SUNDAYS WITH JOYCE....Dedicated to SistahPoet

JOY

 

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 15:11

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 16:11

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven….
Matthew 5:12

…let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
I Chronicles 16:10-11

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest islands be glad.
Psalm 97:1

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven….
Matthew 5:12

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening

Psalm 92:2-3

 

 

 

HEAVEN #2280 "In the Mood for God "

God said:

Joy begets joy. Let joy be the theme of your life. Let it be your byline, your password, your entry into Heaven. Let Us not be snobbish about joy. Joy does not have to be of the Highest. There is joy also in entertainment. Just bear in mind that joy is not mere entertainment. Joy is an entry, not an exit.

Joy does not have to jump up and down. Joy can be like the quiet reading of a bedtime story. It does not have to be a performance. There is great joy with Me, beloveds, when you are in the mood for God.

Of course, sometimes you think I interfere with your life, get in the way, cause obstructions. Truly, beloveds, there is no need for Me to do that. I clear your path. You throw your own stumbling-blocks, will you concede this? You have some short-sightedness or long-sightedness that obstructs your view.

Nevertheless, keep going, beloveds. When it comes to life, you cannot predict accurately. You just have to skip along, on one foot and then the other, and see what comes.

But joy is not meant to be dependent on what occurs in life. And that’s where I come in. Your awareness of your closeness to Me gives you great joy. It is also called peace. Not merely an end to arms, but a settling in, as in a warm bed at night when there is frost outside. I am indeed your Comforter. Of course, I am much more than that.

I am your Joy-Giver. I will exhilarate you. I will raise you high. And you will come along with Me gladly, for I take you to a treasure-trove of joy. I always have it. And I always have it to give, and to give to you. Follow Me. I will take you where you want to be. You may not know the name nor where it is exactly. That doesn’t matter. You can know that I know the way very well, and I know where you are setting out for, and I know how to get you there. This is what it means to trust in Me.

I know the power of the heart, and I know the power of yours, while you try to fathom the unfathomable..

There is no problem to solve, beloveds. It is just for you to proceed, one foot after the other. Follow your eyes, beloveds. Look up, and go where your eyes take you. The Magis followed a star. Look up at the night sky. There will be a star waiting for you to follow it. The star is in your heart as well as in the sky.

Actually, you have many stars to follow. Take your pick. They are all there for you. You can take one at a time or all at once. All the stars are leading you Heavenward. Stones at your feet do not, although even stones at your feet that trip you are giving you the sky to look at. Is there a more beautiful sight?

You have been seeking the stars for a long time and yet have perhaps forgotten to look up. The stars are peepholes that will lead you to Me. They light the way for you. The stars will captivate you.

Study them with your own eyes as an astronomer might, and just receive the balm of their light. Star light, star bright.

Beloveds, you are your own joy.

 

 

 

The Triumph of the Soul

Joy! Joy! I triumph! Now no more I know

Myself as simply me. I burn with love

Unto myself, and bury me in love.

The centre is within me and its wonder

Lies as a circle everywhere about me.

Joy! Joy! No mortal thought can fathom me.

I am the merchant and the pearl at once.

Lo, Time and Space lie crouching at my feet.

Joy! Joy! When I would reveal in a rapture.

I plunge into myself and all things know.

- Attar

Translated by Margaret Smith

From: The Persian mystics

 

 

DAILY OM FOR AQUARIUS: The Challenges Of Being

 

You may find it quite easy to empathize with the difficult challenges the people around you are facing today. While you may not understand the complexities of their circumstances, the fact that they are in pain or distress can spark your compassion and inspire you to make an offer of assistance.

Many of those who can potentially benefit from your skills or expertise will likely not take you up on your offer.

However, your concern may warm their hearts and show them that you sincerely care about their welfare, making their journey into the unknown that much easier. If you can take your sympathies one step further into the realm of empathy today, your ability to soothe others may grow stronger.

Every human faces a unique set of challenges as they endeavor to lead lives that are in accordance with their individual values. There may be times in our own lives in which we cannot understand why the people around us have chosen to act in a certain way or to embrace a particular system of belief.

Avoiding conflict becomes a matter of learning first to sympathize and then to empathize with these individuals. Though we cannot comprehend their motivations or intentions, we can nonetheless remind ourselves that all people have the right to pursue autonomous, self-determined lives. When we accept this, we can begin to explore the forces driving them and to consider how their circumstances have shaped their choices.

Your sincerest sympathies will be awakened by a wide variety of individuals today as you consider the diverse lives led by your peers.

Click here for "Waiting for Autumn", the new book from DailyOM co-founder Scott Blum

What do you think?

 

 

Questions for Thought

Do you find it hard trying to be the voice of reason in difficult situations?

Would you just rather stay out of other peoples problems, or lend  some kind of suggestions for dealing with the problems?

When dealing with conflicts, do you tend to address the problems, or the solutions, or do you just stay out of it?

 

DAILY OM...Uniting in Thought and Action

The Power Of The Circle

There are many reasons for why a gathering of people in a circle is powerful. A circle is a shape that is found repeatedly throughout the natural world, and it is a symbol of perfection. We recreate this perfect shape when we join others to form a circle. Being in a circle allows us experience each other as equals. Each person is the same distance apart from the next participant, and no one is seated higher than or stands apart from others in a circle. From tribal circles to the mythical round table of King Arthur, the circle has been the shape adopted by gatherings throughout history.

The circle is acknowledged as an archetype of wholeness and integration, with the center of a circle universally understood to symbolize Spirit - the Source. When a group of people come together in a circle, they are united. This unity becomes even more powerful when each person reaches out to touch a neighbor and clasps hands.

This physical connection unites thought and action, mind and body, and spirit and form in a circle. Because a circle has no beginning and no end, the agreement to connect in a circle allows energy to circulate from one person to the next, rather than being dissipated into the environment.

Like a candle used to light another candle, the connection with spirit that results when one person joins hands with another is greater than if each person were to stand alone.

People who take part in a circle find that their power increases exponentially while with the group. Like a drop of water rippling on the surface of a pond, the waves of energy produced in a circle radiate outward in circular motion. While one person may act like a single beacon that emanates light, a circle of people is like a satellite dish that sends out energy.

There is power in numbers, and when the commitment is made by many to face one another, clasp hands, and focus on one intention, their circle emanates ripples of energy that can change the world.

Click here for "Waiting for Autumn", the new book from DailyOM co-founder Scott Blum

What do you think?

Musically Speaking....

God said:

Do you know how sometimes a song enters your mind, and it will stay for as long as it wants to stay, and you cannot dislodge it? It may be a song from many years ago.

Unbeknownst to you, it was dormant and yet vibrating within you until it started to sing itself out. How powerful are those songs that have entered your bloodstream and never left.

And so is it with thoughts that recur. And so is it with every book you have read, movie you have seen, TV show you have watched, commercial you didn't really listen to, newspaper you hardly read, and yet every word and tune you have heard - all are marked down.

They are somewhere there in the recesses of your mind.

 

Consider that you have two sections in this reservoir of your mind.

One contains negativity, and one contains joy.

The world is rife with negativity.

You already have enough of it. Joy may have to be pursued.

The first thing for you to do is to lay off listening to the news which is so often dire and dreadful.

By vacating negative news, you give more room to joy.

Pursue positivity.

 

Run from negativity as you would a fierce lion.

It is easy to think it doesn't matter what violence or horror you expose yourself to, but the ashes are long-lasting.

Negativity soaks in and is hard to wash way.

Negativity is a stain, like blackberry juice, and it leaves its mark.

This is not for you to worry about.

Nothing is for you to worry about.

All worries are of the past.

Drop the past now with your intent, and by-pass current negativity.

You don't need to open the door to more.

It is no little thing to absorb negativity. It scars you.

At the same time, there is much you interpret as negative that you don't have to.

Negativity carries a great weight.

All the losses you perceive weigh heavily on you.

Remove the idea of loss, and much negative weight lifts..

When loved ones move on, think of all the love and the beauty instead of loss.

Sense of negativity is a feeling.

You are not feelingless.

You are feelingful.

 

 

Pay attention to what feelings you fill yourself with.

Is it possible you don't have to focus on the war-torn world?

You say you would eradicate war single-handedly if you could.

I am telling you how.

It is not burying your head in the sand to not read about it nor hear about it.

When thoughts of war disappear from enough minds, and feelings of anger and outrage are not paramount and reduce themselves, how will wars be fought?

What will fuel them?

Enter an arena of peace in your mind, beloveds, and you will add to the peace in the world.

Do you scoff at what I say?

Negativity multiplies itself. Positivity does too.

Multiply what you want to multiply, and subtract that which you want to subtract.

This is simple arithmetic

We speak of now.

Add peace unto your heart.

Leave off strife.

 

 

Come, pick yourself up from the rubble of your thoughts and enter a park of greenness and joy where there are only thoughts of joy and none of danger.

Become upscale in your thoughts, beloveds.

Let negativity lie where it lies.

Do not embrace it.

Big or little negativity is still negativity, beloveds.
It is clutter.

You go to great effort to remove clutter from your closets.

Don't pile up the closets of your mind.

Let negativity go.

You don't need it.

Embrace freedom instead.

Let the song of My beautiful words

echo through you.

 

~Heaven's Letters~

SUNDAYS WITH JOYCE......WISDOM

 

WORD FOR TODAY

Wisdom

1. Daniel full of wisdom Daniel 5:14 .....I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee
2. God gave Joseph unusual wisdom Acts 7;10 .....And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
3. Lord will give you understanding 2 Timothy 2:7 .....Consider what i say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
4. Pray for wisdom James 1:5 .....If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
5. Wise with spiritual wisdom Colossians 1:9 .....For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;





HEAVEN #2185 Grow Heavenward

God said:

When you look up at Me, you are not looking down.
World influence often tends to pull you down.
My influence, by its very nature, lifts you up.
The world has gotten in the habit of denigrating you.
The world gives you a false picture.
It would cut you off at the start,
wanting to keep you indentured to it.
I would have you rise to the heights where you rightfully belong.

Come, look up. Come see a truer picture of you.

In its efforts to keep you small, the world would squash you. I would unleash you.
Do not think I am in competition with the world.
There is no competition when it comes to Me.
Only, life in the world travels on the surface.
It twirls itself around and wants to keep you captive.
I want to free you from the arbitrary restraints of the world.

I am not telling you to spurn the world.
I am telling you to not believe so much in what it says.
Adore the world. At the same time, do not hold it almighty.
You are not really its province. I
t doesn’t own you.
Instead of the world’s twirling you,
by the height of your thoughts, twirl the world.
There is a level beyond the world.
Reach for it.

In your daily life, you will know what is clearly from God
and what is clearly from man.
Look up at the sun and the sky,
and you will know the jewels I have strewn the world with.
Look at what I would show you, beloveds.

The world is imperfect by its own standards.
And yet it would pompously brag
and invite you to join in its legerdemain.
It is my pleasure to offer you the pure fruit of Heaven.

You are meant to be the tillers of the world, not the tilled.
You are not to be pounded into the ground.
You are meant to plant beautiful flowers
and vegetables that, like you, will grow Heavenward.

You would not turn down My invitation to join Me, would you?
Do not tremble.
Do not hold Me in awe.
Hold Me in love.

If you are a building block of the world,
represent Me. Set your feet firmly near Me.
Hold the world up to Me, beloveds.
Hold it in your hands like a precious jewel
that you polish.
Hold the world up like the sun.

DAILY OM.....The Best You

The Power Of Staying Positive

Our thoughts are not simply ethereal pieces of information that enter our minds and then disappear. The words and ideas that we think can shape our lives and drive us toward success and happiness or failure and distress.

How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to recognize opportunity, how well you perform, and the outcome of the goals that you’ve set for yourself.

When you maintain an optimistic outlook and make an effort to harbor only positive thoughts, you begin to create the circumstances conducive to you achieving what you desire. You feel in control and few of life’s challenges seem truly overwhelming because it is in your nature to expect a positive conclusion. An optimistic mind is also an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore difficulties or disregard limitations. Instead, it means spending time focusing only on the thoughts that are conducive to your well-being and progress.

Positive thinking dramatically increases your chances of success in any endeavor. When you’re sure that you are worthy and that achievement is within your grasp, you start to relax and look for solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

You are more likely to imagine positive situations or outcomes and disregard the thoughts related to giving up, failure, or roadblocks. What the mind expects, it finds.

If you anticipate joy, good health, happiness, and accomplishment, then you will experience each one.

Thinking positively may sound like a simple shift in attention – and it is – but it is a mind-set that must be developed. Whenever a negative thought enters your mind, try immediately replacing it with a constructive or optimistic one. With persistence, you can condition your mind to judge fleeting, self-defeating thoughts as inconsequential and dismiss them.

It is within your power to become as happy, content, or successful as you make up your mind to be.

Staying positive may not have an immediate effect on your situation, but it will likely have a profound and instantaneous effect on your mood and the quality of your experiences. In order for positive thinking to change your life, it must become your predominant mind-set.

Once you are committed to embracing positive thinking, you’ll start believing that everything that you want is within your grasp.

What do you think?

Touched By An Angel....By Maya Angelou

Touched by An Angel"

 

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

SUNDAYS WITH JOYCE

 

Stewardship

 

"Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all." - 1 Chronicles 29:12

"Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." - Proverbs 13:11

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." - 1 Timothy 6:10

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" - Hebrews 13:5

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;" - 1 Peter 5:2

"Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor." - Ecclesiastes 7:12

"He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty." - Proverbs 22:16

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10

 

 

Jesus sat in the house of his friend, Simon, waiting for the meal to be served. A woman entered the house whom most of the men tried to ignore because of her street reputation.  Yet it was hard to ignore the sweet, expensive fragrance of the purfume she pulled from her box and began sprinkling into the hair of Jesus. She gently massaged His tired, dusty feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

Very uncomfortable and angered at this outward display of professional gall, the Host, criticized her for it and even accused Jesus of being less than discerning--while Jesus seemed to enjoy the attention

This act of unselfish giving gave Jesus the opportunity to minister both to this caring woman, and also jolt Simon back into reality.  Both had been forgiven by Jesus. The woman had been rescued from the Red Light District, and Simon forgiven for leading her down that road of sin.

The act of giving sprang from a truly repentent thankful heart.  And so it will be with all who experience Christ's forgiveness.  There is no salvation without forgiveness and repentance--whether the sin is big or small...

 

 

God has given us two hands--one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing.

Givng needs no more apology than does praying. In the Bible there are 1,539 passages that reference giving, while there are only 523 that refer to praying!

It's not how much of my money will I give to God, but how much of God's money will I keep for myself.

If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life