“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phlippians 4: 6-7

Sometimes we behave as if we are the victim of our thoughts. When we are in an unbalanced state, it is easy to allow our unbridled thoughts and feelings to guide our steps contrary to the direction in which we may desire to go. The longer we continue in the habit of believing that we have no control over our thoughts, the harder it is to reign them in and tame them again.

When was the last time you made a point to savor the Lord? It is so easy in our busy lives to let our faith become perfunctory. If we even take the time to sit down and spend time with Him, so often it can be “productive” time: read this, write that, dig for this, puzzle out that. We get caught up in the doing and not in the being.

I took my daughter to draw a nude model.

Turn and believe. Do you ever forget the “turn” part and move right into the “belief” portion of the call?

I know I do. If I am going on a certain trajectory and I learn something from the Bible, I often layer it on top of my current line of action and keep chugging forward.

We all have those hideously embarrassing and, therefore, horribly powerful memories from our formative years that stick around like the sand in your floorboard from last year’s beach trip.

Ah, the Fruit of the Spirit. It always makes me feel so good, so wholesome, so warm and fuzzy to think about it being grown in me. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. It all feels so lovely and soft until I hit it: Self-Control. Ugh.

Have you ever had one of those conversations with someone that frees them and frees you, too? They are talking about something in their own realm of life that has no direct impact on you, but somehow it resonates so deeply with you that you can’t but thank God for the moment of wonder and insight?