Do you want Peace in Your Life?

“Do you want Peace in Your Life?” This is what the Lord seemed to be asking me, today, as I listened to a Daily Devotional I try to hear each morning when I get up.  I put it on the computer and then listen while doing the “early morning, getting ready for my day,” type of stuff.  HERE is the link to the one I listened to today.

It talked about the belligerence that seems to be getting more and more common… road rage, etc. and what God says I can do about it to have peace in MY heart as I walk through this life.  He uses and IF – THEN statement.  This is common terminology in the computer world…  IF such and such happens, THEN this will happen.

The verses that “Our Daily Bread” gave are found in Philippians 4:4-9. (Scripture below) First, it says to Rejoice in the Lord, ALWAYS.  I thought, that means for me to keep my eyes on Him so that I can see all that He has done, and IS doing in my life… the blessings I have.  Each time I focus on those blessings, I can rejoice.

The next verse says to be gentle (that’s the only way others will see that gentleness IN me), and I CAN do that if I KNOW that He is “at hand,” and right there with me.

Then God tells me to not worry, but to be talking to Him constantly about everything… asking, and thanking Him because I know He is faithful to answer in the ways that are BEST for me.  That CAN mean “wait for HIS perfect timing…” but trust that He knows what is best better than I know what is best for me.  I am His child and like a little child that wants candy and THINKS that is BEST for him/her, the parent really knows what is best and that might be candy as a treat, but generally, it is more like vegetables or fruit. (Pout!)

IF I am constantly in communication with Him, AND trusting Him to be working everything out for my BEST, THEN the Peace of God, in times of crisis will flow over me, so that others that are watching won’t understand it.   This Peace (from a consistent relationship) will guard my heart and mind because I know Christ Jesus is with me.  After all, He loved me enough to pay for MY sins with HIS blood!

Lastly, in verse 8, God tells me that there are things I need to do to help my mind to stay healthy.  Another computer thing is GIGO.  Garbage In, Garbage Out!  I NEED to make sure what goes into my mind is NOT garbage, but things that lead to gentleness and kindness.

I need to put things that are TRUE (what God says is TRUTH), things that are noble, and just and pure into my mind.  Think about lovely, beautiful things and things that are good and happy, and virtuous… things I can Praise God for… THESE are the things I should be filling my mind with most of my day. 

When I see sad and awful things, I need to take them in through my senses, but let them go OUT again through the flow of my mouth and mind and into GOD’S hands, through prayer, because HE can handle them.  He may use me to handle some of them, but He doesn’t want ME to take on the weight of the world, just whatever tasks He gives me, and He promises that those things will be light and not terribly burdensome because He shares the load (taking most of it.)

Yep… He keeps finding ways of reminding me of these things all the time, as I walk this road with Him.  I wish I weren’t so forgetful!  :)

Philippians 4:4-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things

  
⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Young Women of Virtue… Abigail

I have been following an amazing young teenage woman that has a LOT of Godly wisdom. Her name is Abigail, and her blog is called, “Young Women of Virtue.” This is her header...


I just finished reading a blog post of hers that I wish every young woman would get a chance to read. This would also be great for a person who teaches young women (teens) to teach to their class. The name of the post is “Role Models: Hollywood or Rebekah and Abigail." Here is an excerpt of this post, showing one of the Bible verses she uses…

Proverbs 31:30 "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." Today, I looked up the definition of favor in the strong's exhaustive concordance, it translates as follows: grace, charm, elegance, and strangely enough, acceptance. How interesting. So, the bible clearly tells us that seeking after "acceptance" is deceitful. That's worth saying again! Wanting to be accepted or popular is deceitful!

This young woman tells it the way God’s Word does, and I HIGHLY recommend this post!

P.S. My grand-nephew, Brady, is home from the hospital. The tests for Cystic Fibrosis and for that deep Pulmonary virus, RSV came back negative. He will have to go down to UCLA for Neurological tests to see what is causing the seizures. Praise God that the tests have all been negative, and please continue to pray that it was the fever that caused the rest of his problems. My niece is so glad to be home. We thank you all so much for your prayers for Brady and his family!


This is the second of her children that has had some serious problems. One of her daughters (6 years old) has Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, which translates to a piece of her brain isn't developed or isn't there. This is truly a MIRACLE CHILD that has been through a lot, but God's grace has brought her MUCH farther than the Doctor's ever gave hope for! She can walk and talk, and is attending regular classes at this time with just a little extra help... This is through God's touch and the unending hard work of her mother and grandmother (my sister). This is a picture of her when she was going through a LOT of pain. She was around 2 years old, and was already praying beautiful prayers!

Father, Forgive them...

“Father, Forgive them for they know not what they do…” I have heard these words that Christ spoke, taught on many times before. I’ve always heard it said that Jesus was speaking of the people that crucified him when he spoke those words. My son and I were talking about this today, and he said that he wonders if maybe Christ, who the Bible says died for ALL men’s sins, wasn’t thinking about ALL men at that moment. (You may have heard or thought of this before but I hadn't)

As I thought about that, I occurred to me that it would make sense. When He said those words, THEN, He was thinking about each of US… those He knew that would be born and accept Him and what He was doing for us. God says that “while we were still sinners, Christ loved us enough to die for us.”

Before we REALIZED that we were sinning, and before we repented and asked for His forgiveness and accepted His free gift of life, He prayed to the Father… “Forgive them… For THEY know NOT what they do.” There will never be a GREATER love for each of us! Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice, and Thank You, God, for your love for me, and for those I love.

Depression and Praise…

I used to have a problem with depression, and sometimes, it still tries to sneak up and grab me, especially around this time of year, but I have learned a few ways to fight it that work very well for me. They work fastest if I activate them before I get down to far because then I don’t have to climb very far to get back out of the hole.

I try, whenever I feel it coming on, to find funny things to watch or listen too, preferably Christian comedians like Ken Davis or Chonda Pierce. If you haven’t heard of either of these, you are really missing out on some GREAT stuff. They are really funny, but they also help you to see how God can work in any situation… they build your faith and give you hope. Laughter truly IS medicine for me. (Proverbs. 17:22)

I also listen to Praise Music and let it just wash over my soul. Sometimes, I NEED to be able to cry to let out my emotions, and just knowing (being reminded by the music) that God loves me even in the hardest times, gives me that “rope of hope” that helps me to be able to start climbing up. (Ps. 45:8)

God, in the Bible, speaks of the “sacrifice of praise…” and sometimes, when I’m really down, it IS hard to force myself to turn to God and search for things that I can praise Him for. Even if it doesn’t seem to be much at the moment, I can praise Him for things in the past that He has done for me, and I can praise Him that He paid the price of sin for me and THAT will eventually get me into heaven.

The music will often lead me to a place where my soul comes to an oasis of peace, and I can grow stronger in faith, which also helps me to climb further out of the pit. (Heb. 13:15 & 20-21 AND James 5: 13-16)

Sometimes, I read in Psalms and His Word seeps into my soul and brings peace. I also speak scripture verses and stand on God’s promises for I’m told that if I resist Satan, he has to flee from Christ who is in me… (Examples: “Greater is He that is in me, than he who is in the world…” I John 4:4 AND “God has NOT given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind…” 2 Tim. 1:7)