31 Days - Joy Quotes

So today, I thought it might be fun to search out some quotes about joy...here's a few I found:

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

 

 

 “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen

 

 

“when we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of Jesus”
― Corrie ten Boom 

 

 

“A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. She gives most who gives with joy.”
― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

 

 

 Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is the presence of God. 

- Robert Schuller

 

 

 "Joy, it's always a function of gratitude - and gratitude is always a function of perspective."

- Ann Voskamp

 

 

  "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
--Jesus Christ (John 15:11-12)

 

 

Joy, it’s always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective. - See more at: http://www.aholyexperience.com/crazy-joy/#sthash.qLhW13cA.dpuf

Joy, it’s always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective. - See more at: http://www.aholyexperience.com/crazy-joy/#sthash.qLhW13cA.dpuf

31 Days - Joy found

A few grace gifts that brought me joy this weekend:
1. glimpses of mountaintops in the distance
2. lights reflecting off water
3. delicious food that was a pleasure to eat slowly
4. friends who filled the time with conversation and laughter
5. musically talented people who shared their gift and made times of worship fun and reverent at the same time
6. hearing Gods words from many different people
7. long hours of sleep, even in a noisy hotel
8. meeting new people
9. benches to rest on when legs begin to ache
10. colors and textures and designs that are pleasing to the eye
11. time to get away
12. walking in fresh air and warm sun

31 Days - Lean into Him

I think one of the biggest things I will take away from this weekend at Women of Faith is "lean into Him."  We heard talks about how much God loves us, how we are more than we know and that we need to "shake our tree" once in a while and take a risk...and see what God, who is more than we can imagine, will do with it.  We heard stories of strength, and stories of pain, and stories of victory in Jesus.  We heard that just because we feel offended or insecure or inadequate, doesn't mean that we ARE any of those things. 

But one thing that I heard over and over was this one phrase...lean into Him.  Just take a moment when you are done reading this to close your eyes and imagine Jesus sitting next to you, gesturing to you to lean into Him.  Imagine doing just that as He wraps His strong and mighty arms around you...gently folding you into a hug as He tells you to just let go.  Let go of the fear.  Let go of the frustration.  Let go of the anxiety.  Let go of the dreams that seem lost.  Let go of the anger.  Let Him take it all.  And then hear His voice saying to you, "You are My beloved daughter.  You are loved.  You are beautiful.  You are mine." 

Do you feel that?  The freedom?  The joy of knowing that your Savior knows you and all your mistakes and all your troubles and all your worries....the joy of knowing that He has overcome the world and will help you to also be victorious?  Just let it sink in for a moment and then let your heart soar on the wings of joy...

Lean in to Him.  When you're tired.  When you're done with all THIS.  When you can't take another step forward because you've tried and tried and tried.  Lean in to Him.  Let His joy be your strength.  Let His strength be your joy. 

31 Days - Joy chose me!

 Tonight I attended a Women of Faith conference in Portland, OR.  In an arena filled with mostly women, and a few brave men...we worshiped our God with Kari Jobe, laughed til we cried with Anita Renfroe, and heard a message from Dr. Charles Stanley - God loves us, God wants us to be whole.  

 

As I think back over the evening, I remember the thrill of the bass pounding through the room...echoing inside my chest as we sang "We are the light of the world.  We are a city on a hill.  We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine."  The hundreds of voices raised in praise to our glorious, all-powerful, loving God....the echoes of joy that filled that room HAD to reverberate all the way to the heavens.  

 

Women of all ages.  Women of all backgrounds.  Women with so many different stories.  Women with hearts that ached.  Women with hearts that have been healed.  Women (and those few men) who have come together for a single purpose...to spend time in fellowship and worship of our Creator, the one who knit us together individually...and now corporately.

 

At times, you could feel the pain...dark, dreary.  But then came a reminder of how much God loves...how much He longs to make each of us whole...  And then, you'd see heads nod, tentative smiles begin to grow, hands unclasp in laps, eyes grow bright...  And joy was in that place.  

 

One of the women shared the following verses at the very beginning of the evening: 

 

Psalm 126:2-3

2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

And that's how it was in that arena tonight. We were filled with laughter. We sang songs of joy. We thought of all the things the Lord has done for us...all the things the Lord can do...all the things He wants to do for us...and we were filled with joy. As we joined together in prayer, hundreds of heads bowed, hundreds of hands holding the hand of someone in the next seat, hundreds of mouths whispering, hearts crying out...I could feel waves of emotions running through that room, through me. And overwhelmingly, over the top of it all....joy.


And I thank God for the opportunity to be in this place this weekend. To look forward to hearing Ann Voskamp and the other speakers tomorrow share what God has put on their hearts this weekend, and to worship with MercyMe. I thank God for the friends I came with and the friends I will make.


Tonight I didn't have to choose joy....it chose me.  The Lord has done great things for us...for me.  And I am so grateful!

31 Days - Joy in the 23rd Psalm

So, one of my little tasks at work is to collect the mail from the staff mailboxes in the fellowship area and take them to the mailboxes in the main office.  Today, I happened upon this quote on an article left for one of the pastors.  It just jumped off the page at me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all evening.

To believe the Twenty-third Psalm 

is to live a life of victory, a life of joy and peace,

a life triumphant in prayer, in Bible study, in service.

-Dr. Robert C. McQuilken

Wow...read that again.  Slowly.  Let it soak in to your mind, your heart.  Think about it...  And then, read the 23rd Psalm...here, I'll put it right here:

Psalm 23
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

Need to read that again?  It's ok, go ahead....

Now think about this...if you lived your life BELIEVING the 23rd Psalm, what would that look like?  

The Lord is my Shepherd - He leads me, guides me, protects me, provides for me.  I have no need to worry, or fear, or want.  Peace.  Joy.  Love.

He restores my soul - He gives me places to rest, moments to quiet my mind and my life and my soul.  Peace.  Contentment.  Joy.

He leads me in paths of righteousness - He teaches, reproves, corrects, gives wisdom.  He speaks to me in His Word.  He puts people in my life who speak truth in love, who keep me accountable.   Righteousness.  Holiness. Love.

I will fear no evil for you are with me - No fear of death - our own or someone else's.  No fear of evil.  He protects His own. He is always with us.  He hears our prayers. Comfort.  Love.

You prepare a table....anoint my head with oil...my cup overflows...goodness...mercy - He gives from His grace, in abundance, with love so that we can live triumphantly...so that we can give and share with others.  Grace.  Big grace!

Grace, peace, love, joy.  

Live believing the 23rd Psalm.  Pray.  Study the Word.  Serve.  Choose joy each and every day.

31 Days - All Joy and Peace

Romans 15:13 (HCSB) 
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love this verse.  There's so much held in those 32 words.  It's a blessing passed on by Paul in his letter to the Romans, and to today's reader.  I can imagine how one of those early Christians may have felt...to read those words from Paul and know that he was praying those things for me....hope, joy, peace...the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  It would give me a certain confidence...the kind that comes from hope, joy, and peace...the kind that comes from knowing the love of God...the kind that comes out of believing...or as another version puts it - trusting in Him.

Do you see it?  God offers those things to us through His glorious grace...and all we have to do is believe in Him.  It's a choice isn't it?  A choice to believe...then, to receive. 

You can have hope...even in a seemingly hopeless situation.  You can have joy...even when things seem desolate and dark.  You can have peace...even when it feels like you are in the midst of a tornado of turmoil.  By choosing to believe...by giving your heart, your life, your entire being over to the Creator of all things.  By believing in Jesus Christ, the savior of sinful mankind.  By allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to fill you and flow through you.  By trusting in a God who never leaves your side, no matter the situation.

When you believe that God loves you, that Christ died for you, that the Holy Spirit will guide, encourage, and empower you...you choose a life of hope; you choose joy; you choose peace. 

What will you choose?  A life of looking for your own way?  A life of disappointment and grief?  A life of discontent?  Or will you choose a life abundantly blessed?  A life eternal...with all hope and joy and peace?

I choose to believe.  I choose the joy that can only come from walking close to the God of hope.


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Counting grace gifts illuminates joy - Joy Dare for October 2:  3 gifts falling
1. maple leaves on my lawn
2.dropping temps means fall has come
3. the number on the scale  :)

31 Days to Choose Joy

I've decided to join in the Nester's 31 days challenge.  31 days to write on the topic of your choice.  My choice?  Well....joy...my One Word 2013.

Remember this?                               

Well...here it is...October...10 months into my year of joy...and I haven't talked about it much lately...but I have been choosing it often.

So, for the next 31 days, I want to look at lots of different places in the Word of God that speak to joy.  I want to share with you my moments of joy...the joy I find, the joy given to me, the joy I choose, the joy that is in the Lord.

Can't wait to see what this month brings...as I focus on joy and share it with you!

Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!

Nehemiah 8:10b

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Are you counting 1000 gifts?  Today's Joy Dare was to find 3 gifts orange...
1. pumpkins all in a pile at the grocery store
2. pretty little african violet growing in an orange pot on my desk
3. bright orange shoes on daughter's feet