February 21, 2011 · 6:18 am

Extreme Joy


The Lord your God is living among you; He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your  fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. —Zephaniah 3:17

This verse describes the  heart of Jesus bursting with divine celebration…over you, if you know Him as your Savior.

Of this verse, author Steve Fry explains in his book I Am: The Unveiling of God: “God’s joy knows no bounds…the word ‘joy’ here is a pretty animated word. In the Hebrew, it literally means: to become excited to the point of dancing in a whirlwind…He gets so excited about you and me that He exhibits the kind of joy that can only be captured in the imagery of a whirling dance.”

Does that not take your breath away? To know that you are the recipient of such divine passion and joy?  Jesus is your joy and, you are His joy!

If you are a Christ follower, Jude 1:24 assures us that there is coming a day when Jesus will “present you faultless before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exaltation (with unspeakable, ecstatic delight).

When you are finally in the physical presence of Jesus, He will be filled with ecstasy…rapturous delight, overpowering exaltation, intense feeling! Did you know that He longs for that day? In John 17, He expresses His heart to God the Father when He prayed, ” I desire that they…may be with Me where I am, to see My glory.”

In the original language, the word for this type of  joy means: “exceeding joy, exultation, extreme joy…to leap.”

This is joy getting physical. This is the joy that Jesus exhibits over you.

And He wants you to have and experience that very same joy!

Jesus Himself said that it is His desire “that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11). Jesus wants you to be filled to the brim with joy, to be thoroughly permeated and saturated with His very own joy! 

The closer you are to Him, the deeper your joy.

How do you get closer to Him? Read His love letter to you, which is the Bible. The more you know His Word, the easier it will be for you to recognize His Voice.  See His extraordinary artistic creativity in the beauty of the world around you. Observe His attentive care for your physical needs. Revel in the tender  healing touch He brings to your heart as you begin to apply His precious promises to the places that hurt the most. Live in gratitude for all the blessings you have been given, no matter how small.  Listen to the pure joy in the laughter of a child.

This day—and every day—you are invited into the joy of Jesus.

We see this clearly in Zephaniah 3.  In verse 14, we are encouraged to sing aloud and rejoice and exult with all our hearts to our God. Then in v. 17, we see Jesus doing the same over us! It is a beautiful give-and-take…you enjoying Jesus and Jesus enjoying you!   Bliss!

One morning last week, I awoke with worries threatening to overwhelm my mind.  As I opened my Bible for my devotions, I was led to verse after verse about Jesus’ exultant joy over us. Then, I read about that same  joy in the book I am currently reading. And finally, I heard Beth Moore speak about His joy for us as I listened to one of her DVDs. At that point, it finally dawned on me that Jesus was trying to get my attention! He was encouraging me to see past the cares of this world and take a concentrated look into His delightful heart where Peace and Joy reign.

He was inviting me to fully enter into His joy that was mine for the taking.

I accepted…and a day that had begun gray and cloudy became radiant with the bright colors of joy and hope.

And today, He extends that same invitation to you.

Will you accept?

“The threefold joy of the Lord (is): His joy in ransoming us, His joy dwelling within us as our Savior and His joy in possessing us, as His bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a flucuating thing; His joy in us knows no change.”–James Hudson Taylor

(If you are interested in checking out the Scripture references where this kind of joy (agalliao) is mentioned, you can find them at the following addresses: Matthew 5:12, Luke 1:47, Luke 10:21, John 5:35, John 8:56, Acts 2:26, Acts 16:34, I Peter 1:6,8, I Peter 4:13, Revelation 19:7)

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February 19, 2011 · 4:32 pm

Weekend Moment


Welcome to my first “weekend moment” post! 🙂

My plan is to post a personal photo each weekend (either current or something from the past) that allows me to share what was happening at that moment in time.

The above photo was taken during the first minutes of 2011. My son Josh, husband Doug, and daughter Julia are welcoming the new year with a lovely rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.”

I do not have even a glimmer of musical ability, so the fact that everyone else in my family does is a huge gift to me. I love having the house filled with their music!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Susan

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February 18, 2011 · 7:07 pm

Fullness of Joy


You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand, there are pleasures evermore.–Ps. 16:11

One Sunday morning in January 2002, our small group leader posed a challenge to all of us in his class at our church: Ask Jesus to give you a verse for the new year so that by December, you will have lived that verse. The goal was that for the rest of our days, that Scripture would not just be words on a page to us;  but those words would be written forever on our hearts by the nail-scarred hand of our Savior.

That year was absolutely life-changing for me in so many ways. As a result, I have asked Jesus for the same gift every December. I then begin to keep my eyes and ears open and without fail, He begins to give me the same Scripture over and over again from a variety of sources. By December 31st, I have my verse and my theme for the upcoming year.

Imagine my delight when He disclosed the theme for 2009: JOY! My Scripture was Ps. 16:11 and I was ready for  what would surely be an amazing year! And it was.

However, not at all in the ways I had imagined.

I’ll never forget the day I excitedly told Doug that the theme Jesus had given to me for 2009 was joy. Rather than being as thrilled as I was—because he is a very wise man—he looked slightly green around the gills and tried to summon a faint smile. You see, he knew what I was conveniently overlooking: Jesus doesn’t have to teach you about joy when life is rosy.

Suffice it to say, life didn’t stay rosy for long; trials hit and they hit hard. Among other things, my husband’s job was cut and my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  That was my invitation from Jesus to go deeper into relationship with Him…to take a journey into a joy that I had never known prior to that season.

Joy is NOT happiness. Happiness is dependent on favorable circumstances. Joy is a supernatural gift from heaven that can blaze strong and shine bright in spite of circumstances. “Joy (can) express itself in laughter and elation, yet it draws from a deep spring that keeps flowing long after the laughter has died and the tears have come.” —Sherwood Wirt.

Jesus is the personification of Joy. He IS joy. He is the Source of Joy.  Hebrews 1:9 boldly declares this about Jesus: “God has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy and gladness above and beyond Your companions.”

In his book, In The Footsteps of Jesus, author Bruce Marchiano writes: “Yes, Jesus smiled; yes, Jesus laughed. Jesus smiled wider and laughed heartier than any human being who has ever walked the planet. He was young. He radiated good cheer. The real Jesus was a man of such merriment, such gladness of heart, such freedom and openness, that He proved irresistable. He became known among Galilee for His genuine strength, the sparkle in His eyes, the spring in His gait, the heartiness in His laugh, the genuineness of His touch, His passion, playfulness, excitement and vitality: His JOY! He made a dazzling display of love. He set hearts on fire. He was an elated, triumphant young man with an incredible quality of life…so different from the solemn religious types He constantly encountered.”

Yet, Jesus Christ suffered more than anyone ever has or will on this planet. He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah. 53:3). However, that immense suffering never affected his joy.  That blazing, divine joy remained abundant and overflowing, even as He went to the cross.

As the difficult season unfolded, I clung to Ps. 16:11. It said that He would show me the path of life.  He knows exactly what is on that path and where it leads. Sometimes that path has some painful detours, but my joy need not ever be affected. Why? Because 16:11 tells me that “in His Presence is fullness of joy.”  His Presence never leaves me;  so His joy is always available.

But I have to choose it.

As Henri Nouwen once said, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it everyday.”

Choosing joy became my lifeline…especially when fear filled my heart and threatened to overwhelm me. I clung to the promises in God’s Word  with all my strength. I learned to live within today’s parameters and to focus on  my many blessings, rather than what I lacked. I learned to trust my Savior’s inexhaustible provision.  I learned that Jesus is ENOUGH.

Always.

The joy of the Lord truly became my strength…even when the storms grew in frightening intensity. Yet…to my great delight, I found that the joy of Jesus was…and is… always stronger than the storm.

At the end of 2009, my dear friend Penny made me a wonderful gift that I will always treasure:

This is the first thing I see when the day begins. It is a physical reminder of the intangible yet very real gift of joy.

Joy always triumphs.

Blessings,

Susan

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February 16, 2011 · 3:04 pm

One Thousand Gifts


As much as I love to read (a quick glance at my “Books I Love” page will attest to that! :), there are few books that I would classify as life-changing.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp definitely qualifies as a life-changer. Ann is a beautiful, lyrical writer; one who paints breathtaking word-pictures across the hearts of her readers.  I did not want the book to end and the minute I read the last word, I turned right back to the first chapter and began reading all over again! Almost every page is highlighted, underlined, and starred. Simply put, this book powerfully stirred my soul and filled me with joy.

One day in  November a  couple of years ago, Ann received an email from a friend, daring her to make a list of one thousand blessings in her life. That simple exercise proved to be a journey into joy for Ann. She discovered that “thanks is what multiplies the joy and makes any life large…God gives the gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.” (pp. 48, 57).

Joy is a huge theme in my life (more on that subject in posts to come) and when I decided to accept the same challenge,  I was delighted to discover  that  immense joy filled my heart as my eyes were truly opened to all the gifts and beauty that surround me daily: a snow-covered backyard bathed in the light of a full moon;  my son playing a piece from “Fiddler on the Roof”; the sound of my daughter laughing with her friends;  the feel of my husband’s strong arms around me at the end of a long day; the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven; the sun making the white snow glitter like a million diamonds; sharing childhood memories with my brother. To say nothing of eyes that see, legs that walk,  and ears that hear!  Gifts are everywhere!

As Ann so rightly declares: “…the heights of our joy are measured by the depths of our gratitude.” (p.166).

Life is such a precious gift, bestowed upon us by our Creator.

However, we so often take that gift for granted.

We live, but we are not fully alive.

We see, but we do not savor. (When is the last time you truly gazed at the  faces of the ones you love, rather than just taking a passing glance?)

We pass the time (and sometimes even waste it) , but we do not invest it.

We tend to focus on all that is wrong rather than celebrating what is right.

We rush through our moments  rather than treasuring them .

We worry rather than worship.

This day, choose to see–really see– the gifts that surround you, no matter how small. Begin to name them.

Choose gratitude…and you will find joy.

I do not write these words from an ivory tower. Life has been hard these past several months. Fears loom large, tears spill, and there are more questions than answers sometimes.

YET…gratitude has a way of redeeming those fearful moments into a celebration of the goodness of my beautiful God in the midst of the pain.

Embark on a treasure hunt through your life. Celebrate the gift of today, right where you are.

This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. — Ps. 118:24

Blessings,

Susan

(You can find Ann Voskamp’s blog at: www.aholyexperience.com and the Amazon link to “One Thousand Gifts” is on my ‘Books I Love’ page).

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February 14, 2011 · 6:33 pm

The Greatest Love Story


I have loved you with an everlasting love. — Jeremiah 31:3

Eighteen years ago, I married the love of my life.

Doug is the perfect man for me. He is brilliant, funny, endlessly patient, supportive, passionate, kind, and big-hearted. He is my very best friend and loves me unconditionally. We enjoy being together, whether we are on a romantic date or simply running errands. I love the sound of his laugh and his warm smile still makes me weak in the knees. He is God’s greatest gift to me.

Yet, our love pales in comparison to the powerful and transcendent love of Another.

This One is indescribably beautiful. His love burns like a blazing fire, so strong and intense that it takes my breath away.

This One knows everything about me—the lovely as well as the ugly—yet He continues to relentlessly pursue me.

He doesn’t run from my brokenness…He embraces it…and then transforms me.

He is the personification of  Joy, Peace, and Love.

He rejoices over me with singing.  He calls me His bride.

To Him, love is not just a feeling; it is an action. I couldn’t come to Him, so He came to me.

He came for me.

He gave  everything He had to give so that I could be His for all eternity.

It all happened as a result of the most powerful moment in the history of the world:

His Name is Jesus and He is the human face of God.

A.W. Tozer said this about the cross: “The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.”

Living in the light of His sacrificial and glorious love is my deepest joy, my sweetest song, my all-consuming passion, my journey to wholeness, my gateway to freedom.

And it is my sincere hope that this is true of you as well. The good news is that Jesus doesn’t have this love only for me; He freely offers it to everyone who comes to Him and admits their need: “To all who did receive Him, who believed on His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.”– John 1:12

Regardless of your circumstance this Valentine’s Day–whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed—you can be part of the grandest love story of all. I pray that you personally know  the wondrous love of Christ and accept His invitation to you: “Arise, My love, My beautiful one, and come away. The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, and the season of singing has come.” — Song of Songs 2:10-12

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Blessings,

Susan

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February 13, 2011 · 6:08 pm

The Beauty of The Hours


“Time is a smooth white seashell…hold it close and listen to the beauty of the hours.” — Anonymous

I learned the power of a moment on February 24,1990.

It was on that day that  my best friend died.

Her name was Tracy and we were like sisters…best friends since we were five years old.  I had been the maid of honor in her wedding  just seven short months before.  That evening, she had been chatting on the phone with a friend when her voice suddenly fell silent.  She had died instantly, the result of a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

One moment, she was a young, happy newlywed, filled with hope for the future.  And the next moment, her life on earth ended and she entered eternity.

My life was never the same after that day.

I had been raised in Peters Creek Baptist Church in the small town of Library, PA.  All my life, I had heard the wondrous truth of a Savior named Jesus…God in human flesh…who loved me enough to come to this earth and pay a debt that I could never pay.  I accepted Him as my Savior when I was 13 years old and walked with Him throughout my school years.

However, as I neared the end of college and  later entered the workforce, I began to drift away…ever so slowly and subtly.  The enticements of the world beckoned and I began to flirt with danger.  I stopped going to church and my Bible collected dust on the shelf .  I became someone I didn’t even recognize and found myself in places I never thought I would be.  I convinced myself that I was having the time of my life, that I was “free.”  Yet, late at night when all was still and quiet, an emptiness gnawed at my soul and I knew Jesus was whispering for me to come home.

I got very good at tuning out His still, small voice…until February 24, 1990.

That night, He used a megaphone.

As I literally lay on the floor, sobbing  not only over the loss of my best friend, but of what had become of my life, His Spirit spoke clearly to mine and He said, “You are NOT promised tomorrow. What are you doing with the one life I have given you? Return to Me.”

And so I did.  In deep repentance, I returned to His open arms and unconditional love…to the God who gives beauty for ashes.  Peace flooded my soul and I have never looked back.  From that moment on, my view of life was forever altered and I began to treasure my moments.

That is why I started this blog.  Time flies by in a blur and it’s easy to forget the beauty of the moments.  This little corner of the blogosphere will be a place for me to record the various moments that make up a life:  some funny, some sad, and everything in between.

The Chris Rice song  The Power of a Moment was the inspiration for this blog.

So…welcome.  Life is a beautiful gift.  I will look forward to sharing the beauty of the hours with you. 🙂

Blessings,

Susan

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