Category Archives: Joy

Merry Christmas!

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Don’t Let the Devil Steal Your Joy!

I talked to a long-time friend on the phone recently. He lost his wife of 59 years not too long ago. He admitted that life wasn’t always easy these days but that he was staying positive.  Then Bro. Jerry said something that stuck with me.

“If the devil can steal your joy he can steal everything you’ve got.”

Oof! Ain’t it the truth!

Everyone is running around looking for bargain gifts now. Stress reigns.

And we can get caught up in all of it. Have we forgotten that  Jesus’ birth was “good tidings of great joy.”

If our joy has swirled down the drain we’ve been looking at our problems instead of looking at Jesus. Maybe we’ve been listening to the devil’s threats and accusations instead of to the One who promises to never, never, never leave us. Continue reading →

Why do people frown on the Paris subway?

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smileToday I rode the subway in Paris and since I had nothing else to do I decided to solve one of the great mysteries of life: why do people frown on the subway?

My particular subway car flashed drearily through the bowels of Paris at breakneck speed. I suspect it’s the  same in London, New York and Tokyo: you just don’t smile and talk to others on the subway.

“Why not?” I wondered.

Nearly everyone was frowning”that young lady in shorts and as well as that Muslim lady with her head covered, both dimmed the world with their sad look. That older lady dropped off to sleep and her frown turned scary”kind of like the look my mama zapped me with when she caught me irritating my little sister. This lady was probably practicing scaring her kids in her sleep. Continue reading →

Put On Your Dancing Shoes!

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tgv

The other day I was on the high-speed train heading for services in the south of France. I say “high speed” but we were two hours behind schedule because of an accident somewhere along the line. I fretted, hoping I would be on time for the service that evening.

Landscape that should have whizzed by the window, poked by.

Then my cell phone rang. It was my wife. She had just heard some very good news from friends. The doctor had been convinced that Scott had cancer. We’d all prayed and sought the Lord for him for nearly a month. That day he’d had a biopsy and the results came back negative”no cancer!

I don’t know if it’s permitted to shout and dance on the TGV or not but I was ready to try. After hanging up, I had to tell someone. You’ve got to understand, on the train here people don’t generally talk much to strangers but I spoke to the fellow across from me. Continue reading →

So Where Is This Joy We Talk About?

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www.microsoftoffice.com

A visitor from Venus would analyze our world and decide that a lot of us are ready for the funny farm. I’m not talking about those crazed people who take guns and massacre others. I think there is something deeply devilish about them–something beyond insanity–motivating a lot of those people.

No, but of our visitor from outer space would think that a lot of us had a screw loose. Why? Well, have you ever caught yourself walking down the street when suddenly you burst out laughing? I have. One of the people I listen to on my IPod said something funny and I haw-hawed. But, does my neighbor know the reason for my outburst? He thinks I’m goofy.

And I see you there, near the bus stop, walking back and forth, waving your hands. You young ladies mew like kittens into thin air! And I want to call the looney wagon to pick you up and take you away before you hurt yourself or someone else. Continue reading →

The Vitamin of Joy

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Sometimes I get kind of droopy and slow. Actually, sometimes isn’t the right qualifier. It’s more like about half the time I’m awake,  especially the afternoons.

I’ve thought about taking vitamins to fire me up. But the question is should I take vitamin A, B, Q, Z, A2, etc?  Everyone’s got their own idea. I even took a tonic for a while and I imagined that it pepped me up a little. But, in the afternoon my get-up-and-go still got up and went. Continue reading →