25 | Be @ Peace

Remember yesterday?  When we sat here in this corner of the blogosphere, but were simultaneously cozy in God's lap, looking at the world from a higher altitude? Remember that peace and calm and stillness?

What happened to your day after you floated down all gentle and serene?  I hope you were able to carry God's stillness with you, like a warm fuzz in your pocket.

I floated down, landed gently, buzzed here, zipped there, did errands, slid in a meeting between slices of commitments, returned home for a bit of rest.

That's when the wheels fell off my zen bus.

Background: I'm the kind of gal who likes a tidy house, a minimalist who gets bugged by clutter. When I'm worn out, I especially need a place where my eyes can rest without socks that urge, "Scoop me up!" Or papers that shout, "Process me!"  Or supplies that cry, "Slip me back into my proper place!"

Do you see where this is going?  Do you sense mom/wife crabbitude cranking up?

Instead of feeling like I could rest in my homey little nest, I got my undies in a bundle over this:

Arrgghhhhh!  Here, there, and everywhere.  All. the. time.

Which had me wanting to write a memo to my family.  Something along the lines of:

Dear Mr., Blondie, and BallBoy; 

I love you dearly.  Each one of you.  I love your hugs and laughter, your energy and sparks.  I adore who you are at the core and who you are becoming.  I cherish what you mean to our family, and I celebrate the way I see God shine through you every day. 

But I cannot stand the trail of clutter and crumbs and crap — yes, I'm saying the "C" word! — that you leave in your wake.  It's making me coo-coo for CocoaPuffs and you know I'm turning against sugared cereal, so that means I'm seriously crabby.  Crotchety.  Cantankerous. 

I've tried friendly notes and patient reminders and passive aggressive packing-up-junk-and-hiding-it away.  I've tried bribing and badgering and shouting and pouting.  But I am still looking at this junk. 

You've heard me say it before, but I'll say it again now, just in case this umpteenth time the message will cross the threshold of your attention and stick to your brilliant brains.  When you leave your dirty dishes, your messy paper scraps, your used kleenex lying around, it's like you are saying, "No problem.  Mrs./Mama has got this. She's our family maid.  What else does she have to do with her time?" 

Lots, people.  LOTS.   

So if you want me to continue doing the invisible things like meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, sanitizing, scrubbing toilets, picking up dog poop, managing the many-headed hydra that is our family calendar, sewing on Cub Scout patches, making lunches, braiding hair, scratching backs, and all those glorious things that fall under my Chief Sanity Officer of the Family Headquarters, I suggest you start picking up your stuff! 

From henceforth you are on double-not-so-secret-probation. If I do not see a considerable change in effort and clutter control, I will go on strike.  (Or I will go to a spa, whichever is more satisfying.)

With love, affection, squeezy hugs and big kisses,
Mrs./Mama

Really?  REALLY?

Oh, it felt good to draft that memo.  But just seeing my non-peaceful thoughts on the screen reminded me that my frustration is way out of whack.  Just walking into a couple other rooms and witnessing my own clutter set my bitterness back on its feet.

Ooops.  Guess those apples don't fall too far from the tree.

These are first world problems.  Minutiae in the whole scheme of things.  God certainly doesn't see any of this when he looks down on my home each day.  Where did my higher altitude, my better perspective go?

Time for some serious stillness.  Time for some powerful prayer.

Note:  If my clutter craze isn't your burden today, just fill in whatever is annoying the heck out of you in the following prayer.  And if your day is free from annoyances, praise God and pray for the rest of us!

Lord,

Are you laughing at me and my crazy crabbiness?  I'm sure I look pretty funny from where you are.  Help me to adopt your sense of humor, your understanding, your perspective, your unconditional love, because I don't want to be this maniac Mama and Mrs.

I want your peace.  

www.instapray.com

I want to see the world as you see it, looking for love to share and hurt to heal, seeing beyond the mess to where you can write your message.  

I want to ask you to help me ignore the distracting junk and clutter, or to patiently pick it up.  Pathetically, my heart isn't really behind that prayer yet.  Can you create in me a clean heart that doesn't obsess about cleanliness? 

illbeasunbeam.tumblr.com

Oh, Lord.  You see what the world gives to me, and you offer something so much better — your precious peace.  Lasting peace.  Understanding peace.  Peace that promotes loving kindness.  I need daily doses of your serenity and calm, and you always supply.  Thank you for taking the trouble out of my heart, for wiping away my fear and anxiety.  Thank you for clearing away that spiritual clutter so that your peace has room to breathe and stretch and dwell in my heart and all that I do.

The only clutter you care about is the stuff that gets stuffed in between me and you. Remind me  that annoyances will come and go, but people are gifts to be treasured. Help me to nurture my relationships with the lovely little (and big) mess-makers in my family.  Help me to nurture my relationship with you.

And when bitterness crowds my heart, when anxieties create angst, open my heart in prayer.  Coax me back to the sweet, still place where I can talk with you through my annoyances and to the other side of gratitude.  Place your peace in the center of my heart, and make it spread to my mind and my actions and my words.  

I'm going to linger here for a minute, Lord, soaking up the assurance of your peace. My words may fade away to quiet, but my soul will still savor your divine serenity.

Thank you for your precious peace.

Amen



There's more peace on the horizon, should you need it.

Jenn at
LittleHouseOnTheCircle.wordpress.com
is writing a 31 Days series on peace.

Jamie at
WritingInTheStillness.com
offers more peace through her series.

5 | Be Present

"Be Present" feels like a trending mantra.  At our house, we say it to the kids when they've reached their time limit on their digital devices.  Our kids say it to us when we are plugged in and tuned out.  All around the Internet I'm running into reminders to be mindful.  Engaged.  Thoughtful and attentive in relation to others.  

hellohappinessblog.com

plumprettysugar.blogspot.com

It's a common message in Jesus' teachings and his example as well.  He was so aware that he felt a woman touch his robe in hope of healing.  He was so attentive he noticed Zaccheus up in the tree and invited him down.  He was utterly engaged in his ministry, and he wanted the same for his friends.  

When Martha was physically, mentally, and emotionally distracted by her priorities, Jesus brought her back to the moment.

But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  Luke 10:41-42

He basically told her to shed the "shoulds" and take the earthly burdens off her shoulders.  Lighten the load and see the Light.  Be present.  Receive the gift of his presence.

"Christ in the House of Mary and Martha" by Vermeer

Of course, this is easier said than done, this being present challenge.  We increasingly live in a world where we are bombarded with information, ideas, and interruptions.  Our brains are trained to jump from one thing to another like puffy little tutu-ed poodles jumping through hoops and running in circles.  This morning, let's send those poodles out in the yard to play, while we set our hearts and minds on Jesus.

Capture & Clear Away the Mental Clutter

Before we even start a little quiet time, take a minute to list the things that are on your mind.  We can capture the "To Do" items and the worries on a physical or digital list, know that they are noted, and clear more bandwidth for truly centering on our Lord.  If other things pop up in your head during your quiet time, just add them to the list and refocus your attention.

Center the Soul

When I jump into quiet time without deliberately shifting my gears, I run into trouble.  I end up approaching Bible reading and prayer the same way I approach my other daily tasks: with a "Get 'er done!" attitude and energy.  So I have to get centered on Christ with a little prayer, borrowed from Isaiah 6:8.

"Here I am, Lord."

Here I am.  I have heard you call me into a moment of stillness with you.  And I gratefully, hungrily accept your invitation. Help me to quiet my mind, my body, my heart and my soul.  Help me to fully rest and rejuvenate in your love and grace.  Here I am, open to your word and your will for this day and every day.

h-o-r-n-g-r-y.tumblr.com

Catalog this Moment of Creation

You might read the Bible.  Or pray.  Or simply be aware of all that you have in this moment.  

For me, this morning, it's relishing the quiet, pre-dawn house, warm and comfortable and waiting a new day of our family's love and laughter.  It the whirring of this old laptop computer that is on its last legs but mercifully won't quit.  (Hang in there, sweet MacBook, until the budget allows for an upgrade!)  It's the pile of Cub Scout badges waiting to be sewn onto my son's new uniform, the dedication and enthusiasm he pours into this challenge and responsibility.  It's the aromatic reminder of my daughter's chocolate protein shake, last traces etched along the inside of the glass, along with her self-sufficiency in blending a semi-nutritious snack and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards!  It's the distant rumble of my husband's snoring as he sleeps in after a hard week's work and bouts of insomnia.  All these pieces of God's peace are a blessing I want to savor and praise.  

Thank you, Lord, for this exact moment.  Thank you for this gift of seeing things, not as tasks to be done, but as mementos of your gifts.  Thank you for this moment of being present in your peace.  Amen.

Need more reminders to be present with God and not overwhelmed by the daily doings?

I love these monthly calendars with vibrant Bible verses.

lizzay.deviantart.com

And these messages...

www.pinterest.com/contrarymary

daughterbydesign.wordpress.com

And isn't this peaceful corner an invitation to be present?

lizmarieblog.com

Pause. Breathe. Rest.

image credit: shutterstock.com

It's ironic that one blogger's post about pausing her writing would lead me to restart my own blog after a "sabbatical" of nearly a year. The pause has been good to me, but more on that later.

This beautiful interpretation of Psalm 23 landed softly in my email inbox today, compliments of Claire Cassell, the Pastor of Spiritual Care at Prince of Peace Church in Minnesota, on the eve of her summer hiatus.

Sabbath Time for Busy People  

The Lord is my Pace Setter, I shall not rush,

He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,

He provides me with images of stillness,

Which restore my serenity.

He leads me in ways of efficiency,

Through calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,

I will not fret, for his presence is here.

His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,

By anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,

My cup of joyous energy overflows.

Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,

For He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,

He provides me with images of stillness,

Which restore my serenity.

He leads me in ways of efficiency,

Through calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,

I will not fret, for his presence is here.

His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,

By anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,

My cup of joyous energy overflows.

Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,

For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,

and dwell in his house for ever. 

23rd Psalm translated by Toki Miyashina

The unofficial theme of this week — our family's first "regular" week of summer after church camp and family vacation — has been relishing the fluid openness of this less structured season.  Loosely translated, that means "resting on our laurels." Putting aside the phone and the calendar.  Embracing what each moment brings.  And what joy these moments bring.

Impromptu gatherings with neighborhood kids.  Friends swooping by unexpectedly for a trip to the pool.  Long read-aloud book sessions.  Naps.  

It has been a sabbath from our schedule.  A slowness for our souls.

This slice of serenity dovetails nicely with a Bible verse I keep gravitating to this week.  

Colossians 3:15

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

God calls us to sabbath. To slow down. To pause in peace. To breathe God's beneficence. To rest. With him.  And in him. 

I pray that in this moment, each one of us feels God's call to be still. I pray that we can put this earthly busyness on pause and savor the goodness of this season that God gives. And as a result, may we have Christ's precious peace ruling in our hearts and overflowing into our corners of the world.

Peace and sweet sabbath to you and yours!

Parents:  If you are looking for some sane ideas for slowing down your summer with your kiddos, Shawn Fink at AbundantMama.com has wisdom for you here.  

29 | Making Ends Meet

Something interesting happens when you commit to praying publicly for 31 days.  You start to run out of ideas.  Sure, God doesn't mind if I pray about the same thing over and over again, but you, dear reader, just might!  So if you have a pressing concern pressing on your heart, pass along your prayer request.  I've got three more prayers to go and only one idea brewing...

Dear Lord, 

There seems to be a theme threaded through my October and my year:  making ends meet.  It's a common refrain in our household budget discussions.  It comes up frequently in conversations with close friends.  It's a popular topic throughout the media.  Sometimes I simply want to escape financial responsibility, ignore it, bury my head in the sand.

It's hard, this making ends meet.  It's a heavy weight to bear.  But bear it, we do, Mr. and I.  We are in an okay, albeit tight and careful, place.  For that I am grateful.  Help me to keep that positive perspective.  Help me to be resilient and creative when it comes to managing our resources.  Help me continue to be a cheerful giver, remembering the widow giving her last two coins out of enthusiastic faith and deep, abiding trust.

But that's not what this prayer is really about.  Today I want to lift up all those who have it harder.  God, help out:

• Friends who have taken financial and personal risks to start new businesses they are passionate about.  Bring them customers, clients, and lots of encouragement.  
• Friends who are in transition — between jobs with no assurance what the next job is, or between careers with slim opportunities in the chosen new career.  Give them faith when limbo looms large; give them trust in your answers and your timing.  
• Parents torn between wanting to stay at home with their children but facing the financial need to work outside the home.  Grant them discernment and wisdom to see the best options for their families, and peace with the decisions they make.  
• Friends stuck in homes they struggle to afford, friends struggling to sell their homes in a sluggish market.  Give them patience, perseverance, and a path to smoother finances. 
• Friends burdened with debts that erode their income with interest and their souls with gnawing, nagging worries.  Lift up their heavy hearts, and help them see a way out of their financial struggles.

Lord, you are with us always, in calm waters and storm-torn seas.  Thanks for sticking by us in the struggles we face.  Please do whatever you can for those in dire financial straits.  Give them comfort and peace, resources where they thought they had run dry, and hope for a brighter tomorrow. 

Amen.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

May you see God's generous supply for all your needs today and every day.

14 | Peace Redux, or Irritable Mom Syndrome

Yeah, it's only been two days since I posted about peace, but I clearly need more help in this area.  I am so glad our God has oodles of patience, and then some!

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. 

Romans 7:22-25 (MSG)

Dear Lord,

Hi.  It's me again.  I am praying that you will set things right in me, again.  I'm asking for help embracing your peace... again.  I know I had some of your peace around here somewhere.  But I've misplaced it.  Maybe it is with my favorite pen and my son's Indiana basketball shorts (no, this Badger fan did not throw them out!) and all kinds of things that get sucked into the mysterious black hole in our house.  Regardless, I need your help.

I slept poorly last night (though I'm grateful that is a rarity over the past couple weeks).  I didn't get a walk in this morning (but I thank my Mr. for taking the pooch out so I could snooze a little longer).  A certain dog-walking-hubby commented on my focus on Sudoku instead of the rest of the paper, setting of some latent guilt for not being more current on current events (and yet, having a lively mind that can work through a puzzle — in pen no less — is a good thing).  

And that's all it took for me to slide down into Irritable Mom (and wife) Syndrome.  Hounding happy kids to stay focused on breakfast.  Growling instead of laughing at Mr.'s jokes.  Barking at the dog glued to my side all morning.

Where was Wednesday's peace?  Where was yesterday's joy?  Aaaarrgghhhhhh.  Why can't I get it right for two days in a row?

Lord, forgive me.  Wash away the sin of my crabbies.  Clear my conscience of the guilt and frustration over setbacks.  All of this is so minor, but I don't want the minor to snowball into major ickytude, and I know that's where this will head if I don't pray about it now. 

The other day I prayed for peace in my home, in our world.  Feeling relatively peaceful, I prayed to share peace with others.  Today is different.  Today I need that peace.  And I know where I can find it, God.  In you and you alone.  Help me to be still.  Help me to tune into you.  Help me to dump my junk and take up your grace.  Write peace in permanent marker all over my heart, my words, and my actions.  Please.  So that I may be pleasing to you, and to those in my midst.

I'm hearing your call to pick up the Bible.  And slow down.  And breathe in the reassuring peace of your Living Word.  Thank you, Lord, for inviting me to live in close with you.

Amen.

I pray that peace is huge in your heart today.  And if it is not, I pray you find some time with God to get it back.

12 | Instrument of Peace

Dear Lord,

Everywhere I look, I find examples of stress, tumult, violence.  We live in a world torn and weary, desperate and struggling.  We need your peace.  Please play your peace on our hearts.  Soothe our scarred souls with your sacred song.

 

An Instrument of Your Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace today.  When sibling squabble, help me to lead them back to love.  When bullies torment, help me to build bridges of understanding.  When stress strangles, give me words of comfort and hope.  When anger boils over, show me how to put out the fire and pull pardon out of the ashes.

In all those areas I do not reach in my daily doings, I pray for your peace.  In our inner cities burdened with poverty, violence, drugs, despair.  In our struggling schools battling apathy, unfunded mandates, and increasingly diverse needs that outweigh ever-diminishing resources.  In war-torn countries.  In regions that don't respect everyone's civil rights.  In homes violated by domestic violence.  In hearts ravaged by mental illness.  In hospitals that cannot heal every hurt.

Oh, Lord, these cries for peace overwhelm me.  There is too much pain in this world.  Help me to remember that I can make a difference — a small but important difference — by embracing your peace and sharing it with those in my midst.  Help me to soothe my small corner of the world with your serenity.  Make your peace in me be contagious, catching on and calming those around me.  May these ripples of your redemption radiate and reach and relax so many stressed-out souls.  Breath by slow breath, pardon by pardon, hope by hope, prayer by prayer, may your peace conquer all.

Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7 (AKJV)

Where did you find peace today?  Embrace God's serene grace, and pass it on.

11 | FaithFULLness

"I believe; help my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24b (NIV)

Lord, 

I love you.  I am so grateful to be a child of God, forgiven and set free.  I want to trust you in all that I do, in all that I dream.  I want to live my belief in you, of you, with confidence, joy, and hope.  I want to... but sometimes... too often... I fall into unbelief.

I believe, and I don't believe as much as you deserve.  How can these opposites coexist?  Or are they are not so far apart?  Perhaps my belief and my unbelief are entwined like strands of DNA, creating a code for my faith.  Perhaps twists of unbelief underscore my need to trust you, the blessings of trusting you.  Perhaps these turns of doubt are the negative image that outlines the positive peace of abiding in you, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Lord, help my unbelief.  And use it to remind me to return to you.  For that is where I want to be: trusting in you, living out my gratitude for your grace. 

I see the bare cross, but it is not barren.  It carries our sins, forgiven and forgotten.  It bears new life in Christ.  It shapes the "t"s that bookend trust — trust in you, the God who gave up everything out of love for us.  It points to heaven, pointing to the promise of eternal relationship with you.  Lord, you have given me the gift of Christ's death and resurrection.  May my response — my thanks — be a trusting, believing walk with you, today and every day.

"Genuine faith walks steadfastly with God for the pleasure of His company not for His results."

Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit

Lord, your faithfulness knows no end.  Your constant presence and goodness is a comfort always.  Your unconditional love clothes the conditions of earthly living with joy and peace.  Great is your faithfulness, which makes my life full.

Help me to lean into your faithfulness, to learn from your faithfulness.  Shape my faith with your Holy Spirit and grace.  Be my sight when I cannot see, my strength when I cannot stand, my hope when my spirits sag.  Be my light, leading me always and shining through me for others.  Make me full in your faithfulness, in my faith in you.

Amen.