A Quick Update and Thank You to My Blog Followers!

First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and follow “Joy in My Journey.” I truly am humbled and encouraged that you would take a part of your day to engage with me here and, as some of you have shared, that God would be pleased to use these blogs to encourage and/or challenge you. We are on this journey together in Christ and I’m always thankful for feedback received!

You may have noticed that the web address has changed (or maybe it was seamless so you haven’t)!  Recently, I realized that, with the Word Press plan I had, random ads were sometimes seen when you visited my site. As I had no voice in what those were and did not want to be advocating for something with which I might not agree or is contrary to what right and true and so might be a  distraction to my readers, I changed my plan and the address is now: joyinmyjourney.blog

If you click on or type in the old address, it will redirect; but I wanted to pass that along as explanation

Also, I know some email followers will simply read the blog in their email.  Again, thank you! But, from time to time, I will edit the blog after I have posted it. So, if you choose to read it a day or two (or longer) after you receive it in the email, you will get the most current content by clicking on the link to the website.

As I close, I’m asking the Lord to give each of you HIS joy, a renewed desire to seek and follow Him, and a fresh view of His grace to do just that!  I appreciate you being a part of my blog “family” and hearing from you!  I would also count it a privilege to pray for you as you have need and share it with me.

If you’ve never read the “About Me” section of my blog, this is the heart of why I began and continue to write “Joy In My Journey!”

I am thankful for the road on which God continues to lead me as wife to one and mom to three grown “children” and two more added “in-loves” (aka in laws) who delight my heart (as well as a first grandchild on the way)! I’m still growing in grace, finding joy in my family and friends as well as those God puts in my path, whether it be a small child I have been entrusted to teach, a young mom to whom I have the privilege of listening, a fellow believer walking the road alongside me, or a “random” stranger that enters my world for just a moment and either challenges and encourages me or I have the honor of doing the same. And I rejoice in seeking to find how He wants to use me in what He is up to in my little part of the world! My truest joy comes from my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His Word is my source of comfort but also that which confronts me and chips away at whatever is not in line with Truth, and I pray that everything I say and do reflects His love and grace well!

My prayer is that the name of our Mighty God will be praised through my simple journey and through the words that flow from my heart and are expressed in print.

Equally, my prayer is also that, as I write and as each person reads this, they will be drawn to the heart of God through Jesus Christ and be able to find His joy in their journey through a relationship with Him regardless of life circumstances.

Walk this road with me and be encouraged even if also challenged!
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Just As He Said

Just as he saidCelebrations abound.

Rightfully, we exalt and lift high the sacrifice of our Redeemer and sometimes blend it in while enjoying the newness of God’s creation of Spring.  Delight in family, friends, and the life we have been given is a joy, and our God created us to receive all with thanks for all He has given.

But, don’t miss the greater reality!

The King of Kings came in history, in real time. He chose the nails to give us new life!

Don’t miss the whisper that is actually a roar!

The truth remains. The fact is still…

The grave could not hold Him!

The tomb is empty!

He has risen, just as He said! And we delight in that risen Savior!

“It is finished” began in a manger and was complete at Calvary!

Tetelastai! Our debt has been paid!

BUT, though complete, it didn’t end there!

Jesus submitted to the Father, endured the scorn and separation as He died on the cross; but, in His power, He burst forth from the tomb!

As the angel of the Lord sat on the rock that covered the tomb that, after the crucifixion, held Jesus Christ, he did so in triumph as a witness and a proclamation to the women who came to the place of burial…and to us today!

Death could not hold the Son of God; He went willingly to the cross to redeem His own, but “it was impossible for Him to be held by it!” (Acts 2:24)

And that same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that raises us to new life in Him.  He tells us to come as we are, but He doesn’t intend to leave us as we are!  We are forgiven and redeemed for that new life!

New life that does not hold on to the old.

New life that decimates our shame.

New life that is redeemed by the works of our Savior not our own.

New life that is able to see with new eyes and trust even when we can’t.

New life that exalts in His glory and is amazed by His mercy and grace.

And yet…

New life that is wrecked by freedom from our old; so that our desires are increasingly transformed!

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to faithfully calm our fears.

New life that humbly lays down our idols and all we cling to for satisfaction, security, self-worth, and identity to find them in the only capable place – the heart of God.

New life to give the forgiveness and grace to others that we have been given in Christ.

New life to love in a way that makes no sense to the world – loving and serving those who may hate us, even harm us. Love that serves yet never compromises the truth of God, even if it rocks self-defined worlds and shatters man-made perceptions of Him.

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to break through our hard hearts and convict us of sins we hold too close; that submits and fiercely battles the sins that so easily entangle.

New life that humbly allows the Spirit of God to then empower us to say “no” to that which has long been our “go to” sins, instead saying “yes” to the increasing righteousness of Christ!  Yes, we stand before the Father in Christ’s righteousness from the moment of surrender; but it is how He intends for us to grow, living out our lives in joyful obedience to His commands that are meant for our greatest good and His glory!

New life that seeks to give new life!

Because He has risen just as He said!

And no “power of hell, no scheme of man could ever pluck me from His hand; for I am His and He is mine, this is the power of Christ in me!”  (“In Christ Alone” – Getty)

The earth has quaked, the veil has been torn in two, the stone is rolled away and true freedom comes for those who lay down their lives, accept the free gift of salvation and the lordship of Jesus Christ, and so, live in the power of the resurrection!

And that roar is heard across the ages!

“…You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

“God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things that we cannot comprehend.” Job 37:5

In Christ Alone

“…This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”