WORD WEDNESDAY - Shared Joy

Today for my "Word Wednesday" post, I am excited - and honored - to share the joy of a new book that launched on Monday!!

And, not only is this shared joy a "double joy", it is a "150 times or more" joy!!




The "Five Minute Friday" Book released on Monday, September 26th!  

This collection of stories from the FMF Family is an amazing compilation of over 150 contributors - and is the first in the history of the Five Minute Friday community!

And, I am honored to be one of the 150 contributors.

Though I am familiar with many of the names of contributors from the "write31days" challenge and the weekly Five Minute Friday posts, there are still many new writers I am getting to know through their words in the book.

Each of the posts included in the book have been shared during a Five Minute Friday weekly link-up, or during a "write31days" annual challenge.

What is Five Minute Friday? you ask.  It's a weekly link-up where a word prompt is given at 10:00 pm (EST), and everyone participating writes their post using that word ... in only five minutes!

That's right!!  Only five minutes, no editing, no worries about grammar or sentence structure or  ... even making sense!!

In the Forward of the FMF book, Lisa-Jo Baker confesses that it took her more than five minutes to write the forward ... well, I also must confess to "running out of time" before "running out of words" during many of the Five Minute Friday posts I have written!!  But, that is quite alright!

Just imagine hundreds of people writing a post using the same word prompt.  The posts could go in so many directions; and, then again, they could almost mimic each other!  And that's what makes this challenge so ... challenging!

The Five Minute Friday word prompt idea joined with the write31days challenge in October 2014, using the free writes word prompt for each day's post.  This year will be my second year to join the FMF family and the third year of participating in the 31 days challenge.   

I, personally, am so very thankful to Kate Motaung and Susan Shipe for their hard work in getting the book put together and published ... and for the FMF link-up and Facebook "survivor" group!  Check out this group 31 Day Survivors/We're Better Together - a virtual "support group" for those of us who have "survived" the 31 day challenges!

I am also excited to announce that the proceeds from sales of the FMF book will be supporting two ministries in South Africa:

The Vine School and Ten Dollar Tribe

Be sure to check out these ministries at the links above; and order your copy of the "Five Minute Friday" book at Amazon.

So, pick up your pen and paper, or sit down at your computer and write on!  You might even be encouraged to join the FMF family!!

WORD WEDNESDAY - The Joy of Cats

The past few weeks have been quite busy, in one way or the other; and I haven't written a Word Wednesday post...

In fact, I've found it rather hard to even think about joy, much less write about it!

But, as I was browsing Facebook, and some of the posts from my online friends, I spotted one that always posts a "Cat-urday" picture of her cats on Saturdays...and shared "The Joy of Cats" as a source for more photos!

So, I thought why not lighten up this joy feeling by sharing a few photos of my cat!

Because, even if I'm not really feeling very joyful, she is always there to cuddle with and help bring a smile to my face.

When I am at my computer,

this is where she lies...

most of the time!

She would like to think

this was her bed;

it isn't!

Just let me drag out the suitcase,

and she knows something is up!

She loves boxes

as much as I love Diet Pepsi!

And, that's my joyful post for this week's Word Wednesday!

WORD WEDNESDAY - The Beginning of Joy

The beginning of this year...

I chose JOY!

I chose the word, Joy - or the word chose me - for my word of the year!

My intent was to write a weekly post on the word, using "Word Wednesday" for the label.  I've written and published 25, missing a few here and there.



Lately, I haven't felt much joy; not really sadness, or depression, but certainly not happiness or even joy...

But, joy is my word for the year!  How can I not feel joy?



Occasionally I receive devotions from Crosswalk.com such as "Girlfriends in God", Daily Hope with Rick Warren", Proverbs 31, "Upwords" with Max Lucado, as well as others.

Sometimes one just seems to pop out at me and I save it for future reference!  One such devotion was called "The Beginning of Joy," by Max Lucado taken from the book "The Applause of Heaven."

Here it is - it's short so I'll just share the full content of the post:


"In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” You’ve been there. You’re turned your back on the noise and sought his voice. You’ve stepped away from the masses and followed the Master as he led you up the winding path to the summit. His summit. Clean air. Clear view. Crisp breeze. The roar of the marketplace is down there, and the perspective of the peak is up here. Gently he invited you to sit on the rock and look out with him at the ancient peaks that will never erode.

Just remember, he says, you’ll go nowhere tomorrow that I haven’t already been. Truth will still triumph. Death will still die. The victory is still yours. And delight is one decision away--seize it! Joy begins by breathing deep up there before you go crazy down here!


Yes!  Jesus invites us to come to Him; to rest with Him.  He invites us to get away from the hustle and bustle, the noise and the chaos...

To join Him where we can look upon what is happening "down here"; perhaps gain a different perspective on what is happening in our lives.

Once we can remove ourselves from all that prevents us from our joy - from the hustle and bustle, etc. - maybe we can begin to find the joy once again.

And, when we find the joy again, we can share it with others who may have lost their joy.

Joy is around us every day...

We may just have to look harder some days to find it; but it's there!

Joy is in the small things; and it's in the big things, too...but, remember:

May you find your joy today and every day!

WORD WEDNESDAY - "I Call it Joy"

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This year I am choosing JOY...

But, what IS JOY?

Where does JOY come from?

In "Surprised by Joy," C. S. Lewis says:

"I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and from Pleasure.  Joy (in my sense) has indeed on characteristic, and one only, in common with them:  the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again.

"Apart from that, and considered only it its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief.  But, then it is a kind we want.

"I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world.  But then Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is."



I am certainly not an expert on C. S. Lewis; nor am I an expert on Joy!

And, I won't even try to interpret what Lewis was trying to say.  



Joy is not Happiness, nor is it Pleasure.  

But, Joy is that bubbly feeling one gets from the Happiness or the Pleasure they receive.



And, according to Joy from the movie "Inside Out", Joy is Everything!

Joy is a passion and can be described by many other words such a "excitement"; "gladness", "exultation", and "exhilaration"...

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Some mighty big words to describe that feeling we all have from time to time; hopefully, many times!

Yet, Joy is a mighty big emotion!!

And, Joy is also an assurance that God has it all under control...

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Joy is all around us; and I choose Joy because I'd rather be joyful than to be unhappy and sad!

I find Joy in the smiles of my grandchildren; the giggles and laughter I hear when they are around.  I find Joy in watching as my two daughters share with each other...not like they in their "childhood", but as they do in their "adulthood".  I find Joy watching children and dancing and singing and happy movies on TV.  And, I find Joy connecting with many friends through my hobbies of scrapbooking, cardmaking and other crafts, and that of writing and blogging.

Today I Choose Joy!

WORD WEDNESDAY - Sing for Joy

During the summer, we are studying the Psalms and how they relate to the hymns we sing.  Last week in our Adult Sunday School class, we were asked this question:

"Why do we sing?  Why do God's people sing in worship?"

Of course there were a lot of very valid answers to this question!  My answer fits perfectly with my Word for the Year:

"We sing because we are joyful and want to praise God for that joy.  We sing because of our gratitude to God."

Which brings us back to the "formula" I shared last week:

Grace + Thanksgiving = Joy

The psalmist had a lot to say about singing and shouting for joy.  Let's take a look at a few of the Psalms:

"O come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to

the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence

with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise

to him with songs of praise."

Psalm 95:1-2 (NRSV)

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"Sing aloud to God our strength;

shout for joy to the God of Jacob."

Psalm 81:1 (NRSV)

There are many more psalms that speak of singing and shouting and lifting praises to God.  There are many that seek God in the midst of our sorrow.

So, why do you sing?

"I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free!  For His eye is on the sparrow; and I know He watches me!"

No matter if I am happy or sad; joyful or not...

I will lift my voice to the heavens, for "I know He watches me" just as He does that little sparrow.

WORD WEDNESDAY - Grace + Thanksgiving = JOY

This year - I have chosen the word JOY for my word.  Actually, I think the word JOY chose me!  As I was contemplating a "word for the year", I kept reading scriptures about joy; heard songs with the word joy; read joyful stories...



Yes, that was definitely the right word!


Now it is halfway through the year.  I didn't write every week; though I have attempted to keep up the writing.

It hasn't been easy!  I didn't think I had anything for this week...

But, while reading my devotions the last couple of

 mornings, from Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts Devotional", it occurred to me:

"There is so much joy in here!  Especially when she writes about 'Eucharisteo'."

So, here we go...

When I first saw that word - Eucharisteo - I thought, "WHAT?!"  I had heard "eucharist" in relation to communion; but this was more...

And I had to read more; to understand.

Simply put, Eucharisteo is a verb meaning "to be grateful, to feel thankful.  A gratitude that leads to joy and grace."

As Ann Voskamp puts it, Eucharisteo is:  "Grace + Thanksgiving = Joy"...

And I found this on Pinterest:  Eucharisteo is "a Greek word rooted in thanksgiving.  As we accept God's gift (grace), and give thanks for those gifts, we experience joy!"

So, I began to follow Ann's "1000 Gifts", finding God's gifts (or blessings) all around me.

GRACE

Sometimes I think back to things I've done in my life...not the good things; those "other" things that I am ashamed I did.  Those things that He forgives me of; yet, I can't even remember if I even confessed them.  Yes, I know He knows; just as I know He forgives, if we confess our sins.

And, that's why I "wonder" if I actually confessed to Him.  Yet, I also know there is His Grace.

We can also show grace...






THANKSGIVING

We are told to "give thanks" - in everything ..."Through It All!"  Give thanks!  No matter how good or bad or whatever...

I read the following words on Ann Voskamp's website, found here;  called "Mother Letters", it says:

And, a response to these words:  "And one day you'll look back, and you'll laugh at the embarrassing, see the purpose in the pain, and realize that it was all meant to be.  And that makes it good."

So, giving thanks to God for my life's experiences - "the good, the bad, the beautiful, the inspiring, the not-so-glamorous" - I know from giving thanks for His Grace...

There comes...

JOY

When we receive God's Grace, giving thanks in all things, we receive joy!

Ann Voskamp says, "Holy Joy...lies in the habit of murmuring thanks to God for the smallest of graces."

So, as I count the blessings God gives every day, I give Him thanks for all - the smallest to the greatest to the unknown!

And find joy...

Today I am sharing words from my "1000 Gifts" journal, where I have been writing my gifts (blessings) received from God;

And learning Eucharisteo: where Grace plus Thanksgiving brings us JOY!

And, joy...

That IS what Word Wednesday is all about!

May you find your joy!

WORD WEDNESDAY - There IS Joy!

Four years ago today, I received the phone call...

My mom had passed away.

She was receiving a breathing treatment in the nursing home where she had lived for nearly six years...

That was a hard phone call to receive!

I had seen her on Sunday; it was Friday.

I was devastated; I couldn't understand...

How?  Why?  What happened?

While taking her breathing treatment, she asked the nurse if it was time for her pain medicine.

When the nurse returned with the medicine...

Mom had passed on to her Heavenly Home.

But...

There IS Joy!

As I look back, I remember the effort it took for her to breathe.  I remember the pain she was in from arthritis and other medical issues.  In death, she was no longer struggling to breathe; no longer in pain.

She lived life to the fullest, as long as she was able to do so.  Even during the six years she lived at the nursing home; she did not just lay back and let life pass her by.

When she first went into the nursing home, she was able to get out once in a while to go shopping, to church or even out to eat with her family; but when she just couldn't handle getting out, we brought the "out to eat" in for her; or joined her in the dining room to eat with her.

She was involved in the activities at the nursing home, including Bingo - her favorite -Scrabble and other board games; jigsaw puzzles - another favorite; or the many word games the activity team came up with.

She loved when her family would come on a Saturday afternoon to play a game of Bingo with her. 





Or sit with her for the afternoon's entertainment.

And, she was always in attendance when special entertainment was on the agenda; music, or sing-alongs, and other activities.

Yes, mom enjoyed her life to the fullest...

Until the very end.

My brother spoke at her service, sharing memories of our mom and dad dancing along with the old Lawrence Welk shows; he envisioned her dancing across heaven with my dad, her sweetheart.  I could just see my parents in each others' arms once again.

There IS Joy!

And, I think of all the other loved ones who had passed before her, and the reunions they must have had once she joined them...

Being reunited with the mother she had never met; and I wonder, did her mother know this precious one?  Read more here.

I truly feel there was joy when they "met" each other, and when she reunited with my father!

Every day may not be joy filled!  But, every day we can find some kind of joy, something that keeps us joy full!

After my mother passed, I discovered a typed document with a hand-written letter tucked between the pages.

These documents included the actual memorial words shared by the minister at my grandmother's service; and a letter dated a few days before her death on December 30, 1930...the date of my mother's birth.

Read more in my Random Journal Day post from March 6, 2015, found here.

I want to end this week's Word Wednesday with a portion of the words from this memorial service for my grandmother:

"In our sadness at parting from her in this life, we can glory in the crown of her womanhood, and pray for courage to continue to face life bravely, and touch life and live life even as she did, and leave our mark upon it, while we have our being."

My mother may not have known her mother, but she clearly faced her life bravely; she clearly touched life and lived life and left her mark upon all those around her...as did her mother.

Fredrika "Betty" Moore Harris

12/30/30 - 6/22/12

In Sadness, There IS Joy!

Even In Death, There IS Joy!


And, I can only hope and pray to live my life as she and her mother did!

WORD WEDNESDAY - Where Is Joy?

Yes, I have chosen "JOY" for my Word of the Year 2016...

But, because it is what is on my mind...and because it is so fresh...

I just can't find the joy in what has happened "down the road a mile or so" from where I live.  I can't go on in the same ways I did just a couple of weeks ago.

So much, and so much more...

Where will it end?

Where is the joy in living when so much dying is all around us?

It's hard, I know; yet...

I woke up on a "normal" Sunday morning; only to learn during church of the shootings in Orlando.  And, I did what I normally do on a Sunday.

I woke up on a "normal" Monday morning; and the news continued on and on and on to talk about the shooting and the victims and the shooter.  And, I did what I normally do on a Monday; but I avoided listening to the TV.

But, these weren't normal days, for me or for anyone.  These were just a couple more days following another tragedy; another shooting; and more violence...

And, for many, life didn't go on as "normal"; their life had changed in an instant of violence never to be forgotten.

We hear sooooo much of it taking place all around us.

And...

Where is the joy?

Where is the happiness in the "happiest place on earth"?

But, then I start hearing stories of what people are doing for one another, in the aftermath of this - and other - tragedies.

People reaching out in the ways they can to help each other cope, grieve, go on in the only ways they can.

And then...

Another tragedy in the same city...the "happiest place" that may no longer be known as the "happiest place on earth".  That "magic" place that may hold different meaning for many people.

Yet...

The good can be found; and the joy can be found and...

We do go on;

But, we don't forget...

We won't forget...

Can't forget!

WORD WEDNESDAY - Joyful Songs

Almost every week so far this year, I've written about the word "Joy" - my "Word for the Year".  I felt that was what God was showing me; so many things with that word had been placed before me...

I still feel as if He is guiding me to share "Joy" with all those with whom I come into contact.

Today, I'm thinking of "Joyful Songs"...

Songs that make me happy when I sing them, or hear them on the radio or television.

There are so many "joyful songs" that it's a bit hard to post all of them...

So, I share those that make me especially happy; like "I've Got the Joy Joy Joy..."

Because Joy does come from deep down in my heart! 

Last week, I couldn't help but share this "JOY" song performed by a bunch of cute kittens!

Check it out here ! 



 I especially love to sing with my grandchildren; songs like "If You're Happy and You Know It", or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", or any song...with the motions, of course! 

Today, I will share children singing "I've Got the Joy Joy Joy...", for you to enjoy!

Now, this is  more like it sounds when I'm doing it with my grandchildren, including all of the movements and jumping and...

JOY!

That deep down in my heart...JOY!

And, with joy comes happiness...

Check out Pharrell Williams and his "Happy" song!

May you find the Joy in your life, whether through a bunch of silly joyful songs, or others that bring out the joy in you!

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