Joseph & Joy

On Saturday night, my wife and I and some friends attended Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lucy, a very talented friend of ours was playing the Narrator, the female lead. Her five children were also in the production so we were looking forward to this very much.

The show was absolutely amazing and I was blown away by the talent level of the cast.

At different points during the show I found myself in tears. At first I thought it was because of the talent that was on display (which does make me somewhat emotional for some reason). But then I realized that the tears were for something else because they only seemed to be there when Lucy was performing during certain scenes.

Lucy has been going through some gut-wrenching stuff recently, and it has really devastated her. She has been put through the wringer. Yet, here she was on Saturday, a picture of joy, doing a phenomenal job as the Narrator. I have seen this production before and she was absolutely perfect for this role (as were each of her kids in their roles)!

Anyone who didn’t know her would have no idea the tough times she is going through. I think this is why I was choked up. She was practicing what Paul told us to do in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (emphasis mine) Paul doesn’t say to rejoice only when things are going our way. He says, always! In fact, Paul penned these words while sitting in a jail cell. Rejoice in the Lord always. Just what Lucy did.

From a human perspective, being joyful when things in our life are going south is impossible. It is only because Lucy is filled with the joy of the Lord, that she is able to do this. The same can be true for us.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b

The Power Of Our Thoughts

A few days ago I wrote about our experience with our basement flood. There have been several times when my wife and I have found ourselves complaining because of the inconvenience of this, or because our insurance coverage was not enough to cover all the damage or because of...

Fortunately, we have not gotten too far down the path of despair because one of us will say something like, "Thank God that this happened during the day" or "Thankfully we weren't out of town when this happened!" (Had either of those scenarios occurred, we would have had a very serious problem on our hands). Once we start thinking more positively, our whole mindset changes. We no longer are feeling sorry for ourselves, but somehow we feel blessed.

It is incredible the power of our thoughts and our words. This is sometimes very difficult, but simply being thankful in the midst of our trouble can truly change our perspective. That is why I liked the above video so much. I hope you do too.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Going With The Flow

This morning I led our 2nd Tuesday of the month Truth At Work roundtable group meeting from 7:30 - 11:30. It was a great meeting as usual!

I then went home to get some work done (I work out of a home office) before heading to a meeting at 3:00. I opened the door to the basement to put some things away before eating lunch when I heard this awful sound...the sound of water gushing.

I rushed downstairs to find a couple of inches of water on the floor and water being shot against the wall in our closet (see the shiny floor in the picture above). A pipe had broken coming out of our sump pump and the pump was pumping away and shooting water everywhere. I guess it was quite a site as I was trying to get it under control as I was soaking wet.

Anyway, my plans of getting some work done went out the window. Connie, our two daughters, two of Connie's friends who were over for a Bible study and I spent the next several hours carting stuff upstairs to get it out of the way. We actually had quite a few laughs during this time and talked about how thankful we were that we were home and that it was not much worse.

And, believe it or not, I didn't stress too much about missing out on getting my stuff done. I actually found myself going with the flow (pun intended). Proof that God can do anything!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Joy of a Child

This past weekend I went with my family and some friends to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Navy Midshipmen. It was a great day with great friends...and the Buckeyes won, although the game was way more exciting than it needed to be (OSU let a late lead slip away and eked out a win)!

Prior to the game, I was in the restroom with my good friend Tim and his nine-year-old son Ben. Ben was washing his hands and he pulled the lever on the soap dispenser which gave him some foam soap.

Well you would have thought it was Christmas morning. He turned his hand upside down and with a huge smile said, "Look dad!" He then proceeded to jump around the bathroom with his hand upside down trying to get it to leave his hand. Pure joy in action.

I said to Tim, "Wouldn't it be great to have that joy in our life?" Tim said, "I think we are born with it and then we are taught to get rid of it."

I believe Tim is right. I think we are taught by the world to not be too joyful. Sad.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

True Joy

Regardless of what language the woman pictured above speaks, you can tell she is happy...she has joy. I experienced this firsthand during a cab ride this past week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (where I was suffering for Jesus!).

Antonio was our driver and he looked to be about 60 years old. He was taking us from Le Kliff, an incredible restaurant to our resort. He spoke almost no English. However, a friend of ours who was with us speaks pretty good Spanish so he was able to carry on a conversation with Antonio over our 45 minute ride.

Though I didn't have a clue about what they were discussing, it became evident very early on that Antonio was full of joy. In fact, it was spilling over he was so full. He smiled constantly and laughed easily. I began to wonder about Antonio's spiritual beliefs and thought that the only way someone could have this much joy is if they knew Jesus (the joy of the Lord is your strength - Nehemiah 8:10b).

After interpretation from our friend, we learned that Antonio lived in a small house with 12 other family members (extended family included). He worked six days a week from 5 PM to 5 AM and didn't get much sleep because of all the people in his home. However, he was thankful to God everyday for the incredible blessing He has given him. He was always looking for ways to give thanks to God.

I believe Antonio was a Christian, but only God knows for sure. But one thing was certain. Antonio's abundant joy was a direct result of his thankfulness in all circumstances.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18