It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
PEACE.
As I walk, I often use the time to listen to books, listen to podcasts or sometimes just listen to some great music. I especially enjoyed listening to a Jackson Browne Acoustic Album this week on a long walk.
Since reading John Eldredge's book, "Get Your Life Back", I've been challenged to be quiet on my walks and take in the things around me. In his book, he talks about technology and distraction and challenges the reader to find a time to just "look around at God's beauty" instead of trying to optimize the time by multi-tasking and working through my list while I get some simple exercise.
The other day, I was walking as the sun was going down, and I turned off the podcast I was listening to, and just looked at the sky. The colors were vibrant. The air was still. The sky was magnificent. I just stopped and looked, and the word that came to my mind and heart was the word PEACE.
We often hear this word in connection with the shepherds and the angels message to them at this time of year, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." This is a part of the Christmas Story as told in Luke 2, but as I looked at the sky and felt God's beauty around me, this message rang personal for me...
"Glory to God in the Highest Russ! I want you to be a peacemaker on earth and share that with everyone you come in contact with."
I want to be a peacemaker. I want to deliver that message to others as the angels did.
Here's the deal though...
Most of the time, I'm too busy listening to my podcasts, trying to get through books, cranking up the music so loud that I can't even hear anything around me. I often live in the "chaos" of life that is anything but peaceful.
If I'm going to be a peacemaker, I need to experience more peace.
Sitting on a bench overlooking the harbor with Gina brought peace.
Feeling the warm, powerful wind blow though our community was comforting, peace.
Seeing God's beauty in everything around me and actually stopping to notice, brings peace.
This is a perfect time of the year to reflect on God's Peace.
Peace.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 ESV
"There is peace even in the storm." Vincent Van Gogh
"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding." Albert Einstein
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." Eleanor Roosevelt
Things I'm Reading, Listening To, an Watching This Week:
Jackson Browne is one of my favorite artists. I enjoyed listening to his Solo Acoustic Volume 1 Album this week. It's live and has some great tunes!
I was working on a digital course on "Habits" and spent some time in this book again in preparation. I was challenged by Burchards writing and definitions of "High Performance Habits".
I'm finishing a David Baldacci Trilogy of books right now... Long Road to Mercy, A Minute to Midnight & Daylight. Good mystery series and a creative set of stories.
Hope Ventures is doing some incredible work in equipping and training aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. Extreme Response is doing a couple of strategic projects, but I recommend them as an organization and appreciate their vision and the leadership of their founder and CEO, Mark Goeser. Check out their website: Hope Ventures
If you're looking for a great light to help with your Zoom Calls or Video Production, after trying quite a few, this one has really worked out well. The Neewer Rollable LED It mounts on top of your screen, has multiple adjustments for brightness, and rolls up to travel if you need to. I'm very happy with this product.