Peace like a river

 I'm a little late following up with this.  Week one of the challenge was to light a candle and then every time I saw it, I was to pray for peace in my home.  I am a big believer in prayer, but I admit to thinking the candle thing was super hokey.  I have candles.  But they are for when the power goes out.  I don't normally just burn them to burn them.  They aren't cheap.  (I hold out for expensive non-toxic candles.)  But, I had agreed to do the challenge, so I did it.

I was shocked to learn that it actually made a huge difference in the tone of my home.  Go figure!

On Monday, I lit a candle and put it in the kitchen, because I'm in and out of there all day long.  Every time I saw it, I prayed, "Lord, give us peace."  Or, "Lord, fill our home with peace."  Something like that.  I noticed that as the day progressed, my prayer became, "Thank you for Your peace."  It seems that focusing all day on peace, and on being proactive, rather than reactive, had quite an impact.  The only day I didn't do this was Wednesday.  And Wednesday was horrible.  Instead of focusing on peace, I focused on myself.  That didn't work out too well.

There have been times in my life when I have pretended that I am just the mom, the cook, the chauffeur, the jailer, the teacher, the maid, etc.  The real fact of the matter is that Mom is the heart of the home.  I help create a peaceful atmosphere in my home.