I am spending the month of November thinking about and thanking God for the many gifts He has given us. Grace. Salvation. All Good Things. Courage. Mercy. So many!

It is a Saturday morning as I write this. Bob is off to breakfast with a friend. It is raining. I am sitting in my rocker. While I write I am staring out my glass front door. I see the leaves on the trees are changing colors and that many have already lost all their leaves.

The thing I am enjoying at this moment is the quiet and the peace in the house. No television blaring Bob’s westerns. No radio. No noise except for the sounds coming from the laundry room. Today I am grateful not just for the peace around me, but also the peace inside me.

I am eternally grateful because I have peace WITH God. I am no longer waring with Him. I still fuss and sometimes it takes me awhile to get where I need to be, but I am not in open rebellion with my Creator as I once was.

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Romans 5:1 HCSB]

And I am also eternally grateful because I also have peace WITHIN my own heart. God’s peace guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. I may have moments (some that last longer than a moment) of anxiety, but God always returns my heart and mind to His care and concern for me … and when that happens, my peace once again rises to take its rightful place.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:8 HCSB]

Thank you, LORD, for peace. Amen.