Plans for Peace

     I have a little bit of catch up to do regarding our lives the past several weeks.  We celebrated Sweet Sixteen, Double Digits, and the Birth of our King!  I have many pictures to post, but right now, I have another thought that is burning in my heart, mind, and soul.  So check back later for a recap of our Birthday Celebrations!

     I wanted to write this entry for many reasons.  First and foremost, I wanted to write this so that I can see the hand of God working specifically in my life and in the lives of my family.  Secondly, our goal this new year is to follow God wherever He takes us and to follow Him wholeheartedly.  We so desire His will for our lives and while we do not always see where He is taking us, knowing that He is the One doing the leading brings a calm over our lives. 

     2011 is going to be a HUGE year of change.  It is odd to sit on this side of change.  Usually, the change occurs and I scramble on the backside of it trying to figure out what to do with my present circumstances.  I so want to be walking hand-in-hand with God this year. This time around, I don't want to be "caught" by change.  I don't want to see it coming and dig my heels in at my present state of mind and place.  Instead, I want to recognize that change is on the horizon, and run head strong to it.  I want to be equipped with knowledge, the love of Christ, the full armor of God, but most of all, the peace of the LORD.

     Our family has decided to claim Jeremiah 29:11 as our verse for 2011.  It states, 

        "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

     I have repeated that verse so many times in the past few days, saying the "I" in a deep, God-like voice and shouting out the "declares" part because it is God demanding of me recognition that HE is in charge.  Oh, how I need the reminder that I am not.

     I told my David last night that I was adding that what I also want is to find peace in the moment.  He said, "sounds very yoga-ish.  Very Zen."  ( I had just returned from a yoga class.)  Maybe it does.  However, the "peace in the moment" thought came to me as I was praying on the way back from aforementioned yoga class.  I kept asking the LORD, "How do I trust You in all of my Stefi-ness when the change is swirling around me and chaos abounds?"

     And in the quiet of my spirit I heard, "Find peace in the moment."  I repeated the words outloud, and wouldn't you know, I did feel peace.

     During the middle of the night, I woke many times, my mind racing with thoughts, to-do lists, chaos, and what-ifs.  On most other nights, I would toss and turn a bit and then roll over and ask my David if he was awake! :-)   But last night, I whispered, "find peace in the moment" and my soul calmed down.  The lists, while still there, seemed to settle themselves.  It was if God was trying to tell me ever so gently, "I've got it and I've got you.  Find peace in this moment.  You will be able to deal with the lists in the morning."

     And He is right.  Here I am.  My lists abound, my thoughts and what-ifs still crowd my head.  But somehow, it all seems less chaotic.  I have even had time to write this entry.  I have had a chance to meditate on the word, "peace".  I was able to find that "peace" is uttered 249 times in the Bible.  I even found another verse that I like so much, I am adding it to the "Verse of the Year!"  2 Thessalonians 3:16 states, 

     "Now may the LORD of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way."  

     Did you get that?  God is the LORD of Peace and He gives peace - or Himself- as a gift, at all times and in every way!  Peace is ours for the taking!  I looked up the word "peace" in my concordance for the translation of this particular word.  Here are the definitions:

     "peace, harmony, tranquility, safety, welfare, health; often with an emphasis on lack of strife or reconciliation in a relation, as when one has 'peace with God'."

     Don't you just breathe a little easier when you read those words?  Maybe this is why He uttered to my soul, "Find peace in the moment!"  I decided to join the two verse together to see what they would look like...I don't think the LORD will mind.  They are, after all, His words!  Here's what I came up with.  I think I will commit it to memory!

     "For I, the LORD of Peace, know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, the Giver of peace at all times and in every way. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

     So when my world is in utter chaos and I am trying to come to grips with an impending move for our family, a new job for David, new schools for Ashlyn and Addilyn, unemployment for me (did I mention that I will NOT be homeschooling next year?!), I need to remember that God's got it.

     He has the plans for my future in His hands and the peace to go with it!