Peace is not Enough

“If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem.  Love and peace are eternal.”   – John Lennon

Happy New Year everyone!  Sometimes I think my friends wonder if I am really a left-over hippie from the 60’s.  The answer to that question is definitely NO.  I have never been part of a commune, used drugs, or rejected social or political values.  My only “hippy-ish” ways consist of having worn my hair long, occasionally dressing a little unconventional (tie-dyed shirts, beads & peace sign jewelry) and as much as I love using the word peace, it is usually done so in relationship to my faith.  With that being said, I do believe the world would be a better place if it was filled with God’s Peace and Love! 

I don’t know about you, but there are many areas of my life that are not exactly peace-filled. So in 2011, I am going on a journey to seek more of God’s peace & love in four specific areas of my life. The idea for this blog has been a work in progress for quite some time now, but the timing of the New Year seemed just right for challenging myself to the task at hand. 

While working on this project, the word sparkle started appearing to me in books and magazines that I was reading, in conversations, on TV and even in sermons I heard.  I didn’t understand why, until I heard a DJ on K-Love talking about an alternative to New Year resolutions.  He was sharing a story about a challenge called “My One Word.”   According to the website (myoneword.org) their challenge is simple, “Lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD.”  Since I already had my blog under construction, I knew peace was going to be my focus... I had a plan.  But, there was something that continued to bother me, and that was the word sparkle.  When I looked up sparkle in the thesaurus I found words like “shine, glitter, glisten, flicker, twinkle and shimmer.”  As I prayed about my plans to seek peace, I began to realize what was missing.  You see, peace in itself is not enough.  Matthew 5:16 (NIV) says, “... let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Shine.... “sparkle!”  As always, when I seek God’s guidance, His plan is always better than anything I could come up with, hence my blog Peace Love and Sparkle was born.

Here are the four areas of my life that will be the focus of this journey:

1.  Peace in my Heart (peace) = calm, quiet, stillness, tranquility, silence, harmony, serenity

2.  Peaceful Environment  (simplify) = uncomplicated, uncluttered, easier, to reduce

3.  Spirit of Peace (joy) = delight, happiness, pleasure, enjoyment, bliss, wonder

4.  Sharing the Peace (sparkle) =shine, glitter, glisten, flicker, twinkle, shimmer

During this week, think about the list above and see if you can come up with one or two steps you could take in your own life to seek peace in one or all of these areas.  We can compare our lists next Monday. 

BTW.... don’t throw away the Christmas cards you’ve received this year.  Friday I will share a great way to use them to start the New Year off with a “sparkle.”

God’s Peace...  Donna Weaver

“All we are saying; is give peace a chance.”    – John Lennon