Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~ John 14:27 (NIV)

These last 2 weeks have been anything but peaceful for me. Still adjusting to the move (new jobs, new house, and new sitter for the boys), winter weather reaking havoc on our house in Sylva (all I'll say is frozen pipes!), hitting wall after wall with trying to find a graduate program that I want to complete AND can afford to complete AND that's accredited, Haze shoving a tiny Lego piece up his nose, Haze getting strep throat again, Mack still not sleeping, losing power...at sun down, before dinner is done, and then just everything going on in the world today.....how am I supposed to feel peaceful?

How are ANY of us supposed to feel peaceful?! Let's be honest, we all have our own lists like the one I just made...more month than money, kids--'nuff said on that one, work stress, family drama, health problems, ISIS and global terror, on and on on..... it's disheartening to think about all of these things. We find ourselves ONLY thinking of these things and we're suddenly depressed, terrified, overwhelmed, anxious, and tense. But doesn't the Bible tell us that God didn't give us the spirit of fear?

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

 ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

I knew that was in there somewhere! 

So I'm driving into work this morning and am just taking everything from the last 2 weeks in....getting overwhelmed...and I catch a Charles Stanley sermon on John 14 and God's peace. It hit me like a lead balloon, y'all. Do not let your hearts be troubled....and do not be afraid. I was reminded and humbled again that God is in control, He's in the details, and He's already there and in whatever mountains and valleys I'll go through tomorrow, next week, and next year! When I told my aunt Melissa that we were moving and asked her to pray for us as we transitioned, she said to me, 'He said He'd go ahead of you.' And you know what? I've said it before...He did! He worked out the details of our move to the coast and He's in control and working out the details of EVERY issue we bring to Him in prayer! 

I read a Billy Graham devotion last week that said as Christians we don't have the right to walk around wringing our hands in fear about anything (the devotion was about end times) because God has promised us that in the end, it's all going to be okay. I think that holds true even in our every day struggles and worries. In the end, it's all going to be okay because God is in control and we have His peace to comfort us, guide us, and watch over us through our trials and when we are on the mountain top! 

The last half of my drive into work was bright...even on a day as cloudy as this one! I took in the beauty of this eastern NC winter morning! Where we live is called 'The Land of the Pine'....can you see why? Seriously, Pine Trees are EVERYWHERE!

Look closely, you can see the pines on the left leaning in towards the road.

See how droopy the branches are? Ice is heavy and Pine is a 'soft wood' (that's one of the only facts I remember from helping Adam study in school!).

As I took in the cloudy view, I felt at peace. We've all said it as we've looked at everyone's snow pics in the last few days, there's just something 'peaceful' about the snowfall and winter scenes. It gives us perspective many times....it sure did for me this morning. I hope these verses remind you of how loved we are by an Almighty God, how we are not alone in this world and that God's peace truly is one that passes all understanding. 

Just to let you all know...Haze is recovering from strep nicely! Godzilla and King Kong are back to destroying the 'city' (i.e. Angry Birds game blocks) and his appetite is back! Mack, I think is teething and that's the bulk of his sleep issue. And Adam has been called out on 2 wild fires so far....I know wild fire is nothing to smile about (really--it's not!), but he loves what he's doing with the Forest Service and seeing him that happy at work truly does make me happy! :) We really are all adjusting well and loving this new chapter in our lives! More good things are coming and I'm ready! 

My next post should have lots of 'memories' to share! The in laws are coming down for the weekend. They haven't seen the grand babies in a MONTH! I think that's some kind of new record for them! MIL is on her way down today with a friend (whose grand baby also happens to live here!)! Mack and Haze are spending Thursday AND Friday with the 'Square Mimi' (Haze has 2 Mimi's and he separates them by shape!)! MUCH fun will be had by all! :) OH! And Haze has no idea! Mimi is just going to 'be there' when we get home tonight!!!!

Love to you all! Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you all in this way!