Let's Begin to Choose Joy!!!!!!

Hello there, my sweet summer blogging friends!!!!


I thought we would spend next week introducing ourselves and talking about Kay's intro and first chapter. 


In the intro, Kay writes something I believe is exactly why blogging on this book this summer will be so fruitful for us:  


"There's one promise I want to give you as we start:  I will be honest with you about my life and my search for joy--maybe more honest than you will find comfortable.  I will not gloss over my doubts, failures, and sins, and I will admit to you and to myself my sweaty, middle-of-the-night wrestling with God over issues of faith.  I will let you into the internal workings of my faith in process because I find my own faith bolstered when I know someone else is struggling and sometimes succeeding in letting Christ be formed in her.  Spiritual growth does not happen automatically and is rarely pretty; we will all be 'under construction' until the day we die and we finally take hold of the 'life that is truly life' (1 Tim 6:9)."


Isn't that the truth?  Aren't there moments when you are sharing something gut honest and all you want to hear is one person say:  "I have been there and come through.  You'll make it.  You won't always feel like this or be like this"?  Ten years ago during my deepest pit yet, I know that is what I wanted to hear.  I praise God there were those around me who told me just those precious words:  "You will get better.  You will get out of this sad place.  Here is the first step and I will walk it with you."  At that moment in my life, I had no idea that "choosing joy"  simply meant getting out of bed and folding clothes or going to my sister in law's house for dinner or a quick walk around the block.  Now I see that those were my first steps toward joy, but back then...it felt like battling through a stifling, oppressive black cloud of fear and doubt.   


In her first chapter on page 31, Kay gives her wonderful definition of joy:


  "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  


At the end of the first chapter Kay asks these two questions:


1.  What do you allow to hold you back from living a life  of joy?


2. Reflect on the definition of joy for a few minutes .  Which words are easiest for you to accept into your life?  Which are the hardest words to access?


Please feel free to share your thoughts on these questions or anything else you would like to bring up from the into or first chapter.  Hopefully, all the bugs have been worked out so that you will be able to post without problem.  If you do have problems please email me at motheruvmny@hotmail.com.  And remember to introduce yourself in your first post!


I'm Cherri and I will be facilitating the blog for the summer.  I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Peter, who has lovingly put up with me for over 36 years...God bless him:)  I have 6 children: 2 boys and 4 girls, 5 are married.  I have 7 grandchildren, 2 more to be added to the merry group this year...one little sweet girl any day now and a "cute as a button" Korean grandson who will be going us soon!  All in all, the grand total will be 6 granddaughters and 3 grandsons.  I used to teach English and was a  librarian, but now I help out at the church with the women's ministry and teaching parenting classes with a little lay counseling on the side.  I love spending time with family, working with young moms and parents, reading, hiking and gardening.  My dearest joy is spending time in the Word and with a Savior who has become more real to me than my own skin.  His precious presence in my life is a high I just cannot get enough of!


I hope to hear from you all soon!


Love and blessing to you,


Cherri

Choose Joy!!!!!

Hello my friends!


This past week I went to Curves to workout, and I received an object lesson in "choosing joy."  There were two women working out at the same time and the vast difference in the words that came out of their mouths and the impact of those words definitely spoke to me about the power of "choosing joy."  Both ladies were elderly.  One came in and from the beginning talked about the difficulties of her week, her aches and pains, why she couldn't possibly eat the way she was supposed to, exercise the way she was supposed to...She went on to explain her various ailments and complaints with a kind of "hands in the air" demeanor of surrender to the all the negative, difficult and troublesome in her life.  This I will say:  she still got out there and exercised!  While she was working out, in walked another lady.  She actually made me smile just looking at her. She was wearing a bright pink shirt, a pink hat and pink tennis shoes.  She looked around the room as she began her workout and said to all of us:  "Good morning, ladies!  Isn't good to just get up in the morning!  I am so thankful I can still move!"  There it was, right in front of us...Joy!  I watched as my complaining exercise companion picked up her step and began to feel the joy this woman brought to the room.  By the end of the half hour, the attitude of self-pity had left her and as she walked out the door, one of the coaches encouraged her to keep at it and she'd lose a pound for sure next week. This lady smiled back and said:  "Two!  I'm going for two!"  What a change!  Living a life of joy has incredible power!  That is why I am excited about the book we will be reading throughout the coming months.


This summer we will be reading Choose Joy, by Kay Warren, as our summer blog book.  Choose Joy is available through Amazon for $14.95.  It is a new release so it is only in hardback format right now.  It is also available though Christian Book Distributors (www.christianbook.com) for $14.99 and because it is a new release, I am sure you will be able to find it at any local Bible book store. 


We will be starting Choose Joy on the "Together We Are One Wise Woman" blog 
the first week in June.  Until then I am going to post whatever the Lord gives to me so that we can practice the whole "blogging thing:)"  I know that some of you have had difficulties in posting comments on the blog.  My daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who is an experienced blogger, told me that it takes a little bit of time to get the hang of it.  She said that when she first started following different blogs, she had a difficult and frustrating time trying to post, but she eventually got it and has been able to post on blogs easily ever since.  She suggested for those of you who have not been successful at posting in the past, to start from scratch.  Re-read the "How to Use (and enjoy) This Blog" link on the home page of this blog to the right of this post.  Jen gives clear instructions on how to follow and post comments on this blog.  Please let me know if you are unable to post.  You can email me at motheruvmny@hotmail.com, and we will work it out together even if we have to get a hold of the people at Blogger to find out what we are doing wrong. 


Just for a little teaser, let me give a few of the chapter titles in Choose Joy:  "Seeking a Life of Joy," "Rediscovering Jesus, the Man of Joy," "Nurturing Joy in Yourself," "Nurturing Joy in Others,"Adopting Heaven's  Value System," and "Seeing Joy in all Things."  I am so looking forward to the summer months as we continue to grow in the Lord while learning to "choose joy!"  


Love to you, my friends!


Cherri