Tag Archives: peace

Stillness

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

Learning to sit with conflict and uncertainty is a skill, much like riding a bike.

When you feel like you’re falling, steer into the fall. Lean into it instead of away, and you’ll be alright.

Have you ever tried making decisions when you’re upset or uncertain? It’s extremely trying.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to stop making decisions altogether. To learn to just sit and listen to the still, small voice that’s says don’t run. Don’t lean away. Take each day as it comes. One at a time. Lean into the not knowing. Carry on, because everything is going to be okay.

Control vs. Letting Go

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality, Daily Inspiration

There are really two ways of going about our day to day lives.

Either we’re striving and trying to maintain control (a fruitless effort, by the way, which leaves us exhausted). Or we’re relinquishing control to God, and trusting that He will bring us what we need each day.

There’s a distinct and noticeable difference between how good our days are, depending on which mode of being in which we’re acting.

When we’re striving, the people around us can tell. It says to them that there is something more important which we need to accomplish. Something more important than being present with them and letting God work. When we’re trusting God with all of our needs and desires, we’re at rest. And people around us can see this, too. They wonder how we’ve found such peace within the whirlwind of our daily lives. We’re a living testament of what it’s like to know God.

What it really boils down to, is that all of our striving and trying to gain control, makes the statement: “I don’t trust God.” And that hurts Him.

He’s already proven to us His goodness, grace, and love. Why would we not trust Him to take care of us on a daily basis?

Life becomes so much easier when we learn to let go, and let God. With every single aspect of our lives.

The Calm Within the Storm

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality, Daily Inspiration

I received this message in my email recently and was quite touched by it. Wanted to share it here in hopes that it might touch some of you as well.

The Psalmist wrote, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” PS 55:6

dove

Have you ever felt that way? Sorry, there’s no escape! Wherever you go — there you are!

Peace is “an inside job.”

Oceanographers tell us that even the worst ocean storms rarely extend more than twenty-five feet below the surface. Gales can rip the ocean, causing tidal waves one hundred feet high, but just twenty-five feet below the surface the water is as calm as a pond.

storm

The point is this: The only place you’ll ever find peace in the midst of life’s storms, is through an in-depth experience with God.

Korean Christians have a saying: “We’re just like nails. The harder you hit us, the deeper you drive us; and the deeper you drive us, the more peaceful it becomes!”

hammer nail

Part of God’s purpose in allowing the storms of life to blow, is to drive us deeper. Deeper into dependence on Him and deeper into relationship with Him.

Someone said, “God takes life’s broken pieces and gives us unbroken peace.” When you focus on the God who never meets a problem He can’t solve, instead of focusing on the problem you can’t solve, you’ll experience in-depth peace. And you’ll carry that peace with you wherever you go. Others will notice it and seek your advice when they too face trouble.

You see, when you know that the God within you reigns above you, you won’t succumb to what’s around you.

Highs and Lows

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

Why is it that when things are going good we worry that at any second they could go bad…yet, when things are going bad, we forget that at any second things could turn good?

Highs and lows are an inherent part of life’s cyclical nature. By now, we’re acutely aware of this. So why are we still trying to change this basic, natural law?

Why would we want to disrupt the flow of life?

There is no cure for highs and lows. We cannot “fix” it. And who are we to say it needs fixing in the first place?

If we can stop trying to escape the inevitable alternation of pleasure and pain, we can simply relax and be fully present for the wonder that is our lives.

John Lennon Quote

Posted on by under Quotes

“Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see…”
-John Lennon

Joy

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration, Quotes

“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments- often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down extraordinary moments. Other times we’re so afraid of the dark that we don’t dare let ourselves enjoy the light.

A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable.

I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.”

-Brene Brown

10 Daily Challenges That Will Enhance Your Life

Posted on by under How To/Advice

If you’re reading this, congratulations! You’re brave. You saw “challenges” in the headline of this post yet still you chose to read it. Perhaps, like me, you enjoy a challenge. In which case, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to discover a list I wrote specifically for you of 10 daily challenges that will surely enhance your life!

1. Try to make at least one person’s day, every day.
2. Smile.
3. Exercise.
4. Floss.
5. Carve out time for family and friends.
6. Journal.
7. Carve out time for you to be alone and quiet.
8. Make a great memory and don’t tell anyone about it.
9. Treat every encounter you have as if it is the most important thing you have going on that day.
10. Do something that scares you, or at least pushes you beyond your comfort zone.

Be sure to follow up in the comments section and let me know how these challenges are serving to enhance your life!

Let Love Know You’re There (A Poem)

Posted on by under Poetry

We cultivate love when we allow
our most vulnerable selves to be seen and known.
Love is not something that we give or get;
it is something that we nurture and grow.

Withholding of affection,
disrespect, betrayal and blame
damage the roots from which love grows
and hurt the place from which it came.

Love can only survive these injuries
if they’re acknowledged, healed, and rare.
So put down your ego, put in the work,
and let love know you’re there.

Fix your problems by forgetting they’re problems

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

We fix our problems by forgetting that they’re problems and reminding ourselves that they’re actually gifts.

The Song of The Seed by Macrina Wiederkehr

Posted on by under Poetry

Life unfolds
A petal at a time,
slowly.

The beauty of the process is crippled
when I try to hurry growth.
Life has its inner rhythm
which must be respected.
It cannot be rushed or hurried.

Like daylight stepping out of darkness,
like morning creeping out of night,
life unfolds slowly a petal at a time
like a flower opening to the sun,
slowly.

God’s call unfolds
A Word at a time,
slowly.

A disciple is not made in a hurry.
Slowly I become like the One
to whom I am listening.

Life unfolds
a petal at a time
like you and I
becoming followers of Jesus,
discipled into a new way of living
deeply and slowly.

Be patient with life’s unfolding petals.
If you hurry the bud, it withers.
If you hurry life, it limps.

Each unfolding is a teaching
a movement of grace filled with silent pauses,
breathtaking beauty
tears and heartaches.

Life unfolds
a petal at a time
deeply and slowly.

May it come to pass!

By Macrina Wiederkehr