
“You can turn your eyes from the sun’s light and live in darkness for a hundred years. If you then turn towards the light, the light is still there. It is there for you just the same as for the person who enjoyed it for a hundred years. All of nature is like this. The fruit on the tree willingly gives to everyone. Do any of the forces of nature differentiate? Does anything in God’s creation, other than the human mind actually pass judgement? Nature just gives and gives to whoever will receive. Should you choose not to receive, it doesn’t punish you. You punish yourself because you chose not to receive.”
Michael A Singer, The Untethered Soul


We live in a society where we are always looking for the next best thing. Material goods may excite us for a while but they inevitably lose their luster over time and once that happens, we are off to the next “thing” to try and satiate our endless desire for happiness. Even people we once thought would bring us all of the contentment in the world, can leave us disappointed.
We are constantly searching for what will bring us endless happiness; whether it’s a person, place, or thing. But whatever we are searching for to feed our hunger can never be found in earthly realms.
The only “One” that can truly satisfy is our Heavenly Father. And how he satisfies is by offering endless joy, peace, contentment, and rest. Aren’t we all searching for these gifts? But why are we so often looking in the wrong places?! It’s easy to fall into the trap of temporary gratification from “that purchase” or “that trip”, but it’s only a matter of time until you will be searching for the next best thing. How can I one-up that last one?
So What Steps Do I Need to Take to Obtain these Gifts?

I hope to show you through these next 3 easy steps how you can find that joy, peace and contentment we’re all looking for, often in the wrong places.
Step 1-Pray Everyday
“I had struggled so hard and so long that I had simply exhausted myself, only to find that God had all the time in the world to wait for me to allow Him to free me.”
Michelle McKinney Hammond
In order to develop a relationship with God, you need to spend time with Him! Just like any special relationship that needs to be nurtured through time well spent, so too does your relationship with the Lord.
I like to block out time in the morning before my kids wake up to pray and write in my prayer journal. Some mornings I have only 10 minutes, other mornings I get to pray for an hour (these are the days I beat the snooze button), but I always make sure I get this time with Him. On the extra hectic days, I pray while I am cooking, driving, and cleaning and doing all things mom.
Everyone’s schedule is different, but the premise remains the same: You have to find time in your busy life to spend time with Him, so that you can start to foster that most special of personal relationships on a daily basis.
Step 2- Find a Place of Solitude and Quiet
“Time and silence are the most luxurious things today.”
Tom Ford
It’s much harder to receive gifts of peace and joy when you have a loud environment surrounding you with many distractions. Because the time to pray is limited, when you do get the opportunity, make sure to be devoted to this time.
For me that means, no distractions, just my bible, prayer devotionals, and prayer journal. More often than not these days, our little Piper girl seems to end up in mommy and daddy’s bed every night. So my favorite place these mornings has become her warm, cute, and quiet little room. I curl up in the rocking chair that I spent so many special nights with her when she was an infant, and it instantly connects me to a place of love and gratitude. A perfect place for prayer.
Step 3- Pray at the Same Time Daily
“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits.
As with anything, when you do something enough, it develops into a habit. So just like you have a workout routine, or a nighttime routine, when you have a set prayer time, it will just become a part of your day.
On days I miss my morning prayer time, I often feel a little depleted, just like on the days where I miss a workout. So in order for me to be the best version of me, I make sure I pray at the same time so this habit can be apart of my everyday.

Let’s Wrap Up
My friends, let’s stop looking in all the wrong places to feed our hunger for happiness, peace, and contentment. The only one who can truly satisfy is here for you whenever you are ready, it’s just a matter of making that conscious decision to turn your soul to his light, and try everyday to walk in it.
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35
Click the button below to read, 3 Types of Joy Stealers, below.
Talk soon,
Merrick




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