"Just a little peace, patience, and prayer" said with a Taylor Grace Craig distinct southern accent. Not sure why when I thought of this blog post, Taylor Craig's accent is what I heard when I started with that phrase in mind. No, Taylor has never said this to me so not sure why she is the one whose accent I have applied to this...haha. Peace, patience and prayer...It seems like in the past few months these three words have played a significant role in my life and constantly reappear to remind me about the power of faith. While I think those three words in that order have a nice ring to it, in all actuality it's been more like prayer, patience, and peace.in that specific order.
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."-1 Chronicles 16:11
My heart has been full of prayer here lately and for all sorts of things from get well thoughts, sympathy, healing, guidance, prayed for my students taking exams, prayed that God would keep loved ones safe, and that all fire alarms sometimes provide their own routine tests at 4 a.m. even though you search your house over to find no smoke or fire. (Wanted to end on a sort of humorous note.Yes, imagine me in my pajamas running through my house in a panic trying to figure out what was going on.) But in all seriousness, I am constantly amazed at the power of prayer. I wish I could list all of the countless examples of God answering prayers in not only my life but my friends as well. Some of the stories would leave you speechless which is why I find comfort in praying. I recently prayed for God to please show me guidance on what I should do, and the next day I got a sign or what I think was a sign. In this case, it was something that I had been praying about for a long time and even though it did not happen instantly, but I still think it was pretty neat that my plea to show me some type of guidance led to a sign. In all of my stories and prayers, there are two other very valuable components in which I also prayed for.... patience and peace.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."- Philippians 4:6
Patience has been a topic of previous blog posts and we know that sometimes this is not my greatest characteristic. However, I think this is an area that God has really been pushing me to work on. Patience to understand that in everything He and only He knows the time schedule. As humans, we are so easily influenced and come up with our own time schedules for how things should happen. Remember that "Where Will i Be 10 Years From Now" poster you completed in 8th grade??? Yes, I think God must have laughed when He looked at my poster. He had a different plan, and I am really thankful He had a different plan. The things I have experienced and the goals I have accomplished were not on that poster. I am also pretty sure that I will never be married to Brad Pitt, who was my husband on that poster. I don't think Brad has an interest in agriculture or would ever want to live in North Carolina preferably no farther than an hour from my parents anyway. I often ask God to make me realize that patience is a virtue. Patience allows us to learn more about ourselves and strengthens our faith. So yes, I have been and am constantly reminded that patience is a much needed skill in all aspects of life.
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."-Isaiah 26:3
As we think about why we pray, it's often to give us a sense of peace. While this is one of the desired outcomes, I admit that sometimes I pray but I still worry or try to find my own way of solving a situation instead of being at peace with what His plan is for me. We do not always understand His plan, but we must seek to find peace in situations. When we turn things over to God (like completely throw your hands up in the air and say if its meant to be you will make it happen) AND then allow Him to handle it, there is a sense of peace that comes over you. Now that sense of peace is dependent on many other things, but turning it over to Him is a key step in happiness.
In the end the greatest happiness comes from those situations where we practice prayer, patience, and peace. We must not always seek to plan our own journey, but instead allow God to be our road maps, complete with rest stops, and good directions from the clerk at the convenient store (def. not mapquest). The Bible serves as our road map, prayer provides us to rest and refocus, and those good directions are the people you surround yourself with. My heart is happy when I start and end my day with prayer and throughout my day seek the patience and peace that is so frequently illustrated in countless stories throughout the Bible. I pray that whatever you are going through that you will seek peace and patience through prayer and that it will be provided to you.
As always thank you so much for reading! This blog has allowed me to pursue my passion for devotional writing and I appreciate each of you supporting my journey and faith.
Hope you have a great rest of your week! Faith... Patience.. Love... Joy
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."-1 Chronicles 16:11
My heart has been full of prayer here lately and for all sorts of things from get well thoughts, sympathy, healing, guidance, prayed for my students taking exams, prayed that God would keep loved ones safe, and that all fire alarms sometimes provide their own routine tests at 4 a.m. even though you search your house over to find no smoke or fire. (Wanted to end on a sort of humorous note.Yes, imagine me in my pajamas running through my house in a panic trying to figure out what was going on.) But in all seriousness, I am constantly amazed at the power of prayer. I wish I could list all of the countless examples of God answering prayers in not only my life but my friends as well. Some of the stories would leave you speechless which is why I find comfort in praying. I recently prayed for God to please show me guidance on what I should do, and the next day I got a sign or what I think was a sign. In this case, it was something that I had been praying about for a long time and even though it did not happen instantly, but I still think it was pretty neat that my plea to show me some type of guidance led to a sign. In all of my stories and prayers, there are two other very valuable components in which I also prayed for.... patience and peace.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."- Philippians 4:6
Patience has been a topic of previous blog posts and we know that sometimes this is not my greatest characteristic. However, I think this is an area that God has really been pushing me to work on. Patience to understand that in everything He and only He knows the time schedule. As humans, we are so easily influenced and come up with our own time schedules for how things should happen. Remember that "Where Will i Be 10 Years From Now" poster you completed in 8th grade??? Yes, I think God must have laughed when He looked at my poster. He had a different plan, and I am really thankful He had a different plan. The things I have experienced and the goals I have accomplished were not on that poster. I am also pretty sure that I will never be married to Brad Pitt, who was my husband on that poster. I don't think Brad has an interest in agriculture or would ever want to live in North Carolina preferably no farther than an hour from my parents anyway. I often ask God to make me realize that patience is a virtue. Patience allows us to learn more about ourselves and strengthens our faith. So yes, I have been and am constantly reminded that patience is a much needed skill in all aspects of life.
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."-Isaiah 26:3
As we think about why we pray, it's often to give us a sense of peace. While this is one of the desired outcomes, I admit that sometimes I pray but I still worry or try to find my own way of solving a situation instead of being at peace with what His plan is for me. We do not always understand His plan, but we must seek to find peace in situations. When we turn things over to God (like completely throw your hands up in the air and say if its meant to be you will make it happen) AND then allow Him to handle it, there is a sense of peace that comes over you. Now that sense of peace is dependent on many other things, but turning it over to Him is a key step in happiness.
In the end the greatest happiness comes from those situations where we practice prayer, patience, and peace. We must not always seek to plan our own journey, but instead allow God to be our road maps, complete with rest stops, and good directions from the clerk at the convenient store (def. not mapquest). The Bible serves as our road map, prayer provides us to rest and refocus, and those good directions are the people you surround yourself with. My heart is happy when I start and end my day with prayer and throughout my day seek the patience and peace that is so frequently illustrated in countless stories throughout the Bible. I pray that whatever you are going through that you will seek peace and patience through prayer and that it will be provided to you.
As always thank you so much for reading! This blog has allowed me to pursue my passion for devotional writing and I appreciate each of you supporting my journey and faith.
Hope you have a great rest of your week! Faith... Patience.. Love... Joy