Happy: A Name to Live Up To - Five Minute Friday (On Sunday)

Meet Happy.  

Yes, this is our family cat.

He became a member of our family about 8 or 9 years ago.

He has a heck of a name to live up to.

Sometimes Happy is happy.  Especially when he attacks me as I'm walking up the stairs, walking across the room, or resting quietly.

Sometimes Happy isn't so happy.  Especially when I am taking too long to fill his food bowl or the neighborhood kids are searching for him when they come to visit.

I guess it is hard to live up to his name all the time.

Like us....are we always happy?

No. Its an emotion. And as a woman, I can tell you that I have been on plenty of those emotional rollercoasters.

But as a Christian, I have a name to live up to.  And to live up to that name - Christian - I don't choose happiness.....I choose joy.

You see, my joy comes from the Lord.

My husband made me happy when he brought home Panda Express Friday night.

But my joy comes from knowing that Christ is with me always and He will meet me right where I am.

It isn't always possible to be happy, but it is possible to always be joyful.  I can find joy in my deepest sorrows.  How?  Because I know Christ.

Thank you for joining me today (Sunday) for my Five Minute Friday post.  Be sure you head to Kate's to read more amazing thoughts on this week's prompt HAPPY.  And best of all......

there is a giveaway and news about the Five Minute Friday book.

Yes!  Our favorite Five Minute Friday posts are being published!!  You definitely don't want to miss out on it!

Can You REALLY Be Thankful and Find Joy In All Circumstances

My cousin found out this week that she has breast cancer.  No woman wants to hear that diagnosis.  I have been amazed at the number of people posting scripture to her Facebook page.  I can tell from her comments that she is finding comfort in God's Word.

Words for finding comfort and strength are filling her heart and mind.  They are giving her courage during this difficult time.  This afternoon, I found this gem on Pinterest to share with her.....

What was I thinking, right???

Be joyful????

Give thanks?????

Seriously????

Yes.

Be joyful.
Give thanks.

Seriously.

First, let me be clear.

I have never been diagnosed with cancer. There was a time I was fearful due to some changes in my breasts.  I saw my doctor, had an ultrasound, and got the all clear.  So, no, I don't know what it is like to get that diagnosis.

I do know heartbreak in other ways.

I know what it's like to watch your husband walk away from you at the airport not knowing if he will make it back home from Afghanistan. I know what it's like to be Skyping with your husband while he is deployed and there be an attack. I know the uncertainties and hardships that deployment can bring.

In those instances, I prayed.  I found joy knowing that God would hear my pleas (that He wants me to let my requests be known).  I found joy knowing that my children grew in their prayer lives and relationship with Christ.  I found joy knowing that my husband was serving God and country. He was doing something he felt strongly about.

And I gave thanks.  I gave thanks for the amount of communication we had: Skype, texting, email, phone call, snail mail.  We had it all, and I can't imagine the days when women couldn't communicate with their deployed Soldiers like that.  I gave thanks that each time there was an attack my husband was safe.  I gave thanks that he was able to minister to the Soldiers and provide them with Christian guidance.

I gave thanks for answered prayers.

I know what it's like to find evidence in the toilet, the first clue that something was wrong with your pregnancy.  I know what it's like to tearfully find your boss to tell them what you think is happening to get permission to leave work to go to the doctor. I know what its like to cry all the way to the doctor not knowing what exactly is happening.  I know what it's like to see your baby on the ultrasound monitor to find that, yes, it's true, your baby stopped growing.  I know what it's like to have a natural miscarriage and lay weak on the bathroom floor knowing you will never be the same. I know what its like 2 years later to cry, remembering that day, and yearning for that baby.

In all of this, I prayed.

And I found joy.

I found joy in the fact that there is hope in Christ.  That I felt His presence, and I may meet my baby one day in Heaven.  He brought me comfort in the banana popsicles that my husband urged me to eat while I was weak, causing me to remember the love of my grandfather.  He brought me comfort as I laughed about laying on the bathroom floor on my son's toddler bed. He reminded me in so many ways that He was right there with me, that I wasn't going through that miscarriage alone. I found joy in the scripture cards my friend Leslie sent to me.

And I found joy in the things I was thankful for:

I had an amazing medical staff that was honest, yet compassionate and went beyond the call of duty for us. 

My coworkers held my hand (literally) and cried with me.  The love they have for me is amazing.  

My husband and mom never left my side. They cleaned me up, held my hand, and took such good care of me. 

My in laws took care of my children because I was too weak to be there for them physically and emotionally.

I was thankful for those three healthy children, those boys who are my sunshine.

I was thankful for the phone calls and texts I received from those checking on me.

I was thankful for the meals provided for us.

So, I say YES, we can really be thankful and find joy in ALL circumstances. For me, being thankful and finding joy are choices I can make. And let me be clear on this: Happiness and joy are NOT the same thing.  When my kids behave, I am happy. When the bills are paid, I am happy.  When I have a terrible day, I find joy in the comment of the kid that says, "You are an A+ teacher," as he reads my coffee cup.  I find joy in the fact that a dreaded faculty meeting is cut short.

I make the choice to be thankful.

I make the choice to find joy.

What about you?  What choice are you making?

Five Minute Friday: Joy

 

 Yes, I know it is Saturday, but I have time for a little Five Minute Friday.  I love it.  Five minutes. A writing prompt.  Words flowing.  Thanks Lisa-Jo for this time.

Go.
 

You know what the Bible says, “Joy comes in the morning.”  Have you ever felt that joy? The joy that you find in the depths of your soul when there seems to be nothing else to hold on to?

Ann Voskamp talks of gratitude. Being thankful for the little things.  That there’s beauty in the ashes. 

You know that sounds all good and everything, but is it real?  Can you find joy in the ashes? In the ugliness of life?

Yes.  Jesus is there. 

He found me as I lay naked on the bathroom floor losing a baby.  He reminded me how blessed I already was: 3 healthy children, a husband who adored me.  The salvation and eternal life found in him. 

Yes, my heart aches. This baby was due to arrive in two weeks from the moment I am typing these words about joy.  I won’t know the joy of holding this babe after birth, watching him (or her) grow and learn, laugh and cry, love and fight with siblings.  But

There is joy in the morning.

There is joy in knowing that God knows something I don’t. That, even though it hurts, His plan is much better than my own. There is joy in trusting Him.  Yes, sorrow may last for the night, but joy definitely comes in the morning. 

For the Brokenhearted

Yesterday in Sunday school, we talked a lot about how some things just aren't fair and how sometimes God just seems so far away from us. We were led into a conversation about choices and how those choices pull us away from God. 

It is hard to admit sometimes that we make choices that get us into a pit. We wonder how we got there and wonder why God allowed it to happen. 

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that God does not force himself on us.  He has blessed us with having a choice. 

However, recent events remind me that not everything that happens occurs because of something we did.  It is a matter of God and his timing and purpose.

We will never fully understand God's ways. We aren't meant to. There comes a time in our lives when we will be the brokenhearted.  For me, one of those times was losing my fourth child due to miscarriage.

I don't know why I (or any woman for that matter) was "allowed" to go through a miscarriage. As much as it still hurts, I believe, I must believe, that there was a purpose.  God uses everything for a higher purpose. 

Was it to teach me to pray more and follow God's plan before deciding on my own it was time to expand my family, to wait for Him for those big decisions?  Was it to teach me the frailty of life?  Was it to get me to slow down and grow closer to Him?  Was it to be able to be there for other women who go through the same thing, or open the hearts of those that have experienced it in the past so they may be willing to share their experience?

I simply don't know.

I do know that months later, it still hurts.  It sneaks up on you.  You see your pregnant friends walking, more like waddling around, awaiting the joy of the birth of their first child.  It dawns on you that you won't be having that moment.  You are driving in the car with your three boys and the instant replay of moment you truly lost that child fills your mind, and you fight back tears.  It is the sickening feeling you get when you pray, "God, what am I supposed to do? Do I try for another child or is my family complete the way it is?"  Sometimes I don't want to know the answer. It hurts too bad to think that my body will never nurture a new life, that my arms will never hold that newborn.  It hurts to think that my youngest son will never know the joy of seeing his baby brother or sister for the first times after months of wondering why mommy is getting so fat. 

That is one of my brokenhearted trials. 

But I know that there is good news in this hurt. 

God loves me and is there for me. 

That is enough.

Regardless of how badly I missed my husband and prayed for his safe return home from a war zone, God was enough.

Regardless of how scared I was as my middle child lay lethargic in my arms countless nights because he couldn't breath, God was enough.

Regardless of how I feared the word Cancer when I had my first mammogram, God was enough.

Regardless of how the unknown pains that could be caused by leukemia in my child, God was enough.

Regardless....God is enough.

Psalm 34:18 says that The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.   In whatever dark moment I was in, I felt God near me.  I felt Him calm me as I held a sick child. I felt His peace when I knew my husband's compound was under attack at that moment. I felt His love and comfort as my weakened body lost a baby.   God got me through those moments. He provided everything I needed.

He did that for me.  He can do that for you. 

I know there are so many people that are broken in so many ways. I have friends that are going through their own personal hell. I lift them in prayer, so they will know that God is enough. 

If my words sound simple or easy, that knowing God is enough comes easily, let me be clear on one thing: It isn't easy.  I have spent a lot of time with the Lord.  I have spend time with Him through praise and worship at church and in the privacy of my home, car, or classroom. I have spent time in Christian fellowship with those who have lifted me in prayer. I have spent time in prayer, not only letting Him know my requests, but also in prayers of thanksgiving and listening to Him.  I have spent time in His Word.  I have asked for His guidance while reading and worked hard to understand scripture.  I am not claiming to be perfect in all of these things, but I am saying that the time I have spent with Him when things are blue skies and sunshine, have paved the way for Him to reveal himself to me in times of heartache and sorrow. 

Time spent with the Lord is not time wasted.  All to often we say we don't have time to pray, we don't have time to study scripture.  But we do.  We turn off the TV. We put down the cell phones. We turn away from the Internet. We spend that time on and with the Lord.  Those few moments that we dedicate to Him each day will have an eternal impact on our lives and the lives of others.

We will all experience a broken heart. Spending time with God now will help us through the difficult times that await us.

You know, those things

Do you have a thing that brings your comfort?  Something that just makes you feel good? 

I have a thing for coffee cups. 

They bring me comfort. 

I can get up in the morning, open my cabinet and be drawn to a cup.  Freaky, I know.  I have favorites. My Relay for Life cups. My Navy Pier cup. My cup covered in gold stars. My Psalm 118:24 cup. My Space Camp cup (boy, did that one get this mama through a week of Space Camp last summer!).

Basically for whatever season we are having, there is a cup. For whatever mood I'm in, there is cup. For whatever I'm going through, there is a cup.

At least so I thought.

Recently, I opened my cabinet door and just stood there.  I didn't have a cup to match what I was feeling. I didn't have cup to match what I was going through. Choosing a coffee cup that morning was hard. And I cried.

To help me find what I was looking for, I ordered one with Carson's artwork from school (hopefully it will arrive one day) and one with Colin's artwork from school (Colin saw it and made me wrap it up so he could give it to me for Christmas). I had hoped those would help me out.  

I got about 5 new Christmas coffee cups from students yesterday.  But I also got this one from Angela who works in my classroom. It reminded me of something very important.

What I was searching for that morning wasn't a coffee cup. My joy doesn't come from a coffee cup. My joy comes from Jesus.  I was searching for Him.  Regardless of the weather, my mood, or my circumstances, Jesus never changes.  His love overflows from my cup. He has come so my joy may be full, no matter what coffee cup I am using.

Joy is....

Several bloggers I enjoy keeping up with have chosen their word or theme for the new year. You may remember that mine is LIVE.    I thought a good way to live is join fellow blogger Nicole in finding JOY  in my everyday life. 

So today, I LIVE by the JOY found in the innocence of 5 year olds.  These moments won't last forever.