Thirsty Thursday – Happy verse Joy

Happy, happy, joy, joy ( LOL, couldn’t resist!)

Months ago we had this fruit of the spirit for our Sunday School class. Did you know there was a difference between the two? We taught our Youth the difference between happiness and joy that month as I learned right along!  Although they have some of the same characteristics they are extremely different! Who knew?!

I couldn’t tell you where I saw this a long time ago! But it is great so I am going to share it!

Happiness is like a thermometer that changes based on the environment around it. Joy is a thermostat that we can learn to set and will effect the environment around it.

Happiness

It’s an emotion usually directly related to circumstances that are currently happening.  Usually this is directly linked to pleasure. We get happy when are kids are being good for us. I know I am happy when my husband and I get our time alone. The pleasure of things going our way. All of the things that make a temporary happiness. Let’s be real here. When things don’t go our way, are broke, and more… we are no longer happy. We are sad.

Joy

Joy is an attitude of the heart. It comes from the heart! It’s the state in which we are knowing and serving our God. It is when you are in right relation with Him. We rejoice because we know that the Lord is good. The easiest way to explain this is... In a believer’s life we are not happy (we are sad) when a loved one passes on but we are joyful in the fact that we know where that person went. We know God gave them chance before the final judgment. We know that God is with us while we are grieving. Joy brings us peace in the middle of the storms. Doesn’t it just make you feel better thinking that way! We are joyful in life because we know God is with us at all times! God provides all of our needs. It makes me happy that I am going to have some extra money to help pay the bills, thanks to a new part time job. But it makes me joyful knowing that God did this for me! He is so good!

Some verses to check out:

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11. This is what happens when you build your life on pleasure.  We have to look beyond these things to find what will fill our hearts!

Philippians 4:4 talks about believers rejoicing because they are in the Lord.

Rejoicing in troubles. 1 Peter 1:6-8 and James 1:2

Romans 5:3-5. Paul tells us about rejoicing in suffering because of the final fruit that would result.

This is my prayer today. Comes from Romans 15:13

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. Amen!

Many, many blessings today and everyday!

Chele

Thirsty Thursday - The Word is a Lamp

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve my life, O Lord, acccording to your word. Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. The wicked have set a snare for
me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end."
Psalms 119:105-112

I was planning on doing the first verse "your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path". Then I read on...WOW! I love how God reveals over and over how if we do the right things His promises are there for us!

What it says to me

The Word is there to help us through this life. The times we struggle, our trials, our sufferings. The world is getting worse everyday. I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul!! I don't know anyone that does want to lose their soul!

This is one of my favorite songs ever! Enjoy and listen to the words! Lose my Soul by Toby Mac

We need the Word in our lives to get by until the end of days! We are to follow God's law! The part of preserving my life through sufferings... it hollers out to me that He will forgive and help us get back on the path we are meant to follow!! It is a promise that if we obey and do the righteous things in our lives, He will come through for us by protecting us, guiding us and loving us! God is Good! Reading the Word will help you through everyday trials. If you don't know how to pursue something. Pray to God, read the Word, listen and something will be revealed!! I am proof of that!

How about you? What does it say to you? Did you like the song?

Please remember Monday we will be starting Feeding Time- Weekly Bible Study! Please join us!

Many Blessings!

Chele

Thirsty Thursday - Give it ALL to God!

Since I have been on a kick about goals, I thought I really should do a short devotion on it! If you are new here, please refer back to my original post on Thirsty Thursday. This way you will understand what I am trying to do.

Galatians 3:3 says "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

WOW! We are all guilty of that. Especially being a woman, giving control over is hard! Although I do try to remember to give it all to God to handle and help! I am human so therefore I have been guilty of thinking I can do it on my own! And what a tragedy it ends up being when I don't let God do it! My #1 goal with this blog is to reach out to others and I refuse to control it, I will let God do His thing! I know that He will help with this as long as I keep that #1 goal first!

Romans 8:6 says "...but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

Thank you God! I can tell you that I could use that kind of life and peace 24/7! How about you? We are so busy with our lives and the earthly things that we forget that we can have this. God promises us right there in Romans! If we don't have this, it's our own fault! Give it to Him!

Lets pray...

Dear Lord, please forgive us for trying to do it all on our own! We need your help with ALL we do including the main goal we should all have, getting to Heaven to see You! Remind us always that we can not do this alone, no matter what it is! Give us the Spirit to do all things so that we can have the life and peace you promise!! In Jesus name we pray. AMEN!

What do these verses mean to you? You may post it on your own blog (but please remember to link back to us) or you can post it as a comment. Please do so. Reading God's word and talking about what it means to you is good for us all!!

Thirsty Thursday- Consistent and Obedient

First let me share my happiness with you! I was asked yesterday for a button so another blogger can put me on her blog! Oh the happiness! The problem was that I didn't know how to do it. With her help, I figured it out. (Thank you Julia for helping and asking!) Now I'm button happy! Haha! So here is the one I did for Thirsty Thursday. (If you want it for your blog to share, I will put it on the home page but I don't have it up yet!)






"Source of love, and light of day, Tear me from myself away; Every view and thought of mine Cast into the mould of thine; Teach, O teach this faithless heart a consistent constant part.
-Madame Guyon

I have no clue who this lady is but it so speaks my heart today! I struggle with being constant and obedient in my faith. I know I need to pray about it more so I can just give myself to Him to do His will. I get so stuck in the moment of everyday activities and needs that I forget about doing my devotions and reading the Word for me to grow as a Christian. Everything I do, I mean well but I forget to put what God wants from us first! I know I am not the only one that struggles with this! (Please tell me I'm not the only one!) This is why I am doing this every Thursday. It's to keep me accountable too! Don't get me wrong, my faith does interact with everything I say and do everyday but I want to be more! Don't you?

Deauteronomy 6:3 (NIV) says "Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you."

This kind of speaks to what I wrote about yesterday. You can see that here. If you obey the Lord, your dreams could come true! I told you, we can pray for the "milk and honey"!! God is Good, All the time!!!

My prayer is to be consistent in reading the Word, devotions, praying and acting it out! I believe that obedience and consistency will come together by doing these things!

Let's pray...
Lord, you know I mean well and I try everyday. Me trying on my own is not working. I need you. Help me to not feel I am too busy so that I can be obedient to you. Give me consistency to grow in You so that I may have what you promised! Thank you for helping me to see the things I'm missing. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!

Do you struggle with this too? Am I alone in this? What do these scriptures and/or sayings tell you at this moment? I want to hear if this is helping you too! I know it's helping me but my goal is to help my friends too!

Thirsty Thursday

No! Not that kind of Thirsty! LOL. As a believer we should be thirsty for God and His word. I will be doing a different verse every Thursday. We'll start with this one (seems appropriate!) I do believe that everytime you read the same verse, it can mean something different to you. Another words, what this verse means to me today could be totally different tomorrow when I read it.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6 NIV)

What this verse means to me today?
Right now in our community we are dealing with a horrible tragedy. 5 high schoolers were driving home from a friends house last Thursday night. He was speeding, overcorrected and hit a tree. All 5 were sent to the hospital. The 3 in the back seat were ejected. One died very soon after. One died Tuesday. The driver was released from the hospital yesterday. The driver was not drinking but word is that the others were. The driver made a horrible decision and I can't imagine the guilt he feels and his family feels. Erika and I both teach the Youth Sunday School. Of course, our Youth are also our family. Some of the youth are really having a hard time dealing with this. I haven't stopped praying about it since the news was told. I couldn't tell you how many times in the past week that I sat here and tears just started flowing. I feel for all involved and their families (the driver especially). I hurt for our Youth who are grieving for their friends. This has affected the whole community. All I could think of this morning was how God would want us to crave Him more at a time like this then any other. He would not want us to turn away. And as many young kids feel when something like this happens, why would God let this happen to a child? I had a lot of deaths of friends growing up...too many that any child should have to go through. Now that I read God's word and feel He is here with me, it really is not as hard as it was when I didn't know God. We need to thirst God's word and hunger for Him to be near. Not just at times like this but always!

I know that I need to crave this more instead of the cravings of the world. We all do. We are not perfect so we all at one time or another fall away from God. The difference between being a Christian is that we know how to get back in the "groove." Believing and trusting in God! Reading His word! Most of all, praying (or I like to call it Conversations with God).

What does this verse mean to you? You may post it on your own blog (but please remember to link back to us) or you can post it as a comment. Please do so. Reading God's word and talking about what it means to you, really makes you feel better!!

I feel so refreshed right now, weights lifting off my shoulders! I love how God heals us!