Joy is something that I found as a very little girl and learned early on that it is very different from being happy.
As I grew older, I realized that Joy can be the loudest part of my soul when I am walking with Jesus. When I stray on my own path, my joy isn’t quite so loud.
My childhood joy became muffled by the shame of my own poor choices as a late teen and early adult. I began to trade my joy for the enticing temptations that approached my naive heart, believing that the void in my heart could be satisfied. I thought I could live like this and STILL have joy, but I was wrong. I had some temporary moments of “happiness”, but my joy was buried under layers and layers of guilt, shame, fear, and darkness. My soul had no room for the JOY God intended for me to have.
God’s Grace and live brought Joy back in my soul louder than ever before.
Once I began to surrender myself completely to HIS plan and accept the gift of grace, the joy sparked. Once it sparked, I began to walk with Jesus once more and my Joy ignited in such a way that the flames in my heart burn the shame, the guilt, the bad choices, and the lies of the enemy….
JOY is LOUD!
JOY is BRIGHT!
JOY is a GIFT!
JOY is from JESUS!
JOY is RADIANT!
As I enter my 50’s, I want others to remember me by my Joy that comes from Jesus. Those who know me understand that my circumstances are not always very joyful, but because of WHO God is, my JOY is unshakeable! It is the simple, yet powerful testimony of my entire life!
God spoke His word to my heart and changed my life by saying:
” I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be RADIANT WITH JOY; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” Psalm 34:4-5 NLT
I pray that through this blog, you will know and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and promises eternal life for all who believe…. and that’s just the beginning of the good news when we walk with HIM. I will write about joy, peace, understanding, patience, love, forgiveness which are all free gifts from the original JOY-MAKER!
This is the key to fullness of JOY!!!! Surrendering to Jesus!
“Radiant with Joy” 