Want More Peace?
Life can be very hard and confusing. It often seems when you take one step forward, you wind up taking five steps backwards, right? It’s okay and you’re okay. In fact, you’re more than okay. You’re perfect just the way you are, because God loves you. That makes you perfect, and strong, and beautiful.
I know you’re busy. You’ve got work commitments, family commitments, other commitments…so much to do throughout your day. Who has time to relax? You do—even if it’s only for five minutes here and there. You’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make in your day and in your life.
I'm thinking a lot today about the bombings in Boston, and all the lives that were affected by them directly and indirectly. It would be very easy to let my mind slip into a mood of despair and fear if I let it. But despite this horrific act against human life, I'm reminded that God is greater. He is greater than anyone who planned and implemented this bombing, He's greater than any fear, pain and loss we may be experiencing as a result.
Faith, Freedom, Inner Peace, Love, Peace, Personal Peace, Power, Trust, Truth 
Is fear holding you back from what you love? Sometimes, it certainly feels that way, doesn't it—like a giant force literally gripping you and causing you to stay stuck. If your heart is yearning to be free and express the love in it, it's just a matter of time before fear gets kicked to the curb--but not without some inner work first.
For the last several weeks, our pastor has been preaching about the Beatitudes found at the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew of the New Testament. It's been such an eye-and-heart-opening series of sermons. One thing I noticed in particular is the way our pastor used the words "blessed" and "happy" interchangeably as he so beautifully dissected each Beatitude.
This prompted me to look up the word "blessed" to see if, in fact, it means happy. To my delight, I found this definition in Webster's online dictionary for blessed: "of or enjoying happiness." And in some versions of the Bible, such as The Good News Translation, the word "happy" is substituted for the word "blessed" in each of the Beatitudes.