JUMOY (Jump for Joy)

Caution:  Religious Content---Read the following at your own discretion.  I realize that since a handful of my students read my blogs that I ought to create a whole new one that is just for religious posts rather than anything and everything I choose to write about, but that's more trouble than it's worth.  I'm going to simply trust that if you'd rather not read any of my religious posts that you pay attention to the caution at the beginning and simply not read any further..........I promise that my feelings won't be hurt, just as I trust that you won't be offended that I'm writing religious content, especially considering the fact that I'm telling you up front that I'm doing so.










Anyway, I just HAD to share this......the end of the semester is always a VERY stressful time...not just for students, but for us teachers, too.  We have a LOT of work to finish and pull together so everything can officially be FINISHED; it's very time-consuming--taking a lot of time away from family and friends who are all out doing fun "stuff" without us----while we sit at home finishing our research papers--students writing them; me grading them.  To make things even more interesting for me, Samuel recently had his tonsils out.  That was very stressful and difficult to watch my 10-year old "baby" get through.  Of course, I've gotten behind on grading and other school work as a result.

Then, Easter Sunday, my parents came to spend a few days with us.  They really wanted me to be able to participate in whatever they were doing, so they always planned their "activity" with Samuel (movie, going out to eat, etc.) for when I finished at school.  To make things really interesting, James (my husband) invited some folks from church to go kayaking today.  Because said folks have a baby less than a year old, someone had to stay home with the baby.  No.  I didn't babysit.  The baby's granny (who is only a few years older than I am) was here, but we visited.  Which I thoroughly enjoyed!  (We all took naps!  LOLOL!!!) 

Oh, and today, May 1, was Samuel's 10th birthday!!!!  And get this....tomorrow, Samuel has a reward trip in the evening to go to the movies--paid for by his teachers.  (You know we can't pass that up!)  Then, on Tuesday, Samuel is going to Bo's in Lenoir for ANOTHER reward trip!!!! 

Oh, what a busy time of year!!!!!  Anyway, let me get to my real point.  I have not been going to prayer meeting that we have at church at 9:30 on Sunday mornings.  I don't know how long it's been since I showed up on time for prayer, but it's been a couple of years, I'm sure.  (I know; I'm the pastor's wife.  The least I could do would be to show up for something as simple as prayer time.)  Anyway, I've been doing an extensive Bible Study on having a RELATIONSHIP with my Lord and Savior.  As I go deeper into my Bible Study, PTL, I'm drawing closer and closer to my Lord!  As a result, I WANT to spend more time with Him in every way possible! 

I WANT to do my Bible Study!

I WANT to simply READ my Bible!

I WANT to go to church EVERY time the doors are open....and then some!!!!

I WANT to pray on my own time!

I WANT to pray during scheduled prayer times!

I WANT to TALK about my Lord and Savior!!!

I WANT to worship Him with ALL my Heart, ALL my Soul, ALL my Mind, and ALL my Strength!!! 

So, this morning, I got up and got dressed and made sure Samuel was ready so we could leave in time to be at church on time for prayer meeting.  And what a prayer meeting it was!!!  The Holy Spirit visited us in that place this morning in such a special way!!!!!!!!  Oh, it was so powerful!  We wept.  We worshipped.  We praised.  We adored.  And we wept some more.  Sunday School was a wonderful learning experience and a great reminder that God sees our hearts and knows us TRULY.  While others only see the outside and what we do or what we say, God sees and knows our deepest, innermost hearts and what's TRULY there.  (I pray my heart is, like David, one after God's heart!)

Church, especially the worship service, was another spirit-filled time and SOOOOOO A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!  The Holy Spirit continued to minister throughout the worship service in a mighty way!  We sang about asking God to send us His Power and it came to me that His power is ANY move of the Holy Spirit.  We don't need to see the walls come down as they did in Jericho in order to see God's Power!  His Power is shown and revealed to us in a hundred different ways throughout each and every day....sometimes God's Power is revealed in the simple act that I am able to GET UP---don't you ever have "those days" when you know before you even roll out of bed that you'd be better off to stay IN the bed?????  What an amazing service!!!

So, the enemy tried to tear down all the wonderful things the Holy Spirit had built up in me not just today, but also over the past several weeks through my Bible Study.

How, you might ask?

James invited some church folks, as I mentioned, to go kayaking with him today.  Normally, at the end of a semester when I have a lot of grading to do---and James KNOWS I have a LOT of grading to do--this would have been something to send me over the edge and ready to rip his ever-loving head right off and to tell anyone who would listen how very much he doesn't GET how busy I am at the end of the semester.....that he doesn't LISTEN to me when I tell him what's going on and how stressed I am.....and on and on the list goes.

Am I justified in saying those things about James?  I think I am.  Is it right--no, is it HONORING for me to say those things or to feel like that about him?  Absotively posolutely NOT.  I keep praying that I will be a light shining for God.  Losing my temper with James, justified or not, does NOT allow God's light to shine through me.  Rather than drawing me closer to God, my anger has always taken me further away.......and don't forget that's when I'd run to the food for comfort rather than to God!!!

But TODAY......the Holy Spirit was with me!!!!  I did NOT get angry with James!!!  I did NOT lose my temper!!!!  As Samuel and I got in the car to go to lunch (believe it or not, we all ended up going out to eat, too, together--I ate a salad off the salad bar), I simply prayed and asked God to help me still get my work done without my losing "it" or getting upset about the change of plans.....

And guess what?!  At 10:15 pm, I finished grading the set of papers I'd brought home!!!!!!!  That means that I was able to visit with my company (ok, so we both napped.....still, it was what she wanted to do and what the baby NEEDED to do!!!!), spend some quality time with the birthday boy, AND STILL GET ALL MY WORK DONE WITHOUT HAVING TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT and without losing my temper!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Guys, THAT is reason to R-E-J-O-I-C-E and to Shout for Joy!!!!  JUMOY to the nth degree!!!!!!  And now, I'm going to bring this to a close, get a good night's sleep, and be ready for what the Holy Spirit is going to do to help me tomorrow!!!!!  Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!