REST!

Wowza!! It's crazy how time flies! So, here I am back at school, getting ready for senior year! As the end of the summer flew by and I had to jump right into things here at school, I have finally had a couple of days this Labor Day weekend where I do not have a crazy lot to do, and I have been able to stop and think, as well as spend more time in the amazing Word that God has given us. I have told others before how important it is to cherish each moment, and I need to take my own advice! Each moment God put into our lives for a reason, and each person around us, God made special, so we must learn get to know them, respect them, and be kind towards them! We never know how a person, situation, or event might affect us. I love to keep busy and to do many different things, and spend time with many different people.

But even when we cherish every moment, it is still easy for our lives to get hectic and for us to get stressed out. I know, as much as I like to think that I am an easy-going person, that I do get very stressed out, and sometimes over the silliest things. A couple nights ago, I got stressed out over shoes. It is the same thing every year, I do not have nice dress shoes that are comfortable. Being five foot, I love my heels, but unfortunately, they are not ideal for being on my feet for eight hours teaching kids. So here I was, babysitting, and once the boy was asleep, I got on my computer and started searching some of my favorite shoe places for nice comfy dress shoes. I did find some that I thought I liked, but it is always hard when you cannot try the shoes on, and then there is the whole financial aspect, how much money am I willing to spend on shoes? And then to add to the stress, a couple of the pairs that I liked said they only had a few pairs left! AHH! What am I supposed to do? And there is a store nearby, but my shoe size is between 5.5 and 6, and the store does not carry many 5.5s. So, I called my mom (moms are great!!) and her advice was to trust God and to just pray about it. I closed all the shoe tabs I had open, and read my bible instead! So, the next day, my family came up to go shopping, and I was talking to one my friends about being stressed out about shoes, and of course, his advice was also to pray! 

Today, at church, the sermon was about Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

This is some great advice for me right now! I really needed this reminder! Even though I may feel like I have no free time, I need to find time to rest in God's peace! I need to remember to constantly being walking in His light and to be living in total surrender, because that is where there is peace, hope, and joy! That is when I will be able to see the benefits of the Almighty One and all that He has done for me. 

This morning I was reading Romans 5, and then the pastor read it again at church before communion: 

Peace and Joy
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

God loves us and has chosen us. He created us in His image. He adopted us and provides for us. He sent His one and only son to die for us so that we would be able to live with Him forever!! Our God LOVES us, and He wants us to love Him in return. He wants us, completely broken and surrendered. He wants us with all of our flaws, to turn to Him for help. Our great God is Healer and Restorer, and when we turn to Him, He will fix us, renew us, and give us PEACE! 

So no matter what is stressing me out on any given day, whether it be shoes, paying for school, the thirty students that I get to deal with, my homework, or whatever, when I place it in God's hands, He will take my burdens, and HE WILL GIVE ME PEACE! 

I pray that you are able to find His peace as well!