Patience and Perseverance

Hello, bloggy friends!

How was your week? I experienced a few pleasant events, with some very difficult days in between. I think I'm finding this to be my perpetual answer to that question for several weeks, now. Even when there are a few positive times, these weeks can seem long and arduous. I'm guessing that is why the Bible has so many verses about being patient and persevering.(I was reminded of a post I wrote back in September of last year called "Prayer, Patience, and Perseverance" ) So, I apologize if it seems like I start to repeat myself in my posts. I think God has a reason for re-hashing the same subject into my heart and I feel led to post about it.

My week began with having some major dental work done (I spent 2 1/2 hours at the dentist on Monday). Of course, my mouth had been sore and quite sensitive all week. On Tuesday and Wedneday, we had major snowstorms that left roads icy and drifting snow across them. So, I was homebound for 2 days. Thursday and Friday I spent with my mother and visiting with a friend. Those were better days, even though I still struggled with ongoing back pain and hormonal issues. Saturday, the hubby and I stayed in most of the day, due to freezing temps, but went out to dinner and a (very dumb)movie later on. On Sunday, I wasn't feeling up to par, as my tooth was still causing me some discomfort. We did end up going out for a few hours, but stayed home most of the day. The best part of the week, my hubby cooked me a wonderful Valentine's Day breakfast in bed!! 

As I review the week, I know that there were times of pain and suffering, but there were also moments that I found joy and felt God's presence. A few of those times included me taking time with the Lord - when I wasn't feeling well or when the weather kept me inside - and I truly began enjoying time with Him, writing in my new prayer journal, reading the Word and some pages from books I have been reading... Oh, how God uses even those difficult, frustrating, and sometimes painful moments to draw us closer to Him! 

Maybe, like me, you can look back on the past week (or month, or even year.) and see the times of struggling, persevering, and patiently waiting to get through them, times that are not pleasant at all. But, in the process, God continues to fit into our lives moments, days, or even sometimes longer periods of time where we can see God's loving hand reaching down to help us, guide us, draw us to Him. Those are awesome moments!! We tend to pay less attention to them, but they are still there in our lives.

Here are just a few verses that really stuck out to me as reminders and encouragement that patience and perseverance are sometimes difficult, but always produce a positive result.

•  2 Peter 1:5-7 For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
• Romans 5:4 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
• James 1:12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
• Luke 11:9  “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."
• James 5:11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
• Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
• James 1:3-4 Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
• Colossians 1:10-12 So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. And, giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light.

It's been a few weeks since I last shared from my gratitude list. I wanted to share those here, as well.

#1791 - Continuing to pray with my hubby each night together. What a wonderful blessing!!

#1792 - starting to write in my prayer journal and loving it, as it also draws me closer to the Lord!(A few samples below)

 

#1793 - my mom - I love spending time with her, now that I am not working.

#1794 - the sun shining in the window on a cold, snowy day.

#1795 - an unexpected phone call from a friend, just to say 'hi' and that she was thinking of me.

#1796 - My (usually) romantic husband, who cooked a wonderful breakfast for me!

#1797 - God's amazing love for me!!(Thinking about the greatest love on Valentines Day.)

#1798 - My son, who has made me understand how to truly love (a mother's love) unconditionally!!

As we look to the Lord in the coming week for our strength, love, joy, and peace, always remember that we:

"should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

 

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The Joy of the Lord is Your STRENGTH!

Hello, friends! 
I definitely have felt like the past week just flew by! How about you?
Between having to get over an illness and going through more emotional upheavals with family issues, I'm almost glad for a new start of a new week!!(Except, I'd love to skip tomorrow, as I have an appointment to have crown work done on my teeth! ) I definitely needed God's strength to get me through this past week.

Because of this, though, I have found myself digging into the Word and spending lots of time reading -- I've been currently working on getting through 2 different books.

The book I've been posting on at different times is called "Happiness" - I've been reading it to help me learn more about this subject, as it is my word for 2016.
I'm learning so much about the true meaning of happiness. As I read chapters 5 (What's the Difference Between Joy and Happiness?) and 6 (Modern Studies that Confirm Biblical Happiness), there are two things that grabbed me the hardest.
1. Most Christians have grossly mis-interpreted the meaning of happiness.
2. We so often miss out on great happiness because we think it is sinful, but is happiness really that much different than joy? A dictionary definition of joy...

Watch the video below, that is a summary of these chapters by author, Randy Alcorn:

Happiness or Joy? from Randy Alcorn on Vimeo.

Another Biblical teacher and author, John Piper, writes, 

“If you have nice little categories for ‘joy is what Christians have’ and ‘happiness is what the world has,’ you can scrap those when you go to the Bible, because the Bible is indiscriminate in its uses of the language of happiness and joy and contentment and satisfaction.”  source

The idea that “joy is not an emotion” (a statement that unbelievably  appears online more than 17,000 times) promotes an unbiblical myth, as seen in just a few examples of Scripture:

Psalms 126:5,6

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

 Esther 8:16 (NIV)

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.

Jeremiah 31:13 (HCSB)

I will turn their mourning intojoy. . . and bring happiness out of grief.

Nehemiah 8:10-11 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

In a previous post I wrote back in 2012, I actually wrote that I even believed that there was a difference between happiness and joy:

“We can make a distinction between joy and happiness: happiness being dependent on external circumstances, while joy is internal, a result of being controlled by the Spirit. Some people consider happiness to be a feeling dependent on circumstances and usually restricted to moments when life is going well. Joy is an inner serenity of the soul, rooted not in circumstances but in a choice to trust God’s faithfulness, regardless of what is happening externally.”(Joy is a Choice and a Decision)

Since I have been reading this book and going through many Scriptures, I'm really seeing happiness in a whole different light. Happiness is not just for the "worldly" and unsaved to enjoy. God truly wants us, His people, to be happy in our lives.

What can we be happy about?

1. We have the gospel (the good news!) of salvation through Christ.
2. God created us not only to glorify Him, but to also have a personal relationship with Him that is deep, satisfying, and everlasting!
3. When we put our faith in God and let Him lead us, we can experience a supernatural peace, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and often have adventures that we would not seek on our own.
4.   The human, God-given pleasures that God has provided for us here on earth - the beauty of nature, good and satisfying food to eat, the enjoyment of a loving spouse and family, fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, and so much more!!
5. Strength in Integrity (from God) - verses from a blog post by Randy Alcorn

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.” (Proverbs 10:9) -- What is integrity? This Hebrew word suggests completeness, wholeness, fullness. So, no compromises, and no breaches or gaps or refusals in the face of duty, but rather, saying Yes to the Lord moment by moment. 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. . . . Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-13) -- Walking in this integrity, I walk securely, fully armed against the schemes of the devil, entirely equipped to serve my family, my church, my community in a full-hearted way.

As I thought about the past week and how weak and tired I felt...I think I will remember to seek the 'Joy of the Lord' first next time, for it is written that this is our strength (Neh. 8:10)

Randy shares his biblical definition of happiness as: 

“A state of pleasure or joy experienced both by people and by God. . . . True happiness derives from a secure and settled knowledge of God and a rejoicing in His works and covenant faithfulness.”

Happy holiness is God’s ideal for us!!

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“One thing you can count on is the way I’ll love you.”

Today, January 31, 2016, the hubby and I celebrate 29 years of marriage!!

It seems so surreal!! It definitely doesn’t seem like we have been together that long! We’ve lived and enjoyed so many blessings, as well as experienced many difficult and challenging years together. But through it all, God has been with us, guiding us, giving us His wisdom and love.

I am so thankful for this man in my life!! He is my best friend, my prayer partner, the one I love and who has loved me through thick and thin. 

Through the years of blogging, I’ve shared posts on our anniversaries. Each year, I found many reasons to celebrate and shared pictures, stories, and videos.

Blog post for our 28th anniversary - 2015


Blog post for our 27th anniversary - 2014


Blog post for our 26th anniversary - 2013
Here is a video of us renewing our vows at for our 25th anniversary - a bit belated, but what an awesome day!!!

Blog post for our 25th anniversary - 2012


Other posts about our love story:
January 25th, 2015 - When God Made You...

January 27th, 2013 - How I Met Your Father....

February 7, 2012 - Tea is Romantic!?!

March 24, 2012 - Relationships Take Work (Emotional Intimacy)

My heart is so full of joy!! God has been good to us!!

I look forward to many more blessed years together with the love of my life!!!

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With a Grateful Heart!

Today, I am sharing the many gifts God has blessed me with over the past few weeks.

In line with the  book: One Thousand Gifts: Finding Joy in What Really Matters

"...if joy is a matter of gratitude, and gratitude is a matter of perspective, then giving thanks changes not only your perspective — but also changes your life."

#1783 - Full moon on a frozen lake.

#1784 - Starting an online Bible Study Group with the book, "Fervent". What a wonderful group of ladies!!

#1785 - Attending church again, after missing several weeks, due to weather issues and family gatherings.

#1786 - A family meeting that could have gone badly, but went well.

#1787 - Celebrating my mom's 79th birthday with ice-cream cake.

#1788 - Laughing at the fact that my hubby left the ice-cream cake out and it melted...but still tasted good! :) 

#1789 - Taking an invigorating, brisk walk on a cold, overcast day!

#1790 - Being able to watch a Bible documentary, with proof of Israel's exodus from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea.

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God and Happiness

source

Ever have one of those weeks that goes from bad to good to bad and back to good again? Well, I just had a week like that. I have to say, I'm exhaused and trying to write has been a challenge. So I will probably make this one short.

I recently pulled out an older Bible that I haven't used in several months to get a different version of some verses I was reading. When I opened the Bible, a few sheets of folded paper fell out. The sheets had some study/meditation questions typed up on them. I recognized them coming from a Bible study I had attended close to a year ago. The first sheet said to read and meditate on Psalm 51, followed  by some questions about confession, what we are trying to gain in our lives, and how the Holy Spirit may be prompting us with the truth about what God wants to provide in our lives. Underneath it I wrote "happiness" and also "I'm content, but not very happy a lot of the time."

Wow! Those two responses really struck me! When I filled out that sheet many months ago, I had no idea that I would be choosing the word "happiness" for 2016. Neither did I know about the book "Happiness" (by Randy Alcorn) that I am currently reading. I feel the Lord had been prompting me for quite awhile to seek the happiness that only He can give. 

Source

As I continued to read in the book, Happiness, the Lord has worked through many avenues to help me see how I need to desperately seek happiness through Him!

Why Does Our Happiness Matter?

It’s understandable that people long to be happy. But, if they believe there’s no happiness in Jesus, they won’t turn to Him. Christianity is often perceived to be about tradition and morality and not happiness. Also, some have know professing Christians who go out of their way to promote misery, not gladness. Some Christians also feel morally superior to those who engage with the world and make world-condemning judgements. Because unbelievers understand the happiness in Jesus by whether they see it in His followers, we have a duty to rejoice through the empowering of the Holy Spirit. 

Quotes from the book:

"We cannot passively wait for joy. Rather, we must take action to lay hold of joy in God. The narrower our view of God’s presence in the world – and in our daily lives – the less happiness we’ll experience."(pg.21)

"A different perspective:

 God, who created all things deserves the highest place in our hearts. While we can enjoy the gifts God has given us, in their appropriate time and place, they will never be able to give us the happiness and satisfaction we find in Him."

(pg.30)

"Even in a world filled with hardship and suffering, God's presence brings incomparable happiness to all who know Him."(pg. 33)

"God is glorified when we are happy in Him."

"Happiness in Christ is one of our most powerful evangelistic tools."(pg. 28)

source

God is desiring of our happiness - and in Him, being the Source of it!

Once again, I opened my Bible up to Psalm 51:1, 6, 8, 12, 15:

  1  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

  6  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

  8  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

15  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” is my cry! 

The Christian life that has little joy is a poor testimony to the grace of God. 

This past week has been a challenge for me to be happy, in spite of the ups and downs of life. I realized what I meant when I wrote on that old Bible study sheet  - about being content, but not very often happy - I was saying that I wasn't unhappy in my life as a whole, but while I'm going though the hard days, I often find myself not being a happy/joyful/grateful person. I realize that when I'm unhappy, I can bring others down, too. Happiness is a choice, a decision to remember God's goodness and salvation, rather than my own circumstances.

source

I pray for God's grace and that He will remind me in those times that I need to find the joy of the Lord. It is the calling of all who believe!!

I will be sharing the blessings and gifts that God gives me in my life in my next post, which will be soon. For now, I just wanted to share from my heart!!

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Our Primary Source of Happiness

As I continue to read through the book, "Happiness" by Randy Alcorn, I will be sharing different parts of the book, as well as Scripture, and my own thoughts about true happiness.

We live in a consumer-oriented, materialistic, hedonistic society bent on pleasing self. Most of us are accustomed to living with easy access to comforts, pleasures, and securities of life. Because of this, many people also believe that happiness comes in accomplishments, in recognition, and in material possessions. We are told by the world and media that if we just acquire certain things, then we can be truly happy and even secure. As a result, we seek to achieve happiness through these gains, much to our disappointment and regret. After years of striving for happiness, some even come to terms within themselves that happiness is not possible to achieve in this life. 

The problem is most people’s definition of having joy(happiness) is feeling good all the time. But, that’s impossible! Even for those who are naturally upbeat and optimistic, that’s impossible. {Rick Warren}

Why do we anticipate greater happiness than this life seems to offer? Could it be that God has put this "longing" within us? C.S. Lewis compares this desire to "a yearning for a far-off country that's, at least temporarily, unreachable." (pg. 13)

But, we have to start somewhere more realistic — and closer to Scripture. Solomon, author of Ecclesiastes, had much to say about happiness and his own experiences with trying to find it. 

"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." 

(Ecclesiates 1:14)

 "There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind: those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill. A man may beget a hundred children, and live many years; but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things, or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?

All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what human beings are, and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger. The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better? For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?" 

(Ecclesiates 6)

Solomon does not leave us despondent and in despair, though. He gives a realistic view of life, a view that admits problems and shortcomings, that recognizes inequities and uncertainties, and leaves us thinking there is no joy to be found in life. 
Yet, as one reads further in this book, he shares a view of life where hope and the possibility for some happiness do exist.

Solomon writes, 

• “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work” (2:24). 

• “There is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.(3:12–13). 

• “So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot” (3:22).
• “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot” (5:18). 
• “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun!” (8:15). 
• “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningful life that God has given you under the sun—for this is your lot in life” (9:8). 
• “However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all.... Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth” (11:9).

"Yes, all can experience limited joy, but when we know and love the Creator, our heartfelt delight is magnified. Any attempt to separate God from happiness is futile."(pg. 16)

Ultimately we learn from Solomon one thing, for certain: There is no true happiness without God who is our primary Source of happiness!!

Each week I will be sharing the blessings and gifts that God gives me in my life, whether it be one blessing or many blessings. I have done this over the years, off and on, but I want to make this a habit and eventually make it a part of every day.

#1778 - Quick recovery from the flu.(less than 24 hours)

#1779 - Safe travels through snow-covered roads.

#1780 - Heartfelt prayer and discussion time with my hubby.

#1781 - Morning ladies Bible study group, gathering together again, after a break for the holidays.

#1782 - Reading about how Abram believed God, who counted him as righteous. (Genesis 15:5) and that we  also are counted righteous if we believe. (Romans 4:5)

#1783 - A beautiful orange winter sunset.

#1784 - Long discussion time with a friend over coffee/tea.

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