pregnant with new rash and throbbing fourth toe

LOL. . .  ok don't freak out.   If you want a little chuckle go to your google search box and type a couple letters. . . it is amazing what you find you have done google searches on in the past.     No im not pregnant. . . but apparently when i was . . . i was pretty concerned about the new rash on my belly and my fourth toe . . . ( can you say HORMONES and first pregnancy)!!!  So anyways i was trying to name this entry "Preaching to myself"  but since this was a google blog and google is soooo helpful. . . it kindly supplied the above name when i typed in the  p r e.

Back to why i am here. . .  phil 4:11-13  Paul says that he has learned to be content no matter what the circumstances.  Then he says that he has learned the secret to contentment. . . . .  (yup  he is really giving us the secret right here).       I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Well i looked to see if there was more to it.  No he ends that paragraph and moves on to something else.  huh,  it sounds so simple.  What is my problem.  Discontentment is the opposite of joy.  I can't be joyful if i am not practicing contentment.  The below quote really struck home.

Joy, unmitigated, untrammeled joy, is--or at least should be--the distinctive mark of the believer in Christ Jesus. The wearing of black and the long face, which so often came to typify some later expressions of Christian piety, are totally foreign to Paul's version; Paul the theologian of grace is equally the theologian of joy. Christian joy does not come and go with one's circumstances; rather it is predicated altogether on one's relationship with the Lord and is thus an abiding, deeply spiritual quality of life. It finds expression in "rejoicing," which is an imperative, not an option. --  (from the ivp new testament commentaries)


Is there any need to preach more. . .  

Late Start

I don't care to drive all that much.  I prefer Andrew to do the driving when we take trips.  I like to sit back and enjoy the scenery.  I take this approach to life sometimes.  

Well. . .as you might have discovered this just doesn't work when the destination is JOY.    Nope. . . NOT happening this time.   God has given us the map with detailed directions but it is a daily journey that our hearts must take ALONE.  A daily decision to journey towards joy.  (Can't depend on others to take us there. . . to make us happy and joyful)

I tend to have a similar disposition to my mother. . . a little pessimistic at times.  That is why she has tried to give me tips for when i get side tracked on this journey.  One verse that she quotes to me often is, "This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be GLAD in it."    If these are the first words out of my mouth in the morning, i know i am off to a good start.

It is so nice that each day in a way is a blank slate.  The bible says that "joy comes in the morning."  The sunrise is a representation of a new journey towards joy.   A new day to celebrate God's glory!  A new day to count the so many undeserved blessings he has given each of us.

A joyful heart is something you can help others have by being encouraging, but in a way it is still a decision we all have to make.  A journey to take each day.  It is never too late . . . sometimes we just get off to a late start.