Beauty.

CH Spurgeon does it again. MMM.

You have no place in which to pour your troubles except the ear of God. If you tell them to your friends, you but put your troubles out a moment, and they will return again. Roll your burden unto God, and you have rolled it into a great deep, out of which it will never by any possibility rise. Cast your troubles where you cast your sins; you have cast your sins into the depths of the sea, there cast your troubles also. Never keep a trouble half an hour on your own mind before you tell it to God. As soon as the trouble comes, quick, the first thing, tell it to your Father.

PEACE

I think God is trying to nudge my stubborn heart and mind with peace; a peace that surpasses all understanding. 

A peace that comes from God, by the means of Jesus making peace through his blood. 

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation." 2 Thess 3:16

I can't control time or people. I can't be everywhere at once and expect to be rested as well. I'm stubborn and need the peace of Christ to dwell in my heart at all times. I need to cast my cares on him the first chance I get. What a waste it is to let myself become overwhelmed when I am given access to a trusting, faithful, loving, and kind provider. Why should I worry? 

My jaded mind can't understand how God hears all my prayers, knows my hopes and fears, knows exactly what I need,  knows exactly where I fall, etc. It's too much for me to understand. And that's exactly why I need a peace that surpasses all understanding. 

A peace greater than intellectual wisdom....

A peace based in the confidence of the sovereign rule of the God of the universe, who is also the God of my heart.

My King and my best friend. 

That's my main desire right now. 

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Psalm 4:8

Psalm 139: 7-10 (NLT)

I can never escape from your Spirit. I can never get away from your presence. If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night--but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

quiet.

"Peace prevails and rest ensues when we are quieted before our Savior and listen for his voice alone. Out of that quietness, the words of our mouths will be fitting, life-giving, and pleasing to God."

my february: iPhone edition.

YEP.

A Prayer.

From here.

Jesus......

Unfetter me from thinking too much about what I’m not, by showing me more of you and who I am in you. Liberate me from thinking about the next thing, so I can be present in the current moment.

Jesus, help me to use fewer words and better listening when engaging others. Please help me make better eye contact and heart connection with others. Free me to be more intrigued with people I don’t know and less timid around strangers. Turn my hair-trigger reactions into slower, wiser, kinder responses. Break my heart-shackles of irritability, agitation and cynicism. Free me from trying to fix anybody.

Please free me for greater spontaneity, louder laughter, saltier tears, and quicker repentances. There is no liberating and loving Savior like you, Lord Jesus. So very Amen I pray, with gratefulness and anticipation, in your most compassionate name.