I Am Peaceful

The Lord is at hand;  

do not be anxious about anything, 

but in everything

 by prayer and supplication

 with thanksgiving

 let your requests be made known to God.  

And the peace of God, 

which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts

 and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:5-7

Good morning, Girlfriends!

How are you today? 

"I am peaceful; thank you for asking."

I am interested to know how many of you would respond to that question this way? If I had to guess, I'd say, oh, about....ZERO. In today's world, peace does not seem to be the reigning state of mind or heart. Instead, we are more likely to be anxious, stressed out, busy, occupied, sad, concerned, depressed, or sick. Once in a while, that questions catches us on a good day--probably a Saturday--and we might respond with a more positive tone, proclaiming temporary happiness and contentment. Check back a day or two later, though, and most likely we will have reverted back to the former answers. Ladies, I admit, I have never heard anyone, including myself, admit to a peace-filled state of existence. Never. Not once.

Until today. 

Surprise! The words came straight out of ME. Yes, Girlfriends, I am peaceful. Thank you for asking. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:7 ESV

Not as the world gives...

Ladies, I have every earthly reason to be in a state of complete turmoil and emotional upheaval right now: 

1. I am married. I am a mother. I am a daughter. 2. My husband started a new job five states away this week. I miss him. 3. We are moving. I am still here, trying to sell our house in an over-saturated, deflated market. We are going to lose thousands of dollars. 4. My teenage son does not want to move. I am the mom he loves, but I am the enemy moving him. Love/hate relationships. I feel his pain. 5. Another daughter left home to college last month. I miss my babies, aka my lovely daughters. I am trying to be a good, long-distance parent, nurturing tender wings as they encounter the harsh winds of real life. 6. My oldest daughter is in extreme physical pain from a life-altering, medical error. I hurt because she is hurting. I can't fix it. I am pleading with God to heal her. She wants answers, including Why? I can't answer. I try to lead her to the One who can. 7. This same daughter's husband started a new job this week. She is moving to the opposite coast from where I am moving. 8. I am going to miss my mom. And sister. And mom-in-law. And girlfriends. I wish I had been a better daughter. I want to take them with me. 

"I am peaceful; thank you for asking."

Girlfriends, in the midst of life's pandemonium, this tumultuous turmoil, I have peace. Despite all these circumstances swirling around me, surpassing all understanding, the peace of Christ is guarding my heart and mind. 

Peace did not find me, however. I had to go after it. Go after Him. Seek Him. Pursue Peace. God, in His grace and mercy, offered me His peace but the work was mine to do. Do not get me wrong. I did not earn it. Peace was freely given to me. But I had to choose to claim it. I could be anxious and worried, stressed and depressed, or I could follow His Word:

do not be anxious about anything, 

but in everything

 by prayer and supplication

 with thanksgiving

 let your requests be made known to God. Phil 4:5-6

My peace comes from trusting God. I give Him thanks and praise, even in the difficult times. I believe He is who and what He says He is. As proof, which we humans seem to demand, I stand on His examples of past faithfulness. To me. To my family. To others I know. To His beloved people written about in His Word. I submit my life to Him: the good, the bad, the ugly, the in-between. I chose to offer every issue up in prayer and then trust in His will and His plan, which is far greater than I will ever understand. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

Ladies, peace is yours. Take hold of God's will for you. I pray today that you will seek the peace that passes all understanding. Do not sit idly by, waiting for it to come upon you. Do the work. Make the choice. I pray you will choose Jesus. Give thanks. Give praise. Lift up your face. Lift up your life daily. Peace is lasting but your efforts cannot be fleeting: prayer today, gone tomorrow. Be consistent and persistent in your pursuit. And be patient. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

So, I ask you Girlfriends, how are you today?

Peace be with you.

Appraised Value

Consider the ravens: 
They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; 
yet God feeds them.
 And how much more valuable you are than birds! 
Luke 12:24

 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. 
They do not labor or spin. 
Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, 
which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, 
how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!
 Luke 12:27-28

 “Do not be afraid, little flock, 
for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 
Luke 12:32

“For God so loved the world 
that he gave his one and only Son 
 that whoever believes in him
 shall not perish but have eternal life. 
John 3:16   

Hello Girlfriends!
I hope you had a "labor free" Labor Day weekend. Oh, wait, there is no such thing for a woman, right? Our work is never done. By the time we clean the house top to bottom, we have to go up to the top and start all over again!


Personally, I have had my fill of cleaning these past few months. In order to put our home on the real estate market, we had to do some serious purging, organizing, scouring, and polishing. Worse yet, we have to keep the place immaculate on the remote chance a potential buyer wants to pop in at thirty minutes' notice. The good Lord knows we would not want anyone to lower their offer because our beds are unmade, the sock drawer is hanging open, or the kitchen counter is covered in crumbs.

Speaking of offers, a part of the moving process involves appraisals and inspections before we're given a buy-out offer. Hoping to add value to the appraisal price, we spent countless hours working on our house, making repairs, adding upgrades, mending flaws, and replacing the broken and worn pieces. At the mercy of relocation appraisers for the sale price of our home, we knew we had to make everything perfect in order to earn the highest amount possible. I was devastated when the first appraiser came back $100,000 less than we had purchased our home. Ladies, I literally sat down and cried for thirty minutes straight before I called my husband and continued the meltdown over the phone! How could this man come to this conclusion, especially after all the work we had put into the house? Was our investment seriously worth so little? Hadn't we done enough to earn a better price?

The next seven days were agonizing as we awaited the second appraisers report; however, in the midst of those nervous moments, this blog was born. I turned to God in prayer, asking for the second appraiser to come to the conclusion that our home was worth more. Worth more. Worth more....more valuable....valuable appraisal....these words started ringing in my head. I was focused on all the effort we had given to "earn it."

Suddenly, my thoughts shifted to my own life and relationships. Was I tying my value to my work, to my house, to the appraisals others gave of me? God quickly answered: "YOU don't have to earn my love. YOU are worth more. YOU are of value to Me just as you are." No upgrades. No replacements. No attempts at mending will ever increase the price God is willing to pay--because He already paid it. He paid it in the blood of His only Son, and He paid the premium--the highest--the largest sum possible. Willingly, He paid it all... for me....for you.....for us.

Girlfriends, God says you don't need to labor to increase your worth, to elevate your value or position. You do not need the appraisals or inspections of men to know that you are solid gold--priceless--in the eyes of your Savior. Your value is in His love for you, and God knows you are worth it all--worth the incarnation of  Himself, the sending of Christ (God in the flesh) to this earth to give us a living example. You are worth dying a horrible death on the cross. You are worth rising, conquering death, and claiming victory over the evil one, who wants you to think you have to earn it.

Ladies, that is true value, that we are someone worth God dying for. We don't have to struggle to add value to ourselves-- to lose weight, educate, impersonate, accomodate, compensate, accumulate, deviate--NO. None of these things. All we have to do is just be in love with the Lord and willing to follow Him, accepting His atoning work on the cross and living out our faith in honor of His sacrifice. Not to earn value--but to show gratitude for it. You are HIS treasure.

My dear friends, if today you are wondering, "Am I worth it?" or worse yet, thinking "I am not worth anything," STOP wondering and START reading the key verses above. You are more valuable than the birds in the sky which God feeds and cares for daily, year after year. Will He not care for you? Will He not provide for you? Does He not love you infinitely more? YES, He does. You are more beautiful to God than the wildflowers which He dresses in splendid color, texture, and design. In His eyes you are perfect, lovely, and radiant. Nothing is more valuable than that for which you would give your life. So, I will say it again, God loves you so much that He decided to give you His kingdom--and so He died for you. That, ladies, is an appraisal you can take to the bank and cash in on your fortune!

My prayer for each one of you is that today you will focus upon your worth in the opinion of the Most High and no one else. Live on His appraisal of you. Act on your value as a child of God. Believe in His word. Know you are loved!