Joy-Full Journeys - Chalk Dust

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things about sitting in class was the possibility that the teacher might decide that the chalkboard was filthy enough that it needed to be cleaned. After that it was a lottery between 24 students all wiggling and contorting at their desks to see who could make their arm stretch the longest. If you happened to be the one chosen to help, there was something therapeutic about taking that dusty and marked up board and wiping it down so that it was back to its beautiful black or green color. Once that board was clean there was something amazing about watching chalk glide over it...and we all wanted to mark it up...with something, anything! Sure it was frustrating seeing things get erased and a new layer of chalk dust coating the board. It got dustier and dustier with every day and eventually the excitement of the clean board was gone...it was just a board with the latest difficult homework assignment looming on it.

It's a new year....a beautifully clean blank slate where anything is possible....and a new countdown has begun. The countdown to the first argument, the first nasty driver, the first bad day at work...the first unexpected funeral. We don't know when or what the things are that will mark up our board....but we know that it's just a matter of time. The secret to peace isn't trying to dodge all the things that can mark you up...and the sign of success isn't having a clean board. The secret to peace isn't even really a secret. Jesus TOLD us in John 16 that we were going to face horribly hard and painful things, not to discourage us and put a damper on things, but to basically say, "I've got your back..." He is there to wipe our board clean every single day, multiple times a day....as needed. We don't have to wait till a new calendar year. He is greater than all the things used to mark us up...so don't get discouraged by the stuff that comes at you, instead, expect it and let the cool water of peace wash over you everyday as you ask your heavenly Father to refresh you.

I have told you these things so that you will be whole and at peace. In this world, you will be plagued with times of trouble, but you need not fear; I have triumphed over this corrupt world order. John 16:33 (the voice)

Love,
Fran
Joy All Ways

COMING SOON - Joy-Full Journeys

COMING SOON: Joy-Full Journeys

  Hi Everyone, in less than a month another new series will be starting here on AMH. On January 1st, 2019, I will be unveiling Joy-Full Journeys. This is a little project I've been working on for several years behind the scenes and wanted to launch sooner, but it just wasn't time yet. Now, however, I can finally share it with you.
  JFJ posts will be brief daily devotionals that focus on developing hope and faith in the life of the reader by cultivating, planting, maintaining or harvesting the specific fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians chapter 5. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. In a world full of negativity it's easy to give attention to all of the things not going right instead of giving more attention to the things that give life.
  My heart desire has always been to re-calibrate myself and other believers to recognize that while our world may be unfairly crumbling around us, we can only find true joy by focusing our eyes and thoughts on the joy GIVER instead of the joy TAKER. We do this by actively changing how we respond to things around us on a mundane day to day basis. The victory isn't always won by one single glorious battle, but by many small skirmishes all along the way. How we fight our everyday battles matters more than we realize and has a lasting impact on the final result. One of my favorite quotes sums it up perfectly.

         Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole. ~Bernard Law Montgomery

  So, before you rush out the door in the morning, or when you collapse from exhaustion onto the couch at the end of your day, let me have the honor of speaking just a little bit of encouragement over you. One soldier to another. 

Love,

Fran

Joy-All-Ways