Facebook Debate?

So I just wanted to share this. Haha. Because I have definitely found this new... excitement about who Jesus is in my life and what it means to be his daughter. I am reading this book called Champagne for the Soul by Mike Mason and it is amazing. Short, sweet, to the point.

The question he poses in the beginning of this 90 say experiment in joy is this:
If you don't have joy. Ask yourself, what is it that you don't believe about God. (Which I put up as a Status Update on FB this morning.)

Then I was asked, "So... when Christ was sorrowful, or was deeply trouble.. what did he not believe about God?"

Then I answered, "Joy is a constant. Jesus was 'a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering' (Is. 53:3). Does that mean that he wasn't joyful? Did he not rejoice? Of course he did.

Joy is something that kind of lives and breathes brokenness, chaos, darkness.

Joy does not disappear in times of fear. It feeds from it. It is resilient.

Do I believe that Jesus loves me and died for me on the cross. Yes. I have joy in that. Do I rejoice in my sufferings, for sure. Why? Because joy is what is commanded of me. Joy is all I CAN feel in light of what God's given me.

Even in the crap of my life. I can be joyful.

In our sorrow and in our brokenness--I still have joy in the mercy and grace of God and the shed blood of Jesus.

(You should read this book.)

If I didn't have joy. I would be saying that what Jesus did. What God gave me... isn't worthy of the response of joy."

Then they said, "Opinions are opinions."

And I said, "And I am the one who undoubtedly has joy in my life. You can do with it what you want. I know that I have joy & I love it. :)"

To me. It's kind of like... HOW CAN YOU NOT REJOICE!? God is so good. God is so pure.
And honorable. And loving. And merciful. And patient.

AH! God is soooo good.



&& Because posts are better with pictures. These are two shoots that I got to do and really--I felt so happy when I shot them because the girls are so adorably cute and the couple is so in love. :) So cute!!