Shouldn't This Be The Season Of Peace?

One of the prophetic names of Jesus is  “Prince of peace” given in Isaiah 9:6.  How can we not think of Peace at this time of year?  Don’t we just want to shout”  HUSH, BE NICE, STOP THE INSANITY, SETTLE DOWN!”
 
The problem is: there are so many people that don’t have peace with themselves, their situations or their past.  Peace isn’t even in their scope of how they deal with life.
Here are the definitions of peace:
Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility
Freedom from or the cessation of war or violence
Absence of mental stress or anxiety
 
Synonyms- Calm, restfulness, harmony, agreement, unity, order
Antonyms- disagreement, hate, discord, agitation, frustration, distress, worries
 * Peace is the concept of harmonious well-being and freedom from hostile aggression
 
Some ways to live out peace:
* Seek to Love, not control others
* Seek Forgiveness, not revenge
* Be the change you wish to see in the world
* When something happens to you that causes mental stress or anxiety, take a deep breath and ask Holy Spirit 
    “What do I do, How do I respond”?
* Take some time for silence.  Sometimes we have so much say or think that we don’t take time to listen.  God wants
    us to have answers and direction, that’s not something He wants to withhold from us.  Sometimes we just need to
    listen.
* Stop allowing yourself to be influenced by media.
* Be rational.  Ask yourself “Are my worries realistic”? What does God have or want for me? What is His truth?
* Exercise
* Express gratitude- Did your husband do the dishes? Say thank you.  Did your kids bring in their backpack from the
   car and hang it on the hook? Say thank you.  Did your wife fold the laundry?  Say thank you.  Even though every one
   of those things may be that person’s responsibility, saying thank you brings value.  It will change the atmosphere in
   your home.
* Decide what is important- Everything is not Defcon 1 and you can’t do everything in 1 day.  It may help to make a
    list and organize your week.
* Make boundaries for technology.  Too much information taken into the brain can create chaos. 
* Make time to do something you love.  Learn to enjoy life and play.  Not everything should be hard and seem like a
   task.
* Leave time between tasks or appointments
* Tame your tongue (Titus 3:2)- Be mindful of what comes out of your mouth
* Obey Holy Spirit- He loves you more than you could imagine.  His ways are to bless not harm
* Be gracious- Display the love of God that lives inside of you
 
Most of the time we don’t display peace because we don’t have peace WITH ourselves.  Start with you, Let Holy Spirit work in you to shift your mind, spirit, soul and body.  When you practice peace for yourself, it will be so much easier to walk it out with others.  Peace is a fruit of the Spirit.  When we walk in peace, we display the work of Christ in us.
 
Pray for others: We don’t know what kind of turmoil is going on inside of them and we may be the only one bringing them before the Father.  Never negate the power of prayer for someone else. 
 
Let us all work to display peace this holiday season and continue it in the days ahead. 

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2019
Yolanda
Assistant Manager at Rocky Mountain CTN
Enjoy Life.  Consider Eternity.