WORD WEDNESDAY - Psalms of Joy

This year I have chosen JOY!

Today I choose JOY!

My Word for the Year is JOY!

And, today I share this JOY DAY with a quote from Mother Teresa; a few passages from my favorite Book in the Bible, the Psalms; and a prayer from a "Chilean woman".



Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997):

"Joy is prayer.

Joy is strength.

Joy is love.

Joy is a net of love

with which we can "catch souls."

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"But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy."  (Ps. 5:11a - NRSV)

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"You show me the path of life, In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  (Ps. 16:11 - NRSV)

 "For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning."  (Ps. 30:5 - NRSV)

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"Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance.  (Ps. 35:9 - NRSV)

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"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing."  (Ps. 100:1 - NRSV)



I know there are so many more messages of Joy in the scriptures; I'll be exploring more of them in a future post - "More Psalms of Joy."
And, to close today's Word Wednesday, I am sharing from the book, "Soul Weavings - A Gathering of Women's Prayers" edited by Lyn Klug.  This prayer is written by "a Chilean woman" and is titled, simply, "Magnificat":

"Magnificat

With pride and dignity

I sing my song of joy

     when I feel the Lord's presence;

I am poor and very ordinary,

     but one day the Lord looked upon me

And the history of the poor

will give witness to my joy.

God is unfettered and unpredictable,

     He is called our great friend.

And throughout our history

He has favored those of us who are weak.

His triumphant force shows itself each day

     when He exposes

the foolishness of the powerful.

He uncovers the feet of clay of those in power,

     and nourishes the yearning of the poor.

To those who come hungry

He gives bread and wine.

And to the wealthy

He exposes their selfishness

     and the emptiness of their ways.

This is God's desire:

always to favor the poor.

Now finally we can walk.

He is faithful to His promises."

Thank you for checking out this week's post for my Word of the Year!