped Ring Sterling Silver Button
by Holmes Craft Jewelry Design
Handmade Joy Card Pink and Green
by Cards by Carla

Peace - Sterling Silver - Cherry Rose Quartz (glass)
by Joy Belle Hand-stamped Custom Jewelry


Happy Sunday!
Melanie/Beads-N-Style
9:57 PM | Category: , , , | 10 comments

Sunday Scripture - John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I leave unto you.... " John 14:27



Peace... that only Jesus can provide.

Peace... that comforts every need and calms every fear.

Peace... a priceless gift from our Lord and Savior.

Praying for a peace-filled Sunday for all!
Happy Sunday!
7:37 PM | Category: , , | 10 comments

Thankfulness
by Phyllis Ducey
pfdoriginalartworks


In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I like this holiday because it is not weeks of preparation and if you take the time, it is a wonderful time to reflect on all that you have. I like the idea of having a day to stimulate thought, though quite honestly in the U.S. I think most of us dwell on the menu and less on what we have to be thankful for. God commands us many times to be thankful or to have a sense of thanksgiving in everything... good or bad. He tells us that we will receive peace when we are thankful!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
This verse comforts me because it reminds me that God commands us not to be anxious. He is big enough to handle it all! But the reality is that I am a control freak and want to have it handled my way so instead of trusting God, I hold tight telling Him how it should be resolved. When I do this I begin stressing and becoming overwhelmed with life. Is that sin? I don't know but I do know it is not how God wants us to live.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Col 3:15
Trusting God, letting His peace rule within and letting go is what I am constantly striving to do. I found that at night as I start to fall asleep I can visualize in my mind taking the issue and handing it over to Christ. I state what it is and lay it as a package for Him to deliver the results. When I am done, I fall asleep... more and more I drift off prior to finishing my prayer list because I know He can handle it better than I can. And I know He knows what is weighing on my heart and those I pray for.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Col 4:2
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1
Waiting expectantly. I find that when I choose to do that - to be patient and watch and wait - the Lord answers my prayer in ways I could never imagine. So much better than what I would have told Him to do. This is always a work in progress for me. I still find myself explaining a situation (like He did not know all its details?) and stating what I think may work the best... then oops, I realize that is not what I should do so I quickly add "but Your will be done." Like that last tag along line is me giving it all over to Him?

It is the times when I am in prayer and dwell on who and how great our God really is rather than how big my problems really are that I truly am permeated with that peace. It is such a sweet peace... it truly is the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe Heb 12:28

If you have not felt that peace or if you haven't felt it recently, I challenge you to minimize your requests and maximize your God. Take your prayer time and spend a minimum of the first half of it dwelling on the greatness of your God and thanking Him for everything in your life and the world He created for us. Then wrap the rest of the requests in a package and lay it at His feet... trust... wait and watch. God is faithful and answers prayer!

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col 2:6-8

Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Here are some ways to express your thankfulness to others. Please take some time to check out these shops and how about making it an Etsy Christmas giving time?




Thank you cards by eyeletsagestudio












Season of love small ornament by elenaseasel















Family tree pendant by SissyPretties
















10:30 PM | Category: , , , , , , | 11 comments

Choices
by Phyllis Ducey
pfdoriginalartworks


Choices bombard us daily… we have hundreds of channels on our TV, (and have trouble finding anything good to view), thousands of songs to listen to and movies galore to watch. Did you ever go to a restaurant and be asked 10 questions before your order was complete? Sometimes I am dumbfounded by all the choices and want to say just give it to me, don’t make me choose!

I just heard a scientist state that a person averages 260 food decisions a day!

I can choose if I want brown hair or make it red; I can choose the color of my eyes if I wear contacts (which I don’t because it creeps me out to stick something in my eye); I can choose how I spend my money, what I listen to and what I eat. I can choose to let my bad mood affect others or keep it to myself. I can choose whether I will listen to someone, pretend to or just walk away.

Without even realizing it we are continually making choices. I choose to be on time for work, brush my teeth, put on makeup and wear clean clothes. (Sometimes choosing the clothes can be a challenge if I am feeling particularly overweight that day!) I choose to drive to work, listen to a radio station, and take stairs or the elevator. I never have tried to count but I would not be surprised if we did not make thousands of choices in a day!

Why did God not just give us parameters and tell us this is what we do and that’s it. Wouldn’t it have been easier? He could have made our world grey or black and white to simplify our choices. (Then we would not have lengthy discussion on what color to paint the walls!)

God gave us choices.
"If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15

We often hear it referred to as free will. He allows us to choose to ignore Him as the countries of Judah and Israel did in the times of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah.

He allows us to choose Him.
"but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
John 20:31

He is God and He allows us choice… wow! Isn’t that amazing? And He even allows us to think the right to these choices is something we deserve! We don’t… He is just an incredibly gracious God. I think about the privilege of choice a lot.

If I went to see my grandkids and they were told: “go hug your grandmother” and did it in a required manner without enthusiasm, it would have little meaning to me. But my grandkids (God bless them), when they see me, come running and screaming “Grammy, Grammy, Grammy” and jump into my arms …and the little ones plant themselves on my lap, putting their face right into my face wanting my undivided attention! Oh, my how rewarding that is. I love it and can’t get enough of it. (It could be the only earthly thing that is better than chocolate!) Maybe in some little way, that is why God gives us a choice. He wants us to choose Him... to want to be with Him... to relish our time and be sad if we can't spend more time with Him.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Rev 4:11 (KJV)

And us choosing to run to Him with our whole heart will bring Him glory and joy.

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
Deuteronomy 6:5
In return it brings us joy too. So, as I said in my post last week, Heavy Heart, our joy is a choice. I can choose to turn to God, to trust in Him or I can choose to do it my own way. I can choose to be thankful no matter what the circumstances or I can choose to be bitter within. I can choose to ruin everyone's day because I had something bad happen or I can choose to give it to God with thanksgiving and bless others. The choice is mine.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Phil 4:6,7

I was going to end there but wanted to add one more thing about choosing to give it to God with thanksgiving. That perplexed me for the longest time. I lost my best friend of over 25 years to cancer, how can I be thankful for that? It was a choice. To choose to trust that God will only allow into my life things that He will carry me through. To say to the Lord: “I am hurting. I can not carry this load but I know You can. I give it to You out of obedience to Your word”, thanking Him that He is in control. Thanking Him that He can use my pain and sorrow to mold and shape me into His piece of art. God has taught me how I can be thankful in my sorrow, pain and/or grief.
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Col 3:15,16

As I allow God's word to dwell richly in me, I know the choice is mine.


Below are some of our wonderful shops that give these items in choices of colors or?? Check them out to see what great choices they have. And don't forget to heart! We all love hearts!

10:30 PM | Category: , , , , , , | 9 comments