Jealousy or Joy.. My Choice

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

Day 33

chara

- to rejoice, Joy, rejoicing, gladness

- generally (Matt 2:10; Lk 1:14 where it is joined with agalliasis, exultation or great joy; 15:8,7,10; Jn 3:29; 15:11; 16:20-22,24; 17:13; Ac 8:8, 13:52; 15:3; Rom 4:17, "joy in the Holy Ghost" meaning the joy which the Holy Spirit imparts by His influence, 15:13; 2 Cor 1:24; 2:3; 7:4,13; 8:2; Gal 5:22; Phil 1:25, joy of faith, meaning in & arising from the faith of the gospel; 2:2,29; 1 Thess 1:6, 3:9; 2 Tim 1:4; Phile 1:7; Jm 4:9; 1 Pet 1:8; 1 Jn 1:4; 2 Jn 1:12)

- from or for joy (Matt 13:44; Luk 24:41; Ac 12:14)

- with joy, joyfully, rejoicing (Matt 13:20; 28:8; Mk 4:16; Lk 8:13; 10:17; 24:25; Ac 20:24; Phil 1:4; Col 1:11; Heb 10:34; 13:17; Sept. 1 Chron. 29:22

- in joy, joyfully (Rom 15:32)

- metonymically the cause, ground, occasion of joy (Lk 2:10; PHil 4:1; 1 Thess 2:19,20; Jm 1:2; 3 Jn 1:4)

- Metonymically meaning enjoyment, fruition of joy, bliss (Matt 25:21, 23; Heb 12:2)

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Luke 15:7

"In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of he angels of God over one sinne who repents."
Luke 15:10

"The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom wants and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the brideroom's voice. That joy is mine and is now complete."
John 3:29

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Today's joy post is going to be a little different, but please bear with me.

One of the things I love about my job is that we start every morning with a song of praise and studying a passage of scripture together.  We are currently studying through the book of John.

We came upon the passage in Luke 3 where Jesus's disciples are baptizing near the location as John the Baptist and his disciples. Now John's disciples seem to get a little jealous of those who are beginning to follow Jesus' teachings over their own master's.

BUT, John is quick to rebuke them and proclaim that his joy is complete when people follow Jesus (the one he had been proclaiming about all along).

The conversation was making several points, but our facilitator for the day pulled us back into this idea of JOY by opening her own heart to us.
Her point:
Jealousy kills our ability to be joyful. 

Oh how I have seen this in my own life. 

Jealousy has flared in my life far too often over the past four years.

Jealousy for...
those who got a boyfriend before me
the girl who stayed up late talking to the guy I had a crush on
for the girl who got her first kiss, and then her first kiss in the rain while I'm still waiting for mine.
for the girls who got engaged
and then chose other friends to be their bridesmaids
not being the first to know exciting and intimate news

Jealousy for all these things that I am supposed to rejoice in with my friends and instead I am allowing myself to sulk.
Jealousy when I have been equipped by the Spirit with Joy.

Jealousy when I have received the most perfect gift from a Gracious and Merciful Heavenly Creator and I fling it away for the lonely feeling of jealousy.

And so, today, in hopes of not missing another moment to rejoice (truly rejoice with the same joy that God has when the one lost sheep is found) I'm apologizing for my jealousy.

I'm choosing to see those moments for what they truly are and ask God to help me replace that jealousy in future with true Joy that can only come from Him.

So Dear Friends,
(you know who you are)
 I apologize. 

I have felt over the past week as I've contemplated this thought on jealousy how to apologize for things that time has slipped over and pushed aside. Events have happened no matter what i feel. So bringing it back up now in person or over the phone did not seem appropriate. But I hope that you understand that this is the sincerest apology I can offer, for I am truly repentant of how I have felt and the actions that have come from that.
I am sorry for missing that opportunity to rejoice with you in your moments of blessing.
Know that I love you and I thank you for loving me through my jealousy.
My prayer for the future is that God will continue to work on this jealous heart of mine that I may not miss more of those opportunities.
Love,
Heather

To Rejoice Is...To Boast?

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

Day 32

kauchaomai

- to boast, glory, exult, both in a good and bad sense

- used in an absolute sense (1 Cor 1:29,31; 4:7; 2 Cor 10:13,17; 11:18,30; 12:1,6; Gal 16:14; Eph 2:9) Followed by the accusative of thing of which one boasts (2 Cor 9:2; 11:16, 30)

- with the dative of that in which one glories, of things (Rom 2:23; 5:3; 2 Cor 5:1; 10:15, 16; 11:12; 12:9; Gal 6:13; James 1:9; 4:16)

- of persons (1 Cor 3:21; 2 Thess 1:4)

- in God (Rom 2:17; 5:11; 1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17; Phil 3:3)

- other verses (Rom 5:2, 2 Cor 7:14; 9:2; 10:8; 11:18; 12:5)

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produce perseverance," (Rom 5:3)

"Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Rom 5:11)

"Through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace, in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hop of the glory of God." (Rom 5:2)

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This term is the first term we have come across that truly has a choice connected to it. We can choose to boast/glory/exult/rejoice in ourselves or things of this world, or we can choose to boast/glory/exult/rejoice in God.

I wonder if I were to run my boasts through the Wordle site what would be the word in largest print.... I confess it probably would not be Jesus or God right now.

So application time

(this is a big theme at LeaderTreks, because we believe how can you measure your progress

 if you do not have something specific to evaluate):

This week at work we are learning how to build a deck (this will probably be a common project for my students if I am stationed stateside). I have the choice in each stage of this project to boast in my own handiwork, or rejoice in how God has allowed me to accomplish this work.

Today I learned how to use a chisel and hammer to cut out a notch in one of the deck posts. It was tough going because there was a huge knot in the wood that I had to chisel through. When I finally got the entire notch out I could simply say, "Way to go me! I'm pretty strong and smart to figure out a way to get that knot out."
Instead I should say, "Thank you Lord for the strength to complete this task. Thank you for two hands that work perfectly that I may chisel this wood with detailed strokes. Thank you for a brain that can figure out the math to where I need to cut the notch. Thank you for the patience it takes to cut out this stubborn knot. Glory to you that this post is now ready to be screwed onto the deck."

Over the next two days as we finish this deck, I am going to continue to choose to thank God, boast in what he has allowed me to do, rejoice and give glory to God.

I am also going to encourage my team when we finish that we turn our celebration of our work into a time to exult and boast in our God and all He has allowed us to do.

How are you going to boast in the Lord today?

Fun with Wordles

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. 

I got the brilliant idea of this post from one of my favorite Kansas bloggers. She created a Wordle for her own blog and I was inspired.

So I plugged in my blog's address... and it gave me this:

Surprise surprise what the main word in my blogging is.. ha ha.

To read about my journey through joy from the beginning click here.

I also created a Wordle for Doug Franklin's blog.

This is the president of LeaderTreks and his site gives lots of great tips on Youth Ministry and Leadership. Check it out!

Tomorrow I promise I'll be back with the next Greek word and more reflections on how to maintain joy in life.

With a Content Smile

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

Day 31

euphrosune

- gladsom, cheerful, literally means well-minded

- joy, joyfulness, gladness (Acts 2:28; 14:17; Esther 9:18,19; Ps 4:8)

"Yet he has not left himself withut testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Acts 14:17

This is the type of joy that I can live day in and day out. The past two words of joy (here & here) have been more special occasion joys. Something you feel with strong enjoyment. Euphrosune, gladsome & cheerful, is how I felt all day long.

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain pattering against my window. Giving me a glad heart to snuggle under the covers for another 30 minutes as I finished reading the book of Exodus. 

I cheerfully scarfed down a pumpkin scone and chai tea latte (have i mentioned how happy I am that is is fall :D) at Starbucks on my way to church running into two of my co-workers before church.

At church my heart was filled with joy as we not only sat in our chairs and heard about the power/importance of prayer but took to the neighborhood and prayer walked. I simply could not wipe the smile of joy from my face. 

Upon returning to our "sanctuary" (we meet in the gym of a local elementary school) we came together again to take communion. One of my favorite things about this church is that the children are with us for most of the service. With joyfulness I watched a precious four year old girl follow the example of the congregation and move forward to tear a piece of bread off and dip it in the juice.

By 12:30 God had filled my heart with such joy that even as I poured it out over my friends this afternoon and evening I still feel the warmth of it resonate in my soul as I reflect over today. 

How content of a feeling this joy is, one that does not lose energy, but rather fills you to the brim so that you fall asleep with a small content smile on your face.

I sure do hope and pray that you have this joy!

Joy has Arrived!

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

Day 30

Agalliao


- to exult, leap for joy, to show one's joy by leaping and skipping denoting excessive or ecstatic joy and delight
- often spoken of rejoicing with song and dance (Sept: Ps. 2:11; 20:5; 40:16; 68:3)
- used in the absoulte sense (Acts 2:26 "my tongue was glad" meaning I rejoiced in words, sang aloud; Lk 10:21; Act 16:34)
- sometime placed after chairo (to rejoice, which is of less intense significanc) produces an expression meaning to rejoice exceedingly  (Matth 5:12; 1 Pet 4:13; Rev 19:7; Ps 40:16; 90:14)
- with chara, joy, "rejoice with joy unspeakable" 1 Peter 1:8
- followed by hina (Jn 8:56, "he rejoiced that he should see my day)
- followed by epi (upon) Luke 1:47
followed by en (in) Jn 5:35; Act 16:34; 1 Pet 1:16; Ps 13:5; 89:16


"But may all who see you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, 'the Lord be exalted'." Ps 40:16


And my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Luke 1:47


"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." Ps 13:5


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I have a friend in college, Jesse, who exuded this type of joy. Right after she started dating someone she was spotted skipping exuberantly past The Caf windows. Upon hearing that two of our friends were getting engaged one even she found herself at an "inopportune time to skip" because we were sitting on a bus on the way to a retreat. 


One of my office mates, Abby, exudes this joy too. Yesterday we had some free time to get things done and she asked over and over again if another office mate would play the guitar so we could sing some songs. She was incessant for a good 15 minutes. But her joy was that ecstatic that she couldn't hold her songs in.


I find myself in this state of joy when I am humming songs or singing hymns. It is just something that comes out. Something that I cannot control.


I love seeing these friends because it is so easy to tell when they are joyful. I hope this joy characterizes me also. I hope that you find me singing a loud a praise song because I am rejoicing in God. I hope that you find me skipping down the street because my joy in God's salvation is so strong I can't hold it in.


If you haven't experienced this type of joy, I pray you do, because it is one of the best feelings in this world!


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Check out this girl's simple view of joy.

Joy - To Exalt

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

Day 29

I love looking into the original meaning of Biblical words. Those words and phrases have come a long way... and we are bound to lose some meaning as they've traveled through history and across many languages.

For Christmas my parents bought me a Greek concordance and related New Testament. They are my go-to whenever I am in questions. After searching the limited concordance of my Bible for passages on "the JOY of the LORD" with no clear picture I decided it would be best to return to these helpful resources.

And guess what, there are 10 different words for Joy in Greek... who knew!

So these last days of my Challenge I will be bringing you some of the knowledge that I am learning about Joy from scripture.

agalliasis

- to exalt. Exultation, exuberant joy (Ps 30:5; 45:15; 65:12, rejoicing with song, dancing, Ps 126:2,6)

- great joy (Ps 45:7; 51:8,12)

- joy, gladness, rejoicing (Lk 1:14, 44; Acts 2:46; Heb 1:9 from Ps 45:7, oil of gladness with wihich guests were anointed at feasts, was used as an emblem of highest honor [Jude 1:24]

I think I could categorize most of the joys I've listed over the past 28 days under this word. I take joy in those things because I am exalting God. I am rejoicing in what He has provided me with. I pour out my thanks over Him as the highest honored guest at my feast. 

I love fall, the crisp air, the changing of the leaves, the need for sweaters and jeans and blankets. Everything about it excites me, and I just can't hold it in. The weather has been unusually warm here in Chicago this week and every time I step outside I let out a squeal and loudly proclaim my love of Fall. I love Fall because my Creator made it to be enjoyed. He made it to be a time of community as people go and harvest the fields together. They rejoice with songs and dancing as the finish their work.

As much as I love fall, some of the scriptures that I read as I studied this word reminded me that I have an even greater gift than Fall to give God exuberant joy for...

Psalm 51:12 reads, "Restore to me the JOY of your SALVATION and great me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

This Psalm was written by David after Nathan rebukes him for committing adultery with Bathsheba. He has recognized his sin, and all that he has lost from turning away from God. However, after lamenting and asking God to cleanse him, he recognizes that he still has a reason to be joyful.

He still has his salvation
and the God who will give him a willing spirit.

Lord, today make my spirit willing to dance before you with joy and gladness, not just because you have given me a beautiful day, but because you have given me salvation. Let praise ring from my lips and anoint you with the honor for you are the provider of all my reasons to be joyful.

Yearning for Joy

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

Day 28

We started our morning by singing one of my favorite Shane & Shane songs

The second verse says this:

Your joy is mine
Yet why am I fine
With all my singing and bringing praise
In light of HIM

I've been seeking for joy for the past 28 days... okay, actually more because I haven't posted every single day since I started.
And I've discovered a lot. 
But I do not think I've discovered what God's joy is.


This week at work we are talking about great leaders who transform others first know themselves, and because of that we have been taking a number of assessments to help us understand and quantify/qualify ourselves better.


Yesterday we took a character assessment that was based off of the fruits of the Spirit.
I got a very high score in Joy... however, when asked what we wanted to work on, I selected joy in addition to two others.


I think with my last 12 days of my Joy Challenge I want to discover what the God's joy is... and then maybe, just maybe be able to not be fine with just singing and bringing praise.

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So if you've stuck with me this far (or are just joining me now) on this crazy journey for joy,
I beg you to do two things
1) Begin to pray for me - that the Spirit reveal to me His Joy, and an application for my life.
2) Post a comment - if you have some insight on God's joy and where I can find it please let me know.
3)Post a comment - Let me know what you are doing to find and apply joy in your own life.

"Joy"ning the Rank of Failures

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

Day 27

Last night I got to go to downtown Chicago and have dinner with a friend's family. We had a wonderful conversations over dinner and then finished up some shopping they needed to do on the Magnificent Mile.

As they were walking me back to the train station we passed several people sleeping on the street. Our conversation briefly turned to the topic of those who were homeless, but we didn't stick to it long.

Then God decided to smash that topic back into our faces. We had just turned onto Washington  St to make the last mile to the station when a woman approached us. She was apologetic from the start saying she was only approaching us because we had a man with us (being 3 women with a man probably looks like a good group to beg from. More sympathy from the women, but they aren't afraid to stop because they have their "protector" with them). She also kept telling us she wasn't a bum and how someone had already called her a nigger. Her story continued - her house had been repossessed and all she needed was money for the Metra for herself and her sons to get to a shelter for the night. 

We stood there in indecesion as she kept apologizing and repeating that she wasn't a bum. She began to tear up and say how embarrassed she was to have to ask for this, but she really needed it. My friend's dad pulled out $10 and handed it to the woman and she quickly preceeded to ask for more, the metra would could $15. He apologized and began to walk away. I quickly set down the full sack of leftovers from dinner I was carrying and reached into my wallet for the $5 bill I'd received after paying my fare for the train. 

I felt a stab right behind my heart as I looked at this person and I heard, "Pray with her." I handed the money to her, looking her in the eyes in the hopes that she understood that I saw her not as a bum, or a nigger, but as a child of Godand she thanked me. I heard it again, "Pray with her." I shoved my wallet back in my purse and picked up my leftovers and we both turned away.

My friend's mom said how sweet that was of me. I thought it was nothing as, I confess, I'd forgotten to write my tithe check on Sunday. I also only have cash in my wallet because God gave it to me first.  I told her about a block later how I had felt the Spirit leading me to pray with that woman, and how I regret it already.

After saying goodbye, I boarded the train and proceeded to ask God, where is the joy in this? I failed. I heard your Spirit so clearly and I simply disobeyed. Any jo-shmo good samaritan can hand a woman $5... how did I care for her as a child of God. I mulled this over the entire hour and half it took me to get home.

And then I realized as I crawled into bed. I am just like all the other failures you decided to use. Like Abraham, Gideon, Moses, Paul, Peter and so many more. They were not perfect, God used their weaknesses... and so I prayed - 

"Lord how I feel like a failure as your hands and feet. God do not let that woman live in embarrassment, fear or despair. Lord give her hope. Send her someone who has the courage to speak your love directly into her life.
Lord, I'm joyful only because I know you are growing your Spirit inside of me. Continue to tug at my heart so that the next time I meet one of your children in need (whether street beggar or king) I may boldly proclaim your love in joy & courage. May that interaction be glorifying to you alone God.
Amen"

So how is God using your failures to spread His love?

When adding knowledge is Joy Filled

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

Day 26

As a college graduate there are things that I've committed to doing in my "class-less" life in order than I may continue to gain knowledge. 

Things such as reading at least one book a month
(with all my travels this past month i'm a little ahead of the game having read 5 books ;D )
finding a church and small group that will push me to dive into God's Word and stretch the things I've become complacent in.

However, I am filled with joy that I am not left entirely to my own devices to gain more knowledge to be applied: my work environment requires certain things from me too.

For example:

Staff Mission Trip was focused on us being able to experience and learn the ins and outs of a mission trip with LeaderTreks. It also gave us time to learn some of the hands on skills for work site (demolition, dry-walling, subfloor, re-flooring with sticky tile, painting)

Or:
My new boss really wants us all to learn Spanish.
So he bought a program and every Monday, Wednesday & Friday we are given 30 minutes to go through a lesson. He is also planning to organize 'special events' in which we can practice our new verbal skills with people who are native speakers.

Also:
For those of you who read my monthly newsletters know that part of my job is to speak for Leadership Training Events (LTEs). This fall there are three separate weeks  devoted to training us in the three different curriculum. The past week as a new staff we became certified in the curriculum titled Foundations of Leadership. This weekend's worth of material is divided into four sessions. We would be taught a session, and then take it home to practice and have to teach it the next morning to our team members. Silver Certification was rewarded on understanding of the material and continual growth in our presentations throughout the week. 

Part of this course includes teaching the Leadership Principle - 

BURDEN + PASSION + VISION = MISSION

Now as many of you know this equation has driven many of my big life decisions (e.g. college choices, work applications to Camp War Eagle and LeaderTreks)... but I've always struggled with adding my burden, passion, and vision into a clear concise mission statement... until now.

As one of my teammates was teaching through these points he asked if anyone had come up with a mission statement. I thought for a minute, not expecting to answer. Until God just slipped it to me as quite as a whisper.

To live intentionally, always pointing others to Christ.

Simple as that. This encompasses what I seek to do in every situation in my life (now and future). I smile every time I think about how clear it is. This shall be my hedgehog concept (a little business principle I picked up from a book I'm currently reading {Good to Great})

This month has been so full of knowledge acquisition. I love how much JOY God has given me as I move farther away from school in my life and yet still blesses me with opportunities to learn.

What knowledge has God been given you today?