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Joy is Here

First of all Happy Friday!! I know it probably won't be Friday when you read this, but its Friday and I am writing it. I hope that the joy of the Lord shifts from being your strength to being your smile. I don't know about you, but I am over asking for joy just to stay strong, I want the joy you can't explain. Lord I pray that the reader of this blog is smacked with an impartation of joy that will blow their minds and make their current situation the best laugh they ever had in Jesus name. Here we go.

If I could sum up my 2017 in a couple of words, I would say sorrow traded for joy. It wasn't that it was a bad year as a whole. I learned a lot and I had a lot of rewarding moments. I graduated with my Masters degree, I got ordained at my church again, and I got engaged. All of that happened and I was grateful for every second.

I cried when I got my degree because it was the first major step I took to chasing my God given dreams. I was in Buffalo, NY by myself strutting across the stage smiling from ear to ear. I missed my family so much in that moment. They were able to be there, which I knew wouldn't happen the moment I got my acceptance letter. In fact, I knew I wanted my degree in mail anyways. I was trying to save money for other more important things. Plus I had already visited twice and it was too cold for me. At least until I met my two of the most amazing people. They convinced me to come back one more time to celebrate. After all we had been through together, we deserved to embrace all that moment had for us. I was so happy to be there for the moment, but afterwards I was ready to go home. If I could have gotten a flight back home that night, I would have booked it to the airport. After the ceremony was over, it hit me for the first time that I was by myself. I meditated on that moment so long I felt like people where staring at me wondering why I was alone. Every second I spent being afraid of men and their faces I agreed with the enemy's thinking. One single moment of sorrow almost took away the joy of accomplishing a major goal. As I was headed to my car, a friend found me and invited me to come hang with her family. I had a great time hanging wit her and her family. They were incredibly kind to me, encouraging, and they took care of me. That moment of joy saved me from the sadness that would have met me at night. I needed that joy because back home my grandfather's health was going declining and my cousin was growing weary. What really bugged me wasn't being alone. It was celebrating while my family was mourning.


I cried when I got ordained too. The elevation God required from me sucked the joy from every moment because I couldn't see what He saw. I didn't feel like the Lord was truly calling me up again. I had been through this process twice before and I wasn't interested in doing it again. There are people who live their life to gain titles in church. Those same people might think I was ungrateful, or even may have been a little jealous. How could God pick the girl who doesn't want it over the heart that does? Your guess is as good as mind. All I know is when I sat in that seat, I knew I had lost. It was absolutely over. It was no longer a debate, it was a day written on the calendar of heaven. I was going to make that appointment no matter how much I wanted to strategically miss it. I was suppose to be filled with joy in that moment. But the tears running down my face was the last of my fight. I had to choose my emotions or the will of God. Oh Lord return unto me the joy of your salvation (Psalms 51: 12). This type of joy makes it easy to lay down your will and I needed that joy right where I was. I have come to learn that destiny is exciting when its being talked about. But the moment it meets you right where you are is scary.

Then I got engaged. At the start of 2017, I made a few decrees over myself. One of those decrees was that I would gain multiple names. It took 9 months for me to gain 3 new names. MS in clinical mental health, Pastor, and future Mrs. Each change revealed something in me that I knew was there but was too afraid to look at. I had joy in those things coming to pass but not in those things actually being real. In the same way we need faith to believe it will happen, we need faith to accept it when it comes. Along with faith, we also need joy. We need joy to push through when it seems to be taking a long time, and joy to still see it with fresh eyes when it comes.

I share all of this to give you three simple lessons on joy.
1. Accomplishing goals doesn't bring joy. I don't share this to discredit goals. You need goals to fuel hope. But it wont fuel joy. Instead of counting goals, try counting blessings. I know it sounds elementary, but I dare you to try it. Gratitude trumps ambition every day of the week. So go ahead start counting.
2. Promotion doesn't bring joy. Responsibility is a weight most people either can't carry or are too lazy to try carrying. Luke 12:48 tells us that if you are given much, much will be required, and if you have been trusted with much, people will ask more of you. Promotion is just a fancy word for more. So instead of focusing on going higher, go lower. How do you go lower? Worship. Need help with worship? I got you covered. Download this song: Breath by Anna Lonelle then lift your hands and invite Him in.
3. Relationships don't bring joy either. I know Disney has made us girls believe in happily ever after. For a moment, that can seem very real, but it doesn't last long. Its temporary and its nothing work with that. The time span doesn't add or subtract value. Its a reminder that their is a reward for hard work. After all, the workman is worthy of his wages (Matthew 10: 10). So instead of focusing on others, focus on your self. Spend time with yourself, mediate daily before bed, and journal often. Revelation comes to those who are looking for it.


"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" Matthew 7:7

That is the joy I pray you have. The joy that allows you be happy despite the wait. The joy that keeps you up all night on Christmas Eve knowing you will get what you asked for. The joy that makes surprises sweet and create long lasting memories. Joy that makes you smile even when hell is breaking loose. Joy that rebukes disappointment and failure. That's the joy you were promised. It wasn't created just for the weekend, but for every single day.

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