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What is joy?

Merriam Webster dictionary states that joy is a feeling of great happiness

: A source or cause of great happiness: something or someone that gives joy to someone

: Success in doing, finding, or getting something.

While all these give us human’s great happiness, I find something missing from the definition.  Jesus!

Jesus has provided us joy through our happiness and our tribulations. He provides an escape when we fall and He provides the feeling of abundant happiness.   In the world we see joy as a baby being born, a wedding ceremony, an adoption, a reuniting of family members. And the list can go on and on. We see our smiles form on one another’s faces as if we don’t have a care what is going on around us. We get lost in the moment. We are in an awe of wonder. I remember the first time I held my son in my arms; he was so little yet so incredibly handsome. My joy for him was out of this world. It was the most happiness I had ever felt in my entire life. My son was something that I felt I did something right in the world that we live in.

In Psalms 100:1 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.” A lot of people take a joyful noise as just referring to music. But in God’s eyes; His perspective of a joyful noise is praising Him! Think about a marriage. When the husband and wife say their vows they are making a covenant with God. They are telling God that they promise to love one another and care for one another no matter what happens. That they will always be by their side and will never stray. They say this all for the honor of God.

On my wedding day when my husband and I made our vows to one another we promised each other as well as God that we would love each other till the end. We prayed and asked God to become a part of our marriage and that we would do our best to never leave Him. Our voice and actions is making a joyful noise unto the Lord. He is looking down on your life seeing your life full with laughter, happiness, pleasures, family, and friends is something that He cherishes because you are His child.

Speaking of pleasures giving us great joy. Psalms 16:11 says “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” There are also the bad pleasures in this world. God warns us about those that feel like they give us fullness of joy. He tells us in this verse that He will show us the right path. It’s up to us to listen to Him. God gives us a choice of everything that we do. He loves us that much and has enough faith in each and every one of us to choose the right path. We may in our left hand have the bible and in our left have a temptation. It is our choice to decide how to fill up our joy. With God or our own selfish needs that will lead into consequences that we don’t see coming until it is too late.

This leads me into James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation; knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.”

My good old friend James warns us about our decisions. He also tells us that the temptations that we face we should count it all joy? Did you hear that? COUNT IT ALL JOY? Is he crazy? He wants me to be joyful when the devil shows me all these awesome worldly things and I am tempted to follow it? YES!! I know sounds crazy, right? But, think of it this way… Mother is doing all she can to do the right thing in her household. She knows that proverbs 31 woman is almost impossible. But, she knows that her children and especially her daughter is watching her. We mothers have a huge role in our home. Proverbs 14:1 tells us “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” How many times as mother/daughter relationships develop we feel like we fail as mothers? MANY! I have a teenage step daughter, her mother is not a part of her life due to bad choices that she has made. Now, I feel a burden on my heart for her. I feel like I am her last hope for her to see what a wife and mother is supposed to be like. Do I feel distant from her? Yes! She is going through teenage years and as parents we are the last people on this earth that she wants to “hang out” with. She is still trying to find herself, she is going through puberty, hormones are everywhere, and there is also a young man in her life. As a mother you always want the best for your children. But how do you build up your home when they don’t stay around long enough to do so? Be an example! When your daughter is around show her how to run a house, how to take care of your husband, and also take care of yourself. “But she locks herself in her room and I never see her when she is home?” Trust me I know the feeling. But when she does miraculously come out of her room, take action! Show your husband love, take care of the home you have built and still building. It may be a 2 second, on her way to the bathroom, scene but it is something. Just remember what you teach your children your future grandchildren will probably be taught the same way.

Patience is a key part. James tells us that the trying of our faith worketh patience. Mothers, our children will be there till the end. We have to let them learn and face their own trials. If we continue to pray for them to make the wise decisions they will come around. We have to let our patience have her perfect work. During that perfect work we may be perfect and entire and want nothing. Don’t let the devil try and fill your joy with worldly things. Let God fill your joy with heavenly things. Because if we continue to let the devil fill our joy scale we will continue to want more. We would never be satisfied. But if we let God fill our joy scale HE will help us to be perfect and entire wanting nothing else but HIM!

May our lips always praise God with joyful lips! As in prayer, singing, and actions because HE is always watching and so is our daughters. (Psalm 63:5 “and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:”)

Cry Out To Jesus

Today I want to share a song with you that hits home for me every time I am going through something.  A lot of us go through trials in life.  Sometimes daily.  Other times in random settings.

My husband and I had not gotten into an argument in a long time.  A couple weeks ago there was a burden in our marriage.  The enemy started attacking both of us.  The enemy knew who to strike first and then lead into a domino effect on the other person.

Immediately there was a burden on our hearts and it was effecting our marriage.  And unlike love gradually building up.  Our disappointed feelings for each other were building up so fast like a C4 explosion.  At that very moment I gathered my thoughts before speaking.  (James 1:19 tells me to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to wrath)  I decided that a long walk would calm me down.  When I first started walking I turned on my music and shoved my headphones in my ear and started taking off as fast as I could.  Automatically this song came on. Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day. I stopped dead in my tracks and started crying.  I immediately started praying and asking God to help our marriage through this pain.  I thanked Him for not letting my anger get the best of me and for me to have the courage to say, “I’m going for a walk!”  Instead of standing there fighting which would have led to nothing.

After my walk and talk with God I realized that He was by my side holding my hand guiding me through this burden that wore on my heart.  He told me that my husband and I need to sit and talk.  With my husband’s work schedule it is hard to get a “stop and sit to talk” moment.  My husband works night shift.  I prayed and asked God to make time for that.  Next thing I knew my husband sent me a text.

First, I want to say that face to face conversations are the best way to go, but in our situation it was impossible.  So, in order for us to get through this and not have the rest of our day go sour, we talked through texting.  By the time we “talked” everything was worked out.  We talked about our temptations in life, our faults, our pains, our thoughts, and what we can do together to fix it.  As we were discussing things I felt God working through both of us.  He showed me how to love my husband.  He showed me how to treat my husband.  God lifted my pain and burden on my heart.

A couple days later my husband and I were having lunch and I told my husband that I won’t be able to forget our bad day but I will look back and see how God worked on both of us.  I told my husband that I was hurt but I forgave him.  I also apologized for not being the wife that I needed to be for him.  He also forgave me. (If your marriage is struggling with something it is NOT just one person’s responsibility of how it got to that point.  IT TAKES BOTH OF YOU TO SHOW LOVE AND IT ALSO TAKES BOTH OF YOU TO MAKE IT FALL.)

During the past week we have been so in love with each other. I can’t get enough of my husband! I have that feeling of the first time we met. The giddy, magical, lost in time feelings. Every time I see my husband I want to run and hold him. My love for my husband has grown over and beyond words can describe. Through God, we both have realized what love in a marriage in all about. We go out of our way for each other, help around the house, study God’s word together, and work more closely to satisfy each other’s needs instead of working on our own selfish needs. I have taken more time in prayer for my husband and our marriage.  I even got on my computer this morning and found a video of my husband playing his guitar singing to me. If that doesn’t melt a wives heart I don’t know what will.

I love you honey and I am so glad God put us together. We make an amazing team! Thank you for all you do for our family!

If you are struggling at something in your life right now, I encourage you to listen to this song, pray for God’s healing, and be obedient to what God tells you.  If you need prayer send me a message, I will gladly pray for you.  CRY OUT TO JESUS!

ENJOY THIS SONG Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Cherished

What do you think of when you hear the word…Relationship?  Do you think of marriage, boyfriend/girlfriend, friendship, family, etc?  There are many different views of relationships, but I am referring to one Relationship in particular.  Marriage.  Even the relationships that are just starting to get to know each other.  But, I will be mainly talking about husbands and wives; but this goes to anyone dating also.

Ephesians 5:28- “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.  He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

In today’s world we are taught that when things go wrong in a relationship that you can just get rid of this one and get a “newer model”.  But if you view this way in your relationship; you do not understand the significant bond of a husband and wife.  Marriage is a bond between one another.  You become one.  Check out these two scenarios that I read in the Love Dare book.  Which I highly recommend to all marriages.

“A man’s older car begins having serious trouble, so he takes it to a mechanic.  After an assessment is made, he is told it will need a complete overhaul, which would tax his limited budget.  Because of the expensive repairs, he determines to get rid of the car and spend his funds on a new vehicle.  Seems reasonable, right?”

“Another man, an engineer, accidentally crushes his hand in a piece of equipment.  He rushes to the hospital and has it x-rayed, finding that numerous bones are broken.  Although frustrated and in pain, he willingly uses his savings to have it doctored and placed in a cast, then gingerly nurses it back to health over the following months.  This, too, probably seems reasonable to you also, right?”

Our culture today is more familiar with leaning towards the first scenario in a marriage.  Would you cut off your hand if it was injured?  No, you would do everything you could; no matter the cost to fix your frustration and pain.  This is exactly how we should look at our marriage.  The parts of our own body is priceless and so should our marriage.

Ephesians 5:29- “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:”

We cherish our own bodies.  We make sure that our body is fed and taken care of.  We must treat our spouse the same way.  When you show love to your spouse, you are showing love to Yourself.   Think about this for a second..  You walk in the door from work, your spouse gives you and hug and kiss, asks you how your day was, and has supper ready on the table.  You lash out at your spouse because you have had a bad day and you just want to be left alone.  And then what happens?  You are arguing the rest of the evening.

Now, let’s take out the lashing out.. you sit down and thank your spouse for the meal that they prepared.  You simply tell your spouse you had an awful day and just want to relax tonight.  You talk about what went wrong and next thing you know your spouse is pampering you for the rest of the night.

Which story do you want to be?  We need to treat each other like we are talking to ourselves.  Take care of each others bodies as you would want to be taken care of.  How do you treat your spouse’s physical body?  Do you cherish it as your own?  Do you treat it with respect and tenderness?  Do you take pleasure for who they are?  Or have you been making them feel like a fool or embarrassed?

Don’t let this world change your focus of your marriage.   Don’t compare it to this culture.  We should treat each other for God’s purpose.  Not our own selfish purpose.  Show the love of two imperfect people who choose to love each other regardless of how this world sees things.

Treat each other well.  Speak HIGHLY of each other to everyone.  And remember to always Nourish, Cherish, and Respect the love of your life.

And the award goes to…

“Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.” 1Thessalonians 2:6(KJV)

I can’t think of one person who is not at least a little bit competitive.  We all crave some kind of fame.  Whether it be 15 minutes or a lifetime.  Our human nature is full of selfish acts, that it is hard to not want the attention from doing something that could have an award with it.

When I was younger, I wanted to be the stand out, scholarship winning, parent wishing I was their child superstar.  I was taught to be the best you can be and work your butt off doing it.  It was in my genes.  My father was a all star athlete.  My mom was in the dance part of band.  And they both stood out amongst all the other students.  I was told don’t cry about anything.  Suck it up and move on was our motto.

Now, I want my days where people see me and know that I am a Christ follower.  I want people to automatically say, “She is a Christ follower!” when they hear my name.  I don’t want the glory from sports anymore.  Yes, I still will do my best.  But, sports is not a priority to me.  God has become something that I thrive for.  I compete to be the best Christ follower I can be.  I want people to remember me as being on fire for God.  I want them to remember where my love and passion went first.

And the Christ Follower Award goes to…

Colossians 3:23-24-And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

I remember being younger playing sports and I wanted to do my best to impress my daddio when he was able to come watch me play.  It is the same with my Heavenly Father.  I want to impress Him so that He says these words to me from the book of Matthew when I am no longer here on this earth.

Matthew 25:21– “His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

I can not wait to see my heavenly Father.  But, I don’t want to disappoint Him either.  We are eager to not wanting to disappoint our parents.  We don’t want to disappoint because we know what follows behind that if we do.  Punishment!  This is why I want to obey my heavenly Father.  I remember my dad whipping my butt for getting in the pond after he told me not to.  After that I was determined not to get my butt whipped again.  We feel that punishment but my heavenly Father’s punishment is much worse if you don’t obey Him.  But, remember that even if you do mess up (which we all do daily)  God is such a forgiving Father.  All you have to do is admit you were wrong and try everything in your power NEVER to do that sin again.  Think about the reward you will receive for doing your best for our Lord.

 

I can’t wait to be with my heavenly Father for eternity.  I hope to see you there and meet you worshipping God and enjoying no pain, no suffering, no heartache, no depression, no crimes, no guilt.  Just glorious, endless love with beautiful scenery that we can not even fathom here.  That is the reward I am thriving for!!!

April Fools!

 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Ephesians 6:10-12

It was the best April Fools joke ever!  At least my sister and I thought so when we plotted it out.  My sister lives in Wisconsin along with the rest of my moms side of the family.  At the time I was living in Indiana.  I called my sister up and we started plotting a April Fool’s joke on our mom.  (We try and do this every year, and sometimes not on April Fool’s because she would know).  We talked about my sister just having enough of it up in cheese land and moving back to Indiana.

One April first I called mom asking her what is wrong with Shellie (my sister).  My mom said, “She didn’t seem like nothing is wrong?  Why?”  I proceeded to tell mom that my sister just called me crying and said she had enough of things.  My automatically hung up the phone and called Shellie.  Shellie played along and didn’t answer the first 100 times that my mom tried to get through to her.  Finally, Shellie picked up the phone.  Shellie was with a saddened voice told mom she was moving back to Indiana.  She just couldn’t take it anymore up in Wisconsin.  After about a couple hours of going back and forth with mom. We finally told her, “April Fool’s!!!”   I know it was terrible!  We laughed so hard! But Mom didn’t seem to think it was quite so funny.  Let’s just say out of “respect” we have not fooled her like this again.

It can be fun to play harmless pranks on people.  Especially on days like today.  But when it comes to the devil trying to fool us, it’s no laughing matter.  Even though Jesus won the war with the devil when He died and rose again, satan is still trying to fool God’s people.  He hopes to be the last one standing after the Second Coming.

What does he want?  He wants you.  He wants you to follow him and not Jesus.  He wants you to believe you’re not good enough for Jesus to love.  He wants you to get discouraged when your prayers aren’t answered the way you want.  He wants you to think that being a Christian is boring.  He wants you to think that God’s rules are too strict.  He wants you to think that God is too busy for you.  He wants you to give in to temptation and sin.

Don’t let the devil fool you!  It’s Jesus-not satan-who loves you.  It’s Jesus who have His life for you!  It’s Jesus who’s preparing a place for you with Him!  The devil hasn’t done a single thing for you– except to bring you temptation, heartaches, pain, and hopelessness.  JESUS has done EVERYTHING for you.  He’s not out to destroy you, but to SAVE you.  AND I’m not foolin’!!

Words inspired by He’s got your back by Nancy Canwell