Philippians 1:6

"Get Joy" Book Verses


I love that I can trust in God, who always keeps His promises. I like this verse because it is so encouraging. My mother has a favorite quote, "God loves us for who we are; but loves us to much to leave us that way." I think it is so cool that we can come to Christ in any sad or pathetic state and He welcomes us as His child. We don't need to stay sad or pathetic... Thank Goodness! But just like a good parent He teaches us, disciplines us and helps us become the amazing creation He designed us to be.

I Peter 3:3-4

"Get Joy" Book Verses

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold and fine jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight! ~What a great verse for women. God just knows how to get right to it. He knows just how we are and says this is what I want instead. A gentle and quiet spirit, oh how I long to be that ......and oh how hard it can be to be that.



I am an Anne of Green Gables fan. If you have not seen the movie or read the books it is a chick flick must! In the story Anne refers to certain people as, "Kindred Spirits" and it means some one of like character, shares same beliefs, same attitude, same emotions. My dear friend Jenilee fits every category. She is my Diana Berry (watch the movie LOL)! I have many wonderful dear friends that I have met over the course of my life and I love them all dearly; but nobody challenges me in my walk with the Lord like Jen does.

I think God understood our need for friendship and family. He even said in Genesis that it is not good for man to be alone. If we can find a true friend in our lives we are truly blessed. I laugh at how long Jenilee and I had together before I moved and when you measure it on the ruler of a lifetime our time together was like a blink of an eye. I met her in Petoskey. She was in our youth group (that makes me laugh too). But God knew I would need her friendship and allowed us to be together for a little while. I think God also knew He didn't want us together to long because we wouldn't get much done for the kingdom....we would be to busy eating at Hunan's and watching chick flicks while our kids played. LOL But, we were together long enough to build a life long friendship that would transcend miles and time.

I put this verse with this picture, because Jen fits the description of a gentle and quiet spirit. It is something I need to strive for and something I want to instill into my girls. Thanks Jen, for being my "Kindred Spirit".

Take the time to make a lasting friend and ...

I Corinthians 9:24-25

"Get Joy" Book Verses

Hey, this was one of the verses the kids in our kid's church had to memorize recently....well...it is a great verse for us all to memorize.

I hate running. I always have. In school, they made us run around the field several times...I hated those days. I think I actually tried to make it look like I was running really hard but when the teacher wasn't looking I would walk, pathetic I know. I am sure there are some of you who did the same thing. I never had any desire to run in a physical race. I was content to come in last.

However, if you put me in a competition that I enjoyed like art contest, singing, pine wood derbies ...I get the idea of trying to get the first prize! I work so hard to win. I pull out all the stops. I stay up all night the night before getting it just right! All of my efforts go into winning all to receive a blue ribbon that will sit in the bottom of a box in my closet.

How much more should we put into the race to heaven? Now the neat thing about this race is that you are not trying to beat anyone. Actually, it is quite the opposite we are trying to get as many as we can to cross the finish line with us. It's not about winning this race it about finishing it. When we finish, we all receive the crown of eternal life. How cool is that? We will be given a crown that will last forever, not sit in the bottom of a shoe box in the corner of your closet and waste away. We will wear our crowns proudly and humbly lay them at the feet of Jesus. Ooooo it just gives me goose bumps thinking about it!

Run the race today and get as many as you can to run along side you

...Run hard, Run well, Run to Finish!

Philippians 4:8

"Get Joy" Book Verses

Sometimes our mind can get "stuck" on a problem, an issue or a crisis. Whatever it is that we are going through we need to make sure our hearts and thoughts are fixed on Jesus!

I love this picture of my daughter. I think she is so beautiful. I want more than anything for her to grow in confidence and courage. All to often in youth ministry, I see young girls who do not think well of themselves at all. They think they are ugly, useless or stupid. They have an inner dialogue repeating itself over and over.

My prayer for my children is that they will get this verse in their hearts. That instead of focusing on what the world thinks about them that they will fill their minds about all the wonderful things God has for them.

This verse is great for us adults too. We need to be cautious with what we focus on. Lately, when something pop's in my head that is not glorifying to God I start worshiping....

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house
They are ever praising You
Blessed are those whose strength is in You
Whose hearts are set on our God

We will go from strength to strength
Until we see You face to face

Hear our prayer
Oh Lord, God almighty
Come bless our land
As we seek You
Worship You

For You are holy
For You are holy
For You are holy, Lord

"Blessed" Hillsong
From Psalm 84!

Let's try to keep our minds in the direction of Christ and not on ourselves.

John 3:16

"Get Joy" Book Verses

As children growing up in the church this is one of the first verses we memorize. I think maybe some of us have a tendendency to forget that this verse maybe one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible!



WOW, WOW, WOW! What more can I say to add to this verse. It says it all on its own. God loves us so much that He sent he son to die for our sins. WOW! I think I am just going to ask all of us to reflect on depth, width, the grace of this verse today

Thank you Lord for loving me and the added bonus of eternal life with you. I will....

I Timothy 2:5-6

"Get Joy" Book Verses

I do not know why some verses stick out more to me than others; maybe, it is life circumstances or what God is speaking to you in the moment. Whatever it is, sometimes verses just become life time favorites.

The idea of ransom is so meaningful to me. The idea that Jesus Christ, God of the universe, paid my sin debt by dying for me it so huge for me to understand. I sometimes feel that I grasp the entire theology behind it; but, I do not think I will ever totally get it until I see Jesus face to face! I also love that Jesus stands on our behalf. He is our mediator! Dictionary.com had this definition that I really liked...one that works to effect reconciliation. Oh, how I needed to be reconciled to God and there is Jesus doing all He can to make that happen. Ooooo so good, thank you God for saving me from my sins.



I love this picture of my parents! That is me they are carrying. Now, that I am a parent I really get what it was that my parents wanted more for me than anything in this world and that is Christ. I am so thankful for parents that love God and that they did their very best to share Jesus with my sister and me. They always allowed us to come and discover God in our own time and in our own way. They never pushed their faith on us. They just loved us and show Jesus as often as they can. They provided every opportunity to grow and hear about His love. Christ was a priority in there lives and it became a priority to us. I am so grateful Lord that you saw fit to give me to my parents, Thank You.



As my children grow I now feel that longing that my parents felt. I want more than anything for my kids to know Christ, to know His love, to know His power, to know His joy! I want them to know that Jesus is doing everything He can to reconcile them to himself. All of this is the prayer of my heart as it was the prayer of my mom and dad!

Thanks mom and dad!





As our children bring us joy...may we bring them joy by our example!

Jamaica Here I Come!

So, I am going to pause from my "Get Joy" Book Verses today. Tomorrow, I will share I Timothy 2:5-6.
I am really excited to share that in November I am going to Jamaica to go work at the City of Refuge children's home. My sister and I are going down to visit my sister's best friend and go to work. We are going to help in the classrooms, I am going to paint a mural and maybe we will go help in the coffee fields. I am so excited that I make my sister laugh. Anyway, I would just ask that all of you be in prayer for me and Jen. Also pray for my mom who is coming up to help John with the kids. I will be gone for 8 days. I have never been away from my kids that long. I am just so thrilled to have the opportunity to go...lets just hope I get my passport in time.



This is Laura's kindergarten class. Jen and I will be staying with her in her apartment. It is going to be so much fun! These kids are too cute!

This children's home is up in the mountains....pretty cool...I know!

Steve and Kim Puffpaff are the Assembly of God missionaries there. They will not be there during our visit because they are in the States raising funds. I have written Kim and they seem like extraordinary people.

Just looking at those faces...how could I not...


I promise to take a ton of pictures and I will most certainly write about it!

Galatians 6:9

"Get Joy" Book Verses

There is something to be said of hard work and waiting. I don't mind hard work most of the time. It is the waiting that gets me. It probably has something to do with me being an American in the western way of thinking...we want it now or yesterday...who knows.


Here in Galatians we are told to not get weary and to not give up! Sometimes that is really hard especially if you don't see results for a really long time.



The other day, while driving to an appointment, I was really discouraged...again. Then I looked out my window and there it was...a rainbow. "Yeah, Yeah I got it God", I thought to myself. If you remember God sent a rainbow to Noah as a sign that He would keep His promise to not flood the earth again. Rainbows always remind me that He does in fact keep ALL His promises.



You can trust God in this verse when you do your part...do good, don't weary and do not lose heart! We you do those things then we will see the benefits of His glory!



~Love it!







Yup, I know I spelled Galatians wrong...going to fix it. LOL

Philippians 4:13

"Get Joy" Book Verses

When I was a kid this verse was my favorite. I think it is a great verse for everyone but there is just something about it that makes it really great for kids. I think I liked it so much because when I was younger EVERYTHING seemed new, strange or unsure. Kids have test, sports, figuring out abilities, just a lot of stuff coming at them very quickly. I remember that when I was faced with something new and scary I would remember this verse...

Now, I picked this picture of my oldest daughter because of what she did that was so amazing to me last year. She decided to try out for the High School Musical here in Gladwin. I remember going to the tryouts terrified for her. To my amazement she went up there with no fear, read her lines and sang out "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Never in my life have I been so proud of her (don't worry I know there are going to be many more to come...I am so excited). This picture reminds me of this verse.

We can not let fear grip us. We can not let the fear of something new stump us from doing it. I hate flying and in a month I am going to Jamaica on a mission's trip. I can not let that fear keep me from going. If I let fear control me than I will never do anything. That is not what Christ commanded us. He told us to go into all the world preaching the gospel. It is through Christ that gives us strength to do amazing things for His glory.

So, tonight teach your kids this verse. Have them memorize it so when they feel scared, nervous or afraid they can repeat it and know that they can do it!

Christ gives us strength...how cool is that?!!!!



Don't worry I see that I forgot the "s" in Philippians...I'll go fix it now!

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Get Joy" Book Verses

I love verses that remind us of the grace and mercy of God. Those texts seem to just bring everything back into the right perspective. They make my heart feel...."Full". I don't know if that makes any sense but that is the best way I can put those feelings into words. So with that here is the next verse....



I am just about to change the light fixtures in our hallway and front entrance. (Well, actually my husband is gowing to change it) The old ones are just ugly. There is just something about a new thing. It works better...looks better...feels better....It's just better.



This verse is awesome because it tells us that when we have Christ we are new. All the old ucky stuff is gone and he cleans us up and makes us beautifully new... pure. I have been talking to my girls about purity and what it means. Basically in the simplest of terms...God washes us all clean.



Because of His sacrifice...Because of our belief ....Because of His promises we no longer have to be like we were. We belong to Him the old stuff is gone and all things are new!







Oooooooo that just makes my heart feel "Full"!