When Joy Hides... Day 5

For forty days I'm deliberately choosing to find joy. To start from the beginning, click here.

A little pathetic that I am already running out of things that I'm joyful about and it is only Day 5. But I think that is somewhat the point of taking a challenge. 

Challenge (noun): difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

Tonight as I reflect back over my day I realize that Joy really is a choice. A difficult to see your circumstances in an attitude of joy, not just happiness. Today's circumstances have been difficult to see as joyful. 

I was reading one of my favorite blogs (The Word and A Cup of Joe), and she talked about how God commands us to rest. Today, I think I received more than just a command, I received the circumstances that force me to "rest". And it bugs me. I am so ready to jump back into routine and schedule that days like today, happy moments and all, tear me to pieces. I feel useless. I feel lazy. I don't feel like I'm resting.But I did rest, because the only reason I left the house was to run to Panera was to get bagles and cream cheese for breakfast tomorrow. I finished a great book that really got me thinking. I played with the darling little boys I'm living with that have stolen my heart. I sat around and rested.I need to choose to be joyful in that, because I know in a little over a week I will start work and those moments of entire days for rest will be far away and unreachable. I need to choose to be joyful in the circumstances that God has given me, because I know he brought me to Chicago for a reason, I know he has brought me today for a reason. I know that he wants me to take joy in EVERYTHING he has given me.So I admit, I've had a hard time choosing joy today. I hope that your challenge hasn't hit it's rough patch yet and would LOVE if you would share with me where you have found joy today. Go ahead, click on the comment box! Until tomorrow...Psalm 16:11You make known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Joy in Community - Day 4

For forty days I'm deliberately choosing to find joy. To start from the beginning click here.

Today was my birthday. I don't feel any different, but boy where there some awesome moments where I've found joy the easy choice. Those moments where each of the phone calls I received from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday.

I found great joy in these moments because each time I got to catch up with those friends and hear what was new in their lives, hear about how God was challenging and encouraging them, hear about the joy that is invading their own lives.

Today, I found joy in the community that God has given me. My location may be far away from each of these people today, but God made me so close in community it felt like I got a hug from each of these friends too. Today, simply because I was born, I got to enjoy community that God created for me. I sit here on the couch with my  host family feeling so content in that joy.

So I encourage you to share, either here, or on twitter/facebook/google+ - with your spouse, your friend, or your family - Where have you found joy in your life today?

GPS: Joy in my Travels

For forty days I'm deliberately choosing to find joy. To start from the beginning go here

For those who don't know, I've recently made a pretty significant move in my life. I graduated college last May and got hired by mission organization that is based in Carol Stream, IL (Chicago area). BIG move! My first three weeks in Chicago I spent with two other leaders from LeaderTreks (my company) running mission trips for three different churches that came into the area. Since I was always with someone else who was driving, there was no real need for me to know my way around the area.

The past two weeks I've been living in the suburbs and have been in charge of my own transportation for the most part. Knowing that I was moving to a much larger area than my tiny college town, I had purchased a GPS from a friend and boy has it come in handy.

However, as handy as it has been, I've also been working on knowing my way around without the GPS. I like the feeling of not being dependent upon technology. So today I went off to meet my friend at the office and then drive over to a park so we could slackline.So, right before noon, with the windows down enjoying the sunny 70 degree weather I drove off without turning on the GPS. I felt such joy in that moment that I knew the roads I needed to take just as well as my dear GPS did.

I felt such joy in that moment. I had absorbed what I had needed to know for my adventure today. I find joy in my gathering of knoweldge of streets in my head. In the same way, I gain joy from knowing scripture. Like my GPS, my Bible is meant to impart knowledge. I need to read it every day and use it to guide me through tough situations and read the black and white text in front of me. However, when certain situations arise that I have traveled through before, I have hidden scripture away in my heart that I may call upon it at that time. During that journey I do not need the physical Bible in my hands because I have the knowledge. How much joy I take in that fact.

There will come another day, probably tomorrow when I'll turn my GPS on to help me find something, and tomorrow morning I'll sit down to study the Word because I have not acquired all knowledge yet, but I find such joy in the moments when I realize I am storing away knowledge to be used when the situation allows.

So where did  God give you joy in your life today?

Peace and Iron: Joy Day 2

Today is the second day of my joy challenge. I almost posted this afternoon... but I wanted to see what God would bring my way, and the wait proved to be worth it.

I spent the morning just relaxing and reading around the house, but by the time one o'clock rolled around, I was wanting to get out and explore some of the forest reserves that are in the area I'd been told about. So after texting a friend for directions to the best reserve to go hammock-ing, I hopped in my car and headed out. No lie, not even a five minute drive and I get to a place that looks like this

Walking along the paths, I did not even feel like I was anywhere near a city. After a time of walking and stretching my legs, just enjoying the peace of the trees, I picked the perfect spot to set up my hammock... and there I sat for about two hours. I spent much of that time chewing through the book, The Help. But for part of it I just sat and swung in my hammock enjoying God's command, "BE STILL, and know that I am God." I find such joy in the fact that commands us to do this. He commands us to find peace and moments of stillness in this hectic world. Through that peace we can reflect on all he is doing in our lives and how he is truly God.

So the second part of joy that I discovered today was this evening while I was hanging out with one of my new co-workers. We ended up at Steak and Shake to hang out and play some games (Speed, Uno and Speed Scrabble). Near the beginning of our time together we got into an intense discussion about the use of our speech, curse words in particular. Over 3/4 of our time together were spent in this heated debate. At the end of the evening I felt so invigorated... so joyful. We did not make ground breaking revelations about anything, but I felt like we both pushed each other to think outside of the boxes that we had been thinking in. I find joy in this, because if done with the right attitude it is such brilliant picture of iron sharpening iron. Sparks may fly, but the sword is sharper by the end of it. Being sharpened is so invigorating and I cannot help but choose to be joyful when I know God is stretching me.

So, what did God bring across your path today that has allowed you to choose joy?

The Joy Challenge

I like to bookmark things on my computer, especially blogs, that I have the desire to read, but then I never take the time to read. Now, in my mass amounts of free time I'm looking through some of those bookmarks and I clicked on this one titled "The Joy Challenge"
This link has been sitting on my computer for over six months probably. A challenge to choose joy has been sitting in my bookmark list for over six months and every time I open that little tab I just glance over it.

But today, I found the courage to actually click on that link and read the post, and do you know what. It's not so scary of a challenge. Holley challenges her readers that joy is not an emotion, but rather a choice and for forty days she is telling her readers something that brings her joy. So today, I am taking up the joy challenge. I encourage you to join me and either post to your own blog, or to comment here and tell me one thing you are joyful today.

DAY ONE:
The laughter of a young child

I'm currently living with a host family who has two boys under the age of three. I love their energy and their laughter. Their laughter has the power to wipe out the late night sound of screaming that wakes me in the middle of the night. Their laughter has the power to sustain joy in my life if I choose to let it linger.

So how are you choosing to be joyful today?

Praying is Believing

One of the things I've tried to do in the past month and a half is exchange much of my free time spent watching TV with reading. One of the books I recently just tore through is called Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo. It is the story of a pastor's 4 year-old son, Colten, and his visit to heaven. This book is especially touching to me because of the example of child-like faith that it gives.

One of my favorite passages from the book is where Todd Burpo spots one of the clearest rainbows he has ever seen in his life. He is so astounded by it that he quickly calls his wife outside to look at it. As they are discussing how it could appear so vividly since it did not rain, they call Colten outside. However his response was not exactly what they expected. Burpo writes:

Colten squinted, peering up at the colors pouring across the sky.
"Cool," he said with a nonchalant smile. "I prayed for that yesterday."
Then he turned on his heel and went back to play.

Colten had complete faith that if he asked for it, God could and would do it. And God answered that prayer made in complete faith.

Myself and my co-workers have been practicing this throughout the summer. It has been astounding to hear the stories as my co-workers ask God with a certain expectation for something and then receive what they have asked for. I called on the name of Jesus Christ myself on the final trip of the summer when the team informed me that one of their students goes to the emergency room on every trip they take. They didn't believe me that God would answer my prayer, but I believed God that he would keep the LT Chicago site record clean of the emergency room. And he did, none of their students visited the hospital.

Now that I am home, I'm trying to live the mission life over the missionary life. So when the concert I wanted to attend on Saturday was threatened by rain, I thought, why not ask in complete faith for God to stop the rain and see what he does? Rock the Lakes was going on up in Milwaukee. I drove up with some friends to meet up with more friends and listen to the testimonies of The Almost, The Afters, Lecrae, and Skillet. Saturday morning it was pouring rain and the forecast predicted more thunderstorms on into the evening  With child-like faith I prayed that my Poppa would hold back the rain clouds that hovered over the park threatening our concer. And when my friends and I felt a sprinkle or two we held our hands up in the air and called for the rain to stop...

and what do you know... no rain.

My God is BIG God... why do I ever doubt that in His Name and for His purpose, He will not give me what I ask for in child-like faith. Why do I doubt rather than believe?

"But when he asks he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6

"Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:21

The Greek word used in Mark 11:24 is pisteuo. It literally means to believe, have faith in, trust with the idea of hope and certain expectation.

Certain expectation... do you know for certain what you are expecting when you ask God for something?

I know this is how I want to start praying.
With HOPE and CERTAIN EXPECTATION

Men Who Were Greatly Revered Revisited

So during my last semester of college I really jumped on the blogging bandwagon. However, I joined and really began to invest in a site that as I blogged more really began to frustrate me. So this summer I switched my blogging home to this lovely site. Since I've been in a blogging drought, I thought I'd go ahead and re-share a post that got a lot of attention from my previous site. I hope you enjoy, and I promise that I'll post something new in the coming week.

Originally written Feb 9, 2011:

As I sit here with my third cup of Nambarrie tea and the snow continues to amass on my doorstep I ponder what to share with the blogging world on this lovely snowday.

Should it be that this is my third snow day of the year, which is an astounding feat for any college student, but especially for one who attends John Brown University located in NW Arkansas.

Or maybe it is the lovely muffins I made and devoured this morning before my roommate was even out of bed.

Or perhaps my desire to forgo all homework and watch HULU all day long.
(Don't worry Professor Ogle, my reflection paper will get done.)

But all of these seem rather small when I think of the story that I am still astounded by from my mornings devotion. So here I want to tell you of the Greatly Revered Men!

For those who are currently joining me on my journey, I've been working through reading the Bible in 90 days. In the past week I've traveled with the Israelites all the way from Egypt to the promised land. I witnessed every miracle with them and even had some of my own doubt in God's ability. Today, on day 16, we finally entered the promised land... AND CONQUERED!

But something caught my attention near the beginning of the book of Joshua. Something I'd never thought of before. God placed a lot of similarities between Joshua and his mentor Moses, but it works in reverse order.

1) The very first miraculous acts that God does with Joshua is the crossing of the Jordan on dry ground (Joshua 3-4). Um... where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, over 40 years ago Moses lead the people across the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 13-14). Moses' crossing miracle came at the beginning of the wilderness and Joshua's came at the end, as they went over to take the land that God has promised their forefathers.

2) After Moses had been called to ministry in Egypt, he has a minor issue of holiness. In Exodus 4, as he is returning to Egypt, his wife Zipporah circumcises him. This is mirrored in the whole Israelite community in Joshua 5. None of the Israelites had been circumcised because this was the generation that was born in the desert. The Lord required them to be holy before going and conquering the nations of the promised land.

(What's also astounding to me about this event was that it happened very quickly after the Israelites crossed over the Jordan. God could have had them complete this act of  "set-apart-ness" on the safe side of the Jordan, but He didn't. The nations were so terrified at the actions of God in the crossing of the Jordan - at FLOOD SEASON no less - that all the people wouldn't go near the Israelite camp, even though they were pretty darn week with ALL of their men recently circumcised. What an awesome trust in God that shows for Israel to follow through on this command.)

3) Lastly, both Moses and Joshua receive direct commands from God. Moses talks to a burning bush (Exodus 3-4) and Joshua meets the commander of the Lord's army. What caught my attention in the similarities of this story is the fact that both men are commanded to remove their sandals because they are standing on holy ground. (Exodus 3:5 and Joshua 5:15)

These men were greatly revered by their followers. I don't think that it is by random chance that God used many of the same signs for this mentor and his successor. I believe that God used these similarities to show Israel that Joshua would lead them just as Moses had. They were signs that Joshua was chosen by God to lead these people to victory in the promised land.

"That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel;
and they revered him all the days of his life,
just as they had revered Moses."
Joshua 4:14

And to conclude, what is the story of Joshua without the story of Jericho.

Joshua and the Big Wall

Hope you all enjoyed... keep looking for how the Spirit is moving in your lives.
Praise the Shepherd!