When you hear the word "peace", what picture forms in your mind? Is it a windless, warm, sunny day? Do you visualize the shimmer of crystal clear water, a quietly babbling brook, calm, serene? One artist depicts peace in a way I have found most meaningful.

The picture is painted showing a raging storm with the wild waves billowing against the seashore. The wind tosses a small boat tied to the dock until the boat gives the appearance of tissue paper dancing without rhythm in the wind. The land is forced into visible retreat swallowed up by the raging sea. There perched on the branch of a lone tree, sheltered in the cleft of a rock, sits a songbird singing a lullaby to the wind and waves, undaunted, yet very much aware of the storm raging all around.

Have you found yourself in the midst of a swelling storm? Are you being tossed by winds of uncertainty, doubt and confusion? Has the raging sea threatened to swallow you and force you to retreat into despondency? May I recommend a place that offers shelter and security in the midst of life's raging storms? True peace can only come from knowing Christ, the Prince of Peace, who told us, "My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." (John 14:27) It isn't a peace like the world gives; his is a lasting peace.

So dear friend, the next time the storms of life threaten to swamp your boat and drown your song, find a place of refuge and rest in the secure arms of your Heavenly Father until the storm passes by.

Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever I pray
In fathomless billows of love.

Prayer: Father in the midst of all of life's uncertainties grant us your peace. Amen.

I am intrigued by the story of Abraham and Sarah, recorded in the book of Genesis. They had waited a lifetime for a son, and then God asked of Abraham the ultimate: to offer a sacrifice to God — and not just any sacrifice would do — it was to be their son Isaac! Was this some sort of cruel joke? How could God? What right had He to give, only to take back? There are times when circumstances and situations demand that we "give up" something with which God has blessed our lives. How are we at surrendering our prized possessions?

I have to admit that "giving up" has been commonplace in my personal pilgrimage. Yet even after lots of practice, "giving up" is not something that comes easily. Facing the death of my dad as a child brought home early the lesson that nothing in this life lasts forever. By the time I was thirteen years old, life had demanded my dad, my family and the place I called home. What else of the things that mattered to me would life demand I surrender?

My health was the next thing I'd lose. In just a few years freedom of movement was something I could only dream about or reflect on. Everyone can see the changes in the external, but few know the internal battles that rage at times as I grasp for my dignity, clutching at straws, watching as one by one they slip through my fingers as I struggle desperately to cling to that last thread of hope.

I've learned that life can demand most of the things that matter to us: loved ones die, relationships grow cold, and health fails. I've learned too that there is one thing that life cannot take — our faith. There is an old spiritual that says, "The world didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away." Now I'm not naive; I know there are times and circumstances that really shake our faith, and tempt us to abandon the God we serve.

Sometimes when I'm going through tough times people will ask, "How can you believe in God?" My response is always the same. In tough times we either run from God or we run to Him. Over the course of my life, I've learned that to run from God is futile, but He is faithful to see us through. His grace is sufficient for every loss I've sustained.

I've learned that when life takes what matters, we need to do the best with what we have left. Yes, even Christians need to mourn our losses, and maybe, for a time, mourn what might have been — but we must not get stuck there.

Prayer: Father, help us in all of life to recognize that the only security we can find is in You alone. Amen.

I think of Moses, the son of an Israelite, raised in the courts of Pharaoh. Yet Moses was loved and chosen by God to lead His people out of their bondage in Egypt. God's love held Moses secure in the bulrushes, through the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. When Moses doubted, God cared; when he questioned; God answered; when Moses had needs, God provided.

With my mind's eye I visualize David, a shepherd boy, tending his father's flock out on the green hills of the countryside. His brothers are all away from home fighting in Saul's army. Jesse calls David home to run an errand for him to King Saul's camp. Meanwhile, God calls David out to win the battle against the giant Goliath, using a stone and a mere slingshot.

Esther, beautiful Queen Esther, was a peasant Jewish girl whose faith and courage God used to preserve her people from annihilation at the hands of wicked Haman.

Mary, another ordinary woman, was used to teach us that this world's goods are of little value when kept to oneself, but to serve others is a noble call. When Mary anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair, I believe she declared for all time that service is the highest call! To give oneself unreservedly, regardless of the cost, is what the Lord asks from each of us.

I am constantly in awe to think that God would use a little boy's lunch to feed five thousand hungry people. Just five loaves and two small fish — so little — and yet so much in the hands of the Master.

What of you and me; what do we have to give? A stammering tongue like Moses? An obedient spirit and a youthful heart like David? Faith and courage like Esther? Will we give out of our hard-earned possessions like Mary? Will you and I be like that unnamed little lad who gave all that he had? It wasn't much in terms of quantity, but God took that lad's lunch and changed the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Today, if you and I will yield ourselves to Christ, He'll take us, ordinary people, and He'll use us to accomplish extraordinary tasks.

Each of us has gifts and abilities yet often we short-change ourselves and never tap into our gifts because we fear others will criticize our performance. I want to encourage each of us to get involved, and not to wait until we're perfect, but allow Christ to use the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary.

Isaiah 6:8 – Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (NIV)

Prayer: Father, help us each to pray, saying, "I give you my life today with all my weaknesses, shortcomings and failures. Use me for your glory. I pray for Jesus' sake." Amen.

Me, a work of art? I don't think so, not me, impossible. I constantly fight the battle of the bulge, or my nose is too big! Too small! Familiar words? Do you have an on-going battle to accept yourself as you are? We live in a society that says slim is in! And if you can't slither into a size five then there is something wrong with you.

Some years ago I had the opportunity to visit a pottery shop. The first thing I noticed was the variety of pots on display. There were flat pieces, just right for holding a piece of pie or any kind of solid food. There were bowls, just dandy for holding hot soup. Just imagine if the potter had made all of the pottery in the same shape. Can you visualize pouring hot soup onto a flat plate or holding your sandwich in a teacup?

I saw beautifully shaped, tall vases, just perfect for holding long stemmed roses. But try to picture fitting a long-stemmed rose into a coffee mug. It would do the rose such a disservice. There were bright and shiny pieces of pottery, so brilliantly coloured that they jumped into view. Other pieces that appeared more subdued were equally beautiful when carefully viewed. Each piece of pottery in the pottery shop had been designed with a specific purpose in mind, and the potter knew just the right specifications necessary to make each piece a work of art.

So it is with the Master Craftsman. He has created, molded and shaped each one of us to His specific design. Then He placed us into this world, His pottery shop, to fulfill the purpose for which He created us. Some people He has designed to be like the vase. Theirs will be a position or purpose that will require them to reach greater heights than others will. There are those who will be out-going, surrounded by friends. Their bright and bubbly dispositions make them a delight to have around. There are the shy, reserved types, who at first glance may appear uninteresting and uninviting. But just like the more subdued pieces of pottery, these people, if given the opportunity, will enhance our life.

Which category or type of pottery are you? We may vary in personality, nationality, colour, appearance, position and abilities, but our substance is all the same: clay! We can work to change our exterior, and perhaps we'll succeed. But only God can change the interior and make you and me a work of art.

Something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion, He understood.
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife;
But He made something beautiful out of my life.

Prayer: Precious God, eternal and everlasting Father, thank You for creating us according to Your plan and purpose for our life. Help us to fulfill the purpose for which You designed us, and in so doing, may we bring glory to Your name. For Jesus' sake. Amen.