JOY

Here is part of the devotional that I received via email this morning. It's too great to not pass on...

A Foundation of Joy

By Zoë Elmore

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2 (NIV)

It can be difficult to face our trials with the kind of spirit that sees great value in disaster, but that's what the Lord expects from us if we are to be women who walk on their foundation of joy. Here is a poem that reflects this attitude so well. While the author is unknown, the poet obviously knows the formula for the foundation of joy.

It's sometimes very difficult
for us to understand
the wisdom and the love behind
the things that God has planned.

But we wouldn't have the rainbow
If we didn't have the rain;
We wouldn't know the pleasure
If we never tasted pain.

We wouldn't love the sunrise
If we hadn't felt the night;
And we wouldn't know our weakness
If we hadn't sensed God's might.

We couldn't have the springtime
or the yellow daffodil
if we hadn't experienced
the winter's frosty chill.

And though the brilliant sunshine
is something God has made.
He knew too much could parch our souls
so He created shade.

So God's given us a balance:
Enough joys to keep us glad,
Enough tears to keep us humble,
Enough good to balance bad.

And if you'll trust in Him you'll see
Though yesterday brought sorrow,
The clouds will part and dawn will bring
A happier tomorrow.

Dear Lord, You are good and everything You bring into my life is for my good and Your glory. I thank You for burning away my mistakes and providing an opportunity to start anew each day, just as Your mercies are new each morning. Help me to see beyond the rubble and to You for the lessons necessary to grow my faith. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Recap of Christmas Day 2007

After we went to my parent's house for lunch (leftovers from Christmas Eve). We headed over to visit Ben's dad. Here he is with Rachel. :)

He gave us a family gift card! :) Woohoo! Rachel wanted to see what was in it! :)


We then went home so Rachel could take a nap and we could finish some things. When she woke up, we headed over to Ben's mom's house. :) We ate some good brisket, ham, and turkey with buttermilk biscuits. Yummy! We then opened MANY, MANY gifts!
In this pic, Rachel is opening her first toy... it is a Barbie w/ her horse. :) She loves horses... I've since put it away for a later time (it's too much for her right now). She did, though, take it out the other day from her closet and was playing with it again! ;)
I don't know what she was doing in this pic, but she's making some face... it looks too much like one of my faces! ;) Poor Ben, we're always giving him this face, I think!
Opening more presents! She got many, many, many outfits, socks, and bows. She always received a twin set of dolls that interact with you and talk to each other. Also, she got a stroller with a backpack carrier for her dolls and she got a bag of little accessories for her dolls, and she got an Aqua doodle (where she can write on- I've since put that one up too, just so she won't be too overwhelmed w/ ALL her toys). She just LOVES her baby dolls and is always feeding them and "warming up" their milk. ;) I do that for her each morning, so she does too! ;)
We had a fun time with our family. :)

Here is a pic of Uncle JJ and Aunt Heather. JJ is showing off the BEAUTIFUL dress that they gave to Rachel for Christmas! :) It's adorable! I can't wait to put it on her! :)Grandma and Grandpa gave us a sweet card (one for Rachel and one for Ben and I). Here, Rachel is reading the card to Muffin (their dog). ;) She is going to be a teacher, I think! ;) Look how intently Muffin is listening... she's such a good pupil. :)

Recap of Christmas Eve 2007

For Christmas Eve, we went to Oak Hills @ 5pm for the Christmas Eve service. We then went to my parent's house to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We had good food, fellowship with family, singing by the fire, and of course presents. :) Here are some pics when we were opening gifts.

Grandma was helping Rachel open her gifts (a few cute outfits for the spring/summer). :)
One of her BIG gifts from Papa and Lala was a tricycle. :) Here she is trying it out!
Another big gift from Papa and Lala was this American Idol microphone/karaoke machine! ;) She was serenading us all! :) (See the pads that they got her for the tricycle?) ;)
Me.... I thought that I was recording Rachel getting her tricycle, but I realized that it was on PAUSE the WHOLE time!!! Augh! My parent's were a little ticked to say the least! (It was their video camera.) Me feeling super embarrassed that I did that (Ben caught me).

Ben took pics of me opening my gifts from my parents. :) I was happy that I got a pretty backpack purse. Mine was getting a bit old. :) I didn't get a pic of Ben opening his gifts because we opened our gifts at the same time! :(



Update: Here is a pic on Christmas Day opening the gift that we had gotten him. :) It arrived on Christmas Eve, but mom held on to it so she could wrap it for me. :) He was happy! :) I am too, now, because I found this pic! :)