Pondering Point

Here is a short list of things not always easy to do: Be constant in prayer, be patient in tribulation and rejoice in hope. Remember, one does not hope for what they already have, but what we anticipate (Hebrews 11:1), As followers of Jesus, our hope is in the Lord. When difficult times arise, it is good to have practices that produce hope, patience, and prayer. So, the following quote:

To help you practice getting your mind into a joyful place, we encourage people to play “the joy GAME.” GAME represents four practices to help us focus on what we have to appreciate.
    G Gratitude
    A Anticipation
    M Memories
    E Experiences
~ Warner, Coursey, The 4 Habits, pages 84-87.

Pray aloud

Lord Jesus, help us build practices like the Joy GAME that enable us to rejoice in hope, be patient and tribulation and constant in prayer.

Five Minutes

Use your GO TO JOYS and ANTICIPATED JOYS to fill a 5-minute window. Remember: use an alarm. If necessary, review the explanation. 

Read the identity in Christ
statement aloud

In Christ, we are the kind of people who practice joy habits to rejoice in hope, be patient and tribulation and constant in prayer.

Closing Prayer

Close with thanks to God for these moments together.

Ask Him to bless the upcoming day, then…

GO – in JOY, with JOY anticipating JOY

Friday, October 18, 2024:

Sometime During Your Day

Level 3: Savoring joys of the past.

Pondering Point

You have likely experienced the following description yourself: Immature people often change their personality depending on the emotion they feel. Others tend to walk around them on eggshells because of it. One of the characteristics of adult-level maturity is the ability to act like ourselves even under stress. The world needs more adults. We need more people who are running on the fuel of joy and handling their emotions with predictable stability.
~ Warner, Coursey, The 4 Habits, page 125.

From the book Joyful Journey:
Suffering well means that we go through difficulties in life without being traumatized and that we respond to each situation relationally. We were created as relational beings, but we forget that when reacting out of pain. In order to suffer well, we need maturity. All Christians are called to develop maturity. One of the main characteristics of a mature person is the ability to handle difficult emotions. Mature people are able to return to a state of calm from the six big emotions. Maturity rises to life's challenges rather than reacting from fear. Maturity allows us to live according to God's values, remembering that we are created in his image to do good works. Although life is not easy, we can still live by our values during challenging times.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 27.

Journal Prompt:  

Joy memory related to spring time.


Key Words: 

Listening to Jesus...

Listen to Me: Rejoice in hope no matter what – I see you. Be patient in tribulation – I am with you. Continue in fervent prayer – I hear you.

Discipling in Joy (evening)

Friday, October 18, 2024

Pondering Point

This evening, your 5 minutes of joy practice will use the Joy GAME mentioned this morning, here it is expanded.

G Gratitude: anything in our present situation worth appreciating.

A Anticipation. It is helpful to have something to anticipate with joy.

M Memories: Past experiences that made us smile and bring us joy.

E Experiences: Activities that we enjoy. Done with others, our joy will multiply.
~ Warner, Coursey, The 4 Habits, pages 84-87.

Pray aloud

Thank You, Lord Jesus help me benefit from practices that enable me to rejoice in hope, be patient and tribulation and constant in prayer.

Review

Scour the day for ANTICIPATED or SURPRISE JOYS. You are training your brain to look for joy. This builds the habit. Recall the body sensations and emotion.

This solidifies the habit. Remember: use an alarm

Read the identity in Jesus
statement aloud

In Jesus, we are the kind of people who practice joy habits to rejoice in hope, be patient and tribulation and constant in prayer.

Evening Prayer

Thank God for blessing the day, ask for peaceful rest, then GO to sleep – in grateful JOY, anticipating new JOY tomorrow under His grace.

“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if he chose, just hand out to anyone.”
~ C.S. Lewis