Why did I start a blog?
Good question. I was planning on starting this once I was
studying abroad, but for whatever reason, I decided to start it now.
Am I an eloquent writer?
No. I think my writing skills have actually gone down hill since being out of high school. Thank you high school English teachers for being awesome and challenging. Thank you college for not making me write too many papers (yet). :)
How did I choose the name, "Inexpressible & Glorious Joy"?
The name comes from 1 Peter 1:8-9 which says:
"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
If we have accepted Christ's gift of salvation and are in a personal relationship with Him, shouldn't our lives be overflowing with joy? Shouldn't others be able to see Christ in us because of this joy?
Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22, Paul tells us all of the fruits of the Spirit. He tells us that if we are walking with Christ, then these fruits should characterize our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Joy is not of higher importance than the other fruits, but it is the one that has been on my heart lately. Having joy does not mean that we have to be happy all of the time. It does not mean that we should not have bad days. Joy is not easy to define. To me, to have joy means that despite our current circumstances, we are always confident and grateful that the Lord has saved us and that we get to spend eternity with Him!
If you can't tell, I think that joy is a really cool thing. Jesus thinks so too, which is why it is emphasized in the Bible several times. I also love looking at different translations of the Bible and seeing the different words they use to replace joy. Here are some of my favorites...
1 Peter 1:8 in The Message translation explains joy as "laughter and singing"
1 Peter 1:8 in the King James Version says, "ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory"
Galatians 5:22 in The Message translation uses "exuberance about life" in place of the word joy
In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul describes himself as "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything." This is true JOY!
What am I going to write about in my blog?
I am going to share with you random parts of my life! The reason I have joy is because of the hope I have in Jesus. Part of having this joy, I think, is enjoying and appreciating this life that God has given me! I made a sticky note at the beginning of this semester that says, "Make a memory every day!" It is easy to let school and life bring me down, but this is a great reminder to me to be thankful for each day I am given (even the ones that seem bad at first glance).
Basically, I want to share an awesome part of my day with you each day. This could be anything from a delicious meal I ate (you would be surprised how often this can turn my day around) to winning the lottery (okay, this one hasn't happened yet, but it is always a possibility) to something cool that the Lord taught me that day (I especially love these days).
So, here we go. Thank you for joining me on this pursuit of living a life full of joy. I pray that God will somehow use this to lead us closer to Him and to teach us what it is like to live a life that is overflowing with joy.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22, Paul tells us all of the fruits of the Spirit. He tells us that if we are walking with Christ, then these fruits should characterize our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Joy is not of higher importance than the other fruits, but it is the one that has been on my heart lately. Having joy does not mean that we have to be happy all of the time. It does not mean that we should not have bad days. Joy is not easy to define. To me, to have joy means that despite our current circumstances, we are always confident and grateful that the Lord has saved us and that we get to spend eternity with Him!
If you can't tell, I think that joy is a really cool thing. Jesus thinks so too, which is why it is emphasized in the Bible several times. I also love looking at different translations of the Bible and seeing the different words they use to replace joy. Here are some of my favorites...
1 Peter 1:8 in The Message translation explains joy as "laughter and singing"
1 Peter 1:8 in the King James Version says, "ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory"
Galatians 5:22 in The Message translation uses "exuberance about life" in place of the word joy
In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul describes himself as "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything." This is true JOY!
What am I going to write about in my blog?
I am going to share with you random parts of my life! The reason I have joy is because of the hope I have in Jesus. Part of having this joy, I think, is enjoying and appreciating this life that God has given me! I made a sticky note at the beginning of this semester that says, "Make a memory every day!" It is easy to let school and life bring me down, but this is a great reminder to me to be thankful for each day I am given (even the ones that seem bad at first glance).
Basically, I want to share an awesome part of my day with you each day. This could be anything from a delicious meal I ate (you would be surprised how often this can turn my day around) to winning the lottery (okay, this one hasn't happened yet, but it is always a possibility) to something cool that the Lord taught me that day (I especially love these days).
So, here we go. Thank you for joining me on this pursuit of living a life full of joy. I pray that God will somehow use this to lead us closer to Him and to teach us what it is like to live a life that is overflowing with joy.
