Weeping may endure in the night, but joy comes in the morning….this picture gives me hope in busy times and troubling times.

Now we can’t spend hours and hours and hours sitting and reading the Bible each day, but we can spend hours and hours and hours talking to God throughout our day—even when it is wails and cries about the injustice in this world.

This has been one of my busiest seasons in life. It seems everything happens at the same time.

Within the past month I have:

Written the manuscript for my third book (Successful Leaders of the Bible, Hachette/FaithWords); I’ve had four months since turning in the second book in the series (Successful Women of the Bible—out August 23, 2016!), but I really am a deadline oriented person—so four months seems like forever. I did start on this book earlier than I did the second one because I am learning, but…

I Moved—well, let’s back up. On May 1, 2016, my husband and I walked into the home we thought would be perfect for us, made a bid (even though we were told there was one on the table), waited two days for it to be approved, and then started a pretty quick trek toward closing on June 10. In between that time, we had to pack up the condo we had lived in together for 8 years and still keep the condo looking presentable since it was on the market and needed to be ready to show in a 24-hour period. I hadn’t moved in a long time—and my last move was in the same building so I took stuff downstairs each day, making the move relatively easy. Well, this time things were different. I didn’t move as a single woman. I moved as a married woman with a 6-year-old child. Who knew a kid and a husband could pack on so much stuff. Nothing has been thrown out since Derrick moved in or since Kayla was born… Nothing! Not to mention, I had the luxury of keeping everything I wanted since my last move was just down stairs. Moving is no joke! Moving a family is really no joke. But we did it and we are thankful.

I Vacationed—because we didn’t plan when our dear cousins announced their wedding date that we’d be in the middle of a move and I’d be writing my third book. Life can surprise you like that. But, we wouldn’t have wanted to miss such a momentous occasion to share with our family—so we packed up and enjoyed the heat in Dominican Republic for five days—even as our boxes in our condo glared at us, wondering what we were thinking (oh, and they had to be neatly stacked boxes, because we just never know when the perfect buyer will walk through the door with our realtor, whether we are soaking up rays or not!).

Life—I’m not even going to list all of the other things going on: book signings (for Successful Moms of the Bible), end-of-school stuff for Kayla, new summer camp at a new school to adjust to, my business work (and I’m working on some fantastic stuff from amazing authors), Vacation Bible School (because I wanted Kayla to experience what is near and dear to my heart (Christian education!) and I’m working on curriculum and it helps to see it in action), etc.

But in the midst of this month (June and July), I’ve felt total peace. One second before I wanted to get upset with my husband (over some random move stuff), I stopped and realized I should look at this differently; I should consider his side, I should take into account all that he was doing and all of the work he had put into our move while getting used to his new job. Whoa, what was that? I was listening when I wanted to be upset. It had to be nothing but God’s spirit, guiding me and correcting me before I even opened my mouth. Imagine that! I wondered what had happened… And then I thought back to the hours and hours I had poured over scripture to finish that manuscript. Is that really what happens when you spend hours and hours in God’s Word, reflecting on the faith story of Bible characters as well as your own?

Oh yeah, that’s exactly what happens. Now we can’t spend hours and hours and hours sitting and reading the Bible each day (even I can’t—publishing is so much more than just sitting and writing), but we can spend hours and hours and hours talking to God throughout our day—even when it is wails and cries about the injustice in this world. It’s called prayer: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  (Philippians 4:6, NLT)

It’s what can keep you in perfect peace… I promise. I’m a witness.

You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3, NLT)

Successful Leaders of the Bible comes out January 3, 2017. It is the third book in a series. Successful Moms of the Bible (available now) and Successful Women of the Bible (preorder now; available August 23, 2016) are also a part of the series.

Katara Washington Patton is author of the Successful Bible Series (Hatchette/Faithwords, 2016). She also helps others publish their work through her company, Esteem Publishing and Consulting.

How’s your prayer life?