Attitudes to Cultivate: Peace

By Rose H.

Peace. Tranquility of soul. In harmony with others. At rest.

Peace is something that eludes us. We want it, but restlessness, war, and worry set in stumping out any peace. We do serve the Prince of Peace after all. Shouldn’t peace be easier than it is? The problem is that we still live with our sin nature. And our outward circumstances many times aren’t conducive to peace.

The one thing that we have to remember is that peace doesn’t come from us. Peace comes from God. Trusting God provides us with the gift of peace. As we see that He will provide for our every need (strength amid trials, money needs, love for the day) we can rest knowing God has got it covered.

But this isn’t acquired overnight. Again it’s something that God grows in us. He becomes our Prince of Peace as we trust Him for everything.

Another thing that you can do is to talk honestly about your worries and fears to Him. Ask Him to help you overcome these and replace them with peace. Another thing to make sure is that you are at peace with yourself. No, I am not suggesting that you go on some mystical journey and talk to yourself and settle accounts. What I am saying is accept the person that God made you to be. Even if that person isn’t everything that you would like, accept yourself. Be at rest with who God made you to be.

Peace is something that God creates in you it doesn’t start on the outside. It comes from God and from knowing Him. So keep loving Him and keep seeking Him. He is the giver of all good gifts, including peace and He loves to give it to His children.   

Book Giveaway!

Please give a warm welcome to my sister Sarah H!

Author, blogger, teacher, sister, friend, and homeschool-graduate comes out with her best book to date.

Synopsis:

"Time Has Passed…
In the three years since Maria Morris found the farmer-boy-prince, the Followers have multiplied. As Wyndemere’s empire cracks and unrest rises, the Legatee orchestrates the Rebellion.

Danger Has Not Disappeared...But Neither Has Hope
Though the overthrow of the tyrannical regime is imminent, Maria’s role as the “woman who started it all” is not widely known. So why the foreboding of danger?
Promise floats in the air. Many around her find happiness, even as the tension spirals toward a breaking point. But Maria flounders. What does Maria Morris want to do with her life?
What is her destiny…now?

Rendered Powerless, Maria Must Make A Painful Choice…
One That Will Alter the Future of the Galaxy
Forever

When James invites her to headquarters where Maria assumes a new role among The Followers, tragedy strikes. The enemies she had thought long gone are capable of far more than she imagined. Will she have the courage to stand for what she believes, no matter the cost? Will she have the strength to surrender her dreams when all seems lost and she can do nothing at all?"

This is an edge of your seat novel that will take you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Hang on as you follow Maria through danger, betrayal, and torture. Will she and James be able to save the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of  Wyndemere?

If you would like to win a Kindle copy of the Destiny Of A Galaxy, just leave a comment on this post. In two weeks I will pick the winner via Random.org . Happy Entering and tell your friends!  

Go check out the page on Amazon here

Attitudes to Cultivate: Patience

By Rose H.

Patience. Not getting ticked off. Waiting calmly. Being kind to people even when they aren’t being kind to you.

Patience hasn’t been one of my strong suits. I want things now. I want quiet now. I want my lunch now. I want the task to be done now. I want my sibling to act more mature now. But the task whether raising kids or making dinner takes time. The more time that is involved, the more that we need patience.

Like anything in this life patience isn’t something you get overnight. It’s something that God grows in you. And He does it by putting us in situations where our patience is tested. The kids are acting up, and we didn’t sleep well. We are on the phone with a heavily accented tech person trying to get a computer problem fixed and they are being very much help. The person in the car in front of us is going way below the speed limit and now you are going to be late.

It’s in times like these when God grows patience in us. When we are at the breaking point. When we just want to blow off some steam. When we can’t take another minute. That’s when He teaches patience. Even though you can’t control the people around you, you can control how you react. And you can choose to be patient.

First of all. Just talk to God about how you are feeling. If you are close to boiling over, let Him in and let Him help you calm down.  Secondly just let it slide. Whoever is driving you up the wall needs to be forgiven. Then just go on your way carefully, be gentle and kind to everyone. It’s easy to blow up at people, it’s hard to use self-control and react in patience.

So next time the kids are driving you insane and dinner isn’t ready when you want it, just use it as an opportunity to practice patience. Come on let’s go.

Attitudes to Cultivate: Gentleness

By Rose H.

Gentle. Tender touch. Calm demeanor. Kind in action. The Bible says that we are to have a gentle spirit. But sometimes it feels like there is this great gap between what we want to be and what we are.

It does take a journey to get there. It also takes a God that is able to overcome all of the obstacles that stand in our way. Thankfully God gives us plenty of time for the journey and He helps us to become gentle and humble.

Gentleness starts on the inside. When God come in He changes the way you react to things and people. He makes your responses calm and gentle.

There are also other things that you can do to cultivate a gentle heart. Listening to a lot of rocky music can hype you up. Lessen how much you listen to it. Listen to things that still your soul and draw you closer to God. Another thing that you can do if you have trouble with handling things (or people) roughly, try handling everything that you touch as if it is brittle. Handle things carefully as if you are handling a priceless treasure. This exercise will help you to start you out handling things gently.

Ultimately there isn’t any one thing that you can do to cultivate a gentle spirit. However I pray that this article gets you started in the right direction.   

I'm Off!

I'm off to Film camp this week!
It's been a dream of mine for over a year now to learn how to make Christian films and participate in making a film. This week I get to do both.
God is not limited to just using our crafty talents to bless others. He can also use our film and acting talents. If you have a dream of acting or making a film, keep pursuing it! Keep following what God has placed in you heart. Keep doing what you know and let Him lead you. It will turn out better than you ever could have imagined.
And you can expect an update sometime in the next month for how the film camp went. God bless, Rose

Attitudes to Cultivate: Grace

By Rose H.

What is grace? Grace is unmerited favor. No one deserves it, but it is given anyway. Grace says I pardon you from any wrong. Grace gives extra wiggle room. Grace looks at someone who has broken the rules and chooses to let it go.

Now does this mean that we never discipline people when they are wrong? No, but it does mean that do what is best for the person involved. Sometimes that means using discipline. Sometimes that means letting go of our ego and forgiving the other person.

As you grow in the grace of God, He will show you how to re-gift  grace. If you want to cultivate grace remember the times that He has shown it to you. As the memories come flooding back in, you will find your heart filling with grace for others.

After all we have all “been there” at one time or another. We have all been beggars at the door of God’s grace. But He never lets us stay there. He opens up the door wide open and extends to us the hand of grace.

I bet that you can name a few people that need your grace, your understanding, your love. Take some time to extend the hand of grace to them. Whether it’s just a smile, an e-mail, a forgiving word, a loving gift, or a chat take some time to extend grace to them.  

Seasons of Ministry

By Rose H.

In life everything has seasons. A time attached to it. Nothing (in this world) lasts forever.

Even ministry has its seasons and times. God may call you to do this or that for a time. Yet everything has a time. He always has us lay it down.

The trick is not to hold onto anything too tightly. Don’t clutch at ministry so tightly that God can’t give you something even better. That’s what He does. He never takes things out of our hands without preparing something infinitely more wonderful and special for you. Open up to change. Let the seasons flow. Do what you have been called to do for today, then if you wake up tomorrow and feel God’s call in a different direction, follow Him.

And if you have felt His call to move into something different, but were afraid to move, pray. Ask God to help you make the change. Courage and strength don’t come from us anyway. Trust God for these and move into what He has planned.

Seasons will come and go. Here on this earth we are confined to time and space. But God gives us works of love to do for today. Learn to flow with the seasons and enjoy them.