"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."~from ISAIAH 61 Bible verse for this Blog

APOLOGY to READERS who followed a SEARCH to HERE & didn't find it

On July 18, 2017, I drafted almost 3000 blog posts that I had published since 2008 when I began blogging, rather than edit each one. So if you clicked here from somewhere else and ended up with the post unavailable or error, I am sorry but this is why. It'd be too much work for me to go back and fix them. There's an explanation on 7/19/17 as I'm still learning.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

C.A.L.M.

I try to do another blog post each week on the One Word or at least think about it by today, but CLARITY has not given me anything more, so as I enjoy the Peace and CALM of today - in  many ways, I am beginning another one of my books on my 2024 One Word {I bet you thought I had forgotten it, or changed it to FOCUS, but it's still CALM} and for the month of June, the plan is another PAUSE for 30 days of Peace this time with a YV plan. But for today, I will be starting to

TRADE (MY) CARES FOR

CALM

(the word in parenthesis is actually 'your' in the title of the book)

by

Max Lucado


I can't believe that I've had this book (a real book) and have not even begun it, and half the year is just about over. It has 10 Chapters with beautiful scenic pictures and of course, the wisdom and gift of words of Max Lucado never disappoints, yet always teaches us with a unique wit and wonderful woven tales with scriptural insights and even includes short journaling pages. I wanted to jump ahead to Chapter 8 "Catch CALM" but I will pace myself and stay with the chapters in order. It's a good thing I did ... because after the Introduction, Chapter One clearly sets the tone (premise) which includes an acronym with "5 verses and 4 admonitions that lead to one wonderful promise: "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds" (Philippians 4:7)" that acronym is C.A.L.M.

 C - Celebrate God's Goodness (Philippians 4:4)
 A - Ask God for help (Philippians 4:6)
 L - Leave your concerns with Him (Philippians 4:6)
 M- Meditate on good things (Philippians 4:8)

As you can tell the main focus is found in the book of

Philippians
Chapter 4 - verses 4-8

I've always known the book of Philippians main theme to be JOY

and with this, I will add Peace and CALM

In fact, this part was included under 
"God's Words of Peace"

{and skimming through each chapter, 
I notice there's a section of
"God's Words ..." on something for each}

<>

I noticed on Amazon that an excerpt of the book is included of Chapter 1 (although you are missing out on the beauty of each page, you will catch a glimpse of the wonderful content and also all the chapters are listed there). Part of the book description reads, as follows:

"Bestselling author Max Lucado understands what it's like to feel overwhelmed by anxiety. In Trade Your Cares for Calm, you'll learn how to:

  • Exchange your burdens for an abundance of mercy, gratitude, and trust
  • Replace striving and stress with a faith-filled life, so you can see God's goodness
  • Feel calm in chaos and find peace through prayer
  • Make faith, not fear, your default reaction to circumstances

Imagine being able to walk away from worry, conquer the need to control, get rid of guilty, and end if-only thinking." Trade Your Cares for Calm 

When I ordered my copy of this book, I didn't need to know any more than that it was written by one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado; and had my One Word: CALM
so to find this out and how beautiful 
this little treasure is
I'm all set to "trade" my cares, chaos, and control 
for God's "Calm"

and it starts today

(*well, maybe - kinda)


Hope you can see these COPING STRATEGIES 
(I sure need to cope with hope) 
[if you click on the image I think it becomes larger]

<><><>

* I just heard some news on the weather 
and tornado in Iowa
so this is why the hesitation 
of "maybe" and "kinda"
because that report makes me concerned
for some people traveling through that way,
when here I thought I was in the clear

JUST

need some more of

God's CLARITY 

and 

leave the worries, etc. in God's hands

He IS in control!

so

"Why Should I Worry or Fret"

but please

🙏

pray still for 

the people in Iowa & other states hit
by these powerful tornadoes

devastating & destroying
communities

so hard to find
CALM
in the destruction of a
storm

🙏🏼






2 comments:

  1. Oh, my goodness! What a treasure you have found in this book! I followed the link to the excerpt and thinking it would only be a few paragraphs, I was going to copy and paste the part I liked best. Impossible! I just kept scrolling and scrolling to find multiple portions of profound words and phrases. Thank you for sharing these words of wisdom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably will be sharing more! You know how Max Lucado has such wise words! Glad the link works and you were able to go read some of it. For me, besides the colors, I find so soothing, the beauty just rolls from one page to the next. A continual flow of Max's wisdom & the beauty of his way with words & the photos make this a wonderful gift (for yourself or someone) to trade their cares for CALM! Very calming!
      Thank you for your words of encouragement & checking out this treasure!

      Delete

Bless you for your visit and encouraging words! I thank you and I am humbly blessed by YOU and the time you spend with me... Peace, "Mazmagi" Peggy


To my faithful visitors;
all of you who spend your valuable time here with me
I do appreciate you so much!

Thank you for taking your time to visit!

Love, Sweet blessings & Hugs!

DIOS TE BENDIGA
GOD BLESS YOU

always

Peggy