Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea

Joy to the world – all the boys and girls. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me! Blast from the past. That’s a couple of lines from 1970’s, “Jeremiah was a Bull Frog” sung by the band, Three Dog Night! Has really nothing to do with Christmas but “Joy to the World” sure does.

What makes us all so much more joyful this time of year? Could it be that the angel's message to the shepherds holds true for us still today? "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of GREAT JOY!" Christ is that good news that no matter how dismal everything around us might be, there is always GOOD NEWS of great joy that can change everything for us.

I took that "good news" personally for my daughter. December 8th was her big 5-0 birthday. Thanks to so many who joined me in wishing her a “Happy Birthday”. She was in Florida at a 7-day conference on her birthday, but she got the message from so many friends via social media and the surprise party we gave her before she left. You can see in these photos it was more than a birthday celebration -- it was a restitution celebration.

A few months back, Staci’s son’s car was stolen from a Dallas parking garage. Traumatic enough, but not as painful as when the car was found, it had been devoured like some kind of monster movie. Every part of the car had been removed, along with the precious treasures that were in the trunk. Payton kept those treasures close by in case he got the urge to go fishing, he was prepared. Those treasures were my husband’s beloved fishing equipment: rods, tackle, vest, etc. All had been passed onto their family because they are the avid fisher-people who learned their skills from my husband aka dad aka papa. All of it was stolen in that fiasco. So, what’s a mother to do? Carry on. That’s the way I roll and my family rolls. We don’t give the enemy the upper hand by bemoaning his tactics. We don’t give up. We get up and get over it because we are too blessed otherwise.

In this case, I asked Larry (Staci’s husband) to make a list of all that was in that trunk. He did and I got to be a restitution maker. It’s one thing to have things returned; it’s a another thing to get restitution. Staci explained it in her tears while opening each item I had wrapped in “fishing” fabric (couldn’t find fishing wrapping paper). The items stolen could have been returned in their original state (some items were worn and tattered). I was able to help bring about restitution -- making up for damages or harm. Brand new items that made up for the loss. What a JOY to see my girl so full of JOY!

“The Bible tells us in Psalm 16:11 that ‘In His presence is fullness of joy.’ If we want joy in our life, we need to revisit the Nativity scene and realize that's where God's presence was experienced in the form of that tiny baby boy. That baby boy grew up and is our living King of Kings! Daily, we can experience His presence and know that GREAT JOY! We can experience it at a birthday party or a busy restaurant. We can experience it when facing a crisis or a disappointment. Joy isn't the same as happiness. Happiness is based on those ooey, gooey feelings when everything is going right. But JOY is based on the CONSTANT of He Who lives big within us. He is that GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY so we can belt out singing "Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room......" That's the key....preparing room for Him inside to be our joy-giver, and peace-maker no matter the circumstances.

Sincerely, God wants us to GET IT – about why He sent His Son Jesus -- the good tidings of great joy which is for all people. “So, here -- take that good news of great joy with you today!” And, all you little fishes in the deep blue sea, better watch out, Staci and all her fishing gear are coming to town!

Who Do You Run to When You Need a Friend?

Today’s inspiration for this blog came from the graphic posted by my friend, Michael Beaudoin. Thank you, Michael! “The first one to recognize Jesus was an unborn child.” Here's what that line means:

Mary had just heard from Gabriel that she was going to give birth to the Son of God. Did you catch that? She was going to give birth to the “Holy, Son of God”!!! I’m not using that as slang! I’m just saying that a young peasant girl received the announcement that she was going to give birth WITHOUT relations with a man, and the clincher is: THAT baby is the Son of God! Then…. what’s a girl to do? Stay in the spot and wonder “How can this be?” “How will Joseph take this news?” “What will the neighbors think?” “What about my wedding and my wedding dress and all the plans I’ve made?” We don’t read any such questions, though she may have had them running through her mind. She simply responded to Gabriel’s message: “Yes. Be it unto me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Back to that first photo...after hearing Gabriel’s message and giving her “yes”, Mary ran with haste to get to her cousin, Elizabeth, who had been barren, but Gabriel told Mary a miracle had taken place and Elizabeth is six months pregnant. After all, NOTHING is impossible with God! And when Elizabeth heard her greeting, her baby recognized the Son of God in her and leaped for joy in her womb. (Luke 1:39-40).

God is the world’s greatest matchmaker EVER! I’m not talking about the kind of romantic matches made online, but rather about "divine" connections made between women in need and those who can help. I have many of those connections and before I would share "my load" with just anyone, I would go to those gals who have my back and I have theirs. Those are the women I do life with. In this Luke 1 Christmas Story, God gives us a beautiful picture of what it looks like when He gives the gift of that kind of friends to help us in challenging times. Here, He joins together a young Mary, with an older woman, Elizabeth, and encourages both of them in the linking. If we’ll zoom in a little, there are some important lessons for us.

Why did Mary need to pack up and leave home to go see Elizabeth? Where was her mother? Her friends? No matter the answers, one fact is clear. Mary needed a faith-filled woman with whom she could connect. In fact, she hurried there! We live in a world where people are lonely and hurting and we know the saying "Misery loves company”. Mary could have sat at home and worried about this new startling info and turn to a nearby friend for support. But, what friend could understand THIS dilemma? She didn’t look for a friend who knew little of life to give her news to, but, Gabriel had given her Elizabeth's miracle, nothing-is-impossible-with-God story! She knew she was the kind of friend she needed.


There was such joy in their connection. The rest of this story is so beautiful that I can hardly explain it adequately. Elizabeth was elated to hear Mary’s voice and her baby boy leaped in her womb. She cried out in a loud voice, and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Two anointed-with-the-Holy-Spirit boys were inside these women And then Mary started singing with joy and praising and magnifying God.

The outcome of these women’s connection was great joy. Not only were they happy in the moment, but they were forever enriched by the match that God had made between the two of them. God calls us to connect so we can mature. Mary was supported, and Elizabeth had a chance to share her maturity and support. That same joy can be in store for you and me! Let's connect, Girl Friends, with those who are connected by the Holy Spirit. If ever we needed each other, it is today!

Lord, thank You for giving us divine connections with others who not only encourage us in our faith, but we encourage them with your faithfulness!

Joy to the World

Those words resonated with me yesterday, especially when I was standing in an extremely long check-out line. A voice came over the loud speakers "We assure you all our available cashiers are working very hard to get you served as quickly as possible." When I arrived at the front of the line, I noticed there were only three cashiers checking out all those folks and there were five vacant cash registers. When I saw the manager making her announcement again, I said, "It looks like you don't have enough cashiers!" She replied, "We don't. We're hiring. If you know someone that needs a job, please send them our way!" With only three cashiers, however, the line went quickly and in spite of the wait, there were no Scrooges or Grinches because we were all echoing Christmas joy. We were laughing and making conversation and everyone was tolerant of the manager's dilemma. No one was complaining. We all agreed -- "It's the time of the year for Christmas cheer!"

Joy to the world! Could it be that the angel's message to the shepherds holds true today? "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of GREAT JOY!" Christ is that good news no matter how dismal or hectic everything might be. There is good news of great joy that can change everything for us -- especially as the rest of the words in that song sink in "Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart PREPARE HIM ROOM." Aw! That's the answer -- making room for JOY -- making room for Jesus..

I know it was that JOY that I sensed yesterday. I drove past a Luby's Cafeteria. I hadn't seen one in a very long time and It brought back sweet memories of my husband and I eating at Luby's. He loved cafeteria-style restaurants. I thought...."I'll visit a couple of stores in this area and time it so I can have lunch there", and I did. I chose food items we both enjoyed together . I texted my two children and told them I just had to stop and celebrate remembering how much daddy loved this place. I was embracing the memories. When I returned to my car, I remembered the little bottle of his favorite cologne that I keep in the car and gave it a spray. I teared up for a minute at the thought AND smell of him.. Just a minute because, though those were some of our best of times, I don't live there anymore. It's sweet to remember, but there's too much living for TODAY with gratitude and purpose and I began to sing "Joy to the World".

It was pre-electricity era 2,000 years ago when the dark night skies became brilliant and the angel appeared to those terrified shepherds and said , "Do not be afraid. I bring you GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY that will be for all the people."(Luke 2:10). Those terrifying moments were replaced with good news and great joy.

Psalm 16:11 says "In His presence is fullness of joy." To have that joy, we need to make room for the JOY GIVER. Though He came as a sweet little baby boy, He is ALIVE today and is our King of Kings. We can experience His presence and know that GREAT JOY! We can experience it in the crowds at the store or at a crowded restaurant. We can experience it when facing a crisis or a disappointment or any other time of weakness.

Joy isn't the same as happiness. Happiness is based on those ooey, gooey feelings when everything is going right. But JOY is based on the CONSTANT of He Who lives big within us. He is that GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY and when we sing those words "Joy to the world, the Lord is come", we know we have found the key to joy is welcoming the JOY-GIVER inside our hearts. Let me start your day with GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY today. Go ahead. Receive this most precious Christmas gift EVER. Welcome Him -- the JOY GIVER into your heart -- into your day -- into your Christmas. I just gave you JESUS!Welcome, JOY!

Joy to the World

What makes us all so much more joyful this time of year than any other time? Could it be that the angel's message to the shepherds holds true today? "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of GREAT JOY!" The good news. Christ is that good news that no matter how dismal everything around us might be..,,there is always GOOD NEWS of great joy that can change everything for us.

Yesterday was my girl's birthday and it was packed full of JOY! After a precious time of birthday celebration and gift-giving -- which of itself was full of joy because of our Lexi. She had a huge, heavy bag and said as she gave it to her mother....."I know it looks like Easter threw up on it! (Meaning the colored flowers and tissue which she found that could hold all her treasures.) Staci pulled out a stuffed bunny and Israel flags and kleenexes because she knew us -- that before the day was over, we'd be crying tears of joy. Lexi said, "I needed to add a few things to weight it down." And she had other items of her own as well as a couple of things she had borrowed from her mother, and used this birthday opportunity to return them all wrapped up. She actually did have some really great real gift items at the bottom of her "Easter" bag, but the journey getting to them was, to say the least, tear-making hilarious. Yes, we were joy-filled!

We girls saw where Elevate Life Church had posted on Instagram "FREE Women's t-shirts for women who came into their bookstore and said the word "JOY". In our usual style and form, we went in singing "Joy to the World"! No, we just don't roll with a simple "JOY" -- it's gotta' be "Good tidings of GREAT JOY!

Later, we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and, lo and behold, a youth choir from LoveJOY, Texas came in and seranaded the dinner guests with "Joy to the World" and other carols. Of course, we thought it was just for us, but since there were other customers there with us, we let them enjoy themselves as well. ;-)

Back to my first paragraph here in today's post. Great joy!! What is that joy that the angel was talking about? Let’s seriously consider that Christmas night over 2,000 years ago. It was pre-electricity era – can you imagine the terror the shepherds experienced when the dark skies became brilliant as the angel appeared to them? But the angel gave them solace when he said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY that will be for all the people."(Luke 2:10). Those terrifying moments were replaced with good news and great joy. The first words the angel spoke were words of comfort and words of command: "Do not be afraid."

“The Bible tells us in Psalm 16:11 that ‘In His presence is fullness of joy.’ If we want joy in our life, we need to revisit the Nativity scene and realize that's where God's presence was experienced in the form of that tiny baby boy. And, I'm here to tell you today, He is now a grown-up boy -- a King -- that, daily, we can experience His presence and know that GREAT JOY! We can experience it at a birthday party or a busy restaurant. We can experience it when facing a crisis or a disappointment. Joy isn't the same as happiness. Happiness is based on those ooey, gooey feelings when everything is going right. But JOY is based on the CONSTANT of He Who lives big within us. He is that GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY and when we sing those words "Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room......" That's the key....preparing room for Him inside to be the joy-giver, and peace-maker

Sincerely, God wants us to GET IT – about why He sent His Son Jesus -- the good tidings of great joy which is for all people. “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy!” I give you Jesus.

"Fear Not! I Bring You Good News of Great Joy!"

Those are the words the angels spoke to the shepherds when they were announcing the birth of our Savior. This was also the scripture that I referenced in my message to a room filled with beautiful women at Christ the King Church last night. When I was asked to speak for this event several months ago, I was asked to speak on JOY. This scripture immediately resonated within me. I found it so timely with the recent tragedies in our country, the loss of lives not only here but abroad, the pain and suffering that seems so abundant, and the grief and sadness that so many are facing.

Yesterday, I planned on spending the day in meditation and preparing for last night's message. Just as I was about to sit down in my comfy chair, I looked out my back window and saw two fire trucks going through the neighborhood. Though I'm inquisitive, I thought "Just maybe one of my neighbors is in trouble", so I hastened out my door and a neighbor waved me down to tell me that one of our neighbors, only 63 years old, had been found, deceased, that morning by his parents. My heart went out to them, but initially thought "I didn't know him well so I'll go home back to my studies." As I drove into my garage, I heard God's "still small voice" say "You can help his parents. Take them the 'good news of great joy that lives in you.'" I went there and this precious mother and father were having to take the unspeakable role of seeing after their boy and having to make hard decisions that no parent would ever want to have to make for their child. Immediately, I knew why I, and a couple of other of my girl friends from the neighborhood were "on call" this day. It was more than obvious that this precious mother and father were Christians because, even though they were hurting, their faith gave them so much strength. We talked a lot about the peace of God while waiting hours for the police, the doctor's opinion, the medical examiner and the vehicle that eventually took the son away. I wasn't aware that when someone dies alone in a home that it's seen as a crime scene until certain procedures were carried out. Once again, that scripture verse was timely as I shared God's Word and the angel's word "Fear Not; I bring you good news of great joy" to this couple.

I cried with this precious mama as I remembered those words many times when I needed them the most. My own sweetheart had been very ill for several months, but we weathered the storm because those words: “Fear not. I bring you good news of great joy!” Initially, when we received the diagnosis of Stage 4 Kidney cancer we wrestled with that COMMAND – not a suggestion -- “Do Not Fear”. Why does God COMMAND us not to be afraid when every day there are situations that occur and it seems impossible NOT to fear? We found the answer to that question by focusing on the GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY that the angel spoke about. As I think back on those months, without doubt -- we did experience GREAT JOY in the midst of doctor's appointments, treatments, six surgeries, pain, and discomfort. We laughed. We celebrated life. We embraced each other and we embraced our friends and family like never before. It is possible to have peace and joy, like the shepherds had, right in the middle of the darkest night.

I leave this word to YOU today. Who knows what tomorrow may hold for you or a loved one? But, be of good cheer, the GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY will show up for you. After all, He brings with Him "Tidings of comfort AND joy" when we need it most.

DO NOT Be Afraid

Pre-electricity era – can you imagine the terror the shepherds experienced when the dark skies became brilliant when the angel appeared to them?   But the angel gave them solace when he said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY that will be for all the people."(Luke 2:10).  Those terrifying moments  were replaced with good news and great joy. The first words the angel spoke were words of comfort and words of command: "Do not be afraid."

It doesn't sound like a suggestion to me.  "Do NOT be afraid."  Why does God COMMAND us not to be afraid when every day there are situations that occur and it seems impossible NOT to fear? When my husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer, we wrestled with this "command." How do you face your greatest fear in life, and not be afraid?  We found the answer to that question by focusing on the GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY that the angel spoke about.  As I think back on those few months that we had remaining with my sweetheart, without doubt -- we did experience GREAT JOY in the midst of doctor's appointments, treatments, six surgeries, pain, and discomfort. We laughed. We celebrated life.  We embraced each other and we embraced our friends and family like never before.  It is possible to have peace and joy, like the shepherds had, right in the middle of the darkest night.

What is bringing you fear today? Christmas can't be a happy time for everyone. Many people are facing debilitating illness, financial stress, or may be facing this Christmas alone for the first time. But listen once again to the angel's words...."Do not be afraid -- I bring you good news of great joy!" There is good news. There is great joy. That news is for ALL people -- you and me -- no matter what we may be facing. Whatever your circumstances are this year, focus on the face of God and be reminded of why we celebrate Christmas. It isn't really about all the things the world has made it to be. It is about the good news of great joy. Picture the God of the universe handing you his Son, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Hear him say, "Don't be afraid of anything….ever. I give you joy. I give you peace. I give you comfort. I give you hope. I give you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY!  I give you JESUS."
#GoodNews #GreatJoy #DoNotBeAfraid