Peace & the Single Mom: By Jennifer MaggioSample

What are you growing?

Have you created an environment of rich ground for peace to flourish? The Holy Spirit gives us peace. Have you created an environment in your home, work, car, family, and mind where the Spirit can move freely, gently correcting when needed, offering hope when things would seem hopeless to the world? Or do you create an environment that stunts growth?

Step 5 to experiencing peace as a single mom: Check your soil!

As a Believer, God says when we love him, we keep his commandments. We do what he asks of us because we love him and want to honor him. Sin can overwhelm our hearts and create painful wounds, offense, and manipulation that seems impossible to recover from. We can’t allow the things that don’t honor the Lord into our lives, e.g., immorality, greed, pride, dishonesty, etc., and expect that we’ll still experience the peace of God. We aren’t creating a rich ground for peace. God’s peace – his favor & blessing – is upon obedience. It’s his divine order of things. Peace comes when we’ve been planted and rooted in the soil of holiness and righteousness, communing with God daily. It is the truth that sets us free and brings us peace.

Create rich soil full of daily devotion to him, reading his Word, praying and praising, and gathering with his children. This soil produces the good fruit of peace and many other nutrients, including love, gentleness, and patience. We must be honest in self-evaluation about unconfessed sin or dry soil that needs watering. Ignoring these things can rapidly grow weeds, such as bitterness, chaos, and confusion, that can easily consume our thoughts and choke out peace. Bring it before the Lord, asking him to search your heart.

Points to Ponder:

• Is your heart open to God’s plans for your life? Are you willing to change some things in your life that don’t align with His plan? How so?
• For more on experiencing peace as a single mom, check out the full book, Peace and the Single Mom: 50 Moments of Calm in the Chaos, at www.thelifeofasinglemom.com.
• For more ways to grow as a single mom, connect to The Life of a Single Mom ministry near you by visiting www.thelifeofasinglemom.com and clicking on the Find a Group tab.
• To learn more about how to experience God’s peace, check out Single Mom University for free by simply filling out a scholarship application at www.SingleMomUniversity.com and mentioning YouVersion.