A Recipe for Peace

So first thing's first, am finally back home for the summer! On a gloomier note, I've recently been going through a valley in my life that has somewhat robbed me of comfort, peace and joy in my life. So much so, that I was actually not as excited as I usually am to go home...which is very unlike me. I'm usually always the first person to count down the days to home, and jump for joy and start packing 2 weeks before I fly, post a hundred countdowns and things I'm looking forward to and etcetera, but this time was different. I don't think I can type out the reason here so I apologize if this post keeps you wondering. Please don't get me wrong, I love my home, and I am indeed overjoyed to see my family especially my adorable grandma and three dogs, friends, and loved ones. But....yea, this something has really taken a toll on me. I can only pray that God restores me and makes me whole again because I know that no one but He can.

So today I went to church, and Pastor Ben preached an insightful sermon based on Philipians 4:4-9. It was that of a recipe for peace, and I'd like to share this with anyone out there who may be like me, in need of some peace in their life, because this recipe for peace is a simple one. It consists of no convoluted concoction or ingredients nor perplexing directives that is impossible to follow. Just a simple three steps. 

Step 1: Quit worrying and start praying

....for worrying never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it just robs today of its joy.

Matthew 6:34 serves as a good reminder for us not to worry.  ^"34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)"

Step 2: Change the way you think and you will change the way you live

Remember that the mind is the battlefield in which the outcomes of wars are determined; whether won or lost.

Roman 12: 2 reminds us not to "conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" 


Step 3: Occupy yourself with constructive activities

This one's pretty self-explanatory yea? :) Plus I'm a lil bit tired and sleepy from [occupying myself] with a late night of playing Gin Rummy with mum and her friends earlier [constructive activities]! lol :)


And finally, to end this post, I'd like to share a quote that was shared by our pastor today, and I quote, 
"When you can't sleep, don't count sheep, talk to the shepherd." 

Pray for me dear friends, I really do need it (and appreciate it) :) 

Philipians 4:4-9 
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Through the eyes of a child...

Sundays are the happiest day of my week :) i get to be in the amazing atmosphere of God AND see my little angels who make me just so so happy. They really do.... Their hugs are as warm as...hmmm... the comforter on my bed, the only difference is the comforter warms my skin and the former warms my heart. (ok please forgive me for the bad analogy lol)

Have you had little kids tell you stories of what they did in their week? Little Ikiia told me last week that she and her friend at school had dug up and found a sparkly diamond in the ground and they hid it in a special place at school and every day they're going to check up on it ! This week, she told me she spent her week catching pretty butterflies and setting them free again. Sometimes I feel like our lives are so boring compared to theirs. I don't know about you, but when someone asks me what I've done with my week, all i can say is...groceries, hospital, uni, and repeat the same thing every week on replay. I mean, how many of us would say, I saw a snail with a shiny shell or I saw a cloud in the shape of a cat? That's because we probably never even noticed them to begin with... How many of us would look at something sparkly on the ground and think it's a precious gem and pick it up? We'd all just kick it aside thinking it's glass broken from some bottle of alcohol or we'll get some nasty infection if we touched it. How many of us see the beauty in a butterfly and stop two seconds to see it rest on a flower? We'd all just walk past because we're too busy rushing to our destination. I know that it's probably true, i mean, it probably IS just a broken piece of glass...but I guess what I mean is, kids see the world so differently that sometimes I wish I still could see things the way they did. Through the eyes of a child. I think most of us as adults, we'd probably say, that's because we have bigger things to worry about, like exams, work, finance, appointments, problems...or maybe we'd argue that, well, we know better now, or that that stage for us has passed. But I sometimes wonder if it's even possible for us to reach that level of amazement about anything anymore. I think the older we get, the higher the threshold to be amazed gets. Plus, we're all just too caught up in this world of technology and era of gadgets that we fail to notice the beautiful sky God painted or the pretty butterfly He created. 

So my little prayer for us all including myself is this, that we can stop and appreciate life a little more often...even if it's just for 10 seconds. That we take some time to notice the creations of the maker of this Universe because our time on this planet is short. Take some time to love and laugh and live. And most importantly, that our threshold to be amazed in life will be lowered that we may begin to see things through the eyes of a child once more :) 

This is the song of my soul for today, Anj', over and out (and back to the books lol!)