glory-strength

I don’t want to jinx it but I do feel I’ve found a groove that’s productive and doable again. Getting my Bible read in the mornings, doing some stretches and/or going for a walk, having meals planned out and prepped, and so far maintaining a level of cleanliness that is not stress inducing are all contributing.

The author of Colossians 1:11 prays for the recipients to be strengthened with all God’s glorious power so that they will have all the endurance and patience they need. There are times and seasons where all I’ve asked of God is the patience and endurance to simple “continue on.” By His grace it does seem the relentless slog of surviving is growing into living, while ever striving for the thriving stage. In God’s upside-down kingdom ways, the more I let things go, the more calm and structured they seem.

That same verse from the Message version has a great way of getting the context of that verse into a larger perspective:

[I pray] “asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.”

(Colossians 1:9-12 MSG)

Isn’t that just full of beautiful encouragement? A glory-strength that endures and spills over into joy! We can be strong in His strength for participating in everything bright and beautiful within His will!

When hearing these words an older hymn comes to mind (pictured and written out below), a fun little tune that can’t help but bring a smile to my face. I am so very thankful Jesus has drawn me to himself and through the Holy Spirit revealed how much he loves me. The hymn talks of how “I have found…” but my own interpretation has become one of “He has revealed that…” or “He has allowed me to discover…”

May your heart have a tune of praise to our God who provides and loves us more than we can imagine!

“Joy Unspeakable“

1) I have found His grace is all complete;
He supplieth every need.
While I sit and learn at Jesus’ feet,
I am free, yes, free indeed.

Refrain:
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Full of glory, full of glory.
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory;
O the half has never yet been told!

2) I have found the pleasure I once craved;
It is joy and peace within.
What a wondrous blessing! I am saved
From the awful gulf of sin. [Refrain]

3) I have found that hope so bright and clear,
Living in the realm of grace.
O the Savior’s presence is so near;
I can see His smiling face. [Refrain]

4) I have found the joy no tongue can tell,
How its waves of glory roll!
It is like a great o’er flowing well,
Springing up within my soul. [Refrain]

https://hymnary.org/text/i_have_found_his_grace_is_all_complete

heavenly thinking

After a long break in diving into what brings much joy to me I have decided to make an effort to schedule in the time and start back into a few activities. One of them will be this blog. There isn’t always going to be deep insights but getting words out is something I do very much enjoy and as I’ve mentioned in other posts, helps me process too.

To get back into things then I will run with the thoughts floating in my head from part of todays Scripture reading. I was going through Colossians 2 and 3 and this verse has popped like the first rays of sun in the early morning: “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” (Colossians 3:2).

There is nothing in life that wouldn’t benefit from having our thoughts always heavenward, on our Heavenly Father himself. Taking our minds off of ourselves, which I admit is often where I get stuck, is a great beginning to heavenly thinking. My youngest has recently latched on to the acronym “J.O.Y. = Jesus Others Yourself,” which is posted in our pantry, after asking about the little three letter banner. A long time ago it was presented to me and stuck with me too, about how to come to experience joy in your life: keep Jesus first in all that you think say and do and heavenly joy will follow. (Hebrews 12:1-3, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 34:5, Psalm 84 and many others).

A song from childhood rings through my head often when I see beautiful skies or am reminded to be heavenly minded, the chorus being most well known. Hymn written by Henry J. Zelley in 1899, known as either Heavenly Sunshine, or Heavenly Sunlight.

1. Walking in sunlight all of my journey,
Over the mountains, thru the deep vale:
Jesus has said, “I’ll never forsake thee”—
Promise divine that never can fail.

2. Shadows around me, shadows above me,
Never conceal my Savior and Guide;
He is the Light, in Him is no darkness—
Ever I’m walking close to His side.

3. In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing,
Pressing my way to mansions above;
Singing His praises, gladly I’m walking—
Walking in sunlight, sunlight of love.

Chorus: Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine,
Flooding my soul with glory divine—
Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine
Hallelujah! Jesus is mine!

The last line of the third verse reminds me to keep walking, be consistently moving forward. Running head-long into things, staying put or crawling timidly is rarely called for. Jesus will always be with us and will walk with us in His heavenly love. (Micah 6:8, Psalm 89:15, John 11:9-10, Psalm 56:12-13, Deuteronomy 31:6)

Marie-Louis Lake at sunset, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (Leah McPhail July 2022)

true awe

A feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. This is the definition of awe.
It is something that I want more of especially when it is related to God.

Growing up my Grandma would continually be amazed by what I would show her or tell her. I still love that about her. Whether it was a picture I drew, a cookie we made, a leaf I found that looked pretty, or sharing a new way to work with numbers that school just taught, it all made her in wonder. As I got older and more educated I learned to appreciate her awe as more than the “simple” reactions I initially took them to be. She has the gift of being truly awed and thankful to God for what she has and experiences.

On the surface, many “educated” people lose this wonder and awe of what is around them, especially in relation to the everyday things. It is a gift to really see the little things and even bigger gift to be in awe of them in relation to our Heavenly Father. Allowing ourselves to notice people and the created world around us not only turns our mind to be thankful to the God who made it but also allows us moments of joy in appreciation of these things.

The large quote below speaks about a tv show and to the “moments of joy” we can experience in the mundane or everyday experiences.

“You know, The Office – both the British version and the American version – were revolutionary in a number of ways, but among them, the mockumentary style was intended to be a shooting style and an acting style that was hyper-realistic and that caught these tiny moments of optimism or joy in a very bleak landscape. You know, fluorescent lighting on a drop ceiling in a bleak office in a bleak city in a bleak part of the world. And Greg gave us this analogy of what the show was really about. And the analogy was: you’re walking through an endless concrete parkin lot. And it’s just industrial and very, I guess, utilitarian, basically, right. It’s like, this is just a – there’s no beauty here. It is just a, we paved over this enormous amount of acreage to allow the most possible people to park while they go to this office park. And as you’re walking, you look down and you see a little crack in the pavement. And there’s one little tiny dandelion or flower poking up through the crack in the cement. And he said, that’s what this show is about. It’s about the fact that the world and people’s jobs and people’s lives are often filled – many hours of them are filled every day – with mundane stuff. Just drop ceilings and fluorescent lights and a job that you don’t particularly have any passion for. And what you try to do to make yourself happy and to survive is you find those little moments of joy.” ~Michael Shur

~transcription of a portion of the interview with Michael Shur on radio program “q” with Tom Power
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-50-q/clip/15891103-michael-schur-book-hilarious-thought-provoking-guide-perfect

I am so thankful there is an added depth to the joy we can experience when we direct thanks to the Source of our joy and when we take notice of all He has made. The Bible states that God knows and cares about all aspects of what He has made (Matthew 10:29-30 Psalm 147:4 John 3:16). Allowing ourselves time and energy to really see people around us and the little things and experiences that bring us joy, that is a blessing.

May we have the desire to be in awe.

little bit of joy

The inside of our pantry door has a small white board that we use for grocery lists and meal planning. Though we often just use our fingers to wipe it clean after coming home from the store, there is a little felt decoration that has been pinned to that board to assist with cleaning. It was a craft I made ages ago with a friend from a Christian club. We were all about acronyms then and we made matching ornaments to hang in our high school lockers.

My six year old asked about it the other day when she was on a stool to help with the list. I told her why I have the word “JOY” in our pantry and what it stands for. “It helps remind us that true joy comes when we keep our priorities in the right order: Jesus, Others, then Yourself.” Since then we have had opportunity to use that conversation in our activities together, and even in our play. We participated in our church’s advent initiative, a variation of the traditional Samaritan’s Purse Shoe Boxes. As we shopped for pack backpacks and filled them for the children of nearby reserves, our daughters were able to experience the joy in blessing others ahead of ourselves, giving from what God has blessed us with.

Part of my heart is saddened that I continually need this reminder. Having Jesus as top priority really does make life all the sweeter. It won’t be easier, nor will there be less to do or less pain. But He has promised to always be there with us through it all and loves us with such a perfect love that we will never fully understand it.

Having lots on one’s mind will always be the norm, whether or not I have growing children to parent, work to digest and produce, meals to prepare, etc. Having Jesus as our first thoughts will keep this barrage of paralyzing worries in check, worries which stem from having “yourself” and individual comfort/needs at the center of one’s thoughts. I tend to get into “survival mode” which is really an excuse to do as little as possible while maintaining the appearance of the status quo when this destructive mindset sets in. When I become the middle of my own world “extra” efforts are viewed as “too much” and/or “unappreciated so why do it?” which is all utterly untrue.

Defaulting our minds towards Jesus, Scripture and worship of our loving God will aid in having life lived in joy. With the anticipation of advent beginning next week, may we truly keep our focus on our coming King, and living life sharing the joys of knowing Him with those around us.