Walking the Passage: I come from Laughter... November 13, 2013 ... Day 13 of the Joy Challenge

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

I come from Laughter... November 13, 2013 ... Day 13 of the Joy Challenge

Joy is being defined and redefined for me as I walk through these days....

The components I wondered about have played there parts however new elements have also been added... The JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH... What does that mean on a tangible, day to day basis?

Leaping into...

Gladness

Strength

Sorrow

Discovery

Living....

13 for the day... Moments 79-92 for the Joy Challenge......

1) Smelling my 4 years old toes... YUP! As disgusting as it sounds the opportunity presented itself one sweet and quiet afternoon and I held onto those toes and took a deep sniff... It was gross but the giggles will last me a life time....

2) Standing on my porch in the morning .. pausing .. stretching.. closing my eyes and feeling the cold air upon my face.. it is in the pausing that the joy comes.. I hate the cold.. But learning to pause more and more in life.. whether it be 30 seconds or 30 minutes or 30 hours.. learning to put the pause button on and take the time..

3)Putting my phone away... again whether it is 30 minutes or a whole day.. that phone goes away and surprisingly life goes on and is actually even extremely satisfying...

4) Saying what is on my mind.. Ceasing to edit every word or thought that would come forth from my mouth.. Why is this joyous? Because fear used to keep it closed off... Whether I am right or wrong or just plain ugly.. sometimes Mims unedited is what I must do for myself....

5) Seeing my oldest son... Learning that with the other 5 moments are fleeting.. grab each one while not being held captive to the idea of having to grab each one... but realizing and appreciating life goes on and on.. it is worth it to take captive moments and not just let them slip by ....

6) Talking to neighbors... I spend so much of my life in the arena of ministry/church.. I take great joy and delight in the fact when I have great conversations with the people who surround out my life.. I must have more of these

7) Seeing old friends and laughing and crying and being quiet together.... That speaks for itself

8) Realizing that the evening doesn't get to stay.. that the morning does indeed come as does joy..

9)Joy comes when I realize I can reach out and say I'm afraid, I'm tired, I'm lonely, I'm scared, I'm overwhelmed.. Joy comes when I know that there are people who love me and who those words can be heard and I can be prayed for and not judged.... that is a huge source of JOY... Learning that as a leader.. especially as a leader I can be just me and matter of fact NOTHING else is really ever being asked .. NOT by the people who matter and NOT by God.

10) Starting a book club... Again looking to meet more of those neighbors.. doing something just for the fun of it....

11) Cleaning the house.. Sometimes the small tasks that actually have immediate or not so immediate (5 hours cleaning up a room ) are so worth it... Joy at a task completed and the impact it makes upon the recipient..

12) Playing with our dog... He is a golden retriever... and his name is Lincoln and he is a kind ole soul with very bad breath who just wants to be patted... He gives me great joy...

13) Letting the hot water of a shower at the end of the day cascade down my shoulders and pray that it washes away not just the dirt but the day.. picturing being washed by the water of the word undid me last night and it was joyous...

Pausing.. grabbing... celebrating.. the quiet and not so quiet, the calm and not so calm, the mess and the things that actually work... this is life.. and in it there will be trials and tribulations.. LEARNING to be less and less afraid as I hold the hand of the One who Overcomes it all......

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One of my Favorite Narnian Quotes...

“One word, Ma’am,” he said, coming back from the fire; limping because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things – trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world that makes you real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for the Overland.

A Brilliant Quote from Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,

but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?"

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking

so that others won't feel unsure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in every one.

As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.