Today, enjoying my coffee with Jesus, I am reminded that joy and happiness are two different things.  Happiness is good, but it is temporary. Joy is that deep connection with our Lord that brings peace, even when everything is not going well. Joy brings peaceful assurance of God‘s presence. My awareness of joy and the blessings that God brings can make a regular day a day full of blessings.

I experienced a deep joy yesterday when I watched a newborn baby and his family walk over to their grandparents’ house on our block. A week before, the child was still inside his mother, and today, he is here, and the family was so full of joy.  The gift of receiving joy, which comes from God, is that we have to share it. Then it becomes contagious.

Today, experience the joy that only God can bring. And then share it, share it with your spouse, share it with your children, share it with someone who may need to hear from you today. For this is the day the Lord has made (and it is full of joy), let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 And don’t forget to share it! 

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about the gift of TIME. Sometimes TIME goes very fast and sometimes it seems to just stand still. Sometimes I find myself wasting TIME, and then there are other times when I feel like I have no TIME at all. When we put our lives in the hands of God, we can find TIME for everything HE wants us to experience.

When we don’t put off our TIME to pray, or make TIME to get enough sleep, when we make TIME to exercise, we will begin to find the balance of TIME. When we find the balance, we have TIME for everything. We have TIME for family, for work, for service, and, most of all, for our Lord.

The Scriptures tell us there is a TIME for everything.  So today, ask the Lord how HE wants you to spend the TIME that he has given you on this day. HE always gives us enough TIME for us to open ourselves to HIM. 

Have a blessed day! HE has provided just enough TIME for you to do everything HE needs you to do!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about another one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, JOY!  I think that here is a difference between happiness and JOY. We can be going through very difficult times in our lives and still feel moments of JOY. That is when we experience the JOY that Jesus is our Lord and know that there is nothing to worry about. 

I’m re-reading a book by Henry Nouwen, and in it he states that the greatest gift  we can give anyone is our own personal inner JOY, peace, silence, solitude, and well-being. We may want to do things for people, or sometimes feel that we’re taking on other people’s problems and issues (otherwise known as codependency), but that does not really help them.  What people need to experience is the inner peace, JOY, and the positive energy that flows from a person who knows the Lord. 

Today, I am going to focus on JOY!  Everything may not be perfect in my life, but I do feel God’s presence deep within my heart, and that brings JOY. That is the greatest gift I can share today!

Have a blessed, joy-filled day.

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about the word LOSS. Later today, I am attending the funeral of a longtime friend, someone who has always felt like part of my family. In the past, I know many of you have lost family or friends as well.

I also know that grief is a part of everyday life; it is something thing we all have in common as human beings. I read a great quote that Grief it’s just love with no place to go! I think the biggest struggle is what do we do with the LOSS. As a person of faith, I know that friends and family who have passed are OK. and sometimes I feel selfish for missing them so much. I think about the next life and it brings me peace. But you cannot avoid the emptiness and the sadness.

So today, I’m going to allow myself to feel the loss and pain. It’s not self-pity; it’s just reality. I’m going to count as blessings those I’ve lost and be thankful for the impact they made in my life. I’m going to give thanks to God, because without experiencing loss, we can never experience gain.

Have a blessed day.

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was reflecting on the VOICES we hear.  I remember growing up watching cartoons, and occasionally there would be a character with a little devil on one side and a little angel on the other, and the character would hear both voices.  Today, we hear many voices.  We hear voices when we watch the news, we hear voices through social media, and we hear voices in our heads, but the only voice we should strive to hear is GOD’S.

Each day, we need to be STILL and LISTEN to the voice of God. Scriptures tell us that He speaks to us in a whisper, in silence, in the heart, and it is important to take a moment to breathe deeply, clear the mind, and LISTEN for HIS voice.  Only when we hear HIS voice do we experience a PEACE that is like no other.

Today, as I begin my day, I will take time to be still, to be quiet, and to listen to HIS voice, which speaks to me from the beginning, and continues to draw my soul to HIM!  HE says in Psalms 46, “Be still and know that I am GOD!”  Be aware of the many voices that will strive to get your attention, today, but LISTEN to HIS voice! 

Have a blessed day!