How To Increase Your Joy

Good morning... "Sue," she texted yesterday, "we are also at the beach on St. George island. This morning we watched the sun rise in the east and to the west we saw dark threatening clouds moving across our beautiful island. But looking up between the light and the darkness was a full rainbow celebrating God's promise of his [...]

By |2021-09-01T10:21:24-04:00September 1st, 2021|Gratitude, Joy, Light In Darkness|

The Muddle Of Mourning

Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote the day after Betty Skinner died. "Sending you a quick email. I am always amazed how the Upper Room seems to fit those moments in my life . . . connecting to mutterings and thoughts. Please see below. With the passing of Betty . . . and the prayer for spiritual mentors [...]

By |2021-08-22T03:03:37-04:00August 22nd, 2021|Death And Resurrection, Grief, Joy|

Seeds of Gratitude

Good morning... "Gratitude is a seed you plant," said the minister at the celebration of Eliza's twenty-eight year old life. "This seed grows up into joy. Radiant joy comes from planting small seeds of daily gratitude." Though her body was riddled with cancer, Eliza's radiant joy was unmistakably contagious. This week Henri Nouwen also encourages us to plant [...]

By |2021-07-03T08:32:52-04:00July 3rd, 2021|Gratitude, Joy, Organic Growth|

Be Cheerful Each Day

Good morning... Is it possible to be cheerful each day, filled with cheer, with joy, with gladness regardless of the circumstances into which we wake? This Father's Day morn, Scripture quietly whispers to us in surround sound. A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit (Proverbs 15:13, NIV). Every day is a terrible day [...]

By |2021-06-20T21:29:05-04:00June 20th, 2021|Everyday life, Joy, Peace|

Higher Than My Dreams

Good morning... Above the upside down photo dumping out all of my dreams hangs a Corinne Adams original. For Corinne, for you and for me, God is the ultimate Dream-giver. The LORD's higher, healing ways generously overflow into our ordinary lives. This is how the Bible explains God's life-giving process. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, [...]

By |2021-06-12T15:13:15-04:00June 12th, 2021|Everyday life, God's Plan, Joy|

The Joy Outside Our Fishbowls

Good morning... "This has got to be it," she texted me this Alice Neel painting after reading our post, At First I Hated It. "This title says Flowers of Mourning, but the Whitney Museum lists it as Still Life, Rose of Sharon... a biblical term from Song of Solomon - I am a rose of Sharon, a rose [...]

By |2021-06-04T08:41:31-04:00June 4th, 2021|Community, God's Love, Joy|

At First I Hated It

Good morning... Yesterday I unpacked this quote in our blog post, What Is Joy? Remember, my friend sent me the photo above along with these words: "Thought you would like this. From a wonderful collection on the Black experience. She has a beautiful poem by the same title." So I googled the title and pulled up the poem, [...]

By |2021-06-02T04:12:35-04:00June 2nd, 2021|Death And Resurrection, God's Plan, Joy, Uncategorized|

What Is Joy?

Good morning... "Thought you would like this," a friend texted me the photo above. She continued: "From a wonderful collection on the Black experience. She has a beautiful poem by the same title." I was intrigued by the quote. "Joy is an act of resistance." To be honest, joy and resistance somehow seem like opposites to me. Oil [...]

By |2021-06-01T06:50:55-04:00June 1st, 2021|God's Love, Imperfection, Joy|

Lean On Me

Good morning... There are a variety of ways to impact the world. Music is one of them. Last weekend I was introduced to a music video created by Playing For Change. Researching a bit, I discovered this quote: "Playing For Change is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music, born from the shared belief [...]

By |2021-05-22T09:52:03-04:00May 22nd, 2021|Community, Joy, Spiritual Gifts|
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