Joy

I have the Joy, Joy, Joy Joy
Down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart
I have the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy
Down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

Remember that one from Sunday School? The melody hung with you all day.

This past summer my classmate's mother passed away and one of the songs chosen to celebrate her life was Joy to the World.


Joy to the world, the Lord has come,
let earth receive her king.
Let every heart, prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing
And heav'n and nature sing
Let heaven and heaven and nature sing.

There is joy deep in my heart to know the Lord has come to reign here on earth. A joy that is eternal not just fleeting happiness. And let us not put those songs away but sing them every day.

"No human being ever finds rest and joy until he finds it in the heart of God. A person who experiences joy is not one who has an absence of troubles, but one who has learned to live abundantly in spite of circumstances"

Author unknown

Psalm 126: 3 3

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy

Think of Joy in this way

J esus, then

O thers, then

Y ourself

In a search for happiness the individual focuses upon himself, but joy moves a person out of a self-centered preoccupation and provides an orientation towards others. If we are willing to give up the search for happiness, we may find joy.

Second Chances

Recently my sister had a heart attack at the young age of 55. It might be said that she has several bad habits that contributed to her condition, namely the lethal cigarette and the love of fried food. But in her defense; she gets plenty of exercise gathering wood, hauling water and other physical tasks as she has chosen to reside without the modern comforts of electricity, running water and "turn up the thermostat" heat.
Feeling discomfort, sometimes severe, she continued to stockpile her wood for the winter, taking aspirin to relieve the pain. For ten days she was aware that it was her heart, but with no insurance and no money what options are available to her. Finally the pain will not be subsided, all alone with no means of communication, she started the generator to charge her otherwise useless, dead cell phone and called the ambulance. Later that day an operation was performed to place a stint in her 99% blocked artery, and modern medicine had just put a bandaid on her sick body.
Being so close to death my brother asked if she was afraid, "No, I've had a wonderful life, I have everything I've ever wanted, and I love everything I have." What a statement! My first thought was, you have nothing, but she isn't me and her words humble me.
To press on in this life, my dear sister has many obstacles to overcome and bad habits to break, but the Lord gives us all second chances when we call upon his name. He arranged the circumstances of that morning because he has a purpose for her, and I am excited to think what that might be.
http://www.maxlucado.com/email/2008/05.16.html

Edward Joseph says:
God won’t extend your life if you don’t have a purpose to fulfill. As you start your day, ask God what words of wisdom he gives you. Then desperately look for a person who you will give encouragement to.

Let's Just Praise the Lord

Let's just Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord
Let's just lift our hearts toward heaven
and Praise the Lord
Let's just praise the Lord
Praise the Lord
Let's just Lift our hearts to heaven
and Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord for music, and the talent God gives to spread the word. Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote this song, and several hundred more. It's hard to feel downhearted or discouraged when you are praising the Lord with a song.

Gloria Gaither "Sometimes we just go on praising the Lord, when there’s nothing else to do.”
http://www.tanbible.com/tol_sng/letsjustpraisethelord.htm

Welcome

Every morning brings a new day of choices to be made. The great thing is we are in charge and can do with this day, as we choose.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24.

For over a year, my day has started with the Lord and it is a habit I'll not be changing anytime soon. I am almost finished with a second round of reading through the Bible and this time I chose the Chronological order. http://www.biblegateway.com/ is my choice for early morning reading. There I also have a number of options to select versions or translations of the Bible which help my understanding toggling back and forth during a session if I want.


BibleGateway has also put me in touch with so many great sites that start their day giving me encouragement through scripture, verse and story of application. Max Lucado, Kenneth R. Klaus at Lutheran Hour, Joyce Meyers, Phil Ware, Encouragement for Today from Proverbs 31 Women, Dorothy Valcarcel writing Transformation Garden, The Upper Room, TGIF with Os Hillman, Living Free Every Day (LFED), Miriam Woolbert, Greg Laurie, This Days Thoughts.org, Quiet Walk, Love Worth Finding by Pastor Adrian Rogers and the list goes on and on. I will always give credit for quotes that originate from these sites that you might read on this blog.

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up."
John Andrew Holmer.

When I find an especially good verse, quote, topic or song, I can't wait to pass it on to someone in hopes it will set the tone of their day, or lift them up from a valley they find hard to climb out of on their own.


As I read through the scriptures, I am encouraged as I hear in my heart the songs that were inspired by these words. Songs of hope, faith, praise, worship, and comfort in times of trouble, that let us feel the timeless and eternal message of the Holy Bible.

The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me victory. Psalm 118:14