Carolyn Carleton
  • Home
  • About
    • Speaking
    • Featured
  • Blog
  • Journals
  • Workshops
    • Journaling Workshop
  • Members
    • My Journey Membership >
      • Jan - Mar 2021
      • April - June 2021
    • Hygge in a Box
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
Picture
back to the Fruit of the Spirit home page.
  • Peace ~ Lesson One
  • Peace ~ Lesson Two
  • Peace ~ Lesson Three
  • Peace ~ Lesson Four
<
>
As we begin our studies on Peace hold on to your seats.  Generally, peace can not be seen unless there is a storm.

Are you ready to face the storms?

Journal Time

  1. What current situations in your life do you need to choose peace in?
  2. Have you asked the Holy Spirit to be actively involved in your life?  If not, take a moment, quiet your spirit and prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to fill your spirit with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that can only come from Christ.
  3. This week be very conscious of how you choose to act in situations.  Let's put into practice what we have been learning.  Write about your experiences and what you learn.
The words from the hymn "It is well" continue to run through my mind.

The first course is:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way.
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, 
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Do you know the story behind this popular hymn?  I thought this video would explain it better than I could write it..........
It is Well

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!--
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Journal Time

  1. What are your thoughts after watching this video?
  2. After suffering like Job, how could Horatio be able to pen the words "It is well"?
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6 & 7
The peace of God, the Shalom of God is a positive blessing, especially in the terms of a right relationship with God.  It is also the idea that "all is well" in one's life (2 Kings 4:26). Which is clearly seen in times of tribulation and persecution.

Choose to set yourself on the path to a right relationship.
I really like how she talks at the beginning of the video about picking a word, the power of one.  That is what we are doing each month as we work through the Fruit of the Spirit.

I have found that I am becoming more intentional about learning each word as we work through the characteristics and qualities of each fruit.  I tend to use my driving time as my prayer time.  I am generally alone and it is my time to chat with God.  I chat like He is sitting in the passenger seat beside me.  I must look hilarious to the people that are driving around me, but I have some of my best growing times in my vehicle.  

Are you choosing to intentionally grow in each word beyond what we are learning via this website? 

Ask yourself: What do I know about Peace?  In the past two weeks how have I experienced peace?  Do I have a deeper understanding of Peace?

Each morning as your feet are about to touch the ground, pause for a moment, take a deep breath and ask God to help you experience peace that day.  I pray that through all of your five senses that you would fully understand the peace that passes all understanding.

Journal Time

I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.  John 14:27
Read John 14:15-30.

What stands out to you in this passage?

Do you feel the power of His peace within you?

In the video she said, "God isn't finished with me yet."  Genuine spiritual growth is rooted in what God has done, is doing and will do in the future in you through the Holy Spirit
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  Philippians 4:6
Come set Your rule and reign
in our hearts again.
Increase in us we pray.
Unveil why we're made.
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
like wildfire in our very souls.
Holy Spirit, come invade us now.
We are Your church.
We need Your power in us.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7
This month I have been trying to understand peace - which means I have been over-thinking what peace means.  Throughout many experiences over the past month I have longed for peace.  Through my sleepless nights I realized something.  Peace is a gift and so I ask myself "Am I choosing to receive it?"
"I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.  So don't be troubled or afraid."  John 14:27
In scriptures it talks about having faith like a child.  I regularly over-complicate my life, most adults do.   Oh, how I long for Shalom.  Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

In Judges 6:24 Gideon builds an alter to the Lord and named it Yahweh Shalom- which means the Lord is peace.  Shalom means: safe, happy, health, prosperity, be safe in mind, body or estate, be at peace.


What I have come to conclude is that peace is more than a choice, it is an act of faith.  Do I have strong enough faith that when turbulence comes my way that I will be at peace.  So that it is not only the peace of God but the God of peace who lives in me.

My prayer for us is that may we never stop learning about peace and may our faith grow so that we reflect the character of our Heavenly Father.

Journal Time

Scripture to study:
  • Philippians 4:4-9
In this scripture Paul is echoing what was taught in Matthew 6:25-34.  There really is no need for us to be anxious.  Study these passages - What do you need to learn?   What are you trying to understand?

Take time this week to spend time in the Word.  Too often we invest our time into reading books about the Bible or things in that are found in the Bible.  We need to stay grounded in the Word so that we can stand firm against false teaching, to stand firm in our faith, to be actively growing our roots down so deep that we can stand tall and weather whatever may come our way.

Home
About
Blog
Journal
Workshops
Contact
website design by Living Skies Consulting

© 2021 CAROLYN CARLETON . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Home
  • About
    • Speaking
    • Featured
  • Blog
  • Journals
  • Workshops
    • Journaling Workshop
  • Members
    • My Journey Membership >
      • Jan - Mar 2021
      • April - June 2021
    • Hygge in a Box
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Subscribe