Relocating

This past summer I saw this sign down in Nashville, IN.  It really made an impression on me.  I thought, “That’s where I want our camp to permanently reside.  Camp Joy.”  You can see by the sign it's been around for a long time - since the beginning.

At church we learned this acronym:

Jesus

Others

Yourself

To have true Joy, you have to focus on these three things and in this order.  My problem was my Joy was thrown into a word scramble.

For a while (too long), I've been living in camp O.J.  Trying first to please everyone else and finding time for Jesus too, but sometimes he’s second to pleasing everyone else.  There are several problems with this camp, and that’s why I finally decided to move. 

First, you cannot please everyone all of the time.  In fact, there are some people you can never please.  Also, trying to people please is not pleasing to God.  Our primary focus should always be on glorifying Him and knowing Him more intimately.  The extent of our responsibilities to Others is to love them as ourselves, forgive them as God has forgiven us, and extend to them the lovingkindness that God has shown us.

Second, when we try to people please, it always removes Jesus from the top spot.  Thus, JOY turns into OJY or even just OJ.

Thirdly, you cannot eliminate the Y.  Yes, you do need to focus on Jesus and Others first, but you have to take care of yourself.  When you remove the Y, it affects your self-care, emotional health, motivation, and esteem.  Plus, too much O.J. ends up making you very acidic – bitter.  How is that glorifying to God?  How can that be a great testimony to others?  It can’t be, so I knew I had to get out!  Seeing this sign reinforced it.  It was as if God said, “Hey, why don’t you join me again in Camp Joy?  You've been in Camp O.J. too long.”

So here I am slowly moving back in to Camp Joy.  You’d think it would be an easy move, but it’s not.  Bad habits are hard to break, but I’m getting there and asking for continued Grace and Lovingkindness along the way.

Do you reside in Camp Joy or do you find yourself residing in a different camp?  If you reside in a different camp, take a good look in the mirror and start today making the changes necessary to relocate with me to Camp Joy.  I guarantee it will be the best move you ever made!

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads.  They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  ~Isaiah 35:10

Sweet Hour of Prayer

My favorite song is the old hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer” by William Walford.  During these past years and trials, this hymn has not just become my favorite, but it has become who I am – my life’s statement.  Let the words of blind William Walford speak for themselves:

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

Aren't they wonderfully, inspiring words?  I do believe that with earthly blindness, Mr. Walford was given the gift to see into the throne room of Grace!  Often, when I'm preparing to pray, I like to imagine what the first verse talks about.  I see a strong but grandfatherly figure on a large throne.  He sees small me peeking in from the door, and calls for me to come before Him.  Then, He not only calls me forward, but allows small me to sit up by Him or even in His lap to hold and comfort me like His child as I make all my wants and wishes known.  That is where my soul finds relief...in His all knowing, grace filled, unconditionally loving arms.  Often the vision is so real and comforting that it brings me to joy filled tears.

So often then we as Christians want to jump to the last verse.  "Come quickly Lord Jesus!" we so frequently say.  That day will come soon enough, and personally, if I look at my own job performance as a Christian, it is coming too soon!  I still have much work to do for the Father!  So with that, for now, we need to stay tuned into what verse 2 tells us.  He is trying to engage our waiting souls to bless us.  That word "engage" is an interesting word choice...it is interactive.  Just like a wedding proposal, the groom desires the bride's engagement.  She has a choice, though.  She can accept or decline.  It is the same with us and God.  We can accept His offer of eternal life with Him and His blessings or decline them.  It is our choice.

Also, in that second verse is that word again, twice, that we don't like to hear - wait.  The more trails I face in my life, though, the more I'm convinced that is the key to a deep relationship with Christ.  Wait.  So many verses touch on that...we'll take a look there in a different post.  So wait.  I'll wait for you, sweet hour of prayer.  We should wait and long for our daily time with God because it is truly so sweet.

Here is my simple attempt of sharing worship with you.  Hope it is a blessing.  Listen to the words, not the quality of my voice.

Contentment

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:11-13

As of Friday morning my cycle was 4 days late.  I knew that if we made it past that day, we could take “The Test” and hopefully after six long years see a miracle arrive in our lives.  By lunch I knew there would be no need to test this month.  I shared with my co-worker that this late cycle for me is like buying a lottery ticket when you hear the prize is $1 billion (it happens about as often).  It’s fun to think about, hope for, even pray for (I can tell you that Indiana would not have to worry about children stuck as wards of the state if I ever did win a billion dollars!), but you know the odds are stacked against you.  It’s simple statistics.  That is how Friday went, so I closed my office door toward the end of the day and cried when I could no longer hold back the sadness.

The most amazing thing always happens though.  I can never cry very long because I think of my husband that loves me, my two adorable cats that are waiting at home for me, my beautiful home that provides shelter, and most importantly, my Savior who died my sinner’s death so I can have eternal life.  My Savior provides contentment in whatever state I am and allows me to do ALL things through Him.

I can tell you that this is not easy and the key to success is in verse 13.  With that, it makes me think of a saying you hear frequently that is completely false, so don’t believe it!  It is, “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle.”  You see, we are weak, sinful humans.  I can honestly tell you that infertility is more than I can handle.  Being downsized from a job I loved is more than I could handle.  Keeping my mouth shut when I’m angry is more than I can handle.  However, here I am; handling all of these things.  How?  Verse 13: I can do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me!  Through Christ’s strength, I can stand and not my own!  When you’re in that valley and you don’t see the end of it, make sure you have invited Christ to walk that valley with you.  His strength will pull you through and even provide you contentment along the way.

When We Just Don't Understand

Jehovah-Shammah, so often we don't understand Your plan.  There are circumstances when we don't see You, but You are there.  There are times when we don't feel Your Presence, but You are there.  There are times when "the plan" really doesn't make sense, but You are there.  Let us praise You anyway because You are the God that is there with us - Jehovah-Shammah.
We also praise You for being the Jehovah-Jireh - the God who provides.  As it says in Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  We are placing full trust that You will provide our needs.  We are in need of You providing because we cannot do this alone.  In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

We should cling to this prayer daily.  We never know what is around the corner - a friend will disappoint us, people will let us down, we'll hear a devastating diagnosis, we'll lose a loved one.  So often, we don't understand why, but we can cling to the One that does.  He does have a plan, and we'll understand in the Sweet By and By.

Enjoying Grace

Why did I name my blog Enjoying Grace?  After all, for the first few years of its existence it was called Ponderings.  That was its name without a vision or purpose when I first discovered I enjoy writing and needed a place to put these writings.  Over the past few years I’ve started feeling more of a calling to turn it into something more...a place to share my faith, so I found the need to rename it to reflect more of where I am on my spiritual walk.  Therefore, the blog became Enjoying Grace.

But still why the name Enjoying Grace?  When you look up grace, it has several definitions.  The first one is “elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.”  Well I can tell you, that definitely is not a descriptor of me or my blog, but let’s jump to definitions 4: “a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior” and 5: “mercy, clemency, pardon”.  Now that’s what I’m enjoying!  I am finally enjoying the favor, mercy, clemency, and pardon of My Lord!

I finally learned not to let Satan drag me down with guilt of my past sins.  God does not want that for me or any Christian.  In fact, Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.”  That is amazing to think about!  God removed my sin as far from me as the east is from the west.  Now, that is far!  It proves that He wants us free from our past, and if we sin now, He sends the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts to repentance.  Even with that, it’s not guilt, its conviction.  They are two completely different things.  Conviction leads to repentance.  Guilt leads nowhere.  2 Corinthians explains it well.  It says in chapter 7, verse 10, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

So my message to every Christian is to enjoy the Grace that has been bestowed to you by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!  Psalm 13:5 tells us, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.”  That is what we should do!  When you lose the guilt, it leaves you free to completely love Christ for who He is.  It puts you in a place to truly appreciate what God did for you.  It opens your heart and mind to hear the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice.   It truly is a beautiful place to be!

So if you are a Christian, pray in Christ’s name for the devil’s influence of guilt over past sins to be removed from your life today.  Pray asking for the fruits of the Spirit so you can truly enjoy grace!

If you are not a Christian and feel conviction in your heart to repent and receive Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, pray the following prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness.  I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I trust and follow you as Lord and Savior.  Guide my life and help me to do your will.  In your name, Amen.

If you accepted Christ, please let us know so we can pray for your new walk as a Christian.  Also, make sure to find a home church so you have support of other Christians in your life.  The Christian walk is not easy, but it is blessed!

Encourage to be an Enoch

There is a children's lesson plan entitled "Dare to be a Daniel" that teaches them to stand strong for their faith.  It made me think of perhaps what adults need now to strengthen their faith...encouraged to be an Enoch.

I heard in the sermon yesterday that the average Christian spends only 90 seconds a day in dedicated devotional time.  This made my heart very sad because I know how defeated I feel when I only get a few minutes of devotional time a day.  I cannot imagine having less than 2 minutes.  I think the Church needs a "promotion" if you will of encouraging their congregation to be Enochs.  Why you ask?

In two different verses in Genesis 5 it says, "And Enoch walked with God".  In Hebrews 11:5 it says, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

Enoch was Methuselah's father.  Beside that fact and the above verses, that's about all we know about Enoch.  But, wow, do we really need to know more?  He walked with God, and he pleased God. What a powerful testimony!  That's why I'm saying we need to encourage Christians to be Enochs. That long after we're gone, our testimony will be that we pleased God & walked with Him!  Afterall, isn't that all that matters anyway?

So start today - become an Enoch!

In Memory

Forty years ago today, my husband, when he was only three, lost his Dad in a plane crash.  Losing a parent at all is a terrible thing.  However, I've seen that when you lose one so young, it seems it leaves a hole that can never be filled.  Good news is that his Dad was a Christ follower!  In the meantime, Aaron will look forward to seeing his Dad again someday, and I look forward to meeting him for the first time when we all get to Heaven.

In the weeks to follow after Don's death, many injustices were performed that affected his family to this day.  I try to not focus on that but rather a verse that my dear friend, Becky, showed me recently. I'll quote it from the NLT as it had the most eloquent and simple wording.   It truly is perfect for this day, and a hopefully a way to bring peace to those who have also lost someone early.

Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time.  But no one seems to care or wonder why.  No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.  For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.               ~Isaiah 57:1-2