This is a multi-part blog series about my search for joy in Christ above circumstance and experience. If you need some background/context and you have some time to read, you may want to begin with my series on Christ-centered church. I’m not finished with my search for Joy. Still searching. Still thinking. Still praying. Still writing. Check back if you want to follow along.
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Holy Veruca Salt, Batman. (6/3/2013) - If you’ve been following along for the last week, you’re probably wondering what the heck is wrong with me. yeah. me too. My husband and a friend have both referred to it as me being “refined by fire.” I should probably be happy about this. I’m sure one day I will be. Meanwhile. You may…
color. (6/7/2013) - I’ve been given some serious what-for. PinkGirl became aware that I said “dammit” in my blog the other day. multiple times. “MOM!” hhhhhhhhhh. I have a 12 year old censor. and she. is. bossy. meanwhile, she thinks it is hilarious to tell me she “shipped her pants.” the fact is, I grew up with a…
how you doin? (6/15/2013) - it’s not infrequent that my husband asks me that question in Joey’s voice. I can even hear the voice in text messages. But this time the question came from someone else. And it was definitely NOT asked in Joey’s voice. It was all weepy. and concerned. Because I’ve been doing . . . (click the…
my flesh may fail. (6/18/2013) - “…how is it possible for a creature to desire and enjoy the creation without committing idolatry? This may seem like an irrelevant question to some. But for people who long to sing like the psalmists, it is very relevant. They sing like this: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on…
four minutes with God: Hebrews 4:15-16 (6/18/2013) - a Quote: “…how did the early Christians pray for joy? First, we may assume that they prayed the prayers of the only Bible that they had, namely, the Old Testament. Thus they would have prayed: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Ps.…
I want me to want You. (6/19/2013) - yes. I did just sing that to the tune of a Cheap Trick song. But I’m talking to God: Lord, I want to wake up every morning aware of an innate desire for intimacy with YOU. I want to delight in YOU. but I don’t. I call myself a Christian. but I can’t remember ever,…
obedience and blessings. passion and delight. (6/21/2013) - If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve discovered that I desperately want to delight in God more than I delight in the things I’m passionate about. and I’ve come face to ugly face with the fact that I don’t. Some of my Christian friends are very uncomfortable with this admission. Some get exactly what…
ordering my environment. (7/8/2013) - I wrote a few weeks ago that when my head is a mess, I am compelled to order my environment. In practical application, this means three things: cleaning. purging. painting. and I guess decorating. If you count framing stuff I’ve been meaning to frame for…ever. and putting new flooring in downstairs. and getting rid of…
four minutes with God: 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (7/10/2013) - a Quote: “…what I testify to is the power of visual art, and especially music…They have the potential to awaken the mind and heart to aspects of God’s glory that were not perceived before. Paintings or photographs of mountains and streams can call forth a sense of wonder and peace. If we are willing to…
parallel lessons. (7/15/2013) - PinkGirl is at call backs for The Little Mermaid. Ya know she dreams of being cast as Ariel. This was her instagram graphic and request yesterday: “Hey guys tomorrow is the first rehearsal for Little Mermaid and it’s when I find out what part I get. Please Pray for me not to get the role…
two steps forward. one step back. (8/13/2013) - If you read my last post, “growing pains” you know I’ve been having trouble seeing God’s hand in my life over the last few months. God has been silent. When I first became aware of the silence, I immediately assumed sin was separating me from God. I confessed all the sin I could identify. I…
the dark night. (8/16/2013) - and no. I’m not talking about Holy DARK KNIGHT, Batman. I had never even heard about the dark night until I started reading about finding joy and delight in God, spiritual dryness, spiritual darkness and the silence of God. I first stumbled upon the term while reading “Prayer” by Philip Yancey. He said: “I take…
idences. (8/20/2013) - specifically, providence and coincidence. providence: capitalized : God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny coincidence: the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection I can’t ever remember believing in coincidences. My husband on the other hand, is a big believer in them.…
the positive impact of negative feedback. (9/5/2013) - Ironically, the thing that triggered the paralyzing self-doubt was the exact same thing that knocked me free from it. feedback . . . And most frustrating and challenging of all, there were widespread tangential comments from, and conversations with, multiple people about both my Christ-centered church and my search for joy blog posts which didn't seem to be related to the content of what I had actually written. four minutes with God: in the dark, surrounded by trees. (10/24/2013) - a Quote: “A friend of mine is a singer. From time to time she goes to record vocal tracks at a studio here in town. One evening she went and she was in a different room than she had ever been in before. In a studio, there is always some form of sound absorbing material,…
The lying tempter would persuade. (2/26/2014) - Maybe it’s the chaos in my house. or the chaos of the last year and a half. or the abundance of time I’ve had to think about the chaos of the last year and a half while I’m attending to the mindless task of shoveling the chaos in my house… maybe I’m just tired. or…whatever may pass and whatever lies before me. (4/22/2014) - Sunday evening. Easter Sunday. I was sitting at the kitchen table, focused on my laptop. PinkGirl came over and turned my chair sideways so she could curl up on my lap and lay her head on my shoulder. “Mom? How can I find joy in God?” wow. 13 years old. Immediately, I prayed. “Lord, is…
and I know things now, many valuable things, that I hadn’t known before. (8/21/2015) - It was Sunday afternoon. I was in “my” room. The living room. Looking out the window that spans nearly an entire wall, hypnotically watching a baby squirrel chowing down on the suet in the birdfeeder. I call it “my” room because it’s lined with a 12 foot wide by 7 foot high wall of 12×12…