Tag Archives: Peace

THE ABUNDANT LIFE

December 2, 2013 7:15 pm , 4 Comments ,

John 10.10

During one of the hardest seasons of my life I learned the most about abundant living. My husband had been laid off from a good job, I was working tirelessly to make ends meet and life was very stressful. I wanted desperately for my circumstances to change.

While battling hardships and trials, I sought the Lord for the answers to my problems, and He diligently answered me. He led me to a Scripture in the Old Testament that jumped off the pages when I read it.

Deuteronomy 30:6 says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, and live.”

In these verses, I found the answer to what my heart longed to know. The word ‘circumcise’ is derived from a Latin word meaning, to cut. In the midst of excruciating trials, it felt like my heart was being circumcised. God was cutting away the things inside me that were hindering me from fully loving Him and fully living life. The process was, at times, excessively painful. But ultimately it led me to the abundance my soul was longing for.

Everyone wants to live abundantly. The Bible says that Jesus came to give us life, and to give it more abundantly (John 10:10). Yet how many people truly tap into the abundant life that Christ offers? Could it be the way we view our lives, or what we equate happiness with? For a season, I was seeking abundance in the wrong places, which led to more disappointment.

In God’s infinite grace, He took me through a season of testing because He wanted to lead me to the true source of abundance.

Are you in the midst of being pulled and stretched? Do you feel as though life is caving in around you?

To be rebuilt, a house needs to be torn down first. It can be an excruciating process. Do not lose heart. God is building a beautiful house out of your life. He uses every loss and every struggle for our good. Nothing He allows in our lives is in vain. He uses it all.

The things in my past, that were the hardest to endure, are what led me to the abundant life in Christ—a life of genuine joy and peace—that is not determined by things or circumstances.

Through the hardships, God gave me a new heart—a heart that rejoices because of His love.

It really is pure joy for a child of God to face trials because we know that no matter what is happening, Jesus is walking along beside us, carrying us, allowing us to bask in His great love at all times and in all circumstances.

Jesus is everything—when we know this, then we know that any other good thing we have in life is only the icing on the cake.

Lord, I thank You for the abundance of joy and peace that You give to us. Help us to look to You as our only source. Let us be content in all circumstances and know You are all we really need to live abundantly. I pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB)

This post has been revised and was originally written in 2008.

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SACRED MOMENTS SWINGING BY THE TREE

November 15, 2013 7:01 pm , 2 Comments ,

As a young girl, I lived next door to my grandparents for several years. Every day after school, I would spend the afternoons hanging out at their house. They lived on a beautiful piece of land in North Georgia surrounded by rolling cow pastures and mountains in the distance. The beauty at their house was magnified by the peace and serenity in the atmosphere.

As I grew older, I realized the peace at their home came from Christ and His presence. My grandfather, whom I called “Poppy,” was a praying man. He was left fatherless when his daddy died on his tenth birthday. Without an earthly father, he turned to his heavenly FATHER to fill the void in his life.

Poppy’s love for Christ influenced me.

Some of my greatest memories as a child are of the times I sat in a wooden swing that was positioned in front of a big old tree. I would sit for what seemed like hours with Poppy by my side, along with one of his cats nestled in between us. As the cat purred, and the old swing screeched in the wind, I could feel the Spirit of God and the peace that came from within Poppy’s soul.

I tasted the presence of God in those sacred moments swinging by the tree. My spirit was touched and a desire was born in my heart to seek after Christ—the one and only way to find true peace.

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

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Tree.” Today, it took me twenty extra minutes to write this piece. This post was written in loving memory of Alvin Harper (1916-2012).

The above photo of my grandfather’s swing was taken shortly after he passed away. I now have the swing at my house and will always be grateful for the legacy of prayer that Poppy left behind.

Five Minute Friday

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Five Minute Friday: Last

August 23, 2013 12:46 pm , 6 Comments ,

Amy's Pictures 934

I had heard people proclaim, “I’m mad at God!.” But I had never experienced it myself until one summer evening. I had felt abandoned by the Lord at times, but this was different. I laid my head on my pillow one night and said, “Jesus, I’m mad at You.”

There was a breakthrough I needed in my life and it just wasn’t happening on my time table. So I blamed it on God. After several minutes, I fell asleep.

I woke up eight hours later thinking, “How ridiculous for me to be mad at Jesus. He’s the only One who can truly rescue me. Being mad at Him won’t help anything.” Within minutes of waking, I prayed, “Lord, forgive me for my silliness. Please forgive me for being mad at You.”

Right there, while lying in my bed, I said, “Lord, I surrender everything to You.”

Previously, I had surrendered parts of my life to Him and had been following Him for years and years. This was different though. It was a defining moment for me. It was the last time I ever tried to do things without His help and guidance.

And guess what? I received the breakthrough I was waiting on within weeks. At last, my life was permanently on the course that leads to abundance and beauty, leaving disappointment behind forever. I realized the day I surrendered everything to my Creator that I am free at last to live in His abundant peace forever until Christ returns.

“The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (NASB)

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Last.”  Today, I wrote for about nine minutes, trying to find a good stopping point.

Photography Credit: Christa von Borstel

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THE JOY OF SIMPLE LIVING

June 27, 2013 4:03 pm , Leave a Comment ,

At a time when my life seemed overwhelming, I read an article in the Atlanta Journal about voluntary simplicity. It was a fascinating article featuring several families that chose to leave the rat race behind and live a simpler life like Jesus did. It inspired me greatly. It seemed impossible at the time because I had accumulated too much stuff after eleven years of living in the same house.

It was 1997 when I read the article and began focusing on getting rid of the unnecessary things in my life. Every year, I would clean out clutter by donating loads of stuff to thrift stores and selling some things. My goal evolved from living with less clutter to keeping only what a typical vacation home would have.

After spending many summers working on simplifying, I am reaping the fruit of my labor. Although, I am not 100% at my goal, my house is so easy to keep clean. I spend very little time looking for things, and I have so much more time to do what I love and enjoy.

I am free from letting my stuff define me. I have stepped away from the “more is better” philosophy of the Western world. I have a new mindset.

It’s so easy in America to fall into the trap of believing that happiness is attained through material possessions. Spiritually speaking, material stuff doesn’t do anything for our souls. Owning too much stuff can even stress and overwhelm us.

A simplistic mindset changes every aspect of life. It frees up our schedules. It makes relationships easier. It allows us to get more things accomplished. It frees us to enjoy God’s presence and the simple beauty of nature. Most importantly, it gives us more time to nurture our spirits. Simplicity changes everything.

In this chaotic world, when we take time to be still, Christ beckons us with His love to come and enter into His presence and enjoy His treasures. In the quiet moments, I can hear Him whispering, I have all that your heart longs for. In Me, you will find treasures that cannot be lost or stolen. In Me alone, you will find perfect satisfaction.

We can’t take our stuff with us when we pass on. So why not spend most of our time investing in eternal treasures? No matter how much others are reveling in their material possessions, there is freedom in knowing that happiness grows from within the spirit.

I believe following Christ and living a simple life go hand in hand. There is truly abundant joy in simple living. I pray that you will find peace and contentment in Christ alone.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. Matthew 6:20

 

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New Life

June 1, 2013 10:44 pm , Leave a Comment ,

 

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The beauty in nature speaks to my soul deeply. The day lilies are in full bloom in my yard, and they are stunning.  I spent some time this afternoon tending to my flowers. While pulling the dead blooms off, I began pondering how God is so good at removing the splinters in my heart—He takes away those things that deaden my spirit.

I could hear His soft words in my heart.

“Your heart comes more alive each time you allow me to purify it. In Me, You are able to grow more beautiful. Come to Me and allow My healing balm to give you new life every day.”

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During the times I’ve had hurt hidden deep inside, God has come and healed me as I released it to Him. Unresolved hurt left untended robs my spirit of joy and peace. Years ago, I discovered that as I allow the Lord to tend to my heart the way I tend to my yard, that He’ll keep it pure.

How about you? Have you felt God’s healing balm working on your heart lately? Jesus is the One who heals broken hearts. When my heart was hurting, I bowed down before Him and prayed, Lord, please heal my hurt; please take away this ache in my soul and fill me with Your peace. He answered the cries of my heart and replaced my pain with His beauty.

Trying to soothe hurts with alcohol, with drugs, busyness, or any other thing doesn’t work. It might feel a little better temporarily. But the hurt is still there. It’s only a temporary fix. Jesus offers a healing balm that brings abundant new life that’s beautiful and eternal.

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“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (ESV)

Photography Credit: Michael von Borstel

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