for the joy of the Lord.

i'm not sure if anyone reads this anymore, but i don't care. it makes me feel better to write! we sang a great old song in church this morning...trading my sorrows. and that line just got me! i'm trading my sorrows...i'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord. how can i be a good face of the Lord to the world if i walk around in sadness. granted, i'm so not as sad as i was a week ago, but i'm not my bubbly self for sure. but that's not how God wants me to be! He wants me to suck it up, let Him take care of it, be ok, and trust that He is there and in control. and i do! and i knew all of this, but i guess it took this morning to just kick my butt about it! i'm so not where i need to be with the Lord, not even where i used to be. i got out of the habit of making my daily time with the Lord a priority. it's not even a priority anymore, and definitely not my first priority. somebody be my buddy and hold me accountable for it!

i joined north oxford this morning! i just really felt this morning that God was calling me to make that my new church home. i haven't been able to feel at home or have a place in a church in a while. so i moved my letter today, and i feel amazing. i had a great time in worship this morning, the best i've had in a long time. even though i've worked camp 3 summers now, with the most amazing worship, it's so easy to make it a routine and to make it about business instead of enjoying worship and really experiencing God. this morning though, i had no business to worry about. i put my own feelings, thoughts, and troubles aside and just spent some time with my God, and it was fabulous!

God doesn't promise us that we are always going to have a great life, that we are always going to be in a good mood, that we won't have any problems, or that we will always be happy once we accept Him. but He does promise that He will take care of us, that we can give Him our problems and He will handle them, and that we can find joy in Him. He promises that He will never give us more than we can handle, and we can always rely on Him. that's where i rest...right there in those thoughts.