Joy Let Loose

November 3, 2020

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

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Worship in spirit and in truth

I haven’t led worship at my church for fourteen weeks. In fact, I’ve honestly barely used my voice to sing in all that time. It has been a season of silence for me, my worship so private and hidden from the world.

Worship in the quiet

I have worshiped more deeply and sincerely than ever before in the secret. No platform. No livestream. No lights. No one even singing, and yet, worship. In fact, I almost didn’t write this because it seems too public, but I feel prompted that someone else is worshiping in the secret too, and needs to be encouraged.

I have not been singing with my voice, but I have worshiped.

  • Making hot tea – worship.
  • Reminding of God’s presence – worship.
  • Choosing to laugh – worship.
  • Injecting pain meds – worship.
  • Processing hard news together – worship.
  • Motivating to try another step – worship.
  • Reminiscing – worship.
  • Changing bedding – worship.
  • Encouraging care workers – worship.
  • Holding weight when legs are weak – worship.
  • Not hiding from the reality of death – worship.
  • Telling that same story again – worship.
  • Choosing intentional conversation – worship.

Serving the vulnerable

Many people serve the vulnerable every single day, and worship Jesus through their service. But for the church worship leader, it can be easy to get so caught up in arrangements and production and scheduling and the skill of it all that our worship rings hollow.

I needed these fourteen Sundays. And I may need the next fourteen as the Lord reframes my perspective of true worship. For now, I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and stay present in each moment as we walk my mom through her twilight days.

It’s here that I worship in spirit and in truth.

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 25:40

How then will you worship?

Have you experienced seasons of private, quiet, hidden worship? Tell us about it in the comments!

Elizabeth JOY

Posted in: Family, Worship
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March 1, 2018

How to Choose Joy Today and Stand Up in the Fire

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As I sit and wait for my son to complete his state testing this afternoon, I’m pondering how to choose joy today, and stand up in the fire. Because this has been a challenging season for our family as we have been walking with our kids through some of the growing pains of developing an adult faith. 

Sometimes days are difficult and conversations are hard. And other days are encouraging and conversations show fruit. But everyday our goal is the same: more than anything in the world, we desire that our children know the reality that their identity is found in Christ alone.

So today I choose  joy.

Choose Joy Today

(Sidenote: I’m wearing this pendant as I write. It’s a very helpful reminder.)

Choose Joy Pendant – The Faithful Merchant

  • To choose joy is not to be naive and pretend that struggles don’t exist.
  • To choose joy is not to play happy all the time.
  • To choose joy is not to hide from challenging circumstances or decisions.
  • To choose joy is not to roll over and allow defeat.
  • To choose joy today I stand on the truth that the joy of the Lord will be my strength.

And beyond that, I choose to raise a banner over our kids’ heads and declare that the joy of the Lord will be their strength as well, all the way to victory. Because He has rescued them from the domain of darkness, and transferred them to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)

No matter the hurdles they face, no matter the lies they hear and believe, no matter the defeating statements they rehearse, the enemy has been defeated! The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8b)

Battle Armor

Today as a parent, I am wearing battle armor. And God’s joy is strengthening me to declare these things: 

Download the printable here!

Stand Up in the Fire

I love how God works. Because in the middle of a tricky season for me, He whispered reminders: He’s got our kids. His eye is on them. He calls them by name. And this week His reminder came through my own words. An article I wrote almost a year ago was published just yesterday with Annesley Writers. It chronicles a huge revelation I received through my daughter.

I read it and I heard my inner voice calling me to trust Him further. For I can stand up in the fire, and so can my children. So if you’d like to hear what it’s like to choose joy from another vantage point, head on over to Annesley to read “Stand Up in the Fire.” 

Stand Up in the Fire – Annesley Writers

My prayers are with you and your families today. Prayers that you will choose joy today and stand up in the fire.

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Family, Journey
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October 20, 2017

What if #MeToo Became #HealedToo? (Life after Domestic Abuse)

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, where many people are speaking up #MeToo. Some people “go purple” to bring awareness to the horrific silence inside of which many women, men and children suffer, where memories are dark and homes unsafe. One in three women, and one in four men have been the victims of some form of violence by someone close to them during their lifetime. Numerous among them were small children when the abuse began, and they remained in abusive situations for years.

This shocking reality is the sad cause of the #MeToo campaign we have seen on our social media feeds recently. My heart breaks for each person who bravely shares this hashtag, knowing thousands still remain silenced and scarred from abuse, at no fault of their own.

We aren’t made for silence.

I desperately want silence to turn to song. #MeToo >> #HealedToo Share on X

 

Our Father made us for relationship with Him and with one another. We were created to share our lives openly, to vulnerably know and trust one another. We are supposed to learn God’s love for us inside relationships.  But for many who say #MeToo, trust has been stolen, and the possibility of vulnerable relationships has been robbed.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus gives life to the full. (John 10:10)

#MeToo

My heart breaks for those whose social media sites bravely declare #MeToo, and yet they have not yet found true healing. Some of these are my friends, and yours.

Maybe one of them is you.

#HealedToo

Jesus Christ is the only one who offers true healing and abundant life. He is the Light of the World, and those who follow Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of LIFE. (John 8:12). He has come to set people free who are slaves to sin, or enslaved by the effects of sin. And those who Jesus sets free are free indeed. (John 8:36). 

#JoySighting

For today’s #JoySighting I want to introduce you to my friend, Christina. Largely through the help of Prevail Inc., she has found the LIFE that exists on the other side of domestic violence. And in that life, she has found  true joy. Christina displays true gratitude for What God has done in her. Her life overflows, and she lets her joy loose by sharing the realities of her story. When I first heard it, I wanted to help spread it. Because stories are powerful weapons against the darkness.

 

We overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:11).

 

Even though Christina can say #MeToo, she can also declare that she has been healed, and she is alive in the abundant life of Christ. And in her story-telling, she is overcoming. She is saying #HealedToo.

What if everyone who says #MeToo could also say #HealedToo?

Do you know someone who needs to hear Christina’s story? Let’s see how far we can spread it! Please let her joy loose by sharing on your social media outlets.

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Joy sightings, Soul care
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January 25, 2017

3 Morning Prayers, and Why I Commit to Pray Them

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3 Morning Prayers and Why I Commit to Pray Them

Sometimes I need to be reminded to pray. As I start the morning, and move into all the day holds, it is easy to forget I’m not in it alone, that I don’t have to do it all by myself. So I wrote some morning prayers to help.

 It’s also easy to underestimate the possibility of participating fully in life on this earth, and finding the joy within it all. Because prayer is a lifeline, a direct line to the Author of the universe, and the One who is intimately acquainted with our hearts. These encounters with God remind us Who God is, and who He’s forming each of us to be. And morning prayers help us to head into the day, remembering that there is always more happening than what we can see, and it is a trust-fall into the sure arms of a strong God.

Prayer is a trust fall into the sure arms of a strong God. Share on X

It is important to learn to pray – it doesn’t exactly come naturally. That Jesus taught His disciples to pray is a good indicator that it might be a learned thing. His model of prayer in Matthew 6 is an awesome springboard to learn some important elements of connecting with God. Studying and praying the prayers of others (ancient or modern) and planning or writing out our own words can help us to learn to pray with depth and richness, rather than just stumbling over repetitive clichés. And the more we practice our prayers, infusing them with the truth of Scripture, the more easily we will pray meaningful, spontaneous prayers as life events occur. So we won’t feel lost for words, wondering what to say, but instead we will find joy in the communication.

I’ve written three morning prayers that I plan to use each day, as part of my  Morning Joy Challenge. And there are several reasons I want to incorporate these into my life as I begin each day:

1) They are reminders of the three Persons of the Trinity, each with His own role in their union, and in my life. This will help me not to only focus my attention on one part of the Godhead, and will help to increase my perspective of God. 

2) They will help to weave Scriptural themes into my prayers.

3) They will build my confidence in God’s active involvement in my day to day life because He has placed His Spirit within me.

So, on our journey toward joy, I invite you to join me by incorporating these morning prayers into your routine. I would recommend you catalogue your journey by grabbing a prayer journal and keeping track of your thoughts as you pray, as well as God’s answers to your prayers.

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Posted in: Journey, Worship
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December 31, 2016

Why Joy?

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Hey there! So glad you could join me…pull up a chair and a mug. I thought maybe we could get to know each other a bit and see if we might joy-journey together. On December 8th, a handful of years ago, I was born and given a name. My name is Elizabeth, and my middle name is Joy.

Elizabeth – consecrated to God, the fullness of God, or my God is bountiful.

Joy – well… joy. 🙂

Run those together and you could say my parents chose to set me apart for God’s joy. Or you could see that the fullness of God is joy, and that God is abundant in joy.

Thank you Mom and Dad! XO

But here is the catch: I’ve struggled with melancholy much of my life, finding myself reticent to experience strong emotions, unexplainably aloof, and sometimes envious of the abundance of joy that is apparent in others. I believe there is more for me than this.

So I’ve made the decision to take the journey towards joy. I’m claiming my name as a life purpose, and I’m embracing a direction forward towards a life of joy so full it overflows. And I want to let it loose – I want to share this journey with you. I don’t think I’m alone in my desire to live with greater joy. I believe you want to live joyfully too, and to leave a lasting impact on the people around you.

It will be no secret that I live a life of faith in Jesus Christ. If you do too – awesome. If you don’t – also awesome. All are welcome on this trek, but I want you to expect that Jesus will also be joining us.

I don’t exactly have a map for this journey, so I’ll need you to be brave and perhaps a little crazy if you want to come along. I’ll be storying, linking, interviewing, praying, photographing, singing, and in general just looking for joy in all of the small and big stuff of life. I know it’s there, and I want it. I want it for you too, so I hope you choose to come along.

Let’s let it loose!

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Journey
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