Peace, Prayer, and Proverbs 3

Vitamin G

Peace does not necessarily mean the absence of conflict. Often times, peace is about finding a resolution to the conflict. In my life, I want to face conflict by finding unity through the bond of peace. Making peace with others is greater than keeping the peace.

Psalms 34:14 reads,

Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.

This short passage inspired me this morning to contemplate being a peace seeker, or peacemaker. Keeping peace can sometimes lead to sacrificing too much of myself in the pursuit of peace. However, making peace seems to lend more to the process of finding peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in my life. I've spent most of my life being a peacekeeper. I would either keep my mouth shut when something bothered me, or I would just pretend everything was okay for the sake of remaining at peace with those around me. What ultimately happens, in every situation where I have done this, is my spirit erodes underneath the surface or the relationship I have with the other person begins to evolve into more conflict. Simply "keeping the peace" would inevitably lead to far worse circumstances.

A quick search of the Bible led me to a few passages I'm going to meditate on as I begin to understand what God is teaching me this morning:

• Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

• Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

• Romans 12:18

If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with everyone.

• James 3:17-18

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

• Ephesians 4:1-3

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

• John 16:33

I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.

Day off for MLK Day

My employer recognizes Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday on our work calendar. So I have today off from work as a holiday. With it being a Monday, and not many other businesses being shutdown today, I had a lot of options for how I would be spending my day. I didn't really plan anything specific. I was definitely tempted to go to Disney World today. With my IncrediPass level Annual Pass, I can go every day of the year if I wanted. EPCOT is currently in their International Festival of the Arts season. It is one of my favorite events of the year and it sounded like a good option for today.

I spent the first 3+ hours of my day in prayer and meditation. I didn't spend the entire 3 hours in prostrate calling out to God, or anything of the sort. In fact, it started with my normal prayer and Bible reading time that I begin each day with. I then did a 32 minute workout while listening to Praise and Worship music. Following by a nice hot shower. I then ended those first 3 hours with my usual coffee and OJ and took time to begin this journal entry. This led to today's Vitamin G; which I then posted on my social media feeds. So by "prayer and meditation," I'm referring to being in a meditative state while going about my morning.

Shortly before I posted on social media, I noticed the sun was peering through the clouds! The day began with an overcast sky. So I hadn't taken any sunrise photos yet. Having already written my Vitamin G post but having not posted it just yet, I went out to capture one of the best photos I have taken of the sunrise. Although technically well after the sun had risen, it was still low enough to indicate the photo was in the morning. I was then ready to post today's Vitamin G with the sort of imagery I tend to prefer.

By now, it was around 8:30am. There was still plenty of time to decide if I was going to go to Disney or do something else. Next, I got out a notebook and began writing out the names of people I was thinking about. As I wrote each name, I would pray for them. Some of the names were of people who either directly caused, or had something to do with, past trauma I deal with to this very day. So, after spending the first 3+ hours of the day in prayer and meditation, I felt called to remain at home and continue working through some of the trauma I have experienced in my life. Upon praying for everyone who's names I had written, I then searched the Bible for encouraging passages to help deal with the trauma that had resurfaced in my mind. I figured this would at least help me pray for those who had caused or contributed to the trauma. I also searched out passages that might help me witness to a few of the people I had written down for other reasons to pray for.

Although the Bible had been written thousands of years ago, the wisdom and principles it has can still be applied today. Some passages are just lessons learned. Others are specific instructions on how to live the best life. And still, some scriptures speak to specific topics that are applicable today. It is truly a living document. The Living Word of God. For most of my life, I have only just read the words. I haven't always applied what it teaches me. It has mostly just been a "good book" to me over the years. This year, I would like to change that! Don't get me wrong, I have managed to apply some of its principles in my life. But to truly look to the Word and apply it on purpose? Well, sadly, I haven't always done that.

To my surprise, I looked at the time after all of that and it was now 11:30am! I don't recall the last time, if ever, that I spent more than 6 straight hours in prayer and meditation. On a day where I could have done any number of things, including going to the Most Magical Place on Earth, I found myself having a conversation with God. A conversation that I hope begins to deal with the trauma that has haunted me for decades. The trauma that has blinded me into making some poor choices throughout those years. A cycle of trauma that I am more than ready to end!

11:30am still left plenty of time to go to Disney World. But I was hungry, so I made myself a lovely tofu ramen bowl...hehehe Having eaten a delicious meal, I figured it was a good time to go through today's "Bible in a Year" session. In today's session, I concluded the book of Job. Job 42:10 was relatable to my earlier prayer time. It reads:

"God restored Job’s fortune when he prayed for his friends. God gave Job twice as much as he had before."

How I'm choosing to apply this in my situation is that I'll pray for those who caused or contributed to the trauma in hopes that He will restore my soul, or spirit. I no longer wish to hold on to any grudges towards those people. I want to pray for them so that their lives can improve as well. My "fortune" in this context is my love for others; my warm hugs spirit. And my "friends" are those I trusted who broke me. I'm no longer focusing on what I could have done differently. I need to dig deep into what happened and how it has affected me. Praying for them will reset my soul. I'm also hoping that by healing my wounds, I will no longer "bleed" on people who didn't cause the pain.

It's now almost 2pm. Lunch is well over and I enjoyed that further Bible reading time. After doing that, I had to sit and write all of that down in this blog entry. But 2pm still leaves me with a great deal of time to head on over to EPCOT to enjoy some time at the International Festival of the Arts! Will I go now? Nah...

"Hard Boiled" Eggs

It's almost supper time. But before I eat, I wanted to do a quick update to this entry. Shortly after my 2pm break from writing, I decided it was the perfect time to make this week's hard boiled eggs. I use the term "hard boiled" loosely here. What I actually do to make these is use my pressure cooker. I use a 5x5x5 technique to make perfect hard boiled eggs. I put in 1 cup of water and a trivet to place the eggs on inside the pot. After placing the eggs in and attaching the lid, I set the pressure cooker to high pressure and the timer for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes of cooking have completed, I then set a timer for 5 minutes to allow the cooker to do a natural release. After that time elapses, I do a full release of the final pressure. Next, all of the eggs take a bath in ice cold water for, you guessed it, 5 minutes. Once that final 5 minutes have completed, I crack open each egg while they are still in the water. It helps make it easier to remove the shells while they are submerged. Plus it is easier to rinse off any tiny pieces of shell if it is already in water.

While I was making the eggs, I did a little research into how to make a tempura batter. At the many Japanese restaurants I go to, I've noticed all of them have many options that include food deep fried with this amazing batter called tempura. With all of the exploring I have been doing with food lately, I thought it would be fun to work with tempura in a tofu taco recipe I'm working on. A quick search revealed just how easy it is to make tempura! As excited as I was, I did some further research and discovered that my pressure cooker was actually an excellent option for being a deep fryer! I have one of those multi-use Instant Pots. To deep fry, I just need to use the sauté mode and set the desired temp. So, for Taco Tuesday tomorrow, I'm going to attempt making my very own Tofu Tempura Tacos! If they taste as amazing as that name is, I'm in for a Taco Tuesday Treat!

After all of that fantastically fun food work and research, I came back to my blog. This time, I wanted to figure out the best way to start adding images to my entries. As you can see above with the sunrise photo from this morning, I found a great way to add images. It's actually pretty simple. I upload the images into a folder named "img" next to the documents that make up a page like this one. I then reference the file name in the document and the software running my site automagically places it where it needs to go. It was actually far easier than I expected. After yesterday's technologically frustrating day, I was expect it to be difficult. Glad I was wrong. It was nice to have something technologically simple to get things to work the way I wanted...hehehe

Proverbs 3:5-6

What an incredible day I've had. When I woke up today, I hadn't a clue just how amazing I'd be feeling this evening. And that's without going to Disney...hehehe In fact, I'd imagine that going to Disney today would have actually ruined my day. Mostly because it was "Florida cold" today...hehehe But more so the fact that it was the first time in my life that I just "let go and let God" show me what He wanted to show me. I almost hate to go back to my regular work schedule tomorrow...HA! While at the same time, I'm grateful for my job. Not everyone has a job. So I prefer to say "I get to work tomorrow" as opposed to "I have to work."

After supper, I began to ponder the sort of day this was. I took a retrospective approach to reviewing the day. I examined what was different about my day so I could apply some lessons learned to my everyday lifestyle. What sort of adjustments I would need to make. I also took an introspective approach to understand how I felt about the day and what I am learning through prayer and meditation on God's Word. By the way, as I type this, I'm eating a bowl of ice cream with blueberry hot sauce and LOTS of sprinkles...hehehe It's a nice little treat I indulge myself in from time to time. The ice cream is "no sugar added" to counter the sugar that's in the sprinkles...LOL

As I was going through the retrospection and introspection, I was walking around my apartment. In doing so, I came across a print of a painting I purchased a few years ago at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts by Noah Elias. It's a painting of Mickey Mouse painting a portrait of Walt Disney. I'm finished with my ice cream now...hehehe Anyway, I bought the print because I liked how it symbolized the creation creating the creator. That's how I feel about my own creations. I feel like everything I create is actually creating who I am. After I purchased the print, I asked Noah if he would sign it. He did so and included the scripture reference to Proverbs 3:5-6; which reads,

Trust in God with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

I think I'll use that verse to sum up my day. I don't yet fully understand all that He has taught me today. And that's okay. I know that my own understanding of how this all works will simply get in the way. He is my guiding light for today and for always. He is the one who gives me life. He is the one who is providing everything I need and many of my wants. He is who I should be following...who I should chase after! Unlike that painting, He created me and therefore I should not be creating in my own understanding who or what my Creator is!