19 | Be Joyful

A weekend full of goodness is winding down slow and satisfied. Four days of play, away from work and school, is good for my family's collective soul. We have been taking a break from busy and bustling from here to there, from dividing and conquering and dividing again. 

When we are busy we have little time to breathe, connect, reflect, or respond in either our situations or our relationships.  Instead we react: with anxiety, frustration, disappointment, or dogged determination.

There is little room in the equation for the slower response of joy.

This weekend we practiced balancing the family equation.  We were deliberate in going slow and weighing choices.  We practiced being. And in so doing, we found ourselves finding joy in the negotiations and compromises and giggles of our collective love. 

Note that word choice: finding joy. It takes some searching, some choosing to work for joy.  And see where we discovered it: not in the squealing bliss of alpine slides or the scrumptious delight of ice cream treats. Our joy this weekend was sandwiched between layers of negotiations and compromises, squabbles and stern looks, whining and chastising.  Layers of work, along with layers of pleasure. It's not easy to be a parent. It can be difficult to be a kid. It's tiring to pack and travel and fill up on fun. But in the gluey, sticky love that binds us together, we choose joy; we find joy. 

Joy is not an accidental, fleeting happy moment. It's that carved out space of cherishing gifts and recognizing all their funky angles and sharp corners, and loving them all the more for that. 

Today we are going to create a place to be still, to carve out some space to choose joy. 

Sit cozily. Breathe slowly. Pray earnestly with me. 

Lord,

You have paved the way to joy with your love. Thank you for your clear direction: when I love you — and when I love others as I love you and myself — I will love my way into your joy. I will love my way into completeness. Fullness. JoyFULLness. 

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:9-11

Help me to live out your command to love. I rely on your help and your grace to make my joy complete. Show me how to slow out of the rush, making it possible to rest and remain in your love, to radiate and reflect your love, even when this world tugs me in the opposite direction.

Remind me that joy dwells in the simple and the misunderstood moments, as well as the pleasing moments.  You have a plan that is bigger and brighter than all the daily details. Hiccups in the here and now will work out in the long run. 

“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; the quiet confidence that ultimately everything will be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.” 

Kay Warren

Lord, your goodness is never far from me.  Just as you made the heavens, you made so much beauty here on earth. But you weren't content with merely creating beautiful scenery and creatures in this world.  You continually imbue us with your love, you eternally invite us into your joy.  And you never stop inspiring love in our relationships with our families, friends, and neighbors.

...the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.   1 Chronicles 16:26-27

Lord, there are times when joy eludes me. Help me to keep my faith strong and my focus on you in these times. Remind me of Paul and Barnabas and the disciples, shaking off the frustration and pain of persecution, finding joy in spreading your word and your love. I pray that when I run low on joy your Holy Spirit will fill me and complete me and replenish my joyful reserves. 

But the Jewish leaders... stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas. So they shook the dust off their feet... And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.  Acts 13:50-52

When I can't find the joy in a particular moment, a particular day, show me your long range plan. Remind me that you have wonderful joy in store for me up ahead. Help me to truly trust in your promise to grant me lasting, soul-filling happiness and to make my joy complete. Help me to keep choosing joy as a natural extension of my faith in you.

Amen

Reading into a Right Relationship

I bit off a big mouthful when I said I was going to finish reading the Bible this year (see my highly official and hugely anal 2013 Bible Reading Plan).  Lately I've been questioning whether I'm really up to the task.  Spring and summer saw me wandering away from the Bible, into personal reading and travel and (tsk tsk) iPhone addiction. I've been better the past couple weeks.  Not great, just not completely negligent.  

So I was stunned when I updated my 2013 Bible Reading Plan Progress spreadsheet and saw this number on the completion chart.

And just as I was starting to feel jazzed about being more than halfway to my goal...

...the bigger question wormed into my conscience.  Is this about what little old me can accomplish when I set my mind to it?  Or is it about what God can do through me when I open the door and invite him in?

While I ponder that, let me entertain you with a Bible book report.

I've been reading Kings 1 & 2 and Chronicles 1 & 2 and Lamentations enough to know that ignoring my relationship with God will lead to destruction and exile and gnashing of teeth and regret and long-term residence in big-time Bummerville.  

Look at what happened to the Jews.  Not content with a heavenly King, they begged for earthly rulers.  David and Solomon did right by their God and their people (mostly).  But lots of other kings were epic failures.  God stayed loyal to his promises, but the Jews started flirting with other gods and neighboring religions.  Until they flirted their way into Babylonian exile.  

Seventy tough and trying years away from home can be a bit of a rude wake-up call.  

Bring-a-ling-a-ling.  Bring-a-ling-a-ling.

"Hello, Isrealites-who-are-no-longer-in-Israel.  This is God talking.  Are you ready to listen?  To really hear?"  

The Jews did listen and learn.  When they got back to Jerusalem they fixed up the busted temple walls and fixed up their lax worship habits.  They cleaned up the temple and cleaned up their act, acting out a faith in a God who is faithful.

I haven't read all the rest of the O.T., but we all know how the story ends.  

God forgives.  God fulfills his promise of an eternal king in the line of David. And in doing so he surpasses all human understanding, giving and giving up his only Son for our sin.  All because he wants to be in deep and loving relationship with us.

Back to the question.  Maybe my Bible reading plan is a bit about me and my pride.  That's part of what drives me through the dryer books of the Bible.  But I think God works through my flawed motivations to move me closer to him.  The more I read God's word, the more I understand how very much I need God's word.  I understand how God will always provide his guidance and grace, even when I have lapsed for a long time.  Just as he did with the Israelites, he will call me back out of my self-created exile, back to his will and his way.

from Mindy Strauss Photography

It doesn't happen by just running eyeballs over pages and comprehending chapter after chapter.  If I just check off book after book, it's an empty exercise. But if I pause and ponder and pray — if I listen to The Lord with my heart and my head — it brings me into a right relationship with my God. 

Sometimes I have to write a book report to figure that out. 

What do you have to do to stick with the word and listen to our lord?

Gratitude Attitude

How is it that we are sitting on the midway mark of November?  It has been a busy month so far.  (Aren't they all?)  The first week of this month (and much of the previous month) always finds me in apoplectic production of all things faithfully crafty for our church's holiday bazaar.  The second week usually finds me in a less frenetic but still fruitful flurry of fulfilling special orders from said bazaar.  This year it also found me fulfilling jury duty.  And delving into the beautiful, inspiring world of Pinterest in my spare (ha ha!) time.  And prepping for our monthly Bible study.  And raiding my kids candy bags from Halloween.  And missing 31 Days of Prayer, the joy of immersing myself in conversation with God.

All good things.  I am grateful for each.  And as I make "Give Thanks" banners I am praying thanks for God's gifts.  And I am praying to focus less on feeling busy and more on feeling full.  Of the good stuff.  Of God's love and peace and grace.  Of the Holy Spirit.  Of life on Earth and the promise of eternal life in Heaven.

Dear Lord,

You are the God of all goodness, Giver of glorious gifts.

I am so humbly grateful...

1. for my relationship with you which sustains and saves me every day
2. for my husband, darling and funny, loveable 99% of the time (especially when he calls just to say I looked cute this morning)
3. for my daughter, grinning and giggly, so in love with her world of music and friends and cartwheels and books and math; oh do I love how she loves the challenge of math!
4. for my son, snuggly and warm, comfortable in his own skin whether he's quietly reading, rambunctiously supplying sound effects in some warrior pretending, playing with the dog, bubbling over with pinewood derby eagerness
5. for our home, complete with crafty messes, dirty baseboards, things to do, laundry to wash, dishwasher to empty; the walls are solid, the rooms are warm, and the mood embraces our family and friends and our Lord
6. for my friends who laugh with me, craft with me, pray with me, play with me, sip coffee and commiserate and listen and encourage and brighten my days with their thoughtful caring
7. for my parents and in-laws, for everything, but most of all for generous love and solid foundation
8. for our church that gives much and asks much, providing meaningful opportunities to help others and enrich worship and be God's hands and heart in this world
9. for our neighborhood and community, for the ways we are knit together and the ways we reach out to those who are less fortunate
10. for the sweet delight of a Reese's peanut butter cup, and for the rare and precious occasion when I am content to eat just one!

Thank you for being such an awesome God — omnipotent and omniscient, yet tender and loving, too.  All goodness comes from you.

Amen

Start your list today.  Find ten gifts from God that make your heart sing, your eyes delight, your day bright.  Warning: you may not be able to stop at ten... and that's okay!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34