Joy Unspeakable

It's been a long time.

Needless to say, December was filled with much-expected excitement and busyness.  Not to mention all the preparation for Christmas and dear friends, gift-making and gift-wrapping, days of chilly weather, surprises, wishes and dreams come true, fun and frolic, laughter and loudness, peace and prosperity, the coming and going of Advent, decorating the Christmas tree, opening presents, fellowship and scrumptious foods, endless chatter and conversation, amusement, sport, entertainment, Scripture readings, family devotions, baking, learning and education, songs and hymns and spiritual songs, Christmas gaiety, Christmas carols, joyful hellos, bittersweet goodbyes, tears and happiness, and boundless amounts of delight in every way.

 

Just to give you a taste...

 Amy and I

 Grin, Ben!

 Fun with the camera

 All girls

 Bestest of friends!

 Loveliness

 Now THAT is what I call a shield...

 Beautiful Mama

 Little Bit

 Friends for a lifetime

 Friends since birth =)

 The "chaperone" ;)

 Whee!

Joy unspeakable.  Joy is much greater than earthly and whimsical happiness.  While happiness is based upon emotions, and thus the fulfillment of temporal enjoyment, joy is eternal and unending.  Happiness fades when troubles and trials enter the picture, but joy is ever still hopeful of the future and will remain whatever the circumstance.  I want more than just happiness; I want joy.

Joy can only be found in Christ.

"Thou wilt show me the path of life:
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
~Psalm 16:11

"For His anger endureth but a moment;
In His favor is life: weeping may endure for a night,
But joy cometh in the morning." ~Psalm 30:5

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them;
And Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:
For I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts."
~Jeremiah 15:16

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;
But righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
~Romans 14:17

I don't know why this is the case, but many times we are inclined to be sort of pessimistic. Okay, full and in fact, very pessimistic.  Joy, even for Christians, is hard to attain.  Perhaps it is our human nature, perhaps it is our sin which so easily besets us, or maybe we don't think God will  keep His promises.

Now that one is a shocker.

It is easy to think that joy was possible for the martyrs who suffered starvation, persecution, torture, and even death for the cause of Christ, but joy, possible for mundane daily life? No way!  Joy, possible for waiting and preparing?  Joy, possible when things don't go our way?  Joy, possible to have during moments of gloominess and despair and sin?  Joy, possible to keep when our simple insignificant lives seem to be falling apart?  Joy, possible in the midst of a confusing, chaotic "love life"?  Joy, possible in chores and cleaning and studying and learning and tutoring and obeying?  Surely not.  Most emphatically not.  We see joy possible in the big things, but definitely not the little things that make up our own lives.

Nevertheless, the correct answer would be YES!  Most definitely yes.  Joy is possible in all the little things that seem to be so big.  Believe me, it is hard, but I would really love to know who ever said life was going to be easy?  In fact, it is even harder for the Christian striving to be more like Christ each day, fighting against the despicable sin nature that so wants to win. 

The most amazing thing is that victory is possible, though only through Christ (Phil. 4:13).  Our joy can be unspeakable, and very full of glory.

Only the glory of Christ.  As in everything, our joy is to bring Him glory, praise, and honor.  Our chief end ought to be our life's ultimate goal: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.  New Year's resolutions usually end in laziness or lack of appeal (I'm sure you have found that out by now), but our number one aim should always be the same.  Have joy, and glorify God.  What else is there?

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: Lift it up, be not afraid: say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God.  Behold, the Lord God will come with power, and His arm shall rule for Him: Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.  He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall guide them with young."  -Isaiah 40:9-11

"For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given:And the government is upon His shoulder, and He shall call His name, Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The prince of peace.  The increase of His government and peace shall have none end: He shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to stablish it with judgment, and with justice, from henceforth, even forever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."  -Isaiah 9:6-7

Confessional Creed (Nicene Creed)

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living."

"Many waters cannot quench love, 

neither can the floods drown it: 

If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, 

it would utterly be contemned."  ~Song of Solomon 8:7

I have always loved this verse, partly because I hope that one day when I am married this will be the description of the love between my husband and I.  "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it."  The flow of the music in these words are mystically romantic, at least to a girl with extreme romantic inclinations.  Like me.  However, in our "girlish romantic inclinations" many times we can distort the view of true biblical love.  We develop a false misconception of happily ever afters, goosebumps and shivers down the spine, sentimentally romantic candlelight and flowers, irrationality, and...you know...all those things girls love.  Basically the belief that when two people fall head-over-heels there is nothing but happiness and passion and bliss and eternal peace is, quite frankly, the idea that has brainwashed our minds by romantic novels and Hollywood.

But don't get me wrong, there is happiness and passion and bliss in true love.  There are happily ever afters, goosebumps and shivers down the spine, sentimentally romantic candlelight and flowers, and so forth in true love and marriage, in a biblical, God-defined way.  We cannot automatically dismiss the love-making as off-limits to Christians as something irreligious, and make love into some hard-core lack-of-feeling mentality.  Definitely not.  God delights in love and marriage.  The Bible speaks many times on the aspect of love between a man and a woman, and even the romantic details that follow (Song of Solomon is an perfect example).

Nevertheless, girls are emotional.  Very emotional, very dramatic, very romantically inclined, and they we love every aspect of those wishy-washy feelings of love.  Why? We are women.  When a movie ends in a very happily ever after we get a feeling of gleesome "Oh I can't wait until that happens to me!"  Trust me, girls are oftentimes hard to understand, even for me being one of them, especially when it comes to our romantic tendencies.  Unfortunately we would sometimes rather live in a romance fantasy than the real world.

There is a destructive force of evil conforming the minds of young people today regarding love and marriage.  Not only are they encouraged to wait to get married until later in life, but when they do get "involved" there is a lot of fantasy regarding intimate relationships between young men and women, and it is initiated by Hollywood as a flirtatious and selfish type of love.  However, this is totally contrary to the biblical definition of true love.  

This post is not specifically targeting the differences between the world's version of love versus the Bible's, important though the subject matter may be.  Instead, I see most of all a disturbing amount of longing and sighing amongst girls wishing and hoping and praying for the right man to come along, especially Christian young women.  Perhaps it is because we are trying to live according to God's standards, which includes courtship and marriage, so we are often unhappy with our situation in life as we wait for "the one."  We may know what true love is, and we may be waiting expectantly for it, but sometimes we are so downright discouraged that we become discontent with our lot in life.

"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living." -Jim Elliot

I come across the above quote one day in a book and it cause me to pause and wonder.  Jim Elliot was writing to his fiancee Elizabeth (who would later become his wife), and it surprised me that he would have such a surrendering attitude.  At that time they were both separated by many miles, and it was rare when they were able to see each other.  Yet still Jim Elliot wrote those words to her.  He understood how hard it was to surrender his life completely to God in every area, especially when it was concerning his love life.  More than anything he wanted to marry his beloved.  Nevertheless he understood that a person's intense longings must not slay the appetite of their living, or it will waste their life.

Because girls are eccentrically romantic we tend to look to the feelings that make us feel good.  In doing this we do not realize how easly we sow the seeds of discontentment.  Whether we are still waiting, or whether we know who God has intended for us, we all can have the same problem.  Our longings will absolutely destroy the moments we have for living a life dedicated to God—out of marriage or in marriage.  If we succumb to  disastrous feelings of longing that we cannot control, how will we ever be satisfied with what God has given us?

Trust me, I now that waiting and hoping is no easy task.  God gave every woman an inner desire to be loved by a man, but that is not a license for not living our lives.  In each of our lives—no matter our age or station—we can all invest in the families that God has placed us in, and develop the gifts He has blessed us with.  All too soon we will be starting families of our own, if it is God's will.  One day we will be enjoying an incredible amount of happiness as the man God has for us woos and wins us.  Then our womanly desires will be completed in an even fuller sense.

But until then, we are complete in Christ.  We have His love.  We are His part of His bride.  More than anything else, we are to be satisfied in Him.

And then one day we will be united in holy matrimony, and experience something grand and marvelous beyond our wildest dreams—biblical romance at its fullest.  In my opinion, that is far better than what the world has to offer.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; 
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 
Commit thy way unto the LORD; 
trust in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." ~Psalm 37:4-5

Thankful in Thought and Love

I would have to say that I am most thankful for love.

Because love can cover just about everything.  It was love that sent our Savior to the cross to pay for our sins.  It is love that unites family and friends together—knit in harmony.  It is love that is the greatest of all virtues (1 Cor.13).  It is love that says "I love you and I'm willing to deny myself for you" (John 15:13).  It is true love that is not just a feeling but a commitment.  It is love that God gives everyday in His mercy, grace, and forgiveness, in giving us life and health and raiment and shelter.  I'd say that love ranks tops on my list.

It is hard for me to fathom the depth of love.  And when I say love, I'm not talking about this modern Grecian-version of love that happens between a guy and girl at first sight—you know, the head-over-heels type.  Of course there will be romance and all that goo in courtship and marriage (c'mon, every girl likes it!), but I am referring to: A father's tender embrace.  A mother's warm smile.  A sister's giggle.  A blossoming friendship.  A brother's silly joke.  A gathering of thankful hearts.  Worship and praise to God.  A baby's cherub dimpled grin.  Commitment.  Encouragement.  Faithfulness.  Devotion.  Inspiration.  Joy.  And many other such blessings.  The simple yet most profound things of life.

Thanksgiving is most definitely a time of praise and thanksgiving to the Creator, even though every day ought to be the same.  Now is a time when we sit back and thank God for all of the blessings He has imparted to His humble subjects.  Because the truth is, He has done so much for us and we barely even recognize His presence in our lives.  Many times we take God for...heaven forbid...granted.  How in the world could such lowly people, basically scum in God's sight because of our sin, take the Most Holy One for granted when He has done so much for us?

In fact, it is very easy.  We get caught up in our own little worlds of selfishness and pride, and forget that it was God who made us, God who gives us breath each day, and God who could take away everything we hold dear in a heartbeat.  Simply because He is God, completely sovereign, and He has every right to do what He deems best.  Simply because He is God.  And that is why I am most thankful for love because I see love in the grace of God that He would give us even a tiny morsel of bread, or a glimmer of light in darkened lives, or forgiveness amidst our sin.  Or so much more that we don't even deserve.

It was love that shaped our individual lives.  It is love that continues to shape our lives according to His will and plan.  It is love that I hold most dear, and I believe that love sums up our entire lives.  Love is salvation and sanctification all rolled into one.

May y'all have more than just a blessed Thanksgiving—may it be full of the richest and deepest love imaginable.  May God shine His love upon you and your families, and rain down many blessings upon each individual.  Remember that it is love that keeps us going, so I believe it is our duty to love in return.  And not just an ordinary type of love either.  An incredible, sacrificing, amazing, forgiving, inspirational, joyful, heroic love.  And let us rejoice in the goodness of God, because of His love.

"But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: 

let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: 

let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee." -Psalm 5:11

Magical Reality

Life is busy this time of year.  The pecan trees are ripe in harvest, my mind and hands are busy with Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, the leaves keep turning colors and enveloping the ground (and I just love Fall walks as the leaves crunch underneath my feet!), I'm reveling in continual happiness, friendship is blooming and blossoming, and I am satiated in God's goodness.  Life couldn't possibly be any better from my point of view.

Liberty loving our huge pile of leaves

This past month and a half has almost been eye-opening for me.  I am amazed at God's goodness each morning that I behold a new day.  Although family relationships remain top priority, friendship is a beautiful thing, even outside the home.  Especially that friendship which has lasted years and years, ever since childhood.  It is a bittersweet and nostalgia feeling to see life-long friends that were playmates as children suddenly become men and women.  Where does time go?  Life suddenly seems to become confusing, exciting, unbelievable, and incredible at the same time.  A friendship that remains devoted, loyal, and constant is a friendship that will press on to even greater heights.  And that is a blessing from God.

I don't think I need say I am sated.  It is bliss. It is magical. It is grace. It is happiness. It is wondrous.

"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: 

so doth the sweetness of a man's friend 

by hearty counsel." -Proverbs 27:9

"Iron sharpeneth iron; 

so a man sharpeneth 

the countenance of his friend."

-Proverbs 27:17