Joy is..

There are so many things that bring joy to my life.  I have joy because I have HOPE in my Lord and Savior. Everything that I have and everything that I am is only because of the abundant grace and mercy of Jesus. That alone brings me much joy and happiness.

I am filled with joy when I see these ornaments on my tree each year. 

I was certainly filled with joy as I watched my grandchildren decorate my tree last Sunday. It only took them about 5 minutes to get it done, but I think they did a great job. These sweet babies bring me much joy.

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Joy is seeing this precious face as this little angel was waking up from a nap after church.

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Joy is a little girl in a hot pink zebra print hat that she picked out herself. Especially when the little girl is a constant reminder of God's healing power. Thank you, Lord, for healing my sweet Mercie. I will praise you every day of my life and testify of your goodness as long as I have breath.

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Joy is taking 2 sweet boys to the park and taking lots of pictures of them while they play.

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Joy is my 1000 gifts journal. It has been so rewarding to record my daily blessings and be reminded of just how generous my God is in all things. As I near 1000 gifts, I am determined to keep going and be ever mindful of the many blessings I receive every day of my life. 

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Joy is spending time with Mikaela, Eli, Mercie and Silas. I love being a Nana and I love being loved by my sweet grandbabies!

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Joy is Silas in his little teddy bear hat.

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Joy is the Word of God. There is nothing as satisfying as digging into His precious Holy scriptures. There is life in the pages of God's Word.  There is unending treasure to be found deep inside the inspired words of the bible. When we read His Word, He speaks to our hearts. We learn. We grow. We fall more in love with our Savior. 

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Joy is Laylah Beth. 

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Joy is my baby girl loving on her baby girl.

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Joy is seeing the smile on this precious face. And the dimples...

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Joy is brothers....

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Joy is cousins...

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Joy is the Lord. Joy is the promise of His Word. The Truth of who He is. The faithfulness of our Father. The abundance of His mercy and grace. The magnitude of His love.  Joy is Jesus.

"And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; 

it shall rejoice in His salvation"

(Psalms 35:9)

broken and spilled out

"To be broken is the beginning of revival.

It is painful, it is humiliating,

but it is the only way"

 - Roy Hession

Broken......

shattered. stripped down. laid bare. softened.

Brokenness is not an emotion. It is a choice that is made. It is a way of life. It is coming to a true understanding of the condition of our heart. It is seeing the vast depravity of our sinful nature.

Brokenness is tears of conviction. Tears of shame. Tears of repentance. Tears of cleansing and restoration.

It's acknowledging our failures and the depth of our sin head-on. It's about releasing the grip on our pride. It's about the deep desire for God to begin doing a mighty work in our lives.

Broken. Surrendered.

We can choose to be broken, or God can break us on His own initiative. The process will be much less painful if we come to a place of brokenness of our own volition.

As God began dealing with my heart on some areas of pride in my life, I began to realize the deepening need I had in my spirit to be broken. Truly broken. Shattered. I had some places that were filled with 'self'. I had some places that lacked the Holiness that I professed. I needed to turn some things over to God and allow Him to crush them once and for all.

This shattering of my self-will was coming. I could feel it. I could sense it. I was even welcoming it. Because I knew that until I met it face-to-face, I would be virtually ineffective in my walk. Until I released that which I was clinging to so tightly, God couldn't do the work in my life that He was desiring to do. I was preventing an awesome work of the Lord with my stubborn pride.

I had been praying for a breaking of my self-sufficient attitude. I had been praying for God to allow me to be broken. I was ready for it. The anticipation of it had been building up in my spirit for some time. And when it came, it came like a hurricane. It blew into my spirit and uprooted so many things that I had been holding on to. It pulled up things that I didn't even realize were there. It flattened some places that needed a good flattening. And when it came, it came in a torrent of tears. Deep, gulping sobs.

And it felt so good. I felt such release. I felt freedom like never before. I had a new joy in my heart that I hadn't felt in a long time. I feel a lightness in my spirit that is so amazing. I feel unspeakable peace.

".... God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13b)

This refining and purifying process in my spiritual life is one of revelation and restoration. It is one of shaping and molding me into His image. It is one that will make my walk match my talk. It is about my theology becoming my reality. It's about allowing the Potter to have full access to me, the clay, and allowing Him to mold me and form me into the image of who He would have me to be.

I want to look like Him. I want to walk like Him. I want to be like Christ.

I pray that this broken state I am in remain with me to be a constant reminder in my life that alone, I am nothing. Alone, I am shattered into a million pieces and unusable. But in Christ, those broken pieces can be put back together and molded into a vessel that can be used mightily of Him and for Him.With Jesus, anything is possible. He can take me in my wretched and unworthy state, clothe me in His righteousness and use me to bring glory and honor to Him.

God takes my brokenness, reveals His glory and makes me whole.

Lord, pour me out to be used of you. May I never be the same....

"Create in me a clean heart,
O God; and renew a right spirit within me"
(Psalm 51:10)

great JOY on this thankful thursday

A thankful heart breeds JOY. When you begin to count your blessings, you can't help but be filled with unspeakable, unending joy. Joy that just begs to be shared with others. Today, I am thankful for these things that fill me with GREAT JOY:

** Spending time with my oldest granddaughter, Mikaela. She has the sweetest personality and always has a smile on her precious face. She still loves to hug me and kiss me and tells me she loves me often. She reminds me so much of her mother when she was a little girl.

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**  Being entertained by Eli wherever we are. He loves to climb on things and to hang upside down. He is quick to give me big hugs and kisses and he is always so serious when he tells me, "Nana, I just love you". 

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** Seeing Mercie rocking her baby doll and singing to it.

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** Seeing the little boys face that I am now sponsoring through Compel Outreach. I pray that I can make a difference in Peters life.

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** Finding scriptures that just minister so sweetly to my spirit and writing them on index cards so I can keep them close to my heart and at my fingertips.

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** Seeing this little fella take 3 steps today! Silas will be walking in no time!

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** Reaching #100 in my 1000 Gifts Journal. It has really made me more aware of the many, many gifts bestowed upon me on a daily basis.

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** Listening to Bryton talk about God and ask a million questions about heaven.

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** Watching Sawyer try to do everything that his big brother does. I told him one day that may get him in trouble...

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** Little sparkly shoes under my coffee table.... because that means little sparkly girls are at my house!

Thank you sweet Lord for all these blessings. You fill me with joy uncontainable and I love you.



joy and praises!

"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all

things; to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

Romans 11:36

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These past few weeks have been amazing. I consider myself so blessed to be able to spend  a lot of time with my girls and grandbabies. God is so good and I am so thankful to Him that for now He has ordained this time in my life to have the freedom to do just that. Thank you, sweet Lord, for this privilege.

Thank you, Lord for the joy of Mercie's 3rd birthday! What a precious child she is and I am so grateful for 3 wonderful years with this little angel sent from above!  What joy fills my heart when she throws those little arms around me and says, "Nana, I will love you forever!"

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Praise you, Lord, for Bryton's 4th birthday! I am so grateful for the amazing 4 years that I have been able to spend with this precious gift from heaven.

  

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I am thankful to have been there for Silas' first ride in the swing at the park! He wasn't too sure about it at first, but then he decided it was okay and loved it! 

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I am so thankful that I was able to spend the day at the zoo with my daughters Megan and Ashlie. We took the four youngest grandbabies (the oldest two were in school) and they had a wonderful time. It was a beautiful day and a great time of fun and fellowship for all of us!

  

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God has poured out mercy and grace far beyond what I deserve. He is faithful and true. He is gracious and abundant. Each day of my life, I grow to love Him more and more. I never imagined just how amazing a life in Him would be. It just gets better and better and I am grateful beyond words.

Thank you, Lord, for the unspeakable joy that I feel each day of my life because of You. As my precious little Bryton would say, "I love my whole life!" Thank you, Jesus...

"Sing unto God, sing praises to His name; extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name JAH, and rejoice before Him."  Psalms 68:4

things that bring me joy...

Things that bring me joy:

**These 2 boys bring me much joy! Bryton and Sawyer are my youngest daughter's children and they are so much fun to be around. They are as different as night and day but they are both very loving and sweet.

Bryton crawled up in his mama's lap the other day and said, "Mama, I love my whole life!" Now if that doesn't fill a person with some joy, not much will. I love it when Sawyer says, "Mama be right back", everytime Ashlie leaves the room for even a second. He hates for her to get out of his sight and that is his way of assuring himself that she is coming right back!

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**The sound of heaven's rain playing a symphony outside my window in the early hours of the morning, fills me with joy.

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**Watching my youngest grandchild pull himself to a standing position and looking so proud of himself! Silas is 7 months old and is growing up so fast!

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** Eli hugging me tight and saying, "Nana, I just love you!" That fills my heart with joy overflowing! I am such a blessed Nana and I love this fella so much! He is a sweetheart and never fails to put a smile on my face and in my heart. He also just loves the pajamas I made him for Christmas and that fills me with joy as well!

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**My husband coming home after being gone 6 long days with his dad in Houston.

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**Seeing Mercie so excited about the dress I made her for her birthday party. She will be 3 years old tomorrow. Mercie is a bundle of sweetness and is full of energy! She brings joy everywhere she goes. Happy Birthday my little princess!

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**The spiritual longing I see in Mikaela's precious heart even at the tender age of 8. I can see God working in her little life and it fills me with great joy to imagine what God is going to do through her and in her in the years to come! I know that He has wonderful things in store for her. Mikaela has such a sweet and loving nature. She has filled this Nana with MUCH joy in her 8 years!

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**The look of joy on my mom's face last week when I surprised her on her birthday by showing up at her birthday dinner. She had NO idea I was coming and it was so much fun! It was worth the 350 mile round trip to see my mom on her special day. 

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**These 3 kiddos fill me with joy when I watch them play together. I'm not really sure what they were dressed up as the other day, but they were sure having a good time doing it! I am so thankful that the cousins get to spend alot of time together.



Mercie R., Bryton H., Eli R.
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**God's Word always brings me joy. This scripture is just really speaking to me right now and so it brings me joy each time I read it.

"I love them that love me; and those

that seek me early shall find me"

(Proverbs 8:17)

I love how God's Word shows us time and time again, that if we are looking for Him, we will most assuredly find Him. He wants us to want Him! He longs for us to seek Him. We need to be seeking Him early and then we will find Him!

**My Savior brings me the most joy of all. He has loved me from the very beginning of time and sacrificed all so that I could have forgiveness of my sins and eternal life. Thank you, Lord. I love you.

Basking in joy tonight,

Beth

He is good all the time

'For I', says the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire
all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'
(Zechariah 2:5)
++++++++++

How do you experience such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit over a 4 day period and then come spiraling down and crashing with a mighty thump.

How can joy turn to sorrow in a mere flash of time?

Distressed in spirit

disenheartened

disenchanted

Sad

lonely...

down...

Old fears become new.

Past hurts rise to the surface.

Long ago torments take on new flesh.

Burdened beyond belief.

empty

Crying out to my Lord.

Begging for relief.

Reaching up in desperation.

Cascading down my face, are tears

that seem to flow from an

unending source.

Tears of frustration

despair

sorrow

Tears of anxiety

uncertainty

Necessary tears

Hot, scalding

Healing

Trying to hold them back

is futile.

The levy keeping them at bay

 is weak and breaks

As I call upon God, I know He is near.

I recall scripture.

I cling to the promise of His Word.

I embrace the truth of who He is.

The truth of what He can do.

I know He hears my cry and I worship.

As the water recedes and the tears

begin to subside -

the feeling of restoration washes over me.

Renewing my heart.

Cleansing my mind.

Refreshing my spirit.

Fragrant worship ensues.

The sweet aroma of peace

descends and rests upon me.

His presence wraps tightly around me.

My spirit is strengthened

uplifted

empty of sadness

Ready to be filled with joy

and the furious longing

of my God and my Savior.

I am desperate only for Him.

Expecting an outpouring.

My sorrow has turned to dancing.

He is mighty and faithful.

He is good.

He hears.

He answers.

He loves.

Just Give me Jesus

I just love Peter. He is one of my favorite New Testament people. He was just so real. So open. So human. So Peter.

In John 21, when Jesus encounters some of the disciples at the Sea of Galilee, I love the way the events transpired. Peter just decides to go fishing and so the other disciples who were there decided to go with him. They got into the boat and the scripture tells us that they caught nothing that night. So, morning comes and Jesus was standing on the shore, but of course the disciples don’t realize that it was Him at this point. Jesus calls out to them “Children, have you any food?” They tell Him they don’t and so Jesus tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and when they do, there are multitudes of fish in their net!

All of the sudden it dawns on John who it is on the shore. So, he says to Peter, “It is the Lord!” And what is Peter’s reaction? He just jumps into the water. Plunges right into the sea. He is so excited to see Jesus, that he didn’t even think about what he was doing. All he knew was that he had to get to Jesus. NOW!

Oh, man. We need to have that kind of excitement about Jesus. We need to develop hearts so hungry for the Word and so hungry for a relationship with Christ, that we would just jump right out of that boat into the water in a heartbeat! When the Lord draws near to us we need to be willing to get out of our boat and just jump into wherever Jesus is.

I could just feel Peter’s joy and elation and I want that kind of joy for Jesus! Peter didn’t let anyone or anything stand in his way. He wasn’t trying to impress anybody. He wasn’t trying to fit into a certain crowd. He was just being Peter. He was a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” kind of man.

I am yearning for such an excitement and joy for my Savior. I want to have such a jumping in my spirit that I can’t contain it. I want to feel His Presence in my life so thick, that I can hardly bear it! I want to grow closer to Him each day. I just want Jesus.

Lord, thank you for your Word. Thank you that what was applicable back then, is still applicable now. Your Word is timeless. Your Word is Truth.

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth” John 17:17

Give me some JOY!

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17)

I read this verse this morning and after it just blew me away it filled my heart with such joy! To think that God takes delight in me just filled me such wonder.

I looked up the word 'delight' and here are the 2 definitions I found:

1. give joy to somebody
2. derive joy from something

That means as God delights in me he should derive joy from me at the same time that He is giving joy to me. Wow. It started the wheels in my head turning and I began to ponder the thought. Do I give God joy? Can He actually derive some joy from me? Oh, man. I wasn't sure for a minute there if I was actually capable of this. Then I began to discern some things in my spirit. When I pray and commune with Him, there is joy. When I hunger after Him, there is joy. When I dig into the scripture with zeal and feast on His Glorious Word, there is joy. When I sing praises to His Name and I worship, there is joy. Oh, yeah.. I can bring Him joy.

He IS my joy. He is my delight. All the things that I do to give Him joy, are the same things that give me joy. How awesome is God? Only God could ordain such a wonderful concept. Only God can give us the kind of joy that in turn causes Him to receive the kind of joy that quiets us with His love and causes Him to rejoice over us with singing.

If you will excuse me now, I am about to go and spend some time delighting in the Word. Giving and receiving some joy.

Delighting in Him,

Beth

The Joy of Harvest

This time last year I was spending my last night in Nicaragua with my husband and 8 other members of our church. We were on a mission trip and had spent time spreading the gospel of Christ in 3 different villages over the course of 7 days. We enjoyed the time we spent there so much and one small village in particular stole all of our hearts. The village was extremely poor, very rustic, no electricity and most of the homes had dirt floors and no doors - just openings. Dogs, chickens and even pigs roamed freely about outside and inside the homes. The church was very primative and the walls were wooden slats that had openings in them that let rain and bugs and other critters in. I was very much out of my element and comfort zone. The entire experience was very enlightening and very humbling. We had such an awesome time of praise and worship with a people who were so hungry for God. The look of joy on their faces was priceless. A happy people whose circumstances were anything but... One night at an open air meeting the presence of the Lord was so heavy that we could actually smell a sweet aroma like the Rose of Sharon. It was nothing short of amazing.

It was an experience that I will never forget. Just the fact that I even got on an airplane was a miracle. I am terrified of heights and had never flown before and was absolutely scared to death. But I clearly heard the Lord tell me that I was to go on this trip, so I certainly didn't want to be disobedient. When we boarded the plane, I felt like I was dreaming. I couldn't believe I was actually on an airplane! I didn't mind the takeoff but I hated being " in the air". Every time the plane would bounce, I got so scared. Every sound, every ding had me on edge. I told someone later on that if I had known for certain that the plane wasn't going to crash, I could have enjoyed flying more!

Well, we promised that village that we were going to build them a new church and that we would come back to dedicate it. The church is almost finished and we are scheduled to return on January 3rd. Here I go again. I know the Lord intends me to go, so once more I will board an airplane in faith. I will return to a land with no electricity and no running hot water. I will sleep out in the open during the rainy season. Nothing glamourous about it. Every day is a bad hair day. The food situation is another story...But it is the least I can do for my Lord. He gave His life for me. I can sacrifice the "good life" for Him. Spreading the gospel. Sowing the seed. Receiving a harvest of joy.

In His Redeeming love,
Beth