Our Bible lesson for this week focuses on the principle of peace.  When I think of peace, I think of something that is more valuable than any material thing on Earth.  Throughout my life, I have encountered so many people who are not at peace within themselves.  Whether it is a temporary problem they are faced with or a long-term issue in their life, people are searching for relief from that which causes them feelings of worry, fear, shame, discontentment, frustration or unrest.  Life is too short for us to spend it in a state of inner chaos and confusion.  Achieving personal peace will take work and prayer.  If you are one of the many people who seek peace, the first step is to acknowledge that there are emotions going on inside of you that are causing you problems.  After acknowledging the problem, start trying to figure out why those emotions exist and what you can do to feel better.  Often times, our life situations don’t change quickly so we have to change the way we view what’s going on in our lives.  That change in perception can often give us some of the relief we need.  In the Serenity Prayer which is so popular, one of the lines says, “…to accept the things I cannot change”.  Many of us are not at peace about things we have no power to change!  We must accept those things, pray about them and find peace in the fact that God is in control of the things we have no control over.  In 2009, let us all work to be at peace within ourselves…