Monday...what a wonderful day you have been. And yes I am finding joy even in the midst of my burnt body! :) What a total blessing it was to have two beautiful days in a row and to bask in this wonderful sunshine and warmth...God is good!!!!
The message at church yesterday truly touched me and opened my eyes. J-O-Y. Having Joy at ALL times. Can we even grasp that? I have so many sermon notes. Filled my "fill in the blank thingy" completely up! So a lot of my next lines will be about the things our pastor said and not me speaking. Something I really struggled with hearing yesterday was how while Jesus was headed to the cross he said to the Father, I want them to have the same joy I have right now. Does that not go right through you??!! Jesus had JOY while being beaten and bruised. Nails through his hands and feet! Thorns pushed into his head. Whipped. Spit on. He found Joy! What is wrong with Him?
Ever think that maybe the situation you are in right now, while it may stink, could possibly bring a huge blessing? See, all we tend to do is focus on the negative, the hurt, the pain, everything that's going on around us instead of focusing on God and keeping our eyes pointing tords Him. Why can't we realize just how much He loves us and wants to protect us? Life is hard! I say it all the time and I even tend to add in how it can down right "suck"! But the pain is never to much...that pain may just bring such incredible joy. Don't let the battle (life) be such a struggle cause it will ALWAYS continue but HE will ALWAYS be in control!!!
While I'm sitting in church being hit by the reality of all this and how I'm not to incredibly sure I'm always thinking Joy In the midst of my trials I was hit by a huge reality. Trent Cole Rice. Years ago while facing all the harsh fertility realities I can't say I felt much joy. But do you know how very much my Father must love me???! Beyond anything I can ever imagine is how very much. Without that pain and trial in our lives we wouldn't have been blessed with our baby boy! I am so SO incredibly thankful for that pain and trial God took us through to bless us the way HE did and yet did we deserve it? No, and yet HE loves us enough to say we did. MY GOD IS SO BIG!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh I can't describe how overly joyed I am thinking about that! **tears**
I can't say that life will every be easy or even easier because it won't and sometimes we can feel like it's one thing after the other and it's so very hard to find the good in that...the joy. But God is good. And He loves us. And nothing He will ever do is to harm us. There will be blessings! He is for me!!!! Trust Him!
Also always remember that others are watching...how are we handling our trials and what is our attitude saying about where Christ stands in our lives?
***I would like to ask something of you all as well...please be in prayer for a very young girl in our town. Chloe Frank 12 years old. She is currently fighting cancer (ALL) and while her journey has recently begun with this nasty disease she is not doing to well right now. My heart breaks for her and her family! We need to surround this family with prayer and love at this time! I can't imagine being in their shoes...I know God is working but that doesn't mean this family is currently feeling that and they need our strength to help pull them through. Thank you! And if you want to check out her FB page it's Courage for Chloe. They also have a go-fund me account.
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