April's Thoughts

 40 Days of JOY- 🙌🙌 Day 15 🙌🙌 Rejoicing and Eating go hand in hand  😊 Food can often put us in a better mood - sometimes make us downright happy :)  and we are so blessed with food -  It is one of the signs that we are so well off - So blessed  compared with much of the rest of the world! What a perfect time to REJOICE with friends and family - over a meal. However, in our day and culture, so many of us do not really eat with our families any more.  But, at least in our home, before everyone scatters off to their corner of the house to enjoy dinner - we at least come together to say grace- and share a little Word. 🙏 But whatever happens in our homes - we need to take the time to Rejoice as a family over ALL that God has blessed us with. . . . "There in the presence of the Lord Your God, You and your families,  Shall EAT and shall REJOICE  In everything you have put your hand to, Because the Lord Your God has BLESSED you!" Deuteronomy 12:7

 40 Days of JOY - 🙌🙌 Day 14 🙌🙌 Luke 15 is a Chapter full of JOY It's a pattern - something is lost - something is found - Gathering together & celebrating & rejoicing! I lose my keys all the time - and let me tell you when I get desperate  - and then suddenly find them again  - I am rejoicing and Praising God!! God is in the business of restoring things that are lost - - our faith - our relationships  - our very souls And when He restores these things - it's not just "Old  Hat" for Him - He Celebrates & Rejoices  But None of these joyous moments in Luke 15  - finding the lost coin, sheep, son, sinner -  are done  alone  All of these moments of Joy come with gathering people (or angels 😇) together and CELEBRATING!  I am a loner by nature (I love people- but I like to do a lot of things alone)  But there is something good that happens to all of us - when we acknowledge Joy by celebrating it with others. Sooo . . ...

 40 Days of JOY - 🙌🙌 Day 13 🙌🙌 Because of Joy - You can Do It! Are you struggling through a difficult situation right now? Are you in the middle of a really tough decision?  Are you facing a temptation that just looks too big? Well you are not alone.  Every Christian worth their salt - has been there - done that - and survived.  JESUS himself faced all of that - and gained victory for all of us. How did Jesus do that?  How did He stay on the cross when every fiber of His human body was screaming - "Get me out of here!"  ? For the JOY  set before Him.   It was the Joy of seeing us saved and healed that kept Him there. How has so many others survived difficult times ?  By holding on to the strength that comes from knowing that this will end in a Joy - for God - for us - for someone else. . . The future can motivate us . . . -Seeing your child's face when he knows you are happier now. - Knowing God is smiling down on you because you mad...

 40 Days of JOY  - 🙌🙌 Day 12 🙌🙌 Sometimes I struggle with my faith  -  but as I read this - that part of my Spirit that holds onto Jesus - that was born anew when I gave my heart to Him - resonates with this verse and what I truly believe deep down inside.  I feel that deep Joy fill my soul. You see this verse was written to struggling believers facing a world who was out to condemn and persecute Christians . . . Anyone who claimed to believe in Jesus. Yet it was that very belief in Christ - in this Jesus that they now knew to be real and closer than a brother - that brought the most hope and Joy into their struggles. 1Pe 1:8 - "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY!"

 40 Days of JOY - 🙌🙌 Day 11 🙌🙌 Sometimes it's from the pit of despair that I cry out to God - Sometimes it's from the business and distractions of the day - Whatever the case it becomes a daily request of my God to restore me -  And re-restore me to that place of Joy & Trust in who He is . . . It is so easy to lose -  But just a prayer away to a Loving God to get back Call on Him - He is waiting . . . Dear Heavenly Father, May You this Day . . . "Restore to me the JOY of Your Salvation  And grant me a willing spirit to Support me" Amen Psalm 51:12

 40 Days of JOY  - 🙌🙌 Day 10 🙌🙌 I love this verse. ❤ While I have been focusing on all that We Should do to show JOY   or what would come NATURALLY to those experiencing true JOY.  . . I love this description of God - and how this love and JOY are reciprocated  . . . God is so enamored with us that He Rejoices over us with Singing.  God sings because He is full of JOY Himself.   He is the one "living JOY out loud" - when He thinks of us! I often wonder what the Angels see & hear when God is celebrating us.  Let your joyful imagination run wild . . . And see if that doesn't put a smile on your face 😁🥰🤣😍