Power for Life

At the close of every year, I think back to the experiences of the year. At the beginning of this year, I had wondered what the year would hold. Now I know - at least as much as I can know from my limited perspective.

In the first chapter of Acts, the disciples were coming to the close of a season in their lives and entering a new one. They wondered, too, what the future would hold. This dialogue between Jesus and His disciples happens just before He ascends into heaven. Check out how He answeres their question.

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

There you have it. It's not for us to concern ourselves with what the future will hold. What we do need to know, however, is that we have the same promised power of the Holy Spirit available to us... for today... and for whatever the future may hold. 

The question for us is...

Will you again submit your life and future to God? 

Will you welcome the Holy Spirit to have His way in your life throughout this new year? 

Through the power of the Holy Spirit we will be victorious, we will be comforted, and we will have strength. We will have all we need for all the days and all that they hold. 

It's not for us to know

but there's power for us to go

boldly into the unknown

blessed by the One Who knows

Count It All Joy

I read Amity’s blog the other day and was inspired by the things she wrote about asking God for things like wisdom and peace and joy. I love how she encourages us to ask God for things like that and how she delights to tell us that it’s his desire to give those things and that he really does. I was inspired to ask as well.

Particularly on my list that day was joy. Just not feeling it. In fact, while I do have peace, there has been an underlying feeling of sadness in my days which I believe is coming from grieving a recent loss. I wanted to be light-hearted and happy, experiencing joy in the midst of my circumstances.

As I was talking to God about it in the shower (it seems a lot of conversations with God happen there) he reminded me of the place in his word that says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3

“Count it all joy...”

What I believe the Holy Spirit was telling me is this: I must credit joy to me when I face various trials that produce steadfast faith. I must deem my trials as joy. Therefore, I have joy because I am going through a hard place in life. I have joy. I have it! My suffering is my joy.

So I began to thank God for giving me joy - based on what God says joy is, not on what I think it is or what I want it to be.

I noticed that my outlook began to change as the day went on. The sadness of grieving remains, but I am no longer bemoaning the fact that I don’t have joy in my life. The enemy has no grounds to come at me with the lie that there’s something wrong with me because I am not experiencing light-hearted happiness right now. God has given me true joy. This does not in any way deny the exuberance and delight of the feelings of great joy. Joy does come with emotion attached. It is ALL joy.

Because I knew I was going to write about this for my post today and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going off on my own thinking, and because I love words, I looked up “count” in the Greek. It means to consider, deem, account, think. It “denotes a belief resting not on one's inner feeling or sentiment, but on the due consideration of external grounds, and the weighing and comparing of facts.” (Strong’s Greek Lexicon - blueletterbible.org)

Count it all joy, my sisters...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! May God bless you this day and give you joy and peace. Remember His ultimate sacrifice.

I just want to leave you with the words to one of my favourite Christmas songs:

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Although a baby, Jesus changed the world by coming down to us. It's His birthday... so let's celebrate HIM!

Top of the List

"He's making a list and checking it twice..."

At this time of year, it seems like we need lists. These are the lists I have:

A gift shopping list. 

Grocery list.

To do list. 

Menu plans. 

We see many lists in Scripture too. One of the most well known ones would be But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Here's another one:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue (goodness), and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly-affection, and brotherly-affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8

This week I was shopping with my daughter-in-law for her Christmas gifts and also for my son's gifts. We had a great time together, and it turned out to also be a very successful shopping trip. When we were finished shopping, she said that the things we had bought for her were the top three items on her Christmas list.

It seems at any given time in our spiritual lives, we also have something at the top of our list of what we want God to do in our lives. There's one characteristic, gift, or fruit of the Spirit that we focus on and pray for. 

Back to the shopping trip with my daughter-in-law... As we were driving home, we were talking about our husbands and how thankful we are for them and how we admire them. I was relating to her, that a while ago we kept hearing appreciative comments from quite a number of people from different circles, about my husband being wise. As my husband and I talked about it at dinner one night, he said that for many years that was the one thing that he prayed intensely for. God had put a serious desire in his heart for wisdom. Now we are seeing that God has answered and given my husband the gift of wisdom. 

My daughter-in-law then said that the thing she is praying most for is peace - having her heart and mind stay in a place of contentment. 

This morning as I was waking up, I realized that I have JOY! More than a few years now, I've had the fruit of joy at the top of my wish list. I was almost giddy in my bed when I realized that throughout this often stressful time of Christmas prep, I've had joy to sustain me. Joy has become a characteristic in my life. This is really exciting for me because I see that God has done this for me! I was first motivated to ask God for joy because, contrary to my name being Joy (middle name), I wasn't really experiencing joy. 

What are you asking God for? Since God gives good gifts to his children when they ask, be encouraged to keep asking Him for what you have at the top of your list. Ask and you shall receive. It's Christmas after all!

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

May the Lord give rest to your soul my dear sisters....may he fill your home and your own dear heart with his Peace.

May your trust be in the One who loves you soooooo much....don't let the worries of your heart overtake you.  Trust Him with what has yet to be done or what hasn't gotten done.  Let us not become "dismayed" with our preparations for our celebrations.

Give Him your heart this Christmas.  Give Him your heart today.  All of it.

What about the parts of your heart that don't look pretty?   He wants that too.  Give Him your struggles, your worries and your fears.  Are you stressed about money?  Are you going to be spending time with family members that you struggle with, or that have hurt you?  Do you have expectations of what a
"good" Christmas looks like and you're afraid it won't happen?  Talk to Him.

Whatever it is that is on your heart.......You can trust Jesus with it.

He was born to save us from satan's power....He was born to save us from ourselves.
Girl...He was born to save us.  Just think about that.  Say it again.

HE WAS BORN TO SAVE US!!!!

What does that mean for you and for me?

Oh...Tidings of Comfort and Joy....Comfort and Joy....Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

The Gift of Giving

"They were the first people my grandfather saw as he was coming off the battlefield in World War I," the man said. "He was wet, cold and covered in mud. They met him with a cup of steaming hot coffee... I'll never forget it."

I watched as he placed some money in the Salvation Army kettle. This was my first year volunteering. A friend and I had volunteered together but at the last minute, she had gotten too sick to come. As I stood there, I thought of the "gift" of giving. Some lowered their eyes as they passed me, some would look away as though they did not see me... others wished me a Merry Christmas. Most of the shoppers, who slid money into the pot, were older people... a lot of them ten to fifteen years older than me. I wondered where the young people were. By young people, I was thinking... thirties and forties. I can remember as a child being so excited to drop my coins into the kettle and feeling as though I had done something wonderful! Where were the families with children?

As I stood there waiting and observing, I saw a young couple taking a little baby out of a stroller. They looked as though they were searching for something. He was checking his pockets, she was checking her purse. And then I saw the Dad put something into the baby's hand and walk over to where I was standing. She was an adorable baby with curly blonde hair and a beautiful little cherubic face. She held tightly to the coin as her Dad tried to persuade her to put it into the kettle. Her chubby, little fist was clenched tightly, and honestly, there is no way she would have been able to put that coin into the money slot on the kettle by herself. As the coin dropped and she heard the clang... a big smile came over her face and her dad's. As he held her in his arms and walked away, emotions of gratitude filled my heart. I wondered to myself how that could make me so emotional. As I thought on it... I realized it wasn't even about the coin. It was the heart of the Dad and the child that stirred my emotions.

The dad was teaching the child, "the gift of giving." The love and affection displayed brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of the deep love and affection the Heavenly Father has for us. And how one Christmas, two thousand years ago... God gave the "Ultimate Gift to the world in His Son, Jesus, Christ." Though He came as a little baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, He left leaving us a gift that out stands the richest billionaire in the world. All we have to do to receive this gift... is to receive Him. Jesus gave His life so that we might have eternal life with Him and live forever in peace, contentment and happiness. There is no greater gift!

A Gift for Jesus

This Christmas, my mom has been talking to us about what gifts we can give to Jesus. Not physical gifts like toys or clothes... but instead, something that we give up to Him. For me, the gift has been giving up my worries and stress to Him. I'm giving Him the gift of my trust, believing that He will help me when I feel overwhelmed. And it's brought me so much peace. Giving a gift has actually helped me :) Jesus wants a gift from each one of us. It could be money, it could be spending time with Him, it could be giving up fear, or pride... anything. So, my question is... what is your gift to Jesus this Christmas?