How to have Joy
I loved our sermon at church yesterday. The pastor posed the question, “Do you find joy in your relationship with God?” He went on to say how many of us would probably say we love God, we know God, we even trust God but do we really find “joy” in Him.
How would you answer this question? I think the answer is so important. Remember joy is different from happiness. Happiness is affected by circumstances but joy is something that you feel no matter what your circumstances.
I love the song “Sunshine” by Stellar Kart. Take a look at some of the lyrics to this song:
Life is filled with
Circumstances situations
That we can’t avoid
And I admit some
Days can steal my happiness
But I still got joy
Hey you are my sunshine
On a rainy day it’s gonna be ok
Hey you are my sunshine
It’s gonna be alright
Our pastor went on to talk about this verse from Nehemiah 8:10 – “Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.’”
He went into more detail in his sermon about this verse but here is my walk away point. God wants us to find joy in our relationship with Him. He wants us to enjoy life and share the joy with others.
I believe if more believes found joy from their relationship with God they would be more encouraged to share their faith with others. When you feel obligated to share your faith or you tell others about Jesus just so they can go to heaven you are missing something.
I am so thankful that God has shown me so much joy because I have Him in my life. Life has so much more purpose and excitement when you are teaming up with God. When I talk about my faith with others, whether in the fitness room or just out in life, I do it because I really believe their life will be so much better (didn’t say easier or without problems) if they knew God.
I know there are days when life isn’t going quite as I had hoped but like the song above says those circumstances can take away my happiness but I still have joy.
If you are thinking I do know God, I love Him, I even trust His but I don’t know if I can say I find Joy in the relationship, take some time to ponder over these few verses
“For God so loved the world that He sent His only son so whoever believes in Him shall not die but have everlasting life. God did not send His son to condemn the world but to save the world”
John 3:16-17
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
John 10:10, NLT
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.”
Isaiah 43:2, NLT
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.”
1 Peter 5:7, NLT
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.”
John 6:35, NLT
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Isaiah 26:3, NLT
I hope these verses remind you that the God who created the universe loves you, wants to save you, give you peace, give you a rich and satisfying life, when you are in trouble He is with you, He cares about you, He can provide you with something that will take away your need for more and He wants to take away your fears and replace them with peace.
Allow all that God has for you to give you “JOY”. For the joy of the Lord is our strength!
(If you have a minute you can go to www.redrockschurch.com click on resources and then sermons and listen to the sermon on joy from last Sunday. It usually takes a few days before the sermon is listed. There are so many great sermons on this site)
“Normal” retreat
I attended women’s retreat over the weekend. The retreat was called ‘Normal”. I walked away with several points that really hit me:
1. God can make beauty from ashes. He can draw us closer to Him and give us peace even in the toughest of times. We just have to allow Him to comfort us.
2. The importance of being real (told them I thought they might want to call the retreat “Real” instead of “normal”) Life is short and who has time to just go to a superficial point with your friends. Dig deep talk about what really matters.
3. It’s dangerous to compare yourself to others. Quite often you end up comparing your private persona to their public persona. You compare who you really are with all your little flaws with the public image of others. Their public image is often hiding some of who they are.
4. Your story is important and you need to allow God to use what you have been through to help others.
5. God is so big. We try to look at what He is doing with our human vision. He sees so much more. When you really believe that God loves you you need to realize He sees the big picture and knows more than you. Let Him guide you and trust in Him in All situations.
I’m big on “walk away points”. When I go to church, read the bible, have a deep discussion with a friend I try to think what did God want me to learn from this. Sometimes, I walk away not quite sure but other times God helps me bring clarity to His lesson.
I hope you all get a chance to go on a retreat sometime soon. It helps me focus on God’s directions when I pull myself away from the rest of life. It’s also fun to come back and discover you were missed!
You can check out more about a “normal” retreat at this link http://bevygirls.com/Bevy_Girls/Normal_Retreats.html
If you think the women at your church or just the women in your community would benefit from this type of retreat you can contact Adrienne (Adrienne Graves [adrienne@bevygirls.com] or send me an email. Built into some of the retreats is a Faithful Workout so I might be there too!!
Strawberries – healthy and delicious
I was so excited when I researched the health benefits of strawberries and saw all that they had to offer. First off they are a great source for Vitamin C and manganese. They also supply you with fiber, folate, vitamin B2, B5, B6, iodine, magnesium, omega-3-fatty acids, copper and vitamin K.
Strawberries also offer strong antioxidant protection. This helps protect cell structure, acts as an anti-inflammatory, aids in heart health and is an anti-cancer fruit.
The other great thing about strawberries is they taste fantastic. I love them blended up in my morning smoothie. I also serve them cut up and scooped over angel food cake. One of my favorite desserts is chocolate covered strawberries. They are so easy to make and actually healthy.
Melt your favorite chocolate (love dark chocolate) in a pan (double boiler works best, this is where you place a pot with water on the stove and once it starts to simmer place the pot with chocolate on top of it). Be sure to continually stir the chocolate and don’t overcook it. Wash your strawberries and completely dry them. Dip ½ of the strawberry in the chocolate and place on a platter. Put the platter in the fridge for a few moments and they are ready to eat!!
I think I might have to make those tonight!!
Don’t Let Another Day Pass
My dad died when he was 36 years old. I don’t know what he believed to be “truth” when he died. I was only 3 when he died so I don’t remember him. I would love to spend eternity getting to know him. I’ve prayed that he believed in Jesus so that I will see him again when I get to heaven. I’ve decided that I don’t want to have another person I care for die and I didn’t take the time to show them God’s love.
When my son Neal was little and he wanted me to pay attention he would hold my chin, turn my head so I was looking him in the eye and he would say, “Mom hear this”. So right now I am grabbing all your chins, turning them so we are looking into each other’s eyes and I am saying “Hear this”. You have no idea when you or anyone else is going to die. Do not have the regret that you didn’t get a chance to tell them, “Jesus loves YOU and He died for YOU”
It’s so important that when we show people through our actions or when we tell them with our words about Jesus that we are doing it because of love. I told my class the other day I’m telling you about my faith because I want all of you to experience the complete joy of knowing that you are loved, forgiven, watched over and that you don’t have to fear death.
Here are the lyrics to the song, “Jesus Loves You” by Stellar Kart
Tell me what do you believe in
Does your life have rhyme or reason
Something in your heart that makes you care
I hope that you don’t mind me asking
But I have got a burning passion
I need to know forever you’ll be there
I can’t make it clearer
Put it any other way
If you can’t see the simple truth I do
Then there’s nothing in this world that’s left to say
But Jesus loves you
I know I don’t have all the answers
And I have wasted many chances
To prove to you a faith that lives inside
I’m praying there will be a breakthrough
Cause I can’t be the one to save you
God knows how many times I’ve tried
I can’t explain
But I can’t deny
So many times for you I’ve cried
And to see you on your knees tonight
I can’t make it clearer
Put it any other way
To know you know simple truth I do
And to know that your forever has been changed
Cause Jesus loves you
What are your Five Words??
Two years ago I was attending the Revolve Tour, a Christian conference for teenage girls with music and speakers. One of the speakers said something that stuck with me. He posed the question, “What are five words you would want someone to use when describing you?”
When I first heard the question I thought, “Well, I shouldn’t really worry what people think of me so does this question really matter” After spending more time thinking about this question though I believe we should all think about our answer.
Here is your challenge. Spend some time thinking about what five words you would want someone to use when describing you. Then try and live each day so that someone WOULD use those words to describe you.
People are watching you. When they know you are a believer in Jesus they might watch even closer. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes it means that you can be forgiven for your mess-ups. So please don’t feel like you have to be perfect because people are watching and forming an opinion of you. I think though if you have answers to this question you might live more intentionally.
For me the first words I would want someone to use when describing me would be, “she loves God” and the next description would be, “she loves on others”. There are days when I don’t think anyone would use those words to describe me but with God’s help I am trying to make it more often that people would say that about me.
So what are the descriptive words you would want someone to say about you? How can you live to make that happen????
One of the healthiest foods – Quinoa
The more I research the role proper nutrition plays in our overall health the more passionate I am about trying to guide you through this confusing issue. Listen carefully….what you put in your mouth effects your health. I know you have heard that before but it is time to start eating like you really believe it.
There are so many great tasting foods out there that have amazing nutritional benefits. I have mentioned some in previous posts but this time I want to introduce you to “Quinoa”
Quinoa has been around for about 5,000 years. It was valued centuries ago because of the endurance it would bring to ancient warriors. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that it became available in the United States. Now you can find it in most health food stores and larger grocery stores.
Quinoa has so many health benefits. Not only is it high in protein, it includes all nine essential amino acids making it a complete protein. It has quite a bit of the amino acid lysine which is important for tissue growth and repair. Quinoa also has manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, riboflavin and phosphorus.
Magnesium helps relax blood vessels which have been shown to help with migraine headaches and cardiovascular disease. The manganese and copper provide antioxidant protection.
Quinoa is an excellent source of fiber. In a study of pre-menopausal women those eating more than 30 grams of fiber a day had 52% less risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who took in less than 20 grams of fiber. Fiber supplied by whole grains offers the most protection. Think about that - eat fiber from whole grains and lessen your chance of breast cancer. Another benefit of the high fiber in quinoa is it can help prevent gallstones. That should motivate you to pay attention to your fiber intake!!
Still need more reasons to add Quinoa to your diet??? Studies show that children who ate whole grains (like quinoa) and fish significantly reduced the risk of asthma. Quinoa also helps with Type 2 Diabetes and several types of cancer.
I made Quinoa for dinner last night. My family loves it. I sent the leftovers in their school lunches today.
To me it seems like a cross between pasta and rice. You can use it in so many different ways. You can eat it hot or cold. Prepare the quinoa according to the package. Typically you combine 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. When it is prepared try some of these ideas:
**Add diced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, black beans, olive oil salt and pepper
** Add it to your chicken and vegetable soup
**Mix in diced chicken, roasted asparagus, sundried tomatoes, oregano, fresh lemon juice and olive oil
**Mix it into your scrambled eggs
I love when I find something that tastes so good and is so good for me. When my kids are eating it I have smile on my face!! Give it a try.