The Practice of Joy

Today...
I am linking up with a host of other bloggers over at A Holy Experience, all of us writing about The Practice of Joy and answering questions like, "What does it mean to choose Crazy Joy?"... and, "How do we authentically walk through hard times?"... or, "How do we practice the 'gigantic secret' of Christians?"

Possibly the last rose in my garden before first frost arrives...

I am not fond of winter...

You read that right, friends! Now, the secret's out! Winter is my least favourite season of all {well, except for when it's Christmas time, of course!}. As I observe my garden slowly go into hibernation mode, I know Winter's not far away now.

I brace myself... then I go into denial mode... refusing to take out any socks to wear until it's too cold, staying in my Crocs or Birkenstocks until the first snowflakes fall. You get the picture, right?

But, eventually... Winter always arrives! And so it is with the winters in our lives. Just like that old hymn which says, "God hath not promised skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through..."

So, how do we, as Christ-followers, live when winters come into our lives? Do we hunker down? Or can we welcome a season like that with joy? Ann Voskamp wrote this yesterday...

When you know the call is not to be comfortable but to be Christ-formed, then the answer is joy.

Yes, the answer is joy!
The answer *is* joy... when we submit to the call to be Christ-formed, especially when winters come knocking at the door... for it is "in Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)"

Christ-formed in our daily living. Christ-formed in our every decision. Christ-formed in the summers of our lives. Christ-formed in the winters of our lives. Christ-formed always.

It is only then... that we will be able to truly celebrate JOY!

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Click on the banner below to read more Walk With Him posts...

I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Follow You

Last night, my sister posted this song on Facebook and it reminded me of how much I loved this song when I first heard it at church...

You live among the least of these: the weary and the weak. | And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away. | All my needs You have supplied, when I was dead You gave me life. | How could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll... | I'll follow You into the homes of the broken, I'll follow You into the world. | I'll meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God, I'll follow You into the world.

Use my hands, use my feet, to make Your kingdom come. | To the corners of the earth until Your work is done. | 'Cause faith without works is dead, and on the cross, Your blood was shed. | So how could we not give it away so freely?

And I give all myself, I give all myself. | And I give all myself to You.

How could I not give it away so freely?

Yes, really... how could I not? This is something that hubby and I sooooo want our children to live out... a faith that is alive, a faith that loves the least of these, a faith that follows Jesus!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. Our family spent the morning on a Sandwich Run, distributing lunches to homeless folks in the downtown core, with my sister and her family... just as Ann Voskamp writes in her book One Thousand Gifts, "God calls us to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received."

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ~ Matthew 25:40, TNIV.

The girls are hard at work packing lunch bags!

Sandwich, juice box, apple, granola bars, chips!

The boys are working hard too!

My sister and her little boy approach the first homeless man we saw.

Hubby and my boy head up the steps to talk to the young man up there.

Hubby and my boy leave a lunch for the sleeping man on the park bench.

It was truly a great way to spend our Thanksgiving morning! Thanks-living --- and becoming the joy --- to the least of these.

My girl has written a profound and thought-provoking blog post about our experience... I couldn't have written a more beautiful post myself... please hop on over to her blog and have a read! This mama's heart is bursting with joy and thanksgiving for a daughter who is mature beyond her 15 years. God's grace is amazing!

Have a great start to this shortened week, friends!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good... His love endures forever! Let's follow Him into the homes of the broken, follow Him into the world... let's meet the needs for the poor and the needy... let's follow Him into the world!

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Giving Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
As I bask in the beauty of the Autumn landscape that surrounds us during this time of the year... and as I reflect on the many blessings in my life on this Thanksgiving Monday, I am mindful of this...

Autumn colours at the pond near our house! ♥

God calls me to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received.

I am blessed. I can bless. Imagine! I could let Him make me the gift!

I could be the joy!

In an endless cycle of grace, He gives us gifts to serve the world. 

It's the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God.

Empty to fill.

Here I can become the blessing, a little life that multiplies joy, making the larger world a better place.

God can enter into me, even me, and use these hands, these feet, to be His love, a love that goes on and on and on forever, endless cycle of grace.

~ Excerpts from Chapter 10 of One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp.

I could be the joy!

We are so blessed... blessed beyond measure! Imagine, friends... we can turn the blessings we have received into joy for people who are in need! What an awesome privilege that truly is... to be Jesus' hands and feet to this hurting world.

Over the weekend, we feasted...

My sisters and me.

My sister's prime rib. Yum! MasterChef, anyone? :-)

Cousins!

I was in-charged of desserts... strawberry coffee cake!

Chocolate cupcakes!!!

Later this morning... on this Thanksgiving Monday, together with one of my sisters... we will take our families into Downtown Toronto and we will hand out lunches to street-involved, homeless folks. We will be the joy... we will be a blessing to people in need!

Because God calls us to do thanks... 

To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received!

I recently came across this video... please spend one minute to watch this, friends! Very thought-provoking...

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who calls us to do thanks... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1588 - #1602:

:: Blessings beyond measure!

:: The launch of a brand-new Meeting House Home Church here at our house!

:: Cheering on my girl at her basketball games.

:: Lunch with a girlfriend and my sister.

:: For puffers and medications... for rest and sleep!

:: My son's ankle injury not being as serious as I thought it would be!

:: An available time slot at our family doctor so that she can examine the said injured ankle right away!

:: A dead car battery and CAA roadside assistance!

:: Partying with our church's Youth Group... launching the Fall season!

:: Serving inner-city kids at Toronto City Mission together with folks from our church family.

:: Family and friends getting together for Thanksgiving.

:: A yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

:: A restful and quiet long weekend.

:: The sense of community that our church has...

:: A great teaching pastor!

Happy Monday, friends!

The counting of all blessings is ultimately summed up in One. 

All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering a remembrance of Him.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!


This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Sunday's Joy Verse...

You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

~ Psalm 16:11, NLV.

Happy Sunday, friends!

May the Heavenly Father's wonderful grace surprise you with a fullness of joy, not only on this Thanksgiving Sunday, but throughout this coming week as well!

I love this quote by Henri Nouwen that was posted on Facebook by a friend yesterday:

Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds?

~ Matthew 6:26, CEV.

I took this photo on one of our recent drives up to our local farm one Saturday morning. Hubby and I often drive up there while the kids are still sleeping to pick up our CSA share of organically-grown farm meats. It's a lovely drive... peaceful and beautiful!

When I saw the birds perched on the wires by the side of the road, I had to stop and snap a photograph! And I'm so glad I did. It reminds me of this old hymn that was sung at church when I was a little girl...

Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. 

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. 

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear.
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears.
Though by the path He leadeth but one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

Ahhh... nothing like old hymns to fill my heart with joy! :-)

Friends, on this Saturday morning leading into the Thanksgiving Weekend, I am resting on His goodness knowing that... ♪♫ His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me! ♫♪

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Joy Comes in a Letter

I am feeling a lot under the weather this week and yesterday's gloomy weather didn't particularly help... yet God knew the exact remedy I needed to feel better!

A prescription for JOY!
Yesterday when I woke up... two letters from our Compassion LDP student was in my email inbox! I thought, "Wow, two letters?!?" It turns out, one's from her and the second one is from her sister!

You see, a few months ago, Rechelle wrote to us. She told us about her sister becoming pregnant and having a baby out-of-wedlock and how she's become alienated from the family. We encouraged Rechelle to reach out to her sister in Christian love... and to help her do so, we sent a financial gift so that she can help her sister take care of some needs that the baby, her niece, might have.

Yesterday... these are the words I was reading on my computer screen:

... by God's time you are the answers to our prayer. The moment that we received the money was the time that my daughter has a very high fever, cough and runny nose. We immediately run to the doctor to have her check up and after we bought her medicines. We also bought her daily needs like milk, diapers, foods, vitamins and toys. 

Unspeakable joy!

Friends, we didn't send a lot of money... just $50, yet it has gone a long way in helping a poverty-stricken single mother and her baby! A small gesture of love has brought me unspeakable joy... especially on a week like this one! God is truly good... always good!

Suddenly, I forgot about my own woes... and my day was instantly better and brighter! I was even smiling and humming a tune... all day long! :-)

And at the last, this is what will determine a fulfilling, meaningful life, a life that, behind all the facades, every one of us longs to live: gratitude for the blessings that expresses itself by becoming the blessing.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

A Choice

Joy... it's a choice!
They hang right there... on a curtain rod just above our living room window... just three letters, J-O-Y... a small, yet very powerful word. Joy. Yes, JOY!

Just a few days ago... on Monday morning... the week was sharping up with its share of challenges already. And it continued on... each new day adding a new challenge to the previous day's challenges!

When Monday came and the week decides to sprint ahead of me and I'm left behind to catch up... I give thanks for a sound mind and an able body that allows me to catch up. I choose joy!

When sinus pain hits me without warning and my asthma acts up... I give thanks for medications and puffers. I choose joy!

When the technology goes haywire at one of hubby's clients and he spends long hours researching for a fix... I give thanks for the intelligent and hard-working man that I married. I choose joy!

When my boy comes hobbling home with torn/strain ligaments in his ankle... I give thanks that he's an active boy who loves the game of basketball and for easy access to our family doctor who tells us to come right over when I phoned. I choose joy!

When dinner isn't ready because I am overwhelmed with meeting a deadline at work... I give thanks for easy meals at the local mall's food court and for an hour or so to stroll around the mall with both my kids. I choose joy!

When our car battery dies and our whole family is stuck in downtown Toronto until past 10pm on a weeknight {with me feeling under the weather and my boy wearing an air-cast for his ankle} waiting for CAA Roadside Assistance to arrive... I give thanks for some unexpected time to hang out with our church family. I choose joy! 

When I wake up with a sore throat this morning and feeling very run-down... I give thanks that I don't have to go out because I have a work-from-home job. I choose joy!

YES! I will choose joy...
More than that, I will celebrate joy... for it says in the Bible, "the joy of the Lord is my strength. (paraphrased from Nehemiah 8:10)"

As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible.

While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Do I Want...

... to be like Jesus?
This past Sunday, we started a new teaching series at church called The Great Co-Mission.

Bruxy Cavey, our teaching pastor, asked us a few very thought-provoking questions... challenging us to think about what it takes to become a disciple of Jesus. Bruxy said this, "Faith that isn't actively following Jesus is something other than faith."

Yup, that's right... you know, dead faith! "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:14,17,26)" Here are those questions...

Do I want His courage and His compassion to grow within me?

Do I want to care for weak people, hurting people, and unpopular people?

Do I want to stop caring about being popular, attractive, and successful?

Do I want to say no to what is holding me back and yes to what will help me move forward? 

My answer is YES! Because He's worth it...
Yet, if I really think about it... answering YES to the above questions will involve sacrifice... it will involve suffering... it will involve letting go.

But this is what Jesus says, "If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. (John 15:10-11, emphasis mine.)"

Have a listen to Bruxy's teaching here...
{Please pause the playlist on the sidebar of this blog as you watch this video.}


A complete joy... yes, I want that!

Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives and God simply will not be outdone. God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: joy in Him.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Click on the banner below to read more Walk With Him posts...

I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

The Autumn Landscape

... is my favourite!
On one of our recent drives up to our local farm to pick up our CSA share of organically-raised farm meats, my camera tagged along and I was able to capture a few images of the Autumn landscape. This was one of those images...

I love how the stalks of corn look like hands joyfully raised, up towards heaven, in praise of their Creator!

Because Your love is better than life,
          my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live,
          and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
          with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

~ Psalm 63:3-5, NIV.

Yes! Because Your love is better than life...
May I be just like these corn stalks... hands raised towards heaven regardless of the situation... in drought or in rain... choosing to celebrate joy in praise of The One who gives life!

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Joy... So Much Joy!

Shout for joy to the Lord...
The Toronto Cantata Chorus opened Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy with Psalm 100... beautiful voices lifted up to heaven in praise of The One from whom all blessings flow!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
And his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

As I sat there on the front row, beside Ann Voskamp... I couldn't believe that this evening had finally come! After half a year of planning, this benefit event was indeed happening right before my very eyes! 

Then, my sister's beautiful soprano voice started to fill the sanctuary... she sings the words from Psalm 27 into a song...

The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

My heart was bursting and overflowing with joy and thanksgiving... I was holding back tears. I thought, "I can't cry now... I'm supposed to do a Welcome on stage in just a few minutes!" My turn came too soon... I stumbled up the stage grasping my cheat sheet... and I looked out into the crowd to welcome everyone.

What I saw still seems so surreal to me... the sea of people right in front of me filling up the whole sanctuary... all of them coming together to make a Compassion project a reality! And God, in His grace, has allowed our family to spear-head this whole thing... that He would choose us to do this, it still bewilders me! Such wild grace. Such crazy love.

Soon, it was time to show this video... though I was the one who made this, watching it for the umpteenth time still chokes me up! God's grace overwhelms me... our family, so undeserving and so unqualified... yet God invites us, over and over again, to be His hands and His feet to a world in need. That just boggles my mind! Really, it does!

During the intermission, joy filled my heart even more as I saw the Compassion Table swarming with people... they were donating more money towards the project... over and above their ticket purchase! It was so heart-warming to see so many so eager to support this project!

Wait... there's more! This is the icing on the cake! Even though child sponsorship wasn't the focus of the evening, five... yes, that's right... five children were sponsored! All from the island of Masbate, and one specifically from Patnubay Child Development Centre!

Soon, it was time for the second part of the evening to start. The Toronto Cantata Chorus opened by singing Revelation 21...

Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes...

Then, it came time for Ann Voskamp to speak! Friends, she speaks as beautifully as she writes. What an amazing Christ-centered woman. It was truly a grace-gift to be able to spend an evening with her!

She spoke about overcoming fears by practicing eucharisteo... about grace, thanksgiving, joy... about the joy of compassion... about living thanks! She came because she is passionate about Compassion's ministry... yet she became a blessing to more than just the boys and girls at Patnubay Child Development Centre... God used her words to be a blessing to so many in the audience that night, including myself!

Then there was the finale... none other than the beautiful hymn Amazing Grace...

As my sister's beautiful soprano voice started to fill the sanctuary once again... I sang along quietly... Amazing grace how sweet the sound... and I reflected on how truly amazing His grace has been over these past six months as our family said "Yes!" to joining God in making this project happen.

Friends, God's grace is enough!
It truly is. These past six months have been a testament to that. Many times, it was His grace that kept me going... it was His grace that kept me hopeful... it was His grace that increased my faith... and He has shown Himself, as always, to be faithful and true.

{Side Note: For more photos from the event, please click here to hop over to an album on Facebook.}

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One from whom all blessing flow, our loving Heavenly Father who delights in giving good gifts to us, His children... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1570 - #1587:

:: HE who promised is indeed faithful. All glory to Him alone for the success of Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy.

:: The privilege of being His hands and His feet in this world.

:: Prayer support from so many people around the world.

:: Each and every person in attendance at the event.

:: Compassion staff and advocates staffing the booth.

:: The many volunteers who helped to set-up and clean-up, who helped with ushering and baking/serving cake.

:: The promotion help given to us by Gospel Connection Canada, Faith Family Books and Maranatha News.

:: A donation of lovely flower bouquets and photography talent!

:: A beautiful venue, also free-of-charge!

:: Enough money raised so that the permanent facility for Patnubay Child Development Centre will soon be a reality! Three cheers for generous donors!

:: My sister, Aileen... who dreamed with me!

:: Jason Locke and the Toronto Cantata Chorus.

:: All of the guest artists... who so freely gave of their time and talents!

:: There is truly JOY in serving Jesus!

:: Ann Voskamp, her friendship, her humility... her words... her ministry!

:: The countless people who have come alongside us in support of this fundraising endeavor.

:: Five children getting sponsored.

:: Joy that multiplies... joy upon joy!

Happy Monday, friends!

Christian hands never clasp and He doesn't give gifts for gain because a gift can never stop being a gift - a gift is always meant to be given...

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!



This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!