Category: joy

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The Beauty of Daybreak

Each morning I sit in my office looking through a window that faces East. I am able to see clearly the first light of day.

Daybreak.

The sun rises and sometimes the sky is filled with a pinkish hue and at other times there is a golden glow. No matter the color of the sky – clouded or unclouded – my heart always welcomes the dawn with a thank you.

Thank you Lord for a new day. Thank You for your plan and the purpose that I was designed to fulfill. Thank You!

I may have been disappointed with the way yesterday ended; I didn’t get enough done. Or perhaps I did the wrong thing – said something in haste or anger, or neglected to do something that was important but before me I see a new day. A day of potential and a day blessed by God.

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. 26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you! 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 118:24-29 NLT

Our Father has a purpose and plan for each day that we live. His mercy never ends, His grace is sufficient, His love endures forever and His goodness is everlasting. He is shining on us. Daybreak is a reminder of His fatihfulness. Each morning He sends the sun to warm the earth and lighten the sky. Each day He is faithful.

But what if the circumstances of life have left you dreading the sunrise? Maybe you have lost a spouse, a child or grandchild and you feel that life is over and frankly, you don’t care if the sun ever rises again.

There’s a lady I know of who lost her dearest friend. She was heartbroken and scared. What would become of her now? How would she survive? Those were the questions that were weighing heavily on her heart. Have you experienced such a heartache?

“On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance…11 Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down…15 Jesus asked her, ‘Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’ She thought he was the gardener and said, ‘Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him.’ 16 Then Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him, ‘Rabboni.’ The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.'” John 20:1-16 CEV

Mary dreaded the dawn! But inspite of her heartache she went to the last place that she had been with her Lord. The graveyard! There all heartached ceased. There, as the sun was rising, she looked into the face of her Savior and found peace.

Daybreak!

As day breaks this morning I pray that you are thankful for what the Lord will lovingly show you!

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Adding Strength

I don’t often stay in bed past 3 am. 3:30 is late but this morning it was 4:05! Yikes, the day is half gone – not really but that was the first thought I had when I saw the clock. The coffee was already brewing so that was a blessing.

I’ve come to realize when I do sleep in that my body obviously has a need for more rest and I am grateful. Grateful that the Lord has promised to provide the strength I need.

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” II Corinthians 12:9 NLT

Sometimes we have a mindset that we should be able to handle more things on our own. We should just buck up, push through and handle it. Whatever “it” is. But God doesn’t want us handling things on our own. He wants us drawing on His strength.

I do have days when I get weary. I end up getting grumpy. I don’t like it when that happens.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 NLT

When I focus on me, I’m focused on a very small target and the world goes by around me. A world that I should be looking to impact, a world that I should be looking to bless! They need me – they need me to be loving and gracious, they need me to be an example of my Father.

How do we keep from becoming weary; how do we serve with the right attitude?

“Surely you know the truth. Surely you have heard.The LORD is the God who lives forever! He created all the faraway places on earth. He does not get tired and weary. You cannot learn all he knows. 29 He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it. 30 Young men get tired and need to rest. Even young boys stumble and fall. 31 But those who trust in the LORD will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” Isaiah 40:28-31 ERV

When we come to the Lord to be refreshed, He will renew our strength. When we see others the way He does, we serve gladly.

Lord, let me see others through your eyes today and renew my strength. I want to be used to touch others with Your love.

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Look For Things to Appreciate

An attitude of gratitude is often like sending a child on a treasure hunt. Some years back while living in Montana we took our oldest grandchildren to an old gold mining town called Bannock. This town was the first territorial capitol of Montana and had a gold strike that rivaled the one in California.

Today this historic “ghost town” welcomes visitors to tour its old buildings. In the summer dirt is brought from the local creek for young and old to try their hand at panning for gold. No panner ever walks away empty handed although very few ever find a nugget of any substance. The earth is rich with garnets and little flakes of gold dust are not uncommon. I remember how excited our grandson was when he found those little flakes but he was equally as excited to find a pan laden with dark red garnets.

The excitement was in the search and the anticipation of what might be found!

I see each day as a treasure hunt. I know God has promised to fill it with His blessings. I just have to keep my heart open to what is before me. This morning I have already found one of today’s treasures – our 5th wheel trailer.

As I’m writing this I can smell the four-legged visitors who are patrolling the campground in search of unsecured food. We were told about the skunks when we checked in and yesterday morning on our walk we were certainly aware that they had been in the area the night before and now I sense (smell) their presence again.

Last summer we had an experience with two skunks who came into our camp looking for food and they found it. I didn’t realize that I had left the dog food container on the table. The skunks pushed it off and the container spilled open. We were sleeping in a tent and I felt somewhat vulnerable when I heard the ruckus only a couple yards away.

The last couple of nights I haven’t given those critters a second thought as I climbed into bed. The door was shut behind me and they were no threat. You see, I found a treasure in the warmth and security of my surroundings. Thank you Lord.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders work for nothing. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the men who watch over it stay awake for nothing. 2 You rise up early, and go to bed late, and work hard for your food, all for nothing. For the Lord gives to His loved ones even while they sleep.” Psalm 127:1-2 NLV

For me the treasure of peaceful sleep is invaluable!

There you have it – I have given you two treasures I have found this morning and I’ve only been up a little over an hour. Two treasures that have already filled my heart with joy – a secure dwelling and peaceful sleep!

I wonder what other treasures I will find as I go about my day? Look for God’s blessings and you’ll find them. Be grateful for small blessings.

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Thankful for Memories

Dave and I are in the mountains. We came up to the Flagstaff area yesterday and will be here through Monday. My cell signal is really weak but I wanted to share with you a special memory from my high school years. One that I am thankful for!

The campground we are staying in is right near a lake I visited often the summer between my eighth grade and freshman years. My dad was working construction on a road job and so our family moved into a small, I mean twenty-one foot long small, travel trailer. On weekends we would go fishing as often as possible and one of the lakes we frequented was Lake Mary.

We also began attending a small Baptist church in Flagstaff and they had a great youth group. My sister and I made friends and we participated in quite a few of the youth group activities. One of those activities was water skiing at this very lake. It was here I learned to water ski.

Neither of these experiences – the fishing and the water skiing – were life changing but they were memory makers that make me smile and I am grateful for them. Focusing on these events kept me from dwelling on some of the less enjoyable moments and have etched joy into that summer.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

These memories were God’s kiss of blessing to me. I don’t dwell in the past but I am thankful for good memories, little ways that I now see were God saying “I’m here and I am bringing blessing into your life.

Now we are here with our daughter and son-in-law and maybe someday they will bring their grandchildren to this area and tell them this is where Besta learned to water ski and they will laugh when they think of me trying to do that.

What joyful, good and perfect gift memory is coming to your mind? Write it down, share it with a friend, a family member. Let them enjoy a little part of your heart. In doing so you will share a blessing and most of all you will share the Father’s heart, a heart of blessing and bringing good things to His children with someone you love.

“I will remember the kind things the Lord has done, and I will remember to praise him.
The Lord has given many good things  to the family of Israel. He has been very kind to us. He has shown us mercy.” Isaiah 63:7 ERV

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The Words of a Song

For the last week or so I have been working on remodeling our 5th wheel camping trailer. It needs a face lift and so Dave and I began changing its image. He works outside while I work inside.

The walls needed to be washed, windows taped off, doing the cut work took the most time. Painting around windows, close to the ceiling and then the floor. Keeping the paint on the walls and no place else, it was slow going but at day’s end yesterday we found that we are almost finished.

We still need to find a fabric for the new curtains and the furniture needs to be placed but we are all but done.

The first few days I found some old CD’s and kept myself company with songs by Trace Atkins, Tracy Byrd, Mark Wills, Michael Peterson and James Bonamy. Most of the time I would restart the CD and go through it at least one more time. The songs kept my mind occupied as I sang along.

After a few days I noticed that I was waking up in the night with the melody of those songs running through my mind. As we all know the lyrics in most country songs is not that uplifting and it seemed that those were the words I was hearing in my sleep. Not good.

Time to switch music. Still wanting to listen to some of my favorite country artists but now I was reaching for their Gospel albums. Alan Jackson, Randy Travis and the Forester Sisters were playing loud and I was singing along.

Our youngest daughter called yesterday while I was painting close to the ceiling so I put her on speaker phone. She could hear the music but not the words and then Alan Jackson started singing “How Great Thou Art” and she said “oh, I recognize that one”. Those words are the ones I want stuck in my mind – words that tell of the goodness of God and His great faithfulness.

Everyone probably has a favorite song. One that reminds them of a special time and a special person. You’re probably thinking of yours right now. I have a few but the ones that mean the most and bring tears to my eyes are the ones whose lyrics came to mind when I was going through particularly tough times and with the words came the peace of God.

“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” Isaiah 61:3 NLT

“Lord, we lift you up with our songs of praise. We sing and play songs about your power!” Psalm 21:13 ERV

God has promised to give us festive praise instead of despair. He fills our heart with song when we trust Him and allow Him to guide us through life. Even painting ceilings can be a time of praise.

Let God fill your heart with the words of a song.

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A Box of Donuts

This weekend we headed up to the Phoenix area to celebrate our youngest grandson’s fifth birthday. Saturday’s birthday party included his other grandparents, an uncle, an aunt, a nephew, his parents and sisters. We all had a good time celebrating Sam’s special day and playing with the new toys he received.

When we arrived at their house we told Sam and his little sister, Kristine, that we would be spending the night. The first words out of Sam’s mouth were “And we’ll get donuts in the morning”. Immediately Kristine added “Chocolate with sprinkles”, to which Sam added “and a maple bar”. We all had a good laugh.

Our grandkids associate our visits with donuts. It’s what we do! And yesterday morning before they got up we were off to the donut shop to purchase the morning’s treat. There’s something so special about sitting around the table talking and laughing; what a way to start the day.

I didn’t grow up in close proximity to my grandparents and so they didn’t come to visit very often. I don’t have the same memories that Dave has. To Dave, a grandparents love meant root beer floats on a Saturday night. I’m sure each of you have a different memory but what is the same is the love that was shared.

Isn’t that the way it is with the Lord? Our specific memories of special moments will vary but one thing is constant, always the same. The love of God is freely given and it’s unconditional.

I think if Jesus were here, in person, He would probably show up with a box of donuts. He’s a giver of joy.

King David, a man who had experienced the best that life had to offer, made this statement.

“I ask only one thing from the Lord. This is what I want most: Let me live in the Lord’s house all my life, enjoying the Lord’s beauty and spending time in his palace.” Psalm 27:4 ERV

“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Psalm 84:10-11 NLT

Spend time with the Father. I can assure you it’s much better than a donut with chocolate sprinkles.

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Finding Joy In Unexpected Places

A few years back Dave built a workshop. He had wanted one for a long time. He needed a place where all his power tools and hand tools could be reached easily. He been doing all of his projects in the garage and on the driveway. A less than preferred way to achieve optimal success with his projects. He had done this without much complaint. It was time to him to have a real shop. My husband is a planner. He builds things in his head, many times over, before he even cuts the first board. No blue prints, no drawings just an idea in that marvelous brain of his.

The biggest hurdle was setting a level floor support and subfloor. The ground is so hard but after several days work the concrete pillars were in perfect square and level, subfloor was down and he started framing it in. With help from neighbors the framed walls went up and Dave was ready to move forward.

Earlier in the week I called and ordered the metal sheeting for the roof. “It will be here by Thursday afternoon Mrs. Wilson. You can pick it up on Friday.” Great! Austin, our son-in-law, had volunteered to come down and help Dave for the weekend so this was good. Except when I called on Thursday to verify that they had the roofing, they didn’t.

Really! Now what?

We still needed more building materials so we drove to Tucson, borrowed a friend’s utility trailer and went shopping. Lumber, siding, door, windows, nails. I went to the desk to check on the roofing. As the manager of the department was explaining to me that it hadn’t come in, he clicked the inventory screen to show me and our 20 sheets of roofing appeared in his inventory.

Hallelujah! But now the hunt was on. If it’s in inventory where is it?

Dave and I kept shopping. The manager went to find it. He looked…and looked…and looked. Good thing we had lots of boards to get and siding to load. We kept busy while he looked. And then we saw him, coming toward us with a lumber cart and on top of it was shiny corrugated roofing, 20 sheets of it!

If we had been angry, and that’s what we were tempted to be, we would have ruined our day and that of the sales floor employees we encountered that morning. Instead we were able to keep our joy and get our product. In fact, we had a very nice young man go with us to help load everything we bought.

Thank you Jesus!

“Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” II Corinthians 13:11 NLT

We never know where we will find joy. That day we found it in the lumber aisles of Lowe’s. Sometimes we need to be like the manager of the lumber department – we know joy is there, we just have to keep looking until we find it.

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Enjoy the Harvest

How’s it going for you this morning? I have to admit, the last few days have been challenging. Physically challenging. Not sure of the what or how but something I did aggravated my back and slowed me down a bit.

I am pleased to report that when I got up this morning most of the pain and stiffness is gone and I am praising God for that. I love to sit in the quiet of the day and praise God! It’s as natural as breathing – inhaling I think “Thank you Father, Praise you Father” and with each exhale I convey my words of love. I love you Lord!

It’s not “Prayer Time” because I’m not asking the Lord for anything. It’s a time of awareness, knowing that my Father and I are sharing this time, enjoying one another’s presence.

“I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. 9 And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear…11 You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.” Psalm 16:8,9,11 NLV

I heard two words this morning – peace and joy! Both are internal conditions. There has always been and always will be conflict; peace is the sense of well being in our souls regardless of that conflict. The peace that God gives bypasses our understanding, it goes beyond the natural way of thinking to a place of trust and rest in God and His goodness. Peace is found when we spend time with the Father and joy comes along with it.

“The rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without giving water to the earth. This makes plants grow on the earth, and gives seeds to the planter and bread to the eater. 11 So My Word which goes from My mouth will not return to Me empty. It will do what I want it to do, and will carry out My plan well. 12 You will go out with joy, and be led out in peace. The mountains and the hills will break out into sounds of joy before you. And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:10-12 NLV

For a number of years Dave and I spent our summers in eastern Iowa. They say that you can watch the corn grow – literally. One day the stocks are knee high and the next they are waist high. Give it a few days and they will tower over your head. All the conditions are right – fertile soil, rain, sunshine and humidity.

Just like rain causes the seeds to sprout and the corn to grow, God’s word causes peace and joy to grow in our lives. God’s word, like a seed, planted in our hearts will bring a harvest. I guess that’s what I do each morning as I sit here in my quiet place – I’m planting seeds of joy and peace. And then when the challenges come, I can pick an ear of joy and an ear of peace and enjoy the harvest of God’s word.

Enjoy the planting process today. Before you know it, you will also be enjoying the harvest!

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No Need to Hide

Are you crazy or delusional? You can’t be happy all the time! Really?

You’ve got your head stuck in the sand – you just need a good dose of reality!

Ever heard those kind of comments – I have! But what people are really saying is “what gives you the right to be so happy when I am so upset?”.

“Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.” Philippians 4:4 ERV

There’s a difference between happiness and joy, or at least there is to me. Happiness is our positive reaction to external circumstances. Joy is a character trait that comes from within. Happiness is an emotion that fluctuates; joy is a stabilizing confidence.

I choose to be joyful. I choose to see that God has more in store for me that I can fathom; I see God’s love sustaining me no matter what the circumstances are in my life and so I chose to be filled with joy!

I like me better when I’m joyful. I don’t like being grumpy or aggravated. I just don’t. Those conditions tell me that I’m looking at me. I’d rather look at God the Father and be reminded of His amazing love.

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. 3 Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. 4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 AMP

We need to practice being JOY FILLED! I went to bed last night humming a praise song that we sang Sunday morning and the words are still in my heart this morning. It is the reason I choose to be joyful regardless of the circumstances. 

You're my champion 
Giants fall when You stand 
Undefeated Every battle You've won 
I am who You say I am 
You've crowned me with confidence 
I'm seated in the heavenly places 
Undefeated with the one who has conquered it all.
Source: "You are My Champion" Lyrics: Dante Bowe

Fill up your joy reservoir and as you go throughout the day. Share it with others. When asked why you are smiling so much or why you’re so happy, let people know that “God loves me” and that’s more than enough reason to be glad. Joy comes from knowing Jesus is always with us and He has faced any struggle, any trial, any circumstance that would try to destroy us. He is greater than Covid, He is greater than social distancing. He has conquered it all and because of that I am filled with confidence. Confidence of who I am in Christ!

“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 ERV

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Celebrate Life

This has been a week for celebrating life. We got to meet our first great grandchild last Thursday – that was a time to celebrate. We have spent the last week with my mother, who is almost 97, and as we reminisce it’s a time of celebrating the many events of her life. My sister had a birthday on Monday and so we celebrated that too and now our nation will have a birthday on Saturday which brings millions to celebrate our freedom.

Celebrate Life!

God has been doing that from the beginning of time. In the garden, at creation, He saw everything that He had created and called it good. Everything, except the creation of man and woman, that He called very good. When creation was finished He took the day off to enjoy what He made and celebrate. (my opinion)

All through the Bible we see people celebrating the goodness and love of God with feasting, singing and sacrificing sweet incense, oil and bread. They were celebrating the life God had blessed them with and the deliverance He had provided.

Heaven celebrates life. The angels in heaven throw a party when someone decides to follow Christ.

“In the same way, it’s a happy time for the angels of God when one sinner decides to change.” Luke 15:10 ERV

One of my favorite parables in the Bible is of the prodigal son. He takes off from his father’s house, spends all of his inheritance then comes home, repentant, with his tail tucked between his legs. What does the Father do? He celebrates life – he throws a party. Our heavenly Father does the same when we return home after wandering off to follow our own desires and schemes!

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet. 23 And bring our best calf and kill it so that we can celebrate with plenty to eat. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to have a party.” Luke 15:22-24 ERV

And when life on earth is over there will be a great celebration in heaven as those of us who follow Christ are seated at the banquet table there.

“Then a voice came from the throne and said, ‘Praise our God, all you who serve him!
Praise our God, all you small and great who honor him!’ 6 Then I heard something that sounded like a large crowd of people. It was as loud as crashing waves or claps of thunder. The people were saying, ‘Hallelujah! Our Lord God rules. He is the All-Powerful. 7 Let us rejoice and be happy  and give God glory! Give God glory, because the wedding of the Lamb has come. And the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen was given to the bride for her to wear. The linen was bright and clean.’ (The fine linen means the good things that God’s holy people did.) 9 Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Great blessings belong to those who are invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb!” Then the angel said, “These are the true words of God.’” Revelation 19:5-9 ERV

We will get to celebrate life with the Giver of Life. What a party that will be!

Join in today and celebrate life – let’s tell our friends and family we love them. Let’s be grateful for the impact they have made in our lives. Don’t waste an opportunity to show and share love.

Celebrate Life!

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