Do you have Enough Joy?!

1 Peter 3:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy

Joy, SUCH joy!!  What does joy mean to you?  As I sit here writing this, I am literally counting the hours, Yes I am really counting hours (36 to be exact), until my youngest child will be born.  You see, I am having a scheduled cesarean section early due to some complications, so therefore I know the exact hour in which I will give birth, hear that beautiful cry of new life, and finally see the face of this precious child that I have been carrying for 9 months now.  Sure I have felt her move for many months now, and we have seen her on the ultrasound machine many times, but that is nothing compared to seeing her in the flesh, face to face.  I can touch her, kiss her, hold her, smell her.  If you are a parent yourself, then what I am describing to you is nothing you have not experienced.  For most of us, it is one of the single most important and memorable moments of our lives.  Why wouldn't it be?!  We have waited for this for months, and sometimes even for many many years. We should be excited, overjoyed, and completely in awe of what we just witnessed and what we can now see.  Of course, whether you have a situation like mine where it is scheduled, or even if you just have a estimated date when baby will be making that arrival, we plan and prepare like crazy.  Bringing a new baby into the world takes a ton of preparation, planning, praying, re-arranging, the list goes on and on.  So do you sit back and wait for that baby to arrive before painting the nursery, buying that crib, getting them clothes?  Of course not!  Number one, you are excited so you eagerly prep for that child, sometimes preparing way in advance of what is actually needed "just in case."  Number two, it would just not be practical nor logical to wait for the baby to arrive before getting the must-have supplies, right?!  You do everything that you can to be ready far in advance and do not leave any stone that you can think of un-turned.  That joy, that anticipation, tends to consume our every thought, especially near the end.  Sometimes I feel bad for those I come into contact with because all I hear come out of my mouth is baby, baby, BABY!  But I can not help it!  It happens to be all consuming and hard to just push out of your mind.  Well, this brings me back to God.  And no, not for the usual reason of children being God's blessings and rewards from him (which they are but that is not where I am going THIS time.)

Where my thoughts led the other night was to this...

That joy, that excitement, that anticipation, that overwhelming consuming fire going on inside;  this is how we SHOULD feel about seeing Jesus.  Even though earth-side we can not see him, can not feel him in the flesh, we know that he is there and we love him.   Like the unseen child for  those first 9 months, you love them regardless of the fact you have never really seen or touched them.  He literally died for us, and once we have accepted and claimed that, we should be so excited to know that we will one day meet him, Face to Face!!  With this knowledge, we need to be diligent in making sure that we are preparing for that day.  This life is not just a mindless journey that we have to endure until we meet our maker.  We each have a God given purpose to seek Him, to seek His face, in all we do.  Are you excited?  Are you overjoyed?  Are you anticipating that reunion with the Father?  If so, how are you preparing?  Are you waiting until the very end, or until the ship has already sailed, to get ready? I, myself, refuse to wait.  I want to be ready now!  In my every day life I want to be on fire for Him so that others may see the joy that knowing Him brings.  We are even instructed to "Consider it Pure Joy when you face trials."  That is so powerful!  We are expected to be joyful no matter what situation we are in here on Earth, not just when we are going through the good times, or when we have exciting earthly things to look forward to.  Be joyful in ALL you do!!  If you are excited about something, everyone around you will see that, and whether they walk away, or get excited with you, I guarantee you left them with something to think about.  

~Blessed Beyond the Curse~

Wow!!!  I have being meaning to post for some time now as I knew it had been awhile, but had no clue it has been almost a whole year!!  My last post was April 2012.  I guess that is really proof on how time truly flies by.  So now I have a whole year to reflect on.  When I look back through this past year the general theme in my life has been "Blessed Beyond the Curse."  Why, you may ask?  The answer is actually very simple.  No matter how hard the world tries to knock us off our feet, our foundation is so rooted in Christ that I can not help but realize how blessed we are even though the circumstances are against us.  

Last April was a generally happy time, my husband and son were back home, we were on track to buying a new home, and life seemed like it would start looking more "normal" for our family.  However our worst fear at the time, was coming true.  Steve's mom was getting sicker and weaker and it was obvious that aside from some sort of miracle, she would not have much time left with us here on earth.  Being that we had known for over a year that her body was full of cancer, I had the idea that as hard as it would be to lose her, that we were somehow more prepared because we had known for so long.  We lost her June 7th, and then I realized how wrong, very very wrong, I had been.  More than 9 months later, I am still struggling with the loss.  We had grown very close in the couple years before this, especially when my husband was out of the home.  We talked daily, sometimes for hours, as well as skyped so her and the kids could "see" each other. (Side note: She lived 5 hours away, making real visits less possible than we would have liked.) She was my second rock (God first) throughout the horrible nightmare we were stuck in.  Even though that was over, she was still the person I called along with my own mom, every time there was anything to share, big or small.  That is one of the biggest things I struggle with, not being able to call her when I normally would have, that piece will always be missing I am afraid.  
We were fortunate to spend Easter with her, along with about a week in May over Mother's Day, and I will always cherish that time.  During all that we were finalizing the purchase of our new house, which had been basically a big surprise Gift from God.  June 1st after we had closed, we called to tell them the good news, and it was then that his Dad said that she had been put on hospice just that day.  We had such a joyous day planned at the new house, had a picnic planned with the kids there to celebrate.  It was so hard to deal with two very different emotional events at once, and to keep it together for the kids.  We then managed to get somethings started at the new house (we had to be out of the rental by end of June so was push-shove) so that Steve could go back up to spend the final days with his mom.  Then there was the trip for the funeral, as well as the funeral close to home for my uncle that passed unexpectedly 2 days before my mother-in-law.  It was a mess.  When we were back home we worked our tails off to get the house ready and to get all moved in within the time frame, we literally moved the last of our things from the rental on the last day possible!  

In the midst of all of this, we were so blessed to find a new church home that was pretty close to home.  (Yes 13 miles is close when you live in the middle of farmville!)  It was amazing how we just fit right in.  Very small, spirit filled, and a handful of large families.   May not be everyone's dream church, but it is ours.  One of the best parts?  Meeting my now bestie and hitting it off like we had known each other for years.  I had prayed for a friend like this since we had moved down here, that was almost 3 years!  I had friends sure, but not THAT kind of friend.  The kind you can tell anything to without fear of judgement, the kind that knows you are not perfect but doesn't care, the kind that will pray for you without second thought, the kind that every time you talk you realize you have even more in common with, the kind that makes it a priority to check in with you if you haven't talked for a few days, the kind that makes you KNOW that you are truly loved and blessed.  God knows are every need, our every desire, and he has yet to leave me hanging.  I am so thankful that he brought Lisa into my life, and not a moment to late.  

This is just a part of why we are so Blessed Beyond the Curse and I plan on this being a several part post as there is so much more.  Happy Spring!!!