Prayer, Purpose, and Peace - Ruth L. Snyder

In January I shared how God led me NOT to set goals for 2018. It continues to be an interesting challenge that is drawing me closer to God, my family, and my church. I have found my priorities shifting.

In many ways I have been encouraged:

• Peace is more consistent in my life, freeing me to focus on what is happening in the moment.
• Conversations with God are happening throughout the day. My prayers have been deeply affected as I work my way through Power Praying: Hearing Jesus' Spirit By Praying Jesus' Prayer. 
• I'm spending less time on the computer. When someone comes to talk to me while I am working on the computer, I consciously turn away from the computer and towards them, giving them my full attention. This is one of the reminders I picked up from The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging & Becoming
• I have enjoyed and been challenged by many deeper discussions with friends. We are skipping past the superficial and sharing our heart struggles, and how God is meeting us in the midst of our struggles.
• My Pastor encouraged me and is supporting me in hosting a monthly prayer meeting. I started out thinking this prayer meeting would only be for women, but the men are also asking to come :)
• God used my need for fellowship to spur me into starting a monthly get together for women where we have fun, laugh, and share.
• In January I was elected onto the board of Inclusion St. Paul, which works under Inclusion Alberta. This group works to raise awareness of the benefits of including all children and adults in the normative path of life, and to advocate for children and adults with disabilities to be included in every sphere. 

Along with the positives, there have also been some struggles:

• My spiritual warfare book has been put on hold. In fact, I have done very little writing in the last few months. At times this bothers me. However, I continue to remind myself to trust God and wait for His timing.
• Some days I feel like I get nothing done. However, when I look back at the day I see that I used my time wisely. I'm learning to do what I can and trust God.
• I still struggle with not making lists. I am an organizer by nature. But for this season God is telling me to put less energy into organizing and more energy into being the person He wants me to be.
• I am having to say "No" to some things I enjoy. As a peacemaker, this is difficult for me.

As we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, let's set our minds to seek God. Let's confess our sin to Him and walk in step with HIM each day, minute by minute. Let's listen and obey, praying for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

What has our Heavenly Father been teaching you lately? How will you celebrate Jesus's death and resurrection—not only at Easter, but throughout the coming year?