Christians Should Be Joyful

Last night, my husband delivered a sermon at our home congregation about the life of David: a man after God's own heart. One of Robert's points was about joy. He made the point that, as Christians, we are to be the most joyful people on the earth. After all, we have a hope and assurance of heaven that other people (who have chosen not to be close to God) simply do not have. We have riches beyond compare (in heaven awaiting us), we have plenteous blessings on this earth, and we have been given redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ's blood. For what cause could we NOT be joyful?!

Little did I know that in less than an hours time, Robert and I would be sitting on the side of the road in my Prius after a deer flew into our car. And yes, the deer flew into our car.

Here's what happened:

After speaking at East Hill, Robert had another speaking engagement about 15 miles away. We rushed away from services so that we could have enough time to get across the county. As we rolled out of the parking lot, Robert said, "We're making good time." And we were. We had plenty of time to get to the second congregation of the evening. Well, normally we would have had plenty of time....

The last thing I remember before the loud 'thud' was Robert saying this phrase in preparation for his upcoming sermon: "God is a spirit". Then BAM. It felt like a cinder block hit our car (going 50mph). I didn't see it, but Robert said that he saw the deer (that apparently first hit another car going the opposite direction) flying at our car with its head down and its hind end/tail sticking up in the air. Like I said, the deer flew at our vehicle.

Robert had great control of the vehicle (for which I am thankful). He pulled it off to the side of the road and got out to assess the damage. I was going to get out, but my door wouldn't open. I looked out the window and saw a large chunk of plastic (from my car) sitting beside me, so I assumed it was blocking my exit. False. Robert walked around the vehicle and shook his head, and I knew that ol' Julius (my Prius) had taken quite a blow.

Turns out, the deer did quite a number on Julius. As we were examining and trying to figure out what on earth we were going to do, a couple from our congregation pulled up next to us. Thankfully they had decided to go home instead of grabbing something to eat in town. On their way home, they saw us and first thought we had a flat tire. We only wish we did! They saved the day, really, because they took Robert on to his meeting and then brought me back to the vehicle where I waited with Robert's dad while the wrecker and the police officer came. Needless to say, it was quite an ordeal, and completely unexpected (as most accidents are).

All throughout the night last night and especially today upon further reflection, I have been thinking about Robert's sermon from last night. You see, I love my car. From the moment I bought it (in 2010) I have been completely attached to it. After all, what's not to love about 50mpg? And Julius has been good to me, so you can see where I would be really sad last night as I watched him being put onto the wrecker. And I'll admit: after I climbed out of the back seat last night and laid eyes on him for the first time, my immediate reaction was to cry (though I was in such a state of shock that I really couldn't). But here's the thing: Julius is just a car. While we are without our primary vehicle from now until who knows when, it's just a car. It's an earthly possession.

I could get all bent out of the shape over the process. I could get upset and angry and depressed that a lot of our plans are now either going to be cancelled or at the very least inconvenienced. But what was it that Robert said in his sermon last night? Ah yes, Christians are to be joyful.

Joy isn't fleeting like happiness. Happiness is pretty circumstantial is it not? Robert used the illustrations last night that some people will be happy when there's sunshine and sad when there's rain; they will be happy when something good happens to them but sad when something bad happens. Christians, on the other hand, aren't supposed to be that fickle. Our joy comes from Someone who will never disappoint us and Who has promised us everything. Sure, we may "fall into various trials", but James tells us to "consider it all joy" (James 1:2).

Throughout this process I could get irritable with the insurance adjuster for not calling me back or complain that this had to happen at such an inconvenient time or be moody and depressed, but that's not how I'm supposed to handle situations like this. I'm supposed to consider it all joy, because this process can produce something very valuable: patience (James 1:3).

I love my car and I do hope that it will be ok, but I know that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). That car isn't even mine; it's on loan from God. He has given us (me, Robert, you, everyone!) so many physical blessings and sometimes they're taken away. That doesn't mean I'm not still blessed, though, because I still have the gifts of redemption and forgiveness (gifts that will never be taken away from me should I continue to live faithfully). So my car is on a wrecker on some lot awaiting an inspection to see just how much damage was done. So I crushed my iPhone case with my Hulk-like strength as soon as I felt the deer hit our car (yes that really happened). Physical blessings can and will be taken away from us, but during those trials and situations, we have the option to choose to be joyful or choose to respond just like the rest of the world. God has called us to live differently (cf Rom.12:1-2). As a chosen generation and His own special people (1 Pet. 2:9), we must look, act, and respond differently than the world so that the world can see Who made the difference in us.

Don't be so attached to "your" stuff that you let it steal your joy when something bad happens to it. Just remember that it isn't yours and it doesn't really matter anyway.

"And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in His salvation." Psalm 35:9

Notice that the Psalmist said his soul was joyful in the Lord, not in physical things. Let your soul be joyful in God, and when something happens to all the stuff you have (and we all have SO much stuff, don't we?) it won't deplete your joy in the slightest.



**On an unrelated note, this article was written by a preacher friend of ours, Chris Clevenger, about my wonderful husband. Please go read it! It definitely brought some joy today.

Where I've Been

Hi!

I'm incredibly sorry for my way-too-long hiatus from my blog, and I promise not to be gone for so long anytime soon. Fortunately, the reasons I've been away have been outstanding things that have been happening, and I'm here to tell you about a couple of them.

First, we (Robert and I) left for PTP in the middle of August and spent an amazing 7 days around about 2500 Christians in Sevierville, TN. I heard dozens of lessons that I'm still trying to implement into my life, and I hope that I'll be able to share a few of them with you, too. Needless to say, though, after 12+ hours listening to lectures each day, I didn't have any time to write. So...I didn't.

As soon as we got back from PTP, we left for Kentucky so that Robert could speak at a youth rally. He did an amazing job as always, and it was great fun to be able to travel with him. Yet again we were on Eastern Time, so that threw off our schedule a bit and therefore...no blogging once again.

When we got home from Kentucky, WE MOVED! Talk about timing, huh? In which case, the next week was spent packing boxes, moving boxes, packing a UHAUL, unpacking boxes, moving furniture, buying things from Home Depot, fixing things, etc. Oh, and cleaning out our apartment. Once all of that was squared away, well, we didn't have internet at our new house, and you know what that means--no blogging.

BUT! Today, the wonderful little internet man came to our house and installed our internet, so here I am, telling you all about my last three weeks from the comfort of my new home. While this list has mostly been a catch up, quick overview, really it's a short, summarized list of blessings.

God has richly blessed our home and our little family, and we are so thankful and grateful for that. We live in such a wonderful place, surrrounded by wonderful people that God continually uses to bless us and enrich our lives. It is our prayer that we can use all of these things--PTP & our new home especially--to enrich the lives of those around us.

I am continually amazed by God's goodness and love. His blessings truly are new every morning. It seems that every day for the last month or so, I've been able to see even more clearly His hand in my life and His blessings around me. I am so thankful for all of these things, though I know that God is still good when the sunshine isn't out. For us, however, the sun has been shining brightly and we're praising God for all of the wonderful blessings He's provided.

What has the last three weeks looked like in your life? What kinds of things has God blessed you with? I'd love to know!

AND, I promise that if you'll come back, I'll blog even more! Thanks and okbye!

Why I Loved This Weekend

If you read my post from yesterday, it's no surprise to you that I am now the owner of a new iPad. I'm still getting adjusted to not having a laptop, but I don't think it will be a very difficult change. I have already fallen in love with dictation, iPhoto, the resolution, and everything else about it. That's reason enough to have a great weekend, right? The thing is, there is SO much more.

It all started Friday. I worked Friday morning until lunch, then had to take off and head toward Lawrenceburg to...wait for it...you can totally judge me for this...officially change my name. I'd been putting it off (for 8 months?!) because you can't do it right here in Pulaski. Who wants to go to a neighboring county to do it? Not this girl. Finally, though, I purposed in my heart that I couldn't put it off any longer. So, on an unseasonably warm March day I got in ole Julius and rode with the windows down all the way to Lawrenceburg.

I was prepared for a wait. I packed a book and my fully-charged iPhone in preparation. When I arrived at the social security office, there were no other cars there. I thought they were closed for lunch.

False.

I walked inside and was greeted by a precious security guard who told me the wait was five minutes. Ten minutes later I was in my car and on my way to the driver's license place.

I walked in the driver's license place expecting it to be like Huntsville--rude people, long lines, etc. Not so! Good old Lawrenceburg surprised me again with a two minute wait and a very helpful lady who officially welcomed me to Tennessee (though she wouldn't give me back my Alabama license and I was sad). By the time I got back to Pulaski, I'd spent 40 minutes driving and 20 minutes actually changing my name. This was a much easier process than I'd expected.

So, I decided to go and get my car tag. Easy-peasy again. The last thing on the list was changing my name at my bank. Blah. To do that, I had to go to Huntsville. You can't exactly call the bank and say, yeah I changed my name! Put a brand new name on my bank account that has a gazillion dollars in it (ha, funny). Making the day all the better, Robert decided to join me on the jaunt to Huntsvegas. I had warned him along the way that there was no way my luck could last in Huntsville. Any time I'd gone to the bank on a Friday afternoon in Huntsville the wait was atrocious. Anytime I went to the bank at ALL in Huntsville the wait was pretty bad. And yet, we rolled up in the parking lot, got out, asked the lady at the front where we needed to go, and she said she'd take us back and take care of it. 8 minutes later and we were out of there, too! The final remnant of Lauren (the old middle name that I dropped) was gone. I was no longer an Alabama resident. I no longer went by my given name. Nope, I was a new person from a new state with a new tag and a new license and a new social security card. AND IT WAS THE EASIEST PROCESS EVER.

I even got to meet my family at Rosie's (my all-time favorite place) for dinner, capping off a perfect day.

Let's move on to Saturday shall we? (As if this post isn't long enough already!)

Robert and I had planned to go to the Green Hills mall in Nashville, so we got up, got ready, and headed toward Franklin to get something to eat. It was another gorgeous day, traffic wasn't unbearable, we found an amazing parking spot within seconds (which, if you've been to green hills, you know how amazing this is). We had a productive shopping day, too. I got some new (incredibly discounted) pants from Loft, some practical items from the Container Store, had some cheesecake from--where else?--The Cheesecake Factory, and I got to spend all of that time with my amazing, wonderful husband. Oh, and then we had the best experience ever at the Apple Store. Just an all-around perfect day. As we were leaving I even used the phrase, "There's a rainbow in my heart." Who am I and what kind of perfect day possessed me? I don't use phrases like that. And yet, it was so befitting of that day.

Yesterday was also incredible. We got to worship with the saints at East Hill, which is always a blessing. We had an amazing Bible class on giving, then a great lesson on unity/fellowship. I had a nice lunch date with Robert, and then he went back up to the church building and I did the Sunday usual--Wal-Mart. Continuing my good luck streak, I didn't get stopped by any lights on the way and found an incredibly close parking spot the very first go-round. As I was leaving, the buggy guys even stopped and waited for me to finish unloading my groceries so they could take my cart for me. Like I said, good luck.

Next, I headed to the dollar tree to get wreath supplies. My sister texted me Saturday night and said she'd made a wreath with supplies from the dollar tree, and I decided to try it out. 15 minutes and 6 dollars later, I had all of my supplies. 20 minutes after getting home and unloading all of the supplies, my wreath was finished and hanging on my door.

Another perfect weekend in Pulaski if I do say so myself.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

I missed Friday's free for all, as I was busily preparing for East Hill's Christian Servants Day. And so, now that the day has concluded, I have a bit of free time before bed and I simply must get this post on "paper". Why? Well, Friday was a very special day that I cannot overlook.

Friday was February 24th, and since 2008 that day has been a special one. You see, on February 24th, 2008, I had just finished up my first weekend in Pulaski* with a group of friends and a boy I was very interested in. When we got back to Freed-Hardeman late that Sunday night, we parked in front of Hall Roland and piled out of our friend's Tahoe, unloaded the girls' suitcases, and all said our goodbyes. After reminiscing for a few minutes with my best friend, AP, inside our dorm room**, I decided I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to talk to that boy.

He willingly drove back from his dorm and picked me up in front of HRH, and we drove around the small town of Henderson discussing the weekend and all of the events contained therein. Finally, after much deliberation and conversation, we decided (very matter of fact-ly) that we should just officially label what so many others had been labeling all along: we were 'together'. He was my boyfriend, I was his girlfriend. Once that was settled, he drove me back to HRH, and I skipped up the stairs and into my best friend's room where we giggled and squealed until it was time to go to sleep.

I will always remember February 24th with fond memories. Though mine and Robert's anniversary is on July 8th, the day I became his girlfriend will remain a special day for the rest of my life. February 24th is a day that changed my life completely, and I am so thankful for our last minute, spontaneous drive around Henderson. Without that weekend, and that night in particular, things might not have worked out the way they did. I am so thankful, every single day, that four years ago my best friend decided that we should be more than that.

God has blessed me with many things, but the greatest blessing of my life is Robert. He makes me a better and happier person than I have ever been, and I am looking forward to an eternity with him.


*Technically, my first weekend in Pulaski was in 2006 when I was on Freed-Hardeman's volleyball team and we played Martin Methodist, but I didn't take my picture with any turkeys so it hardly counted.
**Technically, my best friend and I weren't roommates at Freed, but we might as well have been since we were next door neighbors and spent all of our time in each other's rooms.