Real Peace

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 Peace. Everyone wants it and most seem to think it is the answer to the world's problems. But what does it look like and how do we get it? In his book, Real Peace, Andy Farmer offers some answers to what peace is, how to find it and how to apply it to the struggles of life.

In chapter 1, Farmer defines peace as: harmony, order and fullness. With a full explanation of each, he shows how this fallen world fails to experience these three things. "If we can't have harmony, we'll settle for tolerance...But the best tolerance can do is keep tension at manageable levels. It will never deliver harmony."

In chapter 2 Farmer explains that "shalom peace" is the way things are meant to be and when sin entered the world, creation lost that perfect harmony and order.  Humans are constantly in search of that "shalom peace" and chapter 3 gives us the answer to that search: the Prince of Peace. True peace in our human existence only happens when we are made right with God and this reconciliation comes from Christ's atoning death on the cross.

Chapters 4-8 describe how to have peace in the struggles of life - stress, anxiety, grief, depression and conflict. Each chapter takes a passage of Scripture and applies it to the particular struggle in a helpful, encouraging and practical way. For example, by evaluating Phil. 4:8-9 in detail and applying it to daily life, Farmer helps us see where stress can be eliminated/reduced by thinking on the right things.

Chapter 8 had some great thoughts on how understanding the forgiveness we have received in the gospel of Christ should make us more willing to forgive others:

"We need to see that in every conflict there is an absurd commitment to things that destroys peace."

"Trust me, if you wait to hear someone's confession to gather the motivation to forgive them, you will never hear a confession that motivates you to forgive." 

"The deeper the gospel penetrates our hearts, the more the Peace of Christ will govern our actions."

 The final two chapters help us choose to respond to others in ways that promote peace. Chapters 9 and 10 describe how to have peace with God's people and the world respectively. 

I thought this was a wonderful book that dealt thoroughly with the issues related to the peace we long for by using Scripture to teach and encourage us. This book has helped me understand how to respond better to those dealing with grief, how to let go of stress and anxiety and to be more intentional with forgiveness.

*Special thanks to Crossway for providing this book for review through Netgalley.com 

Five Minute Friday: Beautiful

Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker and hundreds of others. We write for five minutes. All on the same prompt. No extreme editing. No worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Beautiful

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The sparkle in his eyes when he smiles.
You can tell so much about a person by looking into their eyes. Some say it is the window to our soul.  Making eye contact is not always easy. Maybe they are ashamed, hiding something, afraid, unsure of who they are. But when you do make eye contact and smile - perhaps they will smile back - and you can see hope, childlike faith, curiosity, questions wanting answers, a potential friendship. These are the eyes of so many foster kids we had in our home for 2 years. I may not know where they are all at now, but I will never forget them, will always pray for them and will never forget their beautiful eyes.

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Behind the Scenes: New Kids on the Playground

A few years back we were living in a house on a circle with a playground in the middle for all the neighborhood kids to play. Behind us was some farmland and wetlands where we occasionally saw wildlife off in the distance. Ahhh...the beauty of God's creation. I snapped this picture of a young deer whose curiosity brought him closer than usual. However, he is not just in a grassy field...

That afternoon on our way outside to play, we spotted some unexpected visitors already out playing on our playground. A mama, two babies and this young male deer were exploring the playground. They seemed very curious and brave to come that close to our homes. My children and I tried to be very quiet and get close to take pictures. However, the kids could not hold in their excitement very long and ran toward the deer family, which quickly ran off into the trees. But what a fun memory we made..."Remember that time the deer was playing on the playground"...***giggles***

"Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show those photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. - Crystal Stine

The Widow of Zarephath

Today I am linking up today with It Just Takes One  for her Chasing History series.  We’re learning about the women of the Bible and how their stories can impact OUR stories.

                                            

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I love being in the kitchen. Baking chocolate chip cookies with my kids is one of my most favorite activities. Have you ever been in the middle of making something and run out of one of the main ingredients?  That will sure ruin a dish or even a meal! 

In 1 Kings 17 we meet a widow who is just about to run out of everything during a drought in the land. Elijah asks the woman to trust that God would provide for their needs if she would feed him. 1 Kings 17:15-16 says “And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.”(ESV) 

We must put our faith in God alone and trust Him to meet our every need: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When we feel like we’ve given all we have and there’s no help or hope, we cast our cares on Him because He cares for us (I Peter 5:7) and then we keep on giving, not growing weary of doing good for others at every opportunity we have (Galatians 6:9-10). How do we do this? We can only do it through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus for our forgiveness.

May the mercy and grace God has given us through Jesus encourage and strengthen us to trust Him in all things. 

What I hope you learned...

This Sunday will be my last to teach the Ladies Sunday School class that I have been leading for the last 3 years as my family will be moving on soon. I have learned so much by teaching and I hope they have been blessed by my teaching as well. Here are a few thoughts I will share with my ladies as they look forward to the next journey of Bible learning they will embark on: 

If you learned nothing else from my teaching, I hope you learned this: 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith and must always be the focus and motivation of everything in our lives.

Some other important thoughts I hope you remember:

      1. The main jobs of the local church are: worship, discipleship, evangelism, fellowship, & prayer – we need to be involved together in these things.

      2.  God’s Word is our standard – we must test everything we read & hear to see if it agrees with Scripture. (Even our favorite speakers & authors)

     3.  God’s Word is our sword – whether we face temptation, conflict with others or the world, we must let God’s Word fight for us, not our own emotional reasoning. That means we have to read and know the Bible to apply it to our struggles.

     4.  True followers of Christ strive to obey the Ten Commandments – basically, love God and love others. This can only happen when we stop being selfish – stop worshipping ourselves, acting as though the world revolves around me, my wants and my plans.

 As you continue in Bible study, may the truth of God’s Word continue to mold and shape you to be more like Christ all the days of your life.

                                                                                                With all my love, Taryn

 

Five Minute Friday: In Between

Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker and hundreds of others. We write for five minutes. All on the same prompt. No extreme editing. No worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

In Between: The Summer House

GO

We just sold our house. We bought a fixer-upper and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making it a beautiful home. My husband did almost all of the work himself and I did gallons of painting.

 But now it belongs to someone else and we are renting for the summer while we decide what is next for our family. It was hard to give up my house that we had worked so hard on. It's hard to move out of a comfortable situation into the unknown. It's hard to let go of the familiar for something strange and different. 
 
That's where my faith in the all-knowing, all-powerful, almighty God of the universe can make my hard human heart melt into hope and peace and joy at what He will bring into our lives next.

STOP

Isn't It Time for a Coffee Break

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After reading a book that defined and clarified my understanding of solidarity, it has been very helpful to follow up with a book that is extremely practical and shows me how to put Christian solidarity into practice by loving and encouraging those around me.

In her book, "Isn't it Time for a Coffee Break", Ameila Rhodes gives life lessons and personal examples to show how others often feel the same overwhelming burdens of life and that strong Christian relationships can support and encourage us. I love the subtitle of this book: "Doing Life Together in an All-about-me kind of World" because it really sums up the practical advice given in it's pages.

In chapter 2, Rhodes says we need people in our life that can provide us with H.E.L.P.: honesty, encouragement, love and prayer. Then, expounding on prayer, she gives examples of how to pray for your friends in different situations that I found extremely helpful.

In the next four chapters, Rhodes discusses four aspects of friendship that are vital to a healthy relationship: generosity, hospitality, forgiveness and unity. With each one, she clearly defines it in light of what the Bible says on the subject and gives personal examples of how it has benefitted her relationships. She also gives very creative and realistic suggestions on how to live out each aspect of Christian friendship.

Personally, Chapter 3 on generosity was one of my favorite parts of this book. Rhodes says, "Generosity pivots on the point where your ability meets somebody else's need." She then shares some creative ways her friends showed generosity, which inspired me to be more creative in that area as well.

This book would be great to use in a small group or Sunday School class that is looking to build unity and serve each other (there are even discussion questions at the end of each chapter). It is also great for personal study if you're looking for fresh ideas to grow in your friendships.


*Special thanks to Barbour Publishing, Inc. for sharing this book through Netgalley.com for my honest review.