On a Blog Leave

Dear friends,
I wish I could talk to you but I am under a tight deadline on a project.
Please feel free to read through some old posts and enjoy Joy Treasure.
I look forward to starting back blogging March 8th.

Joy 2 U!

At all times?

Last year, our music minister challenged us to memorize Psalm 34. One of my favorite verses and of course the easiest to learn was verse 1. Ha ha!!!! Verse 1. But, as the bible says, God' word never returns void. So I am going to share with you how verse one has not returned void in my life!

Isaiah 55:11(NIV)
"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;It will not return to Me empty,Without accomplishing what I desire,And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

This painting actually was a painting that I didn't like. It never turned out right. i was trying to paint an angel. I couldn't get the wings to work out right. All I wanted to do was throw it away and get rid of the frustration of trying to make it work. But....... God gave me an idea with Psalm 34:1.
So I got to painting over the old and this is what turned out. I love it!

The word "bless" means to bestow favor or praise.

This painting is a reminder that I am to praise God at all times. Praise shall continually be on my lips. I forget to praise God sometimes. But, the bible tells me to praise God, to bless Him at all times: in the morning, when I am about my daily tasks, in the car, when I am talking to a friend, in my living room, when I take care of my child, when I am making dinner, you get the idea.

Tell me how you are doing praising God at all times?

Just for Women Wednesdays-The Best Home we could ever Have

This post is for a friend of mine who asked me to consider writing this post. She LOVES signing up each year to win the Home and Garden Channels DREAM HOME but got to thinking about her heavenly home.

We don't give much thought at times to our heavenly home like we do our physical homes on earth. It is our heavenly home we are to pine for, to dream about and to consider. Colossians 3:2 tells us we are to, "set our minds on things above.." Heaven is the best dream home we can ever have. And it will be decorated for us to enjoy! Even if we don't have the most beautiful home on earth as according to the world's eyes, we still love to dream about them, "ooh and aah" over them. Sometimes, we can even become obsessed with looking at beautiful homes on the Internet or in magazines. Eve's eye for things of beauty is certainly present in our nature today. We women can become so obsessed with beautiful things.

The Home and Garden channel knows that women especially love beautiful homes and they have a contest each year to sign up to win a beautiful home. This is the home I would have loved to have won years ago:

Looks like the perfect place for me to have a great quiet time right there on the porch!

Even though its nice to dream about beautiful homes, and even better to win the home, the best thing  to consider is our eternal home- heaven. We don't give it much thought like we should do we? Even the most beautiful dream home on earth would still house hungry people, people who sin, weary people in need of rest, people who experience sorrow and pain- but not our heavenly home. It is perfect. Dreaming about a beautiful home on earth will only leave you craving more, feeling inadequate, and feeling discouraged about what you don't have. Dreaming about heaven will make your heart rejoice (unlike any magazine cover of a beautiful home) when you consider the place God has prepared for you.

The bible tells us:
There will be music in heaven:
"And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,..." Revelation 14:2

We won't be hungry or thirsty in heaven:
 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;..." Revelation 7:16

There will be no liars in heaven:
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."         Revelation 21:8

There will be no sorrow or pain in heaven:
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."     Revelation 21:4

There will be no sin in heaven:
"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him."     Revelation 22:3

There will be rest in heaven:
^"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"    Revelation 14:13

There are many rooms in our Father's House:
"In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" John 14:2

There will be beautiful surroundings and we will dwell with GOD!
"The main street of the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. But there was no sign of a Temple, for the Lord God—the Sovereign-Strong—and the Lamb are the Temple." Revelation 21:24

Do you know God's Word?

I found this video on you tube a while back. What's interesting about it is that it paints a picture of how believer's don't know God's word. Would you be able to recite ALL the Ten Commandments if someone came up to you today? This post is not meant to make us feel bad, but to remind us ALL that we can do a better job at hiding God's word in our heart. This post is not meant to be legalistic and say that we need to learn this scripture or that scripture. But God's word tells us when we hide God's word in our heart it helps us to keep ourselves from choosing sin.

Start with a verse and write it down. Put it in your car, on your mirror in the bathroom, in your wallet or purse. Say it aloud to yourself when you have spare time. When you make God's word a priority you'll find that the more you hide of God's word, the more you know Him, love Him and can follow Him in each day. The more you know of His word, the more you have to share with others around you too.

What do you think about the video?

A Practical way to Share Valentines with Your Family

This Valentines day, don't do the same thing.

Bring scripture into the mix with your family and turn your kids focus back on what the bible says about loving each other. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the fun stuff of Valentines day and totally forget about remembering the way Christ showed His love for us.

This is a GREAT way to place a biblical perspective back on Valentines day.

No matter the age of your children, you can make a special Valentines dinner for the entire family and use this mealtime moment from Focus on the Family to turn your children's focus back on Christ and back on how the bible tells us we are to show love to each other.

I loved this and wanted to share this with you my friends!!!

It is a real life practical way to share a special Valentines Meal with your family.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/downloads/parenting/mealtime_moments/148.pdf

We have much to thank God for this Valentine's day- His love, and the ability to love others through the love of Christ.

Does God Need Prayer?

Almost a ridiculous question when thought of at first because God doesn't need anything. Right? He is the self-existent one who doesn't need anything. But as I was reading what E.M. Bounds wrote, "God needs prayer and people need prayer." I had never thought about God needing prayer. I thought more about Him as the Creator of prayer. But as I pondered what E.M. Bounds had to say, I thought his comment was worth posting today. Hope you enjoy it and get to thinking about the power of prayer.

E.M Bounds said,

"God needs prayer and people need prayer, too. It is indispensable to God's work in this world, and is essential to getting God to work in earth's affairs. So God binds people to pray by the most solemn obligations. God commands people to pray, and so not to pray is plain disobedience to an imperative command of Almighty God. Prayer is such a condition without which the graces, the salvation, and the good of God are not bestowed on people. Prayer is a high privilege, a royal prerogative- and many and eternal are the losses by failure to exercise it. Prayer is the great universal force to advance God's cause. It is the reverence that hallows God's name. It is the ability to do God's will, and the establishment of God's kingdom in the hearts of the children of God.....Without prayer, the Gospel can neither be preached effectively, promulgated faithfully experienced in the heart, or be practiced in life. For the very simple reason that by leaving prayer out of the catalogue of Christian duties, we leave God out, and His work cannot progress without Him" (Pg. 402 E.M.Bounds Classic Collection on Prayer)

We can't leave God out of His work. It is His work. We need to call on His ability to accomplish His will in everything we do.

Manna Monday- Rejoicing and Living in Each New Day

Hey JT friends!

How's your Monday treating you so far? When you begin a new week, what's your attitude?
Do you dread your Monday's or welcome them with delight?
Each day we've been given is from the LORD and we are to rejoice in the day HE has given us.
But sometimes we just don't like Mondays.

The phrase, "It's a Monday" is such a part of our culture that we can truly miss the joy that can be found in a Monday. I think sometimes we forget God made Mondays too and we are to rejoice in them! It's as if we like to give Mondays a bad rap. But its not biblical. The bible says,

"This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
I had never thought about how much believers enjoy Sundays, the day where we experience rest and restoration. Maybe that's why we can feel a jolt on Monday mornings to some extent. Back to routine, and reality. But if you go back and read the entire chapter of Psalm 118, verse 24 comes into greater perspective. Barnes Notes on the Bible provides a great perspective on how we should embrace each day given from the LORD.

"The Sabbath is so calm, so bright, so cheerful, so benign in its influence; it is so full of pleasant and holy associations and reminiscences, that it seems to be a day fresh from the hand of God, unlike the other days of the week, and made especially, as if by a new act of creation, for the good of mankind. So when a man is raised up from sickness - from the borders of the grave - it seems to be a new life given to him. Each day, week, month, year that he may live, is so much added to his life, as if it were created anew for this very purpose. He should, therefore, regard it not as his own, but as so much given to him by the special mercy and providence of God - as if added on to his life. "                                                                                            Barnes Notes on the Bible

Today is a day that has been added to our life. When it comes to Mondays and other days of the week, think of each day as given from the LORD. Don't get caught up in the "its a Monday or it's been a day" attitude and let it take you away from embracing and cherishing the day as made fresh by the Lord. Each day- Mondays included is another day to live out His purpose. Another day to be about His Kingdom business. Another day to minister to others.

Whether you are working today at a business, school  or working from home, the day is FROM the LORD for His good purpose. Bring your attitude about the day to the LORD and surrender it to Him. Ask Him to help you see beyond your routines and to embrace it as a "day" that He has made.

What's your attitude normally on Monday? Would love to hear from you! 

What to do about Facebook?

A couple of years ago, I started getting friend requests.

I ignored them and went on about my business.

The more I received in my inbox, the more I didn't want to be on Facebook. I kind of decided that I would in my own mind boycott it. Everyone around me seemed to be on Facebook. It was as if, the whole world was all on one page talking and sharing everything about their lives. Friends would say, "I saw that on Facebook" or, "did you know such and such was ......I saw it on Facebook." I couldn't believe all the information about everyone's lives were shared so openly, so raw in some cases and without any inhibition.

But once friended by a mentor, I gave in and placed my face among the many faces in the world of Facebook. Instead of boycotting it I thought, "why not join it?" Instantly I had 30 friends. Wow! I thought. Everyone is there. People from my past and present are mostly there. It was fun to see where they were in their lives and what all was going on. I have enjoyed being on the social networking site. But I do see some downsides to it and believe there needs to be a balance of virtual reality and real life reality.

I believe Facebook should never take the place of real relationships. The friends who know me the best, spend time with me and I with them. I believe Facebook should be balanced and not overtake your life. I don't get on Facebook everyday because I don't need to know everything about everybody everyday. This is the way it doesn't overtake my life, my mind, my thoughts. But I can see how for some people it could get out of hand. I can see how a person could become to feel alienated while on a "social" networking site. I can see how a person could become sad while feeling left out on a site that supposedly tells them they have "all" these friends.

Friends, believers, members of the church, let's be sensitive to watch what we post on Facebook and not leave our other brothers and sisters out. They are watching.

I like the article posted by Dr. Russell Moore and what he had to say about Facebook in his post.
Click below and read the full article.

Why Facebook (and Your Church) Might Be Making You Sad

Last, there is no way to get around Facebook except to quit using the site if you can't handle all the information sharing. It's true, people post what they want you to know about themselves.

Comments to Dr. Moore's post I thought were thought provoking said the following about how some people use Facebook:

"People like to have image control on Facebook"

"Some people have no inhibition to what they share when it comes to elevating or belittling their spouse and family or job."

"Some people post things to get attention"

"Facebook is used to for people to help recreate themselves in the perspective of their peers."

I thought this was noteworthy enough to share today. Joy Treasure exists to encourage you to think more of Christ in your daily life and how you can be a living example of Christ to others. Even on Facebook we have a witness. How can you use Facebook in a better way than you are using it? A lot to think about.

Would love to know your thoughts about this!

Just for Women Wednesdays-When you Lose your Quiet Time with God

It happens. At one time or another, we lose our quiet time with God.  For a lot of us it is a time of trial that causes us to turn away from being renewed through God's Holy Word. For some of us it may mean a day. But for others it may be a week, or even months. But how do you get it back? How do you get yourself back in the presence of God when you've been away from Him for a while?

Did you know it happened in the bible too? Around the time of 597 B.C. Israel had moved far away from their intimate relationship with God to a place where they totally forgot Him. Although they were still God's people, they were living like He didn't even exist. So God sent them into exile, into Babylon under the evil rule of Nebuchadnezzar. There, they faced despair and hopelessness. They saw no future, no hope.

It was during this time that Jeremiah, God's powerful prophet, wrote to them and said, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord," plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope, Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to ME, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for ME with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29: 11-13).

Before that, he told them to keep doing during the times of trials, to not stop. Jeremiah said, "Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters....Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and prat to the LORD on its behalf." Jeremiah 29: 5-7

So many times during difficult times or days of our life we want to stop. We dont' want to keep going.  But God told His people to keep "doing" through difficult life circumstances.We like to give ourselves a go pass from spending time with God. Be we are only cheating ourselves. We are depriving ourselves from true refreshment and restoration.

So what do you do?

Build where you are. Embrace the life circumstance God has placed you in at the time being. Live in Christ. Give to others as Christ would have you to do.

Remember God is working in your life where you are. There is nothing he doesn't know.
Just open His word and look for a verse to ponder throughout the day. Ask Him to make it relevant throughout your day. Try to memorize it.

Last, Pray. In your time of change, pray. Ask God to keep you from being bitter. Ask Him to keep you from the temptation of falling away from His word.  Seek Accountability with a friend or group of friends that you can share what God is showing you through the Word.


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