The Joy of Unity

Paul says to the Corinthians,

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV)

There is a strong pleading for the church to be united in mind and thought.

Life is full of joy when the church has unity. Christians then take their eyes off themselves and stop winning the conversations in their mind and they start talking to people to reconcile and seek out mutual understanding.

Those conversations are graces and create joy! Be united to your family in Christ today!

The Joy of Mistakes

In one sense I hate it when I make mistakes.

But in another sense I take joy in seeing God show mercy and transformational Grace when I fail.

Recently at work I made a decision that I felt was right and intentions but wrong in approach. That seems to happen all too often in my life.

But the joy of knowing that God is sovereign is that I can see how he is working on my character through these mistakes.

So I don't wish to make mistakes today but I want to be humble to really learn from them and not be quick to justify myself in my failures.

The Joy of Reading

Aren't we all tempted when were tired to simply plop down in front of the tv and watch some mind numbing junk?

But what if we picked up a book?

I've been using iBooks and find joy in the Sherlock Holmes book I'm reading. My mind is engaged and I love trying to figure out the case before it's revealed.

So what book will you enjoy today?

The Joy of Friendship

So I've begun to connect with some quality men in Grand Rapids and one of them said yesterday, "Friendship is built on trust."  I think that might be the issue that I don't quickly build deep friendships with guys.  I don't know if I've grown to really trust people.

But there is joy in letting down the guard and inviting people to see the real me.  Lord help me to enjoy friendships and be transparent and open to trusting people and to be trustworthy.

The Joy of Politics

Now I know what you're thinking.  Politics are joyful?  Most of the time people do not approach them in joyful ways.  Negative ads.  Hateful speech about the "other" candidate.  Doom and gloom talk!

But think of all the joys surrounding politics.  You see people become passionate about their issues.  You see people participating in a democratic process.  You see no coup d'etats whatsoever!  You see campaign managers and staff seeing the fruit of their labor!

And hopefully you see Christians praying for leaders.  You see Christians speaking kind words about people.  You see Christians engaged in dialogue about important issues.  There are many joys that can come from politics.

I've had some of the most engaging conversations with my mother-in-law because of this election.  So thank you God for the joy of politics!

The Joy of Beer

I now have a one beer limit because I'm a lightweight. Even though I weigh 225 pounds, I can't handle my beers. But one beer? I got this.

I was introduced to Labatt Blue when I travelled to Toronto for a business trip in the summer of 2000. I was so drunk that when we caught a Blue Jays game I had thousands of Chinese participating in a wave.

But now as a Christian I enjoy the taste and the slightest refreshment that comes from a frosty beverage. Thank you Jesus for creating beer.

The Joy of a Picture