Peace in Knowing How It All Ends

Am I the only one who has days when staying in bed seems to be the best option? Some days, the world just drags you down. The past two weeks have been a little that way for me. Work, housework, and girl drama have thrown me into a tailspin. I've lost focus, and have struggled to live out my faith. I cringe when I think of what an unbelieving world has seen in me lately!

To be perfectly honest, it's these little (or not-so-little) daily battles that wear me down. When something big strikes, I know I have no choice but to turn to Jesus. Why can't I remember that in the daily routine of life as well? Deadlines, gas prices, and just not knowing what to fix for dinner...the enemy is constantly seeking to steal my peace and my joy.

One day, that will all change.

So for the present you are also in sorrow (in distress and depressed); but I will see you again and [then] your hearts will rejoice, and no one can take from you your job (gladness, delight).

~John 16:22 (AMP)

I must keep reminding myself that the daily grind is only a temporary plight. There is coming a day when my joy will be permanent, and the thief can't pull it out from under my feet. In the meantime, I'm going to keep cranking this song by Mandisa (turn up your speakers and join me)!

I'm nearing the halfway point on my journey toward peace & simplicity. I think I've done pretty well on the simplicity part; yet I've concentrated on that so much, that I've nearly forgotten about peace. I'm grateful Jesus whispered some peace to me today!

And you know what else is bringing me peace?

(I don't know if you can tell the sign at the top is "Peace"...but it's a great reminder!)

This bookshelf was loaded with books before I started the purge. This is all that's left (well, okay...I have one small box left in the attic, but it's too hot to go up there). One shelf holds cookbooks (down from two). The other two are for books I can't part with, or haven't read yet (down from four, and several boxes in the attic). The top basket has loose recipes that I need to sort through and put into a binder (summer project, maybe?). The bottom basket holds my other Bible translations (I took four Bibles to church Sunday...why do I need to have so many copies of the Word when others don't have It at all?!). And we have room for our games!

I can't tell you how good it feels to have this project completed. It had been mocking me for a while. After posting this picture, I just walked in the living room to make sure this was actually my bookcase. I'm not even kidding.

And then there's this gem:


Have a great weekend!