"Consider
it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and
without reproach, and it will be given to him....." James 1:2 -
Biblical joy is not a happy feeling. This joy is a deep trust and satisfaction in Jesus, in where He leads and in what He provides. It is a soul-level awareness of the nearness of God in my life. Christians are not exempt from trials. James warns us we will encounter them - there's no need to search for them. There will be a variety of tests in each of our lives and from these we have the opportunity to surrender to Jesus, experience His presence in the valley, feel endurance build and faith mature.
God said,
"Choose joy" and we haltingly
began to apply what we read through life's challenges: illnesses, miscarriages,
dire doctor's predictions, earthquakes, tragic losses and ministry changes, we chose joy...Biblical joy is not a happy feeling. This joy is a deep trust and satisfaction in Jesus, in where He leads and in what He provides. It is a soul-level awareness of the nearness of God in my life. Christians are not exempt from trials. James warns us we will encounter them - there's no need to search for them. There will be a variety of tests in each of our lives and from these we have the opportunity to surrender to Jesus, experience His presence in the valley, feel endurance build and faith mature.
A few years ago God
began to speak to us about courage. We faced fears which were long held and
deeply rooted. We began to discover choosing
joy is a command and also a weapon. It's a courageous choice. It takes courage
to choose joy in the midst of devastation, battles with food addiction, career
and ministry transitions, children leaving home, fill in YOUR blank. Courageous joy has just a
touch of defiance in it. The trial/temptation/hardship will not win. We will follow God - even here. "So take that!," our spirits shout
at the obstacle. As quickly as the
choice is made, a spark of courageous joy - yes JOY - flickers to life, we
endure and our faith matures. We meet our God in the valley.
Months ago, when we
were thinking about prayer cards and missionary newsletters, we realized we wanted
a domain so our "title" would match our URL. We wanted consistent
branding. "Choosing Joy," our blog title of ten years, was taken. We had fun brainstorming as a
family, and on Facebook - and we kept thinking courage needed to be married
with joy. God uses all sorts of means to subtly nudge us into new seasons. As the
threat of Parkinson's began to enter our lives, we knew we had to respond swiftly
and decisively with courageous joy.
We determined years ago to be a family which
would love courageously, follow God courageously, serve courageously. We are in a new season which is calling forth
new areas of courage from each of us. As we face this ongoing challenge of
Michael's medical diagnosis and the questions as to how it will impact our
future ministry and lifestyle, we've decided to respond with courageous joy.
We've chosen, with both courage and joy, not to fret about the future, or wish
away the present. We'll choose courageous joy as we live our lives fully
present.
"Be
strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God
is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 NLT
Yes, it's a new blog name and
URL....but more than that, it's a new
season. We will choose courageous joy as we move into retirement, deal with Michael's medical issues, full-time RV, or move into missions......regardless the name will "work," it's the work God is working in us.
Your bookmarks will still work;
the old URL will bring you here. You can still subscribe and receive blog posts in
your inbox, or follow from the sidebar. If you wish to utilize Facebook for
tracking blogs, our new Courageous Joy Facebook page
will host a link to every blog post.
*Notes:
1. We don't promise to link each blog post on our personal Facebook pages.
2. If you want more details about the changes to our plans and Michael's health you can read Plot Twist and follow edits and links.
1. We don't promise to link each blog post on our personal Facebook pages.
2. If you want more details about the changes to our plans and Michael's health you can read Plot Twist and follow edits and links.
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