Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts

Good Tidings of Great Joy
Letters of Love Designs


Scripture reading:
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. - KJV


Thoughts to ponder- 
In scripture, joy is an inner result of our outward expression of our relationship with God in service to those around us. God sent Jesus to live with us and eventually to die on the cross for "the joy set before Him".  It was His outward expression of the Father's love for us.  Our reconciliation to a personal relationship with God was the joy Christ was willing to leave heaven for, to live and be tempted as we are and to ultimately die for in service to us while we were still undeserving. "Good tidings of great joy"! 

In like manner, we are to be in such a close relationship with the Father and Christ that we experience joy in serving others and revealing God's glory to them.  Joy is all about what God has done and is continuing to do in our lives and the lives of those He loves.   Joy differs from happiness in the sense that happiness is often rooted in our circumstances, our personal desires and hopes. To truly experience the calm delight of  joy, we must look beyond our selves and our hardships and walk closely with God for the sake of His purposes.  

Christmas is a difficult season for many, let’s do our best to be so full of joy that it overflows to those around us.

Challenge/Action Step- 
Since God puts people in our live for a reason take a minute to think about the people you know that are the most joyful, how are they different from other people you know and what can you learn from them?  Ask God to reveal to you ways you can practice joy and make a list of the things He shows you.  Please share one of those things with us in the comments below.


Prayer for today-

Jesus, Lord of all,  thank you for coming to this earth as a child, living like as we do but without sin, and dying on the cross for us.  I pray today that you would give us a deep understanding of your great love for us .  Help us to know the joy of making a difference in the lives of others for your glory. ~ Amen
Many Blessings to you and your families this Christmas Season,
Cherry Fargo
Being ReMade
9:06 AM | Category: , , , , , , | 0 comments

Attitude Adjustments - A Monday Devotional
She wakes with a million thoughts running through her mind.
In fact, the waking is more of a jolt as she considers
a new school year, care for aging parents, her Etsy business, 
a friend who has just lost a child, that ladies meeting at church
and how she really should put together a meal plan
and shopping list for the week to come.

(In my real life it looks like this....my son's wedding on Sunday
which means a week filled with details and cake making, An overflowing 
Etsy inbox, the physical and emotional exhaustion of a huge funeral last Saturday 
and catering of the reception which followed,
working with my Burmese Friends, preparing music lessons for this school year,
an annual physical, a hair cut and color, dinner with friends, and so much more.  
How about you?)

 Her feet hit the floor with a thud
and she sighs as it becomes apparent that the "dressing room"
is already occupied.
This morning is getting off to a wrong start.
She knows who is in there and they take forever.
Now she has a choice.

Will she choose to trust that God has this day
just like all of the others in His care and thank Him
for that fact and the shower loving child in the dressing room?
Or...
will she begin to fume and mumble about how this always happens
and she has so much to do?
Will she assume that her agenda is more important than the 
others in her home?

It is important which attitude she assumes because it will
impact every person she comes in contact with in the next
hour, if not all day.

God has given women a very important role in their homes.
We are the mood setters.
We have the power to take everyone along to our grumpy place
or to lift them from a hard day into an encouraging environment.

We cannot do this in our own strength.
We need to call out to Him daily to receive
His joy...even when we are feeling stressed, sad or tired to the bone.

I admit that I don't always go there first.
But more and more I see the rewards of making that choice
to be thankful in all things.
May God continue to teach me to seek Him first.

It really is the best choice.

Psalm 86: 1-13 (NIV) says it well....

Hear me, Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.
2 
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.
4 
Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.
5 
You, Lord, are forgiving and good,

    abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 
Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.
7 
When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.
8 
Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

    no deeds can compare with yours.
9 
All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.
10 
For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
    you alone are God.
11 
Teach me your way, Lord,

    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
12 
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.
13 
For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.



Blessings on your week!
8:51 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments

Monday Devotional...Staying Connected to the Life Source

Did you read what this painting from Jennifer says?

Our strength, ability to grow and thrive, minister and well...
 apparently everything 
comes from being attached to our Heavenly Father.

For grapes the nourishment comes from the roots 
and up the stem
into the fruit.
For us it is no different.
If we are firmly rooted in the Word of God
we will be nourished and fed.

If we seek His will in each new day 
His joy will be ours.

I also love the word abiding.
It is a very comforting word.
This verse talks about a mutual togetherness.
Love it.

Don't get plucked from the vine before you are
fully ripe and sweet.
Stay under His protection.
When the birds of worry, doubt and fear assail-
hold on.

Hold on until you offer that wonderfully sweet fragrance
of ripened fruit.
Have you walked under a grape arbor filled with 
ripe concord grapes?
There is nothing to compare.
At one point when I was a young wife and 
mother I attended a ladies Bible Study at the home
of another woman in our church.
Just before you entered her kitchen door 
there was a grape arbor.
Everyone who came in walked under 
the fragrant grapes.
We all had to comment on it.
Some of us just wanted to reach out an 
partake of this goodness.
The sweet aroma was evident and made an impact.
Our prayers of supplication and praise are a wonderful
aroma to Him.
Our lives lived with Him should be pleasant to those
we come in contact with each day.
May our faith and joy inspire those we meet to want 
what we have.
And then may we have the courage and love 
to share our connection and life source.

Walk with Him today.
Stay connected.

It is life.

Hugs, 

6:41 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Object Lessons



Have you ever noticed times in your life when God teaches you something.  It starts with a Bible verse and upon meditating on it you have this nugget of wisdom that you can use and share.  I happen to be a slow learner at times, so God will often follow that up with an object lesson for me. 

I had one of those ah ha moments just this week. God impressed upon me that it is a good trade when we bring our frustrations to Him in exchange for His peace.  So I shared it with others.  And then came the object lesson.  I had been working very hard on a new batch of my mosaic clay crosses for an upcoming craft show.  They are a little labor and time intensive so I was only able to get about fifteen of them completed.  And I had favorites, a beautiful purple and lavender one and a gorgeous green.  The story behind these crosses is that when we bring God all of the pieces of our life, the pretty ones and the broken ones, He makes something beautiful out of them.  I stored them on the table in my home studio and late in the evening, just before bedtime, my cat became overly curious exploring the table and knocked five of them off the table, including my two favorites, and three of them were destroyed. As you probably have suspected, my two favorites were in those destroyed and boy was I ever frustrated.  “All that hard work, all that lost income, all that waste” were the thoughts that began to run through my head. The irony of broken crosses designed to show how God transforms brokenness into beauty stung me just a bit. 



And then God so graciously reminded me of that very thing He’d impressed upon me earlier that same day, “Bring me your frustrations, exchange them for my peace.” I don’t know about you, but sometimes the concepts are so much easier to grasp for me than the practical applications are.  So God gives me a chance to practice what He has taught me.  His peace can accomplish so much more in our lives than a temporary frustrations ever could.  By trading those in for His peace, we are trading sorrow and anger for joy and hope. I would much rather walk out my days in the latter.

My prayer for you this week is that you will see opportunities to exchange your frustrations for God’s peace, that you will hear the lessons He has for you to learn, and when given the opportunity to put those into practice, you will be able to do so easily.

Many Blessings,
Cherry Fargo

cherryscreations.etsy.com
12:30 AM | Category: , , , , , , , | 1 comments

Monday Devotion - JOY
"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered."  Psalm 71:23 NIV

 It is kind of amazing how often the words joy and praise are found in the same verse.  I wonder if it is the joy which leads to praise or if the praise brings joy?  I suspect that sometimes it works one way ...and others the reverse.  There have been days that I have not felt joyful until I gave Him praise and then it flooded my heart until I thought I might burst.

 Music has always been a powerful force in my life.   I remember even as a child that a song could move me to tears when I would be able to stiffen myself against the feelings when the words were spoken.  I have to wonder why that is?  But, it is just one of those things to remind us to be careful what we allow ourselves to listen to as it seems to carry its message deeply inside of us.

 Joy.  Sometimes it feels like an overwhelmingly happy feeling.  Our eyes dance.  

 "The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes."  Psalm 19:8 NIV

 The stupid grin on our face says it all.  

 "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.” Psalm 126:2 NIV

 However, sometimes joy is more subtle.  Sometimes it is so deep and satisfying that it looks more like contentment during hard times.  

 "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Psalm 94:19 NIV

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7 NIV

 True joy comes from a knowledge of the Lord.  Knowing that He is our all in all.  Understanding that without Him we would not be here, we would have nothing and we would have no hope.  

"Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God."  Psalm 43:3-5 NIV

 My instrument of choice is the piano.  I go to the piano, open a hymnal and just play in praise.  But I think of King David with his harp.  I think of him as a young boy in the fields with his lyre. Those dark nights as he watched over the sheep and plucked the strings in song.  So often his songs were joy filled, I am sure, as he observed the stars in the sky and as he learned the things of God.  This verse says that God is the joy.  If this is true in our lives then there is nothing better.  That means that our joy is not dependent on our happiness.  It is bigger, it is better, it is constant.

 I think this is one of the things that the world notices about Believers.  They see the underlying joy.  That inner bubble that cannot be taken away.  Since it is of Him, for Him, through Him and to Him.  It is an infusion.  

 Anyone can be happy from time to time.  However, I am not convinced that anyone can be truly joyful even when things are hard.  It takes that extra knowledge and trust for joy to be present in those moments.

 But as I did my brief study on Joy for this post it was overwhelmingly obvious that most times joy is loud, joy is shouted out, joy is fun.  For these reasons I really love joy.  It is contagious.  So...pass it on!  Share the joy of the Lord as you go about your week.  Be intentional.  Reread scripture verses that remind us of our reason to have JOY in our hearts.  
For the JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH!  Be strong as you walk with Him and in Him.

 Becky - Good Neighbors Candle Co.



6:44 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , , | 5 comments

Rejoice in the Lord

A former pastor introduced us to an answer
to that oft asked question....
"How are you?"

His response was always,
"Better than I deserve."

He said it was true and covered those days 
that he didn't want to get into the downers of life.
You see, this man and his wife knew about troubles.
They had lost two daughters to a mysterious
virus that took them one at a time
a couple of years apart.

Yet Pastor Keith had a spirit of calm and 
joy which was contagious.
Sure, he could be reflective and moody at times.
It happens to the best of us.
But the underlying and steady impression
you got from this man was one of genuine
gratitude and joy in the Lord.

He rejoiced daily in the Lord.
The work of the Lord in his life.
The strong upholding love of his Heavenly Father.

Sometimes the joy is right there bubbling over.
I'm so often caught off guard by unexpected joy
when the beauty of His creation catches my eye.

Other times we have to make a decision
to rejoice.
In those times we can access some 
of these ideas.....

We can always remember what He has saved us from.
The cost involved in our salvation.

We can purposefully
look at the beauty around us that is His creation.

We can enjoy the harmonies of the music around us.
Better yet, we can make the music!

We can spend time with Him in His word.
Being reminded of just how much He loves us.

We can find our joy through working with the colors
He created.
Painting....photographing...working our favorites
 into the decor in our homes.

All of these and more intentional activities
bring our Joy in Him
into focus.

Without Him 
we are nothing.
We have nothing.

So, my challenge to all of us today 
is to purpose in our hearts to 
REJOICE IN THE LORD.

We are all 
"Better than we deserve!"

Blessings,
Becky at Good Neighbors Candle Co.


8:30 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , | 7 comments