“And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
 
Gratitude is an individual choice. We can walk through life complaining that there is nothing to be grateful for because of our life circumstance. Where we want to be may seem completely out of reach, because of our financial or relationship situations we forget that there are parts of our lives that we can be grateful for.

There are several things in life that we do not think about being grateful for: gravity, if there was not gravity we would just float into the atmosphere. The earth for continuing rotating without us even having to worry about it. If God did not keep the earth from rotating, there would be catastrophic consequences our days could become longer, and the weather would drastically change. We can thank God that we do not need to worry about floating off the planet because there is gravity that keeps us grounded. We can thank God that we are not in charge of making sure that earth keeps rotating. Someone might forget unless it’s on their daily checklist.

Everyday there are small things that we can think to be thankful for. We can be thankful that we are alive and get to live this day, since we will never live this day again. We can be grateful for the people who influence us each day and continue to encourage us to do better. We can be thankful that we have savior that died for our sins on the cross so that we can have a right relationship with God. When we learn to be grateful and thankful we find ways to enjoy life even when we do not have much.
 
Heavenly Father, sometimes it is hard to be grateful when I am blinded with situation that is right in front me. Help me to take time each day to become grateful for everything that surrounds me.
 
Praying for you,
Stacy Watkins

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
 
This past week brought about a lot of tension between friends, family, and even coworkers. Each of our friends have burdens that many of us do not know about. To know our friends better we must create space for them to vulnerable. Create space to let them discuss their lived experience and what is currently burdening them right now. We must humble ourselves and be willing to listen regardless of our feelings.

When we love our friends and neighbors, we walk with them through their struggles, their struggle becomes our own struggle. One burden is the temptation to do things that is not good for our health or even for relationships. It might be difficult but, we are to share with those who we trust what temptations we are facing. Those within our circle can hold us accountable.

Some burdens feel a little harder to talk about like being lonely during the holidays or learning to make new friends in a different state. It may feel strange to ask someone if they can sit with you because you do not want to be alone but, they will be glad to be there for you. Christ carried all our burdens when he died on the cross for all of us. There is nothing we must face alone since he is always with us and will never forsake us.
 
Heavenly Father, thank you for carrying our burdens to the cross. Everything that we are facing we do not face alone because you are with us each step of the way. May we continue to lean on you.
 
Praying for you,
Stacy Watkins

“So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. “(Romans 14:19)
 
The past few months have been filled with whose policy is right or wrong. There have been people getting into fights because they want a particular candidate to win. Some friends no longer talk to each because of viewpoints of government policies. However, it is not about right or wrong but what builds another person up and promotes peace.

To build something there must be a firm foundation for many of us it involves who we are this is formed by our world view. Our world view encompasses how the world works based on our background from growing up and our lived experiences. During our lifetime we might face injustices: racial, poverty, healthcare, immigration it matters how we respond. There are ways we can contribute to aid to fight against these injustices we do not need to wait four years for an election year. The focus should be towards peace and bringing people together.

Often, many individuals think they have nothing to contribute but, we all have gifts and talents. Our talents may be different from someone else but, that is the beauty of community we can all contribute by bringing something different to the table.  What promotes peace is working together for a common good. Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace he is the ultimate promoter of providing peace so that we might come into a right relationship with God.  

Not only are we to promote peace build another person up. This can be done by small and large gestures such as having a conversation, smiling, and even saying an encouraging word.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus who is the ultimate idea of peace, during the next few days may we seek to promote peace and build one another up even when times are hard.
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Praying for you,
Stacy Watkins