lots of links

[currently watching the incredibles and gchatting with my 2 favorite SP11 neos...and i thank God bc i was being tempted so bad just a few minutes ago with lust but the simple pleasure of a cartoon brought me back to a sane state. i really am a child lol.]

but the reason for this post. i was thinking about JOY [though im supposed to be moving on to a new fruit] but i just had a few more things to say about joy, simply bc i feel myself gaining my joy slowly back. and bc i was reading "our daily bread" and it had a lot to say.

remember that post when i was talking about true joy to me, and how i was frustrated that people didnt understand that when i didnt seem optimistic, it didnt mean i was losing faith. i just think sometimes things dont work out. such as...lets look in the Bible. Paul told Timothy "I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand." He was saying he was almost dried up, and he knew things weren't gettin better. Some could say that Paul had failed to accomplish his goals and was walkin in defeat. but he saw it as he had fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. we should praise God for His faithfulness, whether we are winning or losing.

it sometimes seems that we are wandering lost. i ask God all the time "how much more? how much longer? am i finally at that place i been yearning for?" but its the journey, not the destination, that is important to God. we all know the destination, right? its the journey that He uses to humble us, test us, show us what is in our hearts, and uses us to help others. its the journey that helps transform us day by day into His image.

i was saying before that people always claim these big blessings for me, but i never get them. i just get these small bail outs that seem more like infrequent drips from a leaky faucet rather than the floodgates opening. but in psalm 103 david reminds us that God forgives all our iniquities, heals us, redeems our lives from destruction, and showers us with lovingkindness. is that not a floodgate?

i mean, im a BIG sinner. the fact that God forgave me of all that is a huge floodgate!!! its like my mind is seeing this from the wrong perspective, like the Christians in Laodicea (in revelation) who were rich but in reality they were spiritually poor, blind, naked, and miserable. being truly rich comes by seeking what He only can provide: purity, character, righteousness, wisdom.

true wealth is not measured by what you have but by who you are in Christ.

direct quote " in order for plants to bloom, the soil has to be raked and turned over. God wants to loosen the things that can choke our lives and that prevent us from radiating joy. to do this, He sometimes has to allow pain and trouble--trials that help stir up the soil of our lives."

and the fact that He is still stirring up the soil of my life is something to be JOYFUL about.