Peace has so many definitions that it will truly take an entire book to cover just a few meaningful phrases. We don't want to simply talk about peace. We don't want to identify peace through words and phrases, but we want to help you, through a process of knowledge, ownership, and action, move through the everyday trials of life that seem to do nothing more than rob us of the real state of mind and heart that we call peace. This peace can be quite elusive when faced with the "speed of knowledge" lifestyle that we are accustomed to these days. Our desire is to create within you a hunger to be set free from the pressures around you to conform to the massive onslaught of everything, everywhere, surrounding your very existence with things, with speed, hurry, hurry, hurry! For many of us, just learning to be physically still is almost impossible, but when we finally have those moments when we can just sit down and be still, you can be sure that's where the real battle comes in, trying to make our thoughts - our minds, BE STILL! For the next forty days, we would like to take you on a journey, a process if you will, of obtaining the peace that surpasses our understanding. We would like to try and explain to you through words, some of the revelations the Lord has impressed upon us through the agonizing, sometimes torturous times of learning to BE STILL. Be still, and know that He is God and that He is Lord, and King! Literally! Yes, we say that He is Lord, but how true is it in our lives? If we believe for Him to truly be Lord in our lives, He must be the Lord of our lives in all aspects, not just in the aspects of our lives that are on public display. Look at it like this - is He Lord of your home? If so, He must have carte blanche access to be Lord over every room in your home! Not just the ones that are spotless and perfect and ready for company at a moment's notice! No! He must be Lord over every room in your house if He is to truly be Lord in your home! He cannot be given restricted access - He must have lordship over even those rooms that need a good cleaning! Of course, the same applies to our personal lives. Are there rooms in our lives that we have padlocked to keep out our heavenly Father? Have we gone from preachin' to meddlin'? Let us give you some good news and then we'll move on. Here's the thing about God; even though we have locked some doors, denying Him access, He already knows what's in there, and He doesn't love you any less! He's not shocked or appalled, He just wants to be allowed in so He can clean us up and be the true Lord of our lives. Well, instead of telling you about it, let's begin and hopefully, each day you will see more, hear more, and understand more; not just knowledge but recognition of a great need, a deep hunger to obtain peace - God's kind of peace. This peace will never be understood by the world around you; sometimes, not even by those well-meaning friends and family closest to you. It is not your job to explain it to others, teach it or even transfer it at this point. Your ultimate, one and only job, is to obtain it for yourself. Your future, your mind, your spirit, and your body depend upon your being able to find, identify, and finally learn to enter into HIS REST by ... Obtaining Peace.
About the Author: Harry and Cheryl Salem are ministers of the gospel. Cheryl was crowned Miss America 1980, but tremendous adversities nearly ended that dream before it began. As a young girl, she survived a horrific car crash that cracked her back and crushed her left leg, resulting in a physical handicap and over 100 stitches in her face. Eleven years old, poor, crippled and scarred... but a miracle, too! This was the outlook Cheryl chose, as she had been told that she might not ever walk again. But walk, she did! And she walked the runway in Atlantic City, against all odds, all because of Jesus. Harry's father passed away when Harry was 10 years old, leaving him with a mandate to be the man of the house, to never cry, and to take care of his mother and sisters. This challenge caused Harry to excel, but to also grow up with a cautious outlook on life. Cheryl has recorded numerous music CDs, the latest being I Am A Worshiper. The most popular worship music she has released over the past few years are the prophetic CDs of healing and restoration. She and Harry have co-written 36 books with topics ranging from Mourning to Morning to Entering Rest - Be Still. Their book, We Who Worship, is designed to bring the reader into a deeper level of purity and intimacy with God in worship. Their marriage books Two Becoming One and Don't Kill Each Other! Let God Do It! are great books for couples to read together and are also used for couples Bible studies together. Salem Family Ministries presents We Who Worship Gathering annually, a worship event, which includes worship, dance, art, musical theater and drama. They are walking out the Lord's plan set before them for School of Worship, intensive training sessions, where the Salems teach, impart, and personally work with students to help them grow to the next level in their worship life and ministry. Both Harry and Cheryl are sought-after ministers, who speak in churches and events across the nation. Harry has a heart for men, preaching and teaching on overcoming issues in life. Cheryl is a popular preacher at ladies events, encouraging women to reach their godly potential, but the focus of Salem Family Ministries is to take this unique, tag-team style of ministry into churches, two by two, to reach families for God, one by one.