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Finding peace//St. Augustine Jesus Lover. (and photographer)

These days there are thousands of ways to find “peace.” You can feng shui your living space, groom your zen garden with a tini rake, listen to some soothing music or nature sounds, get into a downward facing dog and breathe, hit a punching bag as hard as you can, read articles like: “56 ways to clear your mind”, rub a Buddha belly, put a “good luck” charm on your keychain, open some fortune cookies, take a bubble bath, think “positive” thoughts….ok, I am not going to list all thousand ways but—you get the point. Humankind has made up plenty of ways to find peace. Why is that? The obvious answer is that our hearts live in constant turmoil. Our families live in constant turmoil. Our schools, our churches, our country, our world, etc. are all in turmoil. Just turn on the news or open a newspaper. There is not one day on this Earth with total peace. Think about that for a minute. I would like to say that this is a new thing but the truth is: the world hasn’t been peaceful for millenniums.

I like to start every morning with the word of God (i.e. the B-i-b-l-e, that’s the book for me! I stand alone on the word of God, the b-i-b-l-e!) Lately, I have been reading through Jeremiah. Today, I was reading Jeremiah 6, and I came across something that made me say “wow” out loud. For anyone who thinks the bible does not apply to life in the 21st century…read this and ponder:

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14

Doesn’t that sound familiar!? Let’s just put a bandaid on the problem and maybe it will go away. If we just use our mini-rake or smack a punching bag…THAT will take care of our insecurities, anxiety, anger, worry, etc.? Some of those things may temporarily get our minds off of our wounds but eventually, we need to stop kidding ourselves: simply thinking positive thoughts or trying to believe that a fortune cookie can really tell your fortune will not work. We need something deeper. We need healing. The problem in Miss America wishing for world peace is that world peace is unattainable while people don’t even have peace in their own hearts. In fact, I will be as bold as claiming that the REASON we don’t have world peace is that we don’t have peace in our own hearts. We are sinful people that act out on selfish escapades because we are not content in our own hearts. In Jeremiah 6, God is giving a wake up call: Throw away the rake and the magazines, this IS serious and there is only ONE way to truly find peace.

Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker, not because he dressed people’s wounds, but because he healed them. He met the needs of their bodies, their families, their weddings, and their hearts. He can heal your body, your family, and your heart if you invite him. It is a one time affair inviting Jesus into your heart. You are definitely not going to have a perfect life after starting a relationship with Jesus; however, what you will have is peace. You will no longer have to worry about gaining the admiration of people, or being good enough for God, or having a meaningful life. Jesus fulfilled all of those longings in dying just for you. If you have told Jesus: “I know that I have sinned and played a part in the fact that there is a lack of peace on Earth. Whether it is in my life, my job, my family, my community, or my country, I have done things that have made me guilty in respect to what you say is right. I now accept that Jesus has died on the cross with my shame on him. I no longer carry the weight of that guilt because when God sees me now, he sees a new creation purchased with the blood of Christ. Jesus has given his credit of a perfect life to my bank account which is full of debt from selfish escapades and discontentment. As you give me strength, I will follow you all the days of my life.”  If you have made that initial step toward real and everlasting peace: which is just admitting that you are wrong and need Christ’s sacrifice to pay for your sins, you are still going to need daily reminders of the peace that Jesus has brought to your life…(Notice that you don’t need anything other than Jesus to bring you peace: you just need reminders OF Jesus.) We need to be reminded because, as my pastor says, we have “gospel amnesia.” We forget what Jesus has done for us; or at least, we fail to remember it.

FIND A NEW WAY TO WORSHIP The only way to be reminded of the peace that Jesus has given you is to worship God for who he is and what he has done. (He is the creator of the universe and he has cared enough for you, a tiny creature living on planet Earth, that he left his throne in Heaven to live with you and die for you). When you worship the creator, even though there are unsettling things in your life, you can have peace knowing that God has a bigger heart and a bigger head than you. Give over your burdens and rest in his grace and mercy for you.

In my freshman year of college, I really wanted to find a new way of worshipping God. I needed a new way of reminding my soul of the peace of Jesus. (Worshipping God can come in all shapes and sizes but it is worship nonetheless if it is praising who God is and what he has done.) I decided to learn to play guitar so that I could worship God by playing and singing his praises. So I did; and many days, I still wake up, pick up the guitar, and start singing a few lines of how thankful I am for Jesus in my life.

So I challenge you: Throw away the superstitions and calming practices and follow Jesus; the ultimate peacemaker. Find a new way to worship. Here are some ideas: Take some photos of things that remind you of his love, use a canvas and paints to depict his grace, learn a new musical instrument for the purpose of celebrating him, journal about your love affair with him, exercise your body in a new way and correlate the way your body moves to how God strengthens and stretches us. There are soooo many ways to worship God. If you have ideas you would like to share…please comment so we can all try them! Here are some sweet pics of me and my guitar taken by my friend Cheryl Miner. (www.Cheryljoyminer.com)

hello & welcome

Hey friend! I'm Katie.

 

I am a wife and momma to six.

I absolutely love road-tripping and exploring as much as I can to make memories with family and document the incredible lives of others.

 

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