Part 1 – Gifts of Joy (Intro)

The journey into joy of an ordinary, not so ordinary life! Ordinary, because what two lives are ever really the same. Not so ordinary, because the story of my life has often colored outside the lines of what our society calls normal.

There are many, many ways we can define joy. This page merely lists a few that have become a very real and present reality for me, and my family… As well as a growing journal of just some of the Gifts of Joy we have experienced throughout our normal, not so normal days past.

Joy is realizing that:

~ All the good in our day is a gift from Him who loves us more than we can possibly imagine;

~ Every time something bad almost happens, it was our Heavenly Father protecting us;

~ When our prayers are answered, it is Father attentively listening to our hearts’ longings;

~ Even when nothing seems to be going as it should, there are still many, many beautiful Gifts of Joy all around us… Just waiting for us to find the eyes to see them;

~ In our years past, even when we were unaware, He was always there… providing, protecting, sprinkling Gifts of Joy upon our days… waiting for the moments when we would realize it was Him all along… expressing His great love over us throughout our everyday life;

~ For all of us who abide in Christ, the trials in this life will be the only hell we will ever experience… And even those He will redeem in ways we could not have even imagined;

~ The good we currently enjoy in this life, is but a sampling of the incredible wonders He has prepared for us in the life to come!

Just a few Gifts of Joy from our days past:

3) Three billable hours of work while waiting for a doctor’s appointment (from Sept 2018): Four years ago I was not able to work at all. Even now it is unusual if I can work three or more billable hours in a single day. We thought we were giving up all chances of payable hours on our two day trip to see multiple specialists. However, on the second day of this trip, I woke up very focused and clear headed… and was able to sneak in three whole billable hours of work while waiting for our final, and very delayed, doctor’s appointment. This was in addition to all the driving, packing, unpacking and everything else that goes into an out of town trip. For many, this is an every day assurance (minus the doctor’s appointments), but for me, it was a unique and fantastic blessing!

2) The gift of choice & the confidence in making those choices WITHIN the safety of Father’s presence (from Sept 2018): Recently I found myself overwhelmed by all the choices I have to make each day, afraid of making the “wrong” choices, and wishing I just had one option to choose from. However, in my times of prayer and surrendering this dilemma to Him, I realized that it is He who has given us the gift of choice. And in learning to choose (and embrace those choices) WITH Him, we are actively stepping into who He has created us to be… choice makers. What distinguishes this from a rebellious act, is that this is something we do WITH Him, and He WITH us. Like a child given the option of two things to do WITH dad. Once the child makes his/her choice, dad embraces that choice WITH the child, and the child enjoys that choice WITH his/her dad. By definition “god” means choice maker, and “God” means The Most High Choice Maker. Adam was given, by The Most High Choice Maker, to CHOOSE the names of each animal in the garden. And to mankind it was given to rule (CHOOSE) over the earth. We were created in His image, to be like Him… little choice makers. This is not the rebellious choosing of a child who tries to choose and embrace choices apart from dad. Rather it is the choosing from the choices Father has gifted to us to choose from. And then stepping out into those choices always WITH Father, and Father WITH us! With our hand in His, we go WITH Him wherever He goes. But often He gives us choices to choose from, and/or the option to simply ask to go “over there.” And when He assesses our choice as truly good (for our training, or purely for our joy) then He will go “there” WITH us. Always WITH Him, and He WITH us! (Gen 1:26-27, Gen 2:19-20, 2 Chr 15:2, Is 41:10, Ze 3:17) (Oswald Chambers – June 4th)

1) I am 41, and they say I have the arteries of a 16-year-old (from July 2018):  In July of this year, the heart specialist found a possible problem in my heart. My wife jokingly told a friend, “It must not be too bad since they haven’t called us into the hospital.” That afternoon they called. They said it was not a big deal, and that we did not need to go to the ER immediately, or anything like that. But then promptly asked if we could come in the next day. To make this story short, I had to have a heart procedure (within a week) to get a first-hand look at what was going on in there. It was a remarkably great experience. We had so many folks praying for us, and I was amazed at how little anxiety I felt before, during and after the procedure… total calm! And what did they find? I have the healthy arteries of a 16-year-old. And the very small part of my heart that does not function properly is so small and insignificant, that it has no effect over my health whatsoever. So grateful for Father’s kind hand over this frail frame, and for all who took the time to pray for us!