The Beginnings of JOY!

God gave me a big surprise this past week when I was looking for something in an old cabinet filled with 'junk' - or so I thought! There to my JOY I found 4  journals from my past that I had written : one in 1994 / two  in 1996 / and this one in 1997.  I vaguely remembered writing them.  The day I found them I took one of them to the Prayer Room and began to read it - each day being  filled with SCRIPTURE! Wow! My heart burst open as I saw the very redemption of my life unfolding on its pages. I will share more later from the other journals but it was this one - that God saved for last.  With sunflowers on the cover the first page said this:

  [ I hope you can read the writing which says]:

     My "JOY" Book

               1997

     Stephanie Brower

A very plain and simple title yet this was written 3 years after I had come out of a very sinful time in my life. When I turned back to the Lord, He embraced me with His Word and began a miracle healing process in my life .  I didn't realize that  my 'JOY' went this far back until I found this journal the other day.  I thought that my "Choosing JOY" had only come around 2006 when I began writing it in the updates I was giving to those who were praying for my husband before his home going to heaven. But God... wanted me to see that He had given me  my 'JOY ' long before.  As I began re-reading this journal, God put it upon my heart to share it with you here. I pray that the entries and Scriptures will bless your heart as much as they did mine all over again.

 

1st Page Entry [I wrote these words]:

Tuesday, December 31, 1996

      It is the last day of 1996. As I sit and

ponder what the New Year will bring, I

am challenged to think about what one thing

would I change about myself to bring

more "JOY" to those around me.

     The one thing I want to change is to be

more compassionate. That involves many

aspects; being more tolerant of people; caring

even when it is inconvenient; being more

understanding by putting myself in the other

persons shoes trying to feel what they feel.

     I will make this my goal for 1997 ... first

toward my own family; second to friends; and

third  to strangers I meet every day.

 

Page 3 Entry

Wednesday, January 1, 1997

     Thy words were found, and I did eat

them; and Thy Word was unto me the

JOY and rejoicing of mine heart: for

I am called by Thy Name, O Lord,

God of Hosts.   - Jer. 15:16  KJV

 

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln

 

VALUES

So often folks have wondered why

God has placed on earth

The storms, the tears, the raging seas---

Destroyers of all worth.

But if it weren't for angry skies,

The torrents and dismay,

How could we realize the worth

Of a sunny, cloudless day?

-- Unknown author

Pages 6 & 7 Entry

Thursday, January 2, 1997

     Fill your mind with the truths of God's

Word and rely on the Holy Spirit's

moment-by-moment guidance and strength.

Then you'll experience the joy of God's

blessing rather  than temporary pleasures.

                                                                         -Unknown author

 

     With my whole heart have I sought Thee:

O let me not wander from Thy

commandments.

     Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that

I might not sin against Thee.

     Blessed art Thou, O Lord: teach me

Thy statutes.              -Psalm 119:10-12

 

Dear Father,

Help me to bridle my tongue,

so that on judgment day

I will not be found guilty

of assault with a deadly weapon. -Unknown Author

 

    The foundation of all joy for Christians is that we can live as though Christ died yesterday, rose today, and is coming tomorrow.                                          -Unknown author

 

                                   Pretend you're a star *

           and poke a hole in someone's darkness.       

_______________________________      

End 1997 Journal Entry

 

God chose my 'JOY' before I even knew it!

 

Choosing JOY [again],

Stephanie