joy journal

i'm a person that really gets into journaling and always have. i think that's why i enjoy blogging so much...it's just a more contemporary way of journaling. over the years i've kept personal journals, devotional journals, even prayer journals. i read about starting a "joy journal" and thought what an excellent idea that would be to pass along. you don't need much, maybe a pad of paper next to your desk, your bed or kitchen counter. then you can start recording daily blessings that God brings your way. everything from the small "miracles" to the large. in the article i read it suggested at the end of the week having a private praise service between you and God...thanking Him for His presence and power at work in your life.

just this morning i started a list. here is what i have so far from the hours of 5:30AM-10:00AM:

* My husband and I were blessed with another day of life
* I had a beautiful morning to walk and talk with the Lord
* I was blessed listening to music this morning that encouraged my heart
* The tire on my car was fixed easily
* I arrived safely at work
* I found my missing house & mailbox keys
* I was blessed by my calendar saying & verse today, "As a follower of Christ, be an
extension of God's love today". ~John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches.

we have so many blessings that occur during our 24 hour day. do we take the time to notice them? do we stop and thank the Lord for those blessings? i know when i experience a large blessing in my life, i'm usually quick to thank God. but i often forget about those little blessings. this journal will help me see all that God has poured out on me each and every day. i hope you will consider taking the time to write down the joys in your life and stopping to thank the one that blessed you with them...God.

feel free to leave a comment with a small or large miracle you have experienced today. we can thank the Lord together!

this is a video that brought great joy to my heart yesterday. hopefully it does the same for you!

what is going on with our teachers?

i was shocked last night when i heard a story on the news about a 5 year old autistic boy who was "voted out of his class"! apparently due to the child's autism he had some behavioral issues in class. because of this, the teacher put the kindergartner in front of his classmates and asked the kids to tell the boy what they didn't like about him. then she had the class vote on whether or not the boy should stay in the classroom. no child or person for that matter should be treated in such a way. read the whole story here.

i awoke this morning to yet another story of a 5 year old who was being verbally abused by his teacher. the young boy complained to his parents and the parents had their son take a tape recorder into the classroom so the teacher could be recorded. on the recording the teacher is caught calling the child "pathetic". what kind of person would call a 5 year old pathetic? click here to read this article.

how can we stop this from happening again?

book report: "To Fly Again"

I recently finished To Fly Again by Gracia Burnham. Here is a short biography found on her website.

For 17 years she and Martin served with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines where Martin was a jungle pilot delivering mail, supplies and encouragement to other missionaries and transporting sick and injured patients to medical facilities. Gracia served in various roles supporting the aviation program and also home-schooled their children--all of which were born in the Philippines.

While celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort off Palawan Island, the Burnhams were kidnapped on May 27, 2001, by the Abu Sayyaf Group, a militant group of Muslims. They seized several more guests and took them to Basilan Island, an ASG stronghold.

In the ensuing months some of the hostages were killed, but most were set free. From November 2001, only the Burnhams and one other hostage remained in captivity.

During their 376 days of captivity, they faced near starvation, constant exhaustion, frequent gun battles, coldhearted murder-and intense soul-searching about a God who sometimes seemed to have forgotten them.

On June 7, 2002, in a firefight between the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf Group, Martin was killed. Gracia was wounded, but was freed.

This book is excellent. The subtitle is "Surviving the Tailspins of Life". She definitely has survived a major tailspin in her life when she and her husband were held hostage. She shares great perspective on how to view the situations we are faced with in life. One chapter talks about worry. She shares a story of Martin Luther:

"One morning, when he was blue and discouraged his wife appeared (clothed) in black. At Luther's inquiry as to what the mourning meant, she replied, "Haven't you heard? God is dead." Luther saw the absurdity-and so should you. God lives-so will you!"
One dictionary definition of worry is "to torment oneself with disturbing thoughts." The active verb form is interesting, isn't it? Worry is something we do to ourselves. We initiate the worrying. We torment ourselves. What we start, we can also stop. The antidote to worry, as everyone who has ever read the familiar Philippians 4:6-7 knows, is to run to the Lord. "Don't worry about anything instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace..."

What a testimony Gracia has. She was kidnapped and held hostage by terrorists and yet she and her husband were able to praise God through it all. Most of us will never face a situation like the Burnhams. I know we can't even imagine what they went through, but do you think you would react the same way? In our daily lives we do have the opportunity to show God's love to the unlovely. I pray we take the opportunities to show and share the love that God has poured out on us.

when good things happen to bad people

how many times have we been discouraged when we see an unworthy or "bad" person gain something good? how many times have we questioned God and wondered "why would you bless this person and not me?" i know i'm guilty of that. there are things in my life that i take to the Lord daily. i ask for His direction and will to be accomplished not mine. i still have desires and dreams that i hope He will bless me with. as i struggle through these things with God i see others who aren't walking with Him receive "blessings". i know that they aren't true blessings because God is not in it but it's hard not to look at it that way. and i question God's choice. i read this article this morning and it hit the spot on this topic. here's an excerpt. you can click on the title for the full article.

When Good Things Happen to Bad People
Elizabeth Cody Newenhuyse

I can't figure out why people who seem to live only for their selfish pleasures become multimillionaires—while some of my most faithful Christian friends live one paycheck away from homelessness. I'm confounded when people who engage in shady business practices never get caught—they only get richer; when people who lie and lust and gossip seem to go on their merry way.

Life isn't fair. I know bad things happen to good people. But it really bothers me when good things happen to bad people—or at least people who don't seem especially worthy.

When I read my Bible, here's the message I get: Because I've been saved by grace—meaning unmerited favor—my primary task is to become more Christlike through the work of his Spirit in me. As one of God's adopted children, he holds me to a higher standard, and it's a daily, humbling challenge to live up to that standard. In fact, it's often when I'm feeling proud of myself, thinking, Hey, God, look at me! What a good servant I am!, that God shoots off some reminder of my foolishness and dependence on him. When we're tempted to think of ourselves as worthy, Romans 3:23 provides a pithy corrective: All have sinned. None is "worthy" except God alone.

So whenever I whine about the good fortune undeserving people seem to be blessed with while I muddle along, I'm being less like Christ. I've been helped by Oswald Chambers' no-nonsense observation: "Never waste your time looking for justice; if you do, you will soon put yourself in bandages and give way to self-pity. Our business is to see that no one suffers from our injustice."

When we speak of "good things" happening to bad people, we often mean material reward, achievement, worldly success. But God has given each of us so much! We can acknowledge that intellectually, but there are times when we all feel decidedly empty-handed. My friend Vicki says she's been working on this in her own life: "I'm least happy with myself when I pay too much attention to what others have. It's almost as if dwelling on others' good things diminishes what God's given me."

So maybe we don't live in a rambling farmhouse on two acres, like the place I've admired just a few blocks away. I've been blessed with wonderful friends, and I love opening my modest home to those friends. Besides, the things of the world rust and decay. We have a much greater Treasure.

like mentioned in this article, as a Christian my primary focus needs to be on how to be more like Christ. not worrying about the injustices all around me...that makes me less like Christ. the Bible says, "ALL HAVE SINNED". sin is sin and we all do it. it's only because of God's GRACE that He lavishes me with all that i have and that is all i need....that is His blessing.

Heavenly Father,
As I walk through my day may Your Holy Spirit remind me that when circumstances are shaky around me, You remain my Rock and my soul can find refuge in You. When my mind is tempted to focus on the things that steal peace from my heart and mind, may Your Spirit whisper to my soul that You are my strength, my shelter and my resting place. You are the one who daily bears my burdens and is near to those who are crushed in spirit, sustaining them with unexplainable peace in the face of hardship.
You are my Peace.

remembering...

it's Memorial Day. it's a time when families gather and bbq. friends get together and swim or go to the beach. it's a time when people focus on their 3 days off. as an Army spouse (retired), i can't help but stop and think of the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedom and for those who continue to serve and defend our country every day. i am so proud of my husband for serving honorably in the Army for 22 years. he is a patriot. each and every Memorial Day, we as a nation stop and thank those who have served and are currently serving. but how many of us really do that? how many of us forgo the picnic or the party to go to a veteran's hospital or a cemetery? how many of us call those we know who are currently serving or have served before and say "thank you for protecting my freedoms"? it is nice to have a 3 day weekend but let's not forget what it's all about. let's not forget those who don't have the luxury of having a holiday weekend because they are in a war zone. let's not forget that our military men and women are defending the freedoms that we take so easily for granted...you can have an opinion and share it because of those who guard your freedom to do so.

thank you to all the Soldiers, Marines and Airmen for your sacrifice to our country. thank you to all the spouses and family members...you have the toughest job in the military.


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

tragedy for the chapman family

christian music singer, steven curtis chapman, and his family experienced a heartache this week. his 5 year old daughter, maria, was killed by a car in their driveway. she was one of three girls adopted by the chapman's from china. the chapman's have three biological children as well. click here for the full story.

steven curtis chapman wrote a beautiful song called "cinderella". it's about his girls. check out the video to hear the song and the story behind the song.



visit steven curtis chapman's website.

i don't like the dirt!

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
Jeremiah 29:11 The Message

A little girl walking in a garden saw a particularly beautiful flower and promptly picked it because she felt it was too pretty to be in the dirt. She then took the flower home and rinsed the dirt off with water. Shortly thereafter, the flower wilted and died. When the owner of that garden saw what the little girl had done, he exclaimed, "You have destroyed my finest plant!" "I'm sorry, but I didn't like it in all that dirt," said the girl. The gardener responded by saying, "I chose that spot and mixed the soil because I knew that only there could it grow to be a beautiful flower."

Sometimes we become like that little girl, fixated on the dirt of our life instead of seeing the beauty and growth that will emerge in time. But once we have experienced seeing the hand of God in our life, we have assurance that we can trust Him in His sovereignty. So, if it feels like nothing good will ever come out of what you are going through, be patient and steadfast, knowing that God "plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
By: David Jeremiah www.turningpointonline.org

i love the example of the little girl. she thought what she was doing was right and would help the beautiful flower but in the end only the expert knew what was best for that flower in order for it to thrive and grow. i am like that little girl so often. i think i know what is best for me and i do everything in my own power to make it so. only to discover later that i haven't succeeded in my plans because i don't have the means to make it happen. if i only looked to the "expert", God. He has a plan for each of us and His plan is the best, dirt and all.