For He Himself is our peace

[Christ Our Peace] For He Himself is our peace - Ephesians 2:14a

I was so excited. I’d booked a post-Christmas/pre-New Year trip to Paris for a few days with my sister on a travel site. As of the time of writing this, our trip is scheduled for the 27th of December. About a week after making the payment I realised that my first name was missing from the booking so I checked on the British Airways website and learnt that only the travel agency could request my name change. So I contacted them on the 11th of December, and was told that it take 7 days to action my request. I called again on the 18th when I hadn’t heard back from the travel site, and was told by the travel agency that it’s actually 7 business days as the BA Trade Support office do not work on weekends, and that they were working on it. (Not true, by the way). Then I was told to wait another 2 days, which I did and surprise, surprise they didn’t contact me.

Then it was, “someone will call you in 4 hours”, then in “2 days” and then in “2 hours.” This went on, up until Friday, the 22nd. Meanwhile, BA told me that the only request they’d ever received from the travel agency came in on the 22nd. I’m sure you can imagine the level of my frustration. The final straw occurred that Friday, when someone at the travel agency came back to me saying that BA asked them to make the request again on Monday (Christmas day) as their systems were down! But I knew the BA Trade Support office would be closed on both Christmas and Boxing Days and my trip was the day after!

To some of you reading this, it does seem trivial. And in the grand scheme of things, it is. But in the moment I was really stressed about it as I would not be able to travel if my ticket and passport names don’t match. Anyway, in the early hours of Saturday (23rd), in those first few moments of lucidity, just as the realisation that this was the last day that this issue could be resolved I heard in my spirit the words from 1 Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

The words “…but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it” jumped out at me. And I felt a peace and assurance that everything would be fine. Regardless. And it all is. Sometimes we go through things that are beyond our control. Some big, some small. Some life changing, some not. There may be times when it seems like so many things are coming at you at once and you feel like life is dragging you around. Just as many families are revelling in festivities during this Christmas/New Year, there are many people facing many challenges. Jesus did say that in this life we would face trials, but that we should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Despite what we face, as believers in Christ we are assured that He will never leave us and that He would strengthen us and give us the grace we need to face life. He is our peace.

Ufuoma Daniella Ojo is a Software Training Manager and a Personal Performance Life Coach.

Over-Reacting

I am behind on my posting. And for that I am very sorry.

I have a constant twitch behind my right eyeball. It won't go away. I've tried using cold compresses, hot compresses, washing my eyelid with baby soap (Doctor's suggestion) and still, it twitches shut.
It's not that I am stressed. At least, I don't think I'm stressed.

Sure, I'm trying to do too much around here, I mean, we did move to a farm, we now have egg-laying hens, and hubby is building a greenhouse now while the sun shines, and I'm home-schooling again, and I have to take over all of the administration for our tree company...

How did I let life get so out-of-control?

I was actually at a point in my life where I was the 'be' person and not the 'do' person.  It was all about hanging out with the boys and enjoying good meals and resting.

Now it's all about vegetable gardening, and teaching, and cleaning, and building a chicken coop, and making sure we spend time with friends, and trying to keep a stiff upper lip about our new church.

How on earth did that happen?

Why did I let the guilt slip in of not doing enough?

How did I get to the point where I am constantly whispering, "Peace, Jesus, peace"...?

Life could be so much worse.

One year ago, today, I celebrated my birthday in Tennessee with amazing people because we were homeless. When we finally moved in, we agreed to cultivate relationships as much as we could.  And we have been.  Inviting strangers over for food and clay-shooting.  Making a point of having conversations with people at the Farmers' Market for the sake of beginning a relationship. Giving away produce to people who need it.  Trying my hardest to remain calm and smiling as the church ladies ignore me every Sunday.
Wow, I sound like a pitiful, whining martyr.

I'm not, you know. I think I'm just pooped. Wait, can I say that word on here?

I don't have any wise words or sage advice for you. Because I'm at a very weird point in my life that isn't familiar at all.  Wouldn't it be nice if sometimes we could go through certain scenarios again, just for the sake of being able to say, 'Oh, ok, I know how to handle this'.  It's very easy to forget who you are.
Sometimes we're all just muddling through and all I'm able to do is muddle.

So. As y'all as my witness, I'm going back to 'being', instead of 'doing'.  I think I will take a year off of entertaining people and maybe sleep more. See if we are invited anywhere interesting. Let people love on me for awhile.  Unless that's totally selfish. Is that selfish? See? Just muddling through, all confused and over-reacting and over-thinking.

So, to you sweet people who are muddling through, may I suggest to just whisper, "Peace, Jesus, peace". Because even if you aren't going through all kinds of awfulness, and no one is dying and there isn't a crisis, you can ask for peace when your brain is fuzzy and you can't remember where you left your wallet.

Even in silly, trivial times.

Now, go and 'be'.





Jenn Kelly is supposed to be a writer, but she hasn't written in ages because half the time she can't find her laptop.  She'd put up a photo but frankly, she can't find the hard-drive. Feel free to invite her for dinner.

Dropbox for writers

Hi! Lucy here. Today I want to share a useful tool I’ve found to help with my writing.

Dropbox

Available from www.dropbox.com, it is an online cloud storage facility … and yet so much more. Available across Mac, PC, Android, and iPhone platforms, this app can backup, sync, and share across all of these devices.

Here are some of the ways I use it for both writing and personal use:

To backup everything to do with my writing (this includes word docs, pictures, videos, Evernote notes, sticky notes etc. I collect), along with my entire Documents folder, iTunes and iPhoto folders. They all now live in Dropbox. This means that I can access a personal file from my Document folder while at the bank or while away from home, I can pull up my current WIP and keep working whenever I have 5mins spare from my phone or tablet, I can sync my music from my iTunes folder to my phone/tablet without having to physically hook the two up with USB cables etc.

Sync docs and photos to and from tablets/iPad’s without having to connect them. E.g., my daughter wants to do her PowerPoint presentation for school on her Android tablet and then either print it off or stick it on a USB stick (a problem because tablets don’t have USB slots). She can complete her work, save it to Dropbox, which I can then access on my MacBook Pro and print etc.

Store large amounts of photos taken by mobile phones etc. Early last year I went on a research trip to Winton and Augathella in outback Queensland. I took LOTS of photos with my HTC 1XL mobile phone. So many that I worried about running out of room on the internal storage…. But I had no problems because my phone automatically backs up to Dropbox. So as soon as it had synced I could delete them from my phone.

Share folders with family and critique partners. This is one of THE most useful parts of Dropbox: its ability to share folders. I have three shared folders—one with my critique partners (which we drop our docs we want critiqued, interesting research/craft stuff we find, etc. I also share one with my parents which makes sharing grandchildren photos MUCH easier. And then I share one with Dave, the love of my life. Documents, photos, videos etc that we need/want to share all go in that folder, which streamlines life for us.

Sharing files too large for an email or videos too big for a text message. This shares a file from a folder that isn’t shared, allowing the other person to see only that file and not the contents of the entire folder. I’ve done this on several occasions now. E.g.: I had a long video of my son riding a motorbike that I wanted to share with my sisters, but was far too large to send through a normal MMS/text message. No problem, I just shared the Dropbox link to that video through a text—which they could view on their smartphones quite easily.

Recoverable files. If I delete a file (like a book! Argh! And yes, I’ve done this—don’t ask!), or even just a picture, it’s recoverable. Dropbox doesn’t permanently delete a file until three months after I ‘delete’ it from my device. All I have to do is go online to my Dropbox account and restore that file to my folder.

I just love the peace of mind that having everything backed up with Dropbox brings. If my laptop dies/is stolen, then everything is safe in the cloud storage. I haven’t lost anything because it isn’t just on my laptop/tablet.

So, consider looking into using an online storage device like Dropbox (there are others out there, but I’m not familiar with them). It’s free, you get quite a few gig of storage, especially if you connect more than one device. I now have 77GB which I use seamlessly across my MacBook Pro, my Samsung tablet, daughter’s iPad, and my HTC phone.

Lucy Morgan-Jones is a stay-at-home mum to four precocious children by day and a snoop by night, stalking interesting characters through historical Colorado, and writing about their exploits.

She enjoys meeting new people from all over the world and learning about the craft of writing. When she can be separated from her laptop, she is a professional time waster on facebook, a slave to the towering stack of books on her bedside table, and a bottler, preserving fruit the old fashioned way so she can swap recipes and tips with her characters.

Her home is in Australia where she does not ride a kangaroo to the shops, mainly because four children won’t fit. ;)

Represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

Peace

"He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Ephesian 2:17-18

I love that word. Peace. It's so soothing. It settles the heart, it settles the soul. It makes your eyes close, your heart rejoice and your mind say 'yes'.
Those moments are really rare, aren't they?

With all of the awful things going on in the world, with all of the awful things going on in your world, in your home ... peace is almost elusive.  People ask, all the time, 'why'? 'Why did this happen, how could this happen, how am I supposed to heal after this?'

I am always reminded of the peace that Jesus wants for us. He didn't come to bring peace to our world, to end our wars, to stop the destruction and aimless killings that happen so frequently.  He came to bring peace to our souls. Our own personal peace.

The promise that regardless of what happens, He is in control and He has us in His big strong hands. He is the solid boat riding through reckless waves. He is the exit sign at the end of a long, dark hallway. He is eagle we rise up on when we are weak and weary.

Isn't it funny how hard it is to just let go? To just let go of all the craziness and allow God to just be in control? To let Him work it all out for His greater good?

I don't think there is even a single day where I think "wow, my life is boring."  My life is complicated all the time and the weirdest things happen all the time. Right now, our son just had his second concussion in 8 months. We put in an offer on a home that I was so sure it was to be ours, and they said no. I've had to give a five minute devotion/sermon to a seniors' home and I had no idea what to talk about.  I'm not sleeping well, I'm worried I may have to change my medication, I've been to too many doctors about my knee and there are no answers.

Oh, but the peace that comes with it. To just close my eyes again when the nightmares awaken me at 2am, and to just picture God and my hands clinging to His big strong arm and He reminds me over and over 'I've got you love'.  And my tired mind wants to run, it wants to just escape reality and run away and sometimes it just wants to give up and it begs for Redemption day.  But He holds me even tighter and out loud in the dark I just whisper, 'peace, Jesus, peace. Peace, Jesus, peace'.  And sometimes I am lifted high and can't stop smiling. And sometimes I feel like I haven't climbed onto the eagle's back yet. And sometimes I just fall asleep to wake up again an hour later.
But.
I will not forget His promise. I will not forget that fact is fact, regardless of how I feel. I will not forget that I am His child and I am precious to Him. I will not forget that this all temporary and soon, soon, my sweet girl, that I will get to go home.
And my eyes fill with tears, and my heart fills with His promise as I whisper the words, 'peace'.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulatoin, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Jenn Kelly is an author who for some reason can't make this writing go beside her picture below. She has spent the past two days trying to make her webpage work to her advantage. It isn't listening very well.  She is still trying to finish her 'high-concept, YA raw book'. But instead she's gardening because flowers are pretty. You can try and find her at www.jennkelly.com but the website might be crazy because she can't fix it.

The Sacrifice of Thankfulness

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a time when families gather around a traditional turkey dinner. Some go to great lengths to commemorate the historical events which brought us the holiday, a tribute to the first autumn harvest shared by Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians in 1621. Later, proclaimed a national day of observance by President Abraham Lincoln.

 

Ideally, it’s a warm and cozy gathering of loved ones where you eat delectable treats, exchange warm laughter, and give thanks for the bounty in your life.

As a Christian, one can deepen that spirit of thankfulness by acknowledging that it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…

But what if, even in the spirit of Thanksgiving, it hasn’t been a very good season? I know that here in the States, amid a struggling economy and the escalating unemployment, many people are dealing with very difficult conditions. A job lost; an illness or death in the family, relational tension or misunderstandings. Maybe weariness has moved in because circumstances have enacted mutiny and any kind of relief looks distant.

Life, in those moments, can leave you feeling vulnerable, confused, drained, frustrated, discouraged, and questioning.

I found several references in the Bible regarding thankfulness. Truly, it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. But when those periods in life occur when you just don’t feel it in your bones to muster the strength or desire, when every wall has caved in on you, it then becomes a sacrifice.

During trying situations, my own face has brushed the floor, prostrate, as I’ve uttered a desperate, heavenward cry. Just in case I missed something – if there is some unknown thing in my heart that needs dealt with, I say to my Lord: create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10), and, help me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).

When all is checked and there’s nothing left to do, though my heart might not want to due to disappointment in life’s sharp twists and turns, my mouth will utter simple thanks. With trembling I lift up a cup in praise. This is my sacrifice. I can only hope it is pleasing to my Lord, a bittersweet aroma drifting up from the altar of my fragility. On occasion, I have even whispered in brokenness…don’t forget about me.

It is usually at that point when I greatly sense the Lord—in his mercy, compassion, and benevolence—his love for his child—bend his ear low and listen. I would feel him. Know that he is near. That he envelops me in his presence. And that I might receive divine instruction accompanied with comfort.

Peace.

“…what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4)

It is because of his great love for us that our concerns are more his than ours.

Thankfulness sometimes is a sacrifice. But it’s also a uniquely beautiful, divine, and pleasing surrender that has the power to uplift, instill hope, and transform when everything else fails.

Tessa Stockton is a multi-genre novelist of romance and intrigue. She is the author of The Unforgivable. Her second novel, The Unspeakable, a suspense/thriller set in Colombia, is scheduled for release in January 2013.  She also has several fantasy-romance novellas slated to follow thereafter. Visit www.TessaStockton.com