Today we got out together and had great fun! Talking, laughing, eating, shopping! A much needed day. The Lord has blessed me much more than I deserve.
Tag Archive | Women
Beautiful Dying…
A beautiful testimony of one woman’s journey through Gods plan for her life. Please take some time to r
ead this and click on links to find out more about her beautiful dying journey. A lasting legacy that points to Christ.
~ Joyce ~
You Are Beautiful Enough
As a proud mom I just had to share another moment. My youngest daughter (23) had her second journalism piece published this week. She’s been going through some struggles and I wanted to share it an effort to reach out to a larger audience of women. Ladies you know that we all struggle in some way and can identify with portions of this article. Please take time to read this and let the Lord to minister to your heart.
By the way if you are so inclined please “like it”!
http://cbmw.org/women/womanhood/you-are-beautiful-enough/
Thank you.
~ Joyce ~
Eucharisteo ~ Eucharisteo ~ Eucharisteo
Thankful for my experience of delightful European coffee!
Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, gave thanks (eucharisteo) and broke it, and gave it to them….”
Eucharisteo Definition:
Gave thanks, give thanks, to be grateful, feel thankful
Eucharisteo. One day, I happened upon Ann Voskamps blog A Holy Experience, and I am so thankful I did. Please check it out for yourself and see how God puts her pen to paper and causes beautiful, meaningful, heartfelt words of truth to flow out. God, pen, paper and a blog. God ordained and God blessed.
Ever since I found her blog and her book one thousand gifts, I have been challenged. Challanged to live a life of Eucharisteo, one of daily giving thanks. For all things. In all situations. For the here. For the now. For life that happens daily right in front of me. Hardly, a day goes by when I don’t remember Eucharisteo. A life of giving thanks for everything. I remember that if he broke bread and gave thanks, then I should also. His body broken, the bread broken in remembrance of his broken body. He gave thanks, I can give thanks. For all, for everything, for this life to live for him.
You see. I am in a season. I suppose we all are. I am a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, lover of God and keeper of the home. I am many things, to many people. I am me. I am who he created me to be. I am to be a thankful daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and lover of God and yes even to live eucharisteo in my home as I keep it for him, for my husband, for others. I wear different hats at different times, some more graciously then others and during those hard moments, I hear the gentle reminder of Eucharisteo. Will I live that? Will I trust that he is more than enough to give thanks for? I feel the breeze, I hear the summer sounds, nature’s creatures and a baby, making their sweet noises and I breathe in and remember, yes, I can do this. I can do this thing called eucharisteo. Psalm 139 tells me he knows everything about me, if that is true, and I know it is, then I am enough. And for that I give thanks to him. The creator of all things. The creator of this life he has given me to live.
Some days, life is hard, and I don’t remember to give thanks. I had one recently and my daughter said “what three things are you thankful for today?” I had to smile (as I thought very hard about that question) she was learning with me!
Thanksgiving! What if we lived each day with joyful thanksgiving? Even in the hard times, hard days, hard pushing to get through this life. The nit and grit of the daily grind, what if? I can only see an attitude of gratitude forming. Gratitude for all he gives and lets us live in this life.
Won’t you join me, as I join Ann, and each day jot down three things you are giving thanks for? Just hop on board, get out your pen and paper and start right here, right now. Let the pen flow and your heart take wing as you decide to live a life of Eucharisteo!
~Joyce~
Music springs! New life! New Joy! New hope!
She plays. I listen. Beautiful music she makes. Even if she is in the review process. It’s from her heart; there is a spring in her fingers. Beautiful spring, in her fingers. Love springs. Joy springs. Hope springs. God heals. God restores. We are ever so grateful. Spring has sprung, new life has begun. God has done wonders. We submit to his discipline, and revel in the joy of his blessings. God knows. We don’t. God creates new life. New joy. New hope. New peace. God. Did you hear that, God. He speaks and the winds obey. He speaks and heals our hearts. Our hurts. Our pains. God. Only God, in his mercy, can rescue us from what would be destruction in our lives. We question. He is patient. We cry. He is loving. We learn to embrace bad, for our good. For the good he brings into it. For the joy he brings out of it. JOY. Pure JOY!
(it is no coincidence that her middle name is: HOPE, it’s a God thing!)
The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad! Psalm 126:3
You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly. Psalm 4:7
O satisfy us with Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning [now, before we are older], that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14
Rejoicing with thanks,
~ Joyce ~
Wife. Mother. Daughter. Grammy.
Yep. That. Is. Me.
Would you please pray for me? I have a load to balance. A life that needs prioritized. So many things pressing in, needing attention, attention that must be had. My goal in life? To please Christ in all I do. I fear I fail many times. In my words, to everyone I am trying to love and help. In my actions, to those same folk. This is it, a new phase in life. I told myself “I don’t know how to do this.” How? HOW? I told a friend “I don’t know how to do this.” She said … many things to me. ALL of which was an encouragement to me. A sister, coming alongside to strengthen and encourage me and let me lay my burdens out for her to hear and identify with. Oh yeah and the best thing this friend did? Point me to Christ! Amazing. I. Know. What better person for me to run to! Sometimes, we just need someone to tell us what we already know.
Thank you!
~ Joyce ~
My. Daddy. He. Loves. Me.
Ok so its been awhile since I posted. Lots of things going on and running through my mind. I just came from a counseling conference where I learned A LOT about helping others, biblically. Great information and lots of encouragement. The word of God has a lot to say about our trials, troubles and suffering.
I Peter 1:6-7
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
So our trials and tests are for what? Let’s read that again: so that the tested genuineness of our faith…. tested by fire…. may be found to result in praise and glory and honor. Wow… this is something worth facing, submitting to the Lord’s will, responding properly to the tests and trials so that who can be glorified??? Jesus Christ!
So now… its time for me to practice what I learned….
My dad, is in the hospital. He is weak and fragile. Recuperating from having a pacemaker put in. I am so very grateful to the Lord for rescuing my dad this week. You see, his heart wasn’t working so well. We didn’t know it. God allowed signs to surface. He allowed doctors wisdom. He allowed my dad a new chance for a few more years. Now a pacemaker will keep his heart going. But really, God keeps the pacemaker going. God decides what works and for how long. He is 84. This man that is my daddy. He taught me to drive. To wash a car properly. To wash dishes properly. To never be late on my curfew! He worked hard. At one time 3 jobs at once. He trusts God. I trust God.
I pray that the Lord grants me the peace and grace to walk out my faith and trust in my almighty, sovereign God!
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Hope! I have HOPE because of CHRIST!
~Joyce~
Being. Grammy. Is. PURE. JOY.
The chance I have been waiting for finally came tonight. A night alone, just Grammy, Grampy and baby “Z”. God has blessed us with a handsome grandson and this week he turned 9 months old. My how the time it does fly! It seems like….. well you know… we can’t see time move but it does and we move and change with it. God ordained and created it to be this way and so we submit to him and his soverienty. It’s just that he is looking more like a little boy and less like a baby! I know I have shared Psalm 139 before, but it is so true. He has made us fearfully and wonderfully and wove us together in our mother’s womb. Before we were conceived he knew us and ordained every day of our lives and for that I am so very grateful. Its been a very long week that has been very difficult and I have been looking forward to this weekend. As tired and worn as I feel, tending to my grandson has brought immeasurable joy and comfort. God has brought me the best comfort of all, his mercy, grace and love and the PURE JOY of being a Grammy! As I fed him one last time and sang songs of our God to him, he reached out his soft little hands and touched my face and rubbed my cheeks. Ahhh… baby soft and sweet and so much a comfort to this worn out Grammy. Thank you Lord for your PURE JOY in my life. I don’t deserve it but I embrace and and submit my future to you!
Where does YOUR hope come from?
I was listening to Pandora yesterday when this song came on. It speaks absolute truth. Our only hope is the Lord and in no one or any thing. It is the Lord that calms the storms and protects us through each moment of turbulence. When the storm is over, if we have trusted Christ, we can look back and see how he has lovingly guided us through each moment. Where DOES your hope come from?
1 Peter 1:21(NIV) “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
You Alone
I lift m eyes when I am troubled
I lift my hands, I lift my heart
And there I stand knowing nothing can defeat me
Just as long as I know where You are
In You alone
Is where I find my comfort
In You alone
You’re my only hope
In You alone
My heart has found a resting place
In You alone
In You alone
So I won’t fear though darkness hides me
No, I won’t let my courage sway
For You are near and at the brightness of Your glory
The shadows of the night melt away
In You alone
Is promise I can cling to
In You alone
You’re my security
In You alone
My soul has found a dwelling place
Only in You alone
What could separate me from Your love?
Neither life nor death, nor anything at all
Anything at all
In You alone
Is where I find my comfort
In You alone
You’re my only hope
In You alone
My heart has found a resting place
Only in You alone
Only in You alone
Only in You alone
… of the tracks
I have titled this post “… of the tracks” so to follow the name of my blog. This is my first blog post ever. It is my goal to allow others a window into my heart and life. Most of all it is my goal that you follow Christ and it is my ultimate desire to put Christ on display in all that I do. I am not perfect but the Word calls us to “put off” and “put on” and I will with HIS help continue to pursue this:
Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV) “and to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
May Christ be put on display in my blog.
I grew up in a christian, God-centered home. I am forever grateful for the grace of God that allowed me this precious upbringing. At a young age I learned to love Christ with my whole heart. I was a pleaser of sorts, if you will, as I always wanted to please Christ and was so afraid of offending him or “losing” him. I wanted to always walk with Christ and through his great mercy, he has kept me close to Him and I cannot express my joy and gratefulness enough for HIS doing so.
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
“The Girl from the Other Side ….of the tracks”, let me share what the meaning of this title is. Growing up I lived where others might refer to as “the other side of the tracks”. I grew up mostly in the city, a city wracked with poverty, crime and just plain not pretty. My zip code became my identity of sorts if you will. No, it did become my identity for far too many years. Because of where my family lived we felt we had to find alternate places to shop, school and go to church. By doing this, my friend circle was made up of those who lived in “better” zip codes than I, or so was my thinking. Perhaps it was learned thinking, that I began to think that “my stuff”, “my zip code” was not good enough. As I made friends, went to suburban schools and churches and began to grow up with this way of thinking, it slowly became my identity. I never wanted to let people know where I lived or what my “stuff” was like, as I felt that I just didn’t measure up to the status quo. I just wasn’t “good enough”. My friends had bigger and better houses, cars, name brand clothes etc. I just wasn’t “good enough”. I was always striving to obtain what I did not have. I just wasn’t “good enough”. To reach their level, to have and be something better than what I already had. I just wasn’t “good enough”.
Far too many years were lived this way. In fact, I carried this way of thinking into my adult life and marriage. While I longed to have a home and things that I could be “proud” of, I was not happy or thankful for what I DID have, I always wanted more and better. This was not pleasing to Christ and it did not build up my marriage or even bring any satisfaction at all. Then I began to have a family of my own, and I noticed that I carried this way of thinking into my parenting also. It was at this point, a friend once said to me ” we didn’t come to see your house, we came to see you.” It was this statement that began to open my eyes to they way I had been living.
2 Peter 1:3 ” His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”
As I began to wrestle with this pattern of thinking in my life, Christ became more dear to me. It was HIM I needed, and not things. Things are not eternal, but Christ is eternal. It didn’t matter to HIM where I lived or what I wore or what my car looked like. He was more concerned with the issues of my heart, not my status in life. Through various ways I began to understand that His grace is sufficient for me. That he has given me all that I need in Christ. Now my thinking, behaviors and how I felt about myself did not change overnight, of course not! I had lived this way for many, many years. I am a work in progress, if you will, God’s girl, a follower of Christ, who wishes to be changed into his image daily. Praise be to God for his mercy and grace in my life!
I will end this blog with a quote from John Newton. Please take time to reflect on this and give thanks to God for his ongoing work in our lives.
“I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”” ~ John Newton
Thank you for reading!
The Girl from the Other Side.... 