What I wrote last April 29, 2009:
Does Your Light Shine?
"How will I carry myself? How will I allow Christ's light to shine through me to others? We are a JOYful people. We shine. Will I allow my life and my reputation be defined by the amount of comments I receive or the number of blog visits or the frequency of GoogleReaders? Or will my life be defined for what I am? A child of God! A daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, wife, and mother working and living in the body of Christ?
"I will continue to move outside of myself and focus on the JOY of my family, the JOY of my children, the JOY of my life, and the JOY of blogging. This is so not about me. It's about the life I love. It's about the people God has blessed me with. It's about glorifying His name and His presence in my life. It's about carrying my baggage with dignity and respect for myself and for the God who made me.
"If it does not eek of JOY, I will not blog it (except for prayer intentions). If it does not whisper of JOY, I will cast it off. Life is hard enough. We must search, find, and focus on the JOY. And that is what I plan to do.
"A prolific contributor at the 4Real Forums shared this quote today and I want to share it with everyone who is here with me:
" 'Joy in life is like oil in a lamp. When the oil gets low the wick is consumed, emitting a black vapor, and sending forth only a lurid glow, which does not give light. A life without joy passes away unprofitably, shedding around it only gloom and sorrow. If every morning in a simple prayer-in those fifteen minutes' meditation (which only seem hard when we do not practise it), we opened our hearts to God, as we open our windows to the sun and air, God would fill it with that calm, sweet joy which elevates the soul, prevents it feeling the weight of troubles, and makes it overflow with benevolence. But joy does not mean levity, witty sayings, or repartee...it is habitual serenity.' ~ (Gold Dust, edited by Charlotte Yonge and published in 1897)"
Does Your Light Shine?
"How will I carry myself? How will I allow Christ's light to shine through me to others? We are a JOYful people. We shine. Will I allow my life and my reputation be defined by the amount of comments I receive or the number of blog visits or the frequency of GoogleReaders? Or will my life be defined for what I am? A child of God! A daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, wife, and mother working and living in the body of Christ?
"I will continue to move outside of myself and focus on the JOY of my family, the JOY of my children, the JOY of my life, and the JOY of blogging. This is so not about me. It's about the life I love. It's about the people God has blessed me with. It's about glorifying His name and His presence in my life. It's about carrying my baggage with dignity and respect for myself and for the God who made me.
"If it does not eek of JOY, I will not blog it (except for prayer intentions). If it does not whisper of JOY, I will cast it off. Life is hard enough. We must search, find, and focus on the JOY. And that is what I plan to do.
"A prolific contributor at the 4Real Forums shared this quote today and I want to share it with everyone who is here with me:
" 'Joy in life is like oil in a lamp. When the oil gets low the wick is consumed, emitting a black vapor, and sending forth only a lurid glow, which does not give light. A life without joy passes away unprofitably, shedding around it only gloom and sorrow. If every morning in a simple prayer-in those fifteen minutes' meditation (which only seem hard when we do not practise it), we opened our hearts to God, as we open our windows to the sun and air, God would fill it with that calm, sweet joy which elevates the soul, prevents it feeling the weight of troubles, and makes it overflow with benevolence. But joy does not mean levity, witty sayings, or repartee...it is habitual serenity.' ~ (Gold Dust, edited by Charlotte Yonge and published in 1897)"
Lovely, Cay! Thank you for this delightful reminder of your year-ago thoughts! Some posts are timeless!
ReplyDeleteGuarding Joy here!