Contend for Joy - by Mary Folkerts

 

 

Do you know your personality type?

There are many tests available that help us understand ourselves better. However, even if you’ve never done one, you may still grasp the concept if I ask which character in Winnie the Pooh you feel most closely represents your personality. Are you like Tigger, constantly (annoyingly to some) upbeat? Nothing seems to get you down. Or are you an Eeyore, melancholy and introspective, the glass-half-empty kind of person?

I don’t believe one personality is necessarily better than the other, but there are benefits and struggles to whichever personality we have. The seemingly “happy” person may be hiding behind a facade to mask a deeply troubled spirit. The melancholic might have empathy and understanding of the hard things of life because of how contemplative they are. 

How can I write about joy 

when my own joy seems elusive at times?

What we cannot do is pigeonhole ourselves into a type, thinking, “Oh, that’s just who I am, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Whatever personality we have, we always need to fight against the negative tendencies within it. 

Many variables form our personalities, such as upbringing, genetics and past experiences. I have lived with myself long enough to know that I tend to be introspective and pensive. I think deeply and sometimes have to fight to see the good in circumstances. I need to be aware of where I focus my thoughts because focusing on the negative comes too easily and is often the beginning of spiralling pessimism.

With this in mind, how can I write about joy? When my own joy seems elusive at times, how can I encourage others to run after the joy of the Lord? Or is it because I must resolutely chase down my own joy that I can confidently share my struggle? 

Suzie Eller, the author of “Joy Keeper,” said in a recent podcast,  "Biblical joy is not a feeling. It’s intentionally walking into the goodness of God right where you’re at. Choose to trust in the source of joy.”

What freeing insight for those who struggle with an Eeyore complex! Joy is not a feeling, but it’s something we choose! Instead of focusing on the difficult feelings at hand, I can choose to place my trust in an infinitely loving God who is above and beyond my struggle.

Do you see beautiful? 

Are you a glass-half-full girl 

or a glass-half-empty girl? 

Some of us need to work 

that little bit harder 

to find the beautiful.

Maybe it’s how we were wired

maybe it’s our past 

that fogs our lenses.

Maybe it’s the habit of negative thinking 

that seems a rut 

way too deep to ever 

climb out of.

And maybe we’re going through hard things 

and beautiful 

is just not even on our radar.

For some of us, it’s the demands 

of the day that stand 

before the beautiful 

blocking our view,

and others of us, 

we just can’t take the time 

because time is of the essence,

we’re running way too fast 

to smell the roses, let alone 

see them. 

If we don’t train our eyes 

to see beauty,

ugly will take its place 

turning our day 

on its head. 

What if we dared to stare down 

the ugly

determined to unearth beautiful 

like an archeologist 

that knows 

it’s buried here somewhere.

Using our five senses 

to investigate the day 

for when we truly look and listen, 

we notice beauty 

all around us;

in the cloud formations 

in the giggle of the little one 

in the chatter of the early morning birds 

in the sweep of the prairie grasses 

in the steam off of your first morning cup 

of coffee 

in the expanse of the ripening yellow 

canola fields 

the cluster of cows grazing.

The more we look for beautiful, 

the more our eyes 

will be trained to see it

our ears will be tuned to listen for it. 

When we focus on beautiful,

when we recognize how God 

has provided for us in the past, 

and how he provides 

the beautiful for us today, 

pointing us to Him,

to the Creator of the beautiful,

to His love 

His provision, 

His enough-ness

maybe just maybe 

we can begin to turn our eyes 

from all that is wrong 

all that is messy 

all that is hard 

all that is ugly

and begin noticing 

the beautiful.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a Proverbs 31 ministries COMPEL Writers Training member and is involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s personal blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/  

Joy - The Flip Side by Tracy Krauss

How is writing a joy?

There have been some thought provoking, and just plain beautiful posts this month on the topic.
When I sat down to write this post I wondered how I could possibly add to the conversation. I decided to share three sure fire ways to kill your joy and then contrast them with three ways to increase it.

In the infamous words of Papa Berenstein, 'This is what you should NOT do, so let this be a lesson to you."

J - Jealousy.  Nothing kills your writing joy faster than that old green eyed monster. Just when you start feeling good about yourself or your accomplishments, someone else is bound to come along and show you up. No human being is immune, but as writers this can creep up unexpectedly. How easy it is to feel envious of that person who signs with a well known agent or gets a lucrative book contract. What about that self published author who is now raking in a six figure income while I'm still slaving at my day job? Why do other people have so many five star reviews? How come that person's book is winning awards and garnering praise ... You get it. We all feel just a weeny bit jealous at times, but as soon as you feel that first inkling - snuff it out! Celebrate other people's successes, but never allow yourself to play the 'comparison' game. You'll lose every time.

Proverbs 27: 4 - Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 

O - Offence. Taking offence hurts you more than the person who offended you in the first place. It's like a bitter root that takes hold and pretty soon it can consume your life. Meanwhile, the person who has offended you often doesn't even know that they've done something wrong. After all, people are people and we all make mistakes; we say things without thinking, or make errors of omission without meaning to hurt anyone. We've all felt like telling others to 'lighten up' at times, but yet, when our own sense of entitlement is stepped on, we are quick to take offence. As writers, we need to learn to take constructive criticism without getting offended. Not everyone is going to love us or our writing. If you get a bad review, for instance, shake it off quickly, for there is nothing like an offended spirit to steal your joy away.

Proverbs 18:19 - A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

Y - Yearning. Okay, maybe I'm stretching it a bit in my quest to find a 'Y' word, but I think I can make this work. Yearning in its negative connotation is similar to envy, but it is different in that its object is directed more at 'what I don't have' than at 'what someone else has'. We don't need to be jealous of someone else in order to yearn for something. It speaks of a deeply rooted discontent - currently an  epidemic in today's society. True satisfaction comes in knowing who you are, not in how much stuff you have. When we yearn for what we don't have we cannot possibly also have joy. From a writer's perspective, this could be anything from a published book, greater recognition, more sales, or even just more time to write. Be thankful for what you have NOW, at this moment, instead of always looking to the grass on the other side of the fence.

Hebrews 13:5b - Be content with what you have,  for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

On the positive side, I like the old children's Sunday School song that says joy comes from putting things in this order: Jesus, Others, You. Jesus needs to be the King over my writing. Then I need to think about others and how my words may affect them. Lastly, I can take pleasure in writing what I feel the Lord has given me to write - without comparison, jealousy, taking offence, or yearning for something different.

That's real writing JOY!

________________________

Tracy Krauss takes a lot of pleasure in writing from her home in northern BC where she also teaches high school Drama, Art and English. She is currently serving as inscribe's Vice President and finds joy in serving this wonderful organization in that capacity, too.

Website: tracykrauss.com "fiction on the edge without crossing the line"

Find The Joy

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“Then you will find your joy in the Lord and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land.” (Is 58:14)

It’s always wise, when reading scripture, to search out the meaning behind the words, and to discover the context of the passage. This is a verse from Isaiah, one of the great prophets who was chosen by God to tell His people what they were doing wrong and encourage them to repent. Isaiah does tell them, in very blunt words at times, that they are not doing what God wants them to do. He calls them to turn back to their God. It wasn’t a message the people wanted to hear.

But then comes verse 58:14. Now you could take this verse to simply mean that the people will be blessed and prosperous in the land where they live. But it means more than that. You see, the “heights” Isaiah is talking about are the “high places” – the places where they went to worship idols. The Hebrew people had allowed the religions of pagan nations to dilute and pollute their faith in God. They said they wanted to worship Yaweh but they were hooked. They couldn’t stay away from those “high places.” The pagan practices had become part of the very fabric of their lives. Tearing them down would have seemed impossible.

It would be like us going totally against our culture today – turning off our TVs, throwing away our cell phones, rejecting the constant barrage of entertainment that is in direct conflict with what we believe as Christians. It would mean ridding ourselves of and totally rejecting those things in our lives that take the place only God should hold.

Not easy. Perhaps you’ve noticed. Idols are not easy things to rid ourselves of. Usually it’s because they give us something we crave – some satisfaction, perhaps some special feeling of accomplishment.

It wasn’t easy for those Hebrews to give up their “high places.” But Isaiah promised them that God would help them do it. He would make the ordinary into the extraordinary. He would give them the strength and courage and yes joy that would allow them to follow God wholeheartedly, without reservation. He promised them victory in every way.

And that is a promise we can claim as well.

Listen to what the prophet Habbakuk says – “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19). That’s a beautiful picture isn’t it? Of an agile deer leaping and bounding wherever he wants to go. It’s a picture of true freedom and that’s what God offer us.

So, are there high places in your life? God will supply what is needed. And then, oh, and then, ‘you will find your joy!’

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Marcia Lee Laycock

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has three devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Her most recent release is the first book in a fantasy series, The Ambassadors

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Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here.

Celebrate This Day is a devotional for special occasions.