Take a Selfie of Your Heart

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7

One current trend that I love is the photography of individuals, friends, family, engagements, weddings, etc. in a setting other than a photography studio.  Don’t get me wrong, yearbook and church directory photos serve their purpose, but there’s just something about spontaneous photography that can reach your heartstrings.  Whether it’s outside in a field, in a historic building, or in some other out-of-the-ordinary setting, I absolutely love how photographers can capture people “in the moment” and evoke emotion and personality out of the photos they take.  These kinds of photos tell a story about a person…who they are, what they enjoy doing, and what their everyday life is like.  My sisters and I have had photos taken like the ones I am describing and below is one of my favorites.  This photo definitely speaks “The Young Sisters!” :)

In this world of “selfies” and having “the perfect picture,” it is very easy to become self-conscious about how you look and whether or not the picture turned out good.  This isn’t just a 2014 issue, it’s been an ongoing problem – people want to look a certain way in order to be who they think they have to be.  From elementary school to adulthood…everyone, to some extent, feels they have to be something they aren’t in order to fit in.

Thank goodness God isn’t worried about any of that nonsense.  God tells the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 that, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  He said this in relation to David being anointed King.  Samuel kept thinking that God wanted him to anoint David’s older and more muscular-looking brothers.  David was the youngest and I have a feeling a little scrawny compared to the rest of his siblings (we know this from how he was described when meeting Goliath for the first time).  Surely God didn’t want the scrawny brother to be King of Israel?  How could he fight in a war or represent the nation?  BUT…God told Samuel that physical appearance doesn’t matter to Him.  What matters is the heart of the person. 

1 Peter 3:4 is a great encouragement to this thought as well, “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”  God doesn’t care about the current fashion, pearly whites, or ear/nose/bellybutton bling.  He cares what you adorn yourself with on the inside…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).  Don’t worry about what you look like –  worry about your heart.  Do you follow Christ?  Are you kind?  Do you show compassion?  Do you seek to serve God?  Are you encouraging?  And the list of positive attributes you relate to yourself could go on and on and on.  The phrase “be yourself” seems so cliché, but it is so true.  There’s no one quite like you.  You are unique.  You were fearfully and wonderfully made by a Creator who always does something for a purpose (Psalm 139:14, Romans 8:28).  That in itself, quite frankly, is beautiful.

I’m in no way harping on selfies or picture taking…keep taking those pictures!  But next time you do take a selfie of your heart and think “Does this picture reflect me on the inside?”  Again, that’s why I love “in the moment” photography so much because I can truly see the heart of the person/people in them.  Props to all those photographers out there who are able to reflect our hearts through their craft.  Just remember, dear friend that as God’s child you live for Christ, not for others, and no matter what you think about how you look, Jesus thinks that heart of yours is the most beautiful thing in the world.  And THAT is all that matters in this life.

Joy is HERE!

“And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy.” – Matthew 2:10

During this time of the year, we hear the word “joy” tossed around…a lot.  Like the phrase “Peace, Love and Joy to You and Yours!” or when we sing the carol “Joy to the World.”  The dictionary defines the word “joy” as a feeling of great happiness.  When I stop and think about experiences or situations (or people…my grandfather’s initials were J.O.Y.) in which I have felt or seen joy, I simply can’t help but smile and I’m sure it is the same way for you too.  I suppose “joy” is used a lot at Christmas-time because we typically associate feelings of great happiness with the Christmas season.

Joy can most definitely be used to describe the feelings of those individuals who were a part of the First Christmas.  I have no doubt in my mind that both Mary and Joseph were filled with great joy at the birth of Jesus.  Joy that not only was the baby was born healthy, but also great joy that this baby would be the Savior of the World!  Remember what the angels told them?  Gabriel said to Mary, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).  And to Joseph the angel said, “And she [Mary] will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). 

The shepherds were filled with joy at the news of this newborn King (okay, after they shook off the initial shock from seeing the host of angels).  The angel even told them that the news they were delivering was of the happy kind, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people!” (Luke 2:10).  And so excited and happy were the shepherds at actually finding out for themselves that this news was indeed true, that they told everyone they came in contact with (Luke 2:17)!

And last, but certainly not least, the wisemen were filled with joy after finding the Christ-child after a long and arduous journey to Bethlehem.  As they followed the star over great distances, upon arriving in Bethlehem, they noticed that it “stopped over the place where the child was” (Matthew 2:9).  They knew that because it had stopped that their journey was over, their quest complete, and that they had finally found the King they had waited so long to worship.  Matthew 2:10 tells us, “When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!”

I know that for some at Christmas, joy is the last emotion you want to be feeling this time of year.  Feelings of loss, regret, guilt, worry and sadness creep in this time of year and joy doesn’t even make it on the list.  For me, this Christmas is the first Christmas without my grandfather, who we would spend time with each Christmas at his assisted living home.  Also, my dad is facing a surgery soon that no one anticipated a couple of weeks ago.  It’s hard to have joy when a piece of you is missing or when you are worried about something in the coming year. 

Then I stop and think about these wisemen.  The Bible doesn’t say they had seen Jesus and then were filled with joy.  They were filled with joy BEFORE they saw him!  They were filled with joy because they knew the star signified that he was there! 

Joy should fill our hearts this Christmas because we know that Jesus is here!  He promises to never leave us or forsake us, to give us peace, to comfort us…and the list goes on and on!  His promises and the other things He has told us through the Scriptures aren’t to fill us with questions or concerns, they are to fill us with hope and joy!  “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.  Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 16:11).  No matter what you are facing this Christmas…or into the coming year, know this…Jesus is HERE.  He longs for your presence.  He awaits your worship.  He wants to fill you with His joy.  No matter the circumstance.

Like the wisemen, we haven’t seen Him yet!  Like the wisemen, we follow the light (of the Word) in order to guide us to Him!  Like the wisemen, one day, as believers, we will get to worship at the feet of Jesus!  Now THAT’S something to have joy about!  

Joy to the world, the Lord is HERE!

"Memory Monday" - Joe the Jokester

“A joyful heart is good medicine.” – Proverbs 17:22 

 

Back a couple of months ago, I instituted “Memory Monday,” where I could talk about some favorite memories that came to mind and that I wanted to share with you, my blog readers.   These past couple of months has been one of remembering many, many memories of my grandfather who passed away last month.  I’m always remembering funny times and sayings that we had with him.  All of these memories constantly bring a smile to my face and, let me just say, there was never a dull moment :)

When I close my eyes and remember him, I immediately remember the huge smile and laugh that he had.  He loved to be funny and play jokes on people.  He also loved to laugh…even when things weren’t laughable. 

For example, I think about a story my dad told us from when he got his driver’s license.  My dad was driving for the first time with a driver’s license and his mom was in the car with him.  He stopped at a red light and then was hit (not too hard, though) from the car behind him.  Terrified as this was his first “car accident,” my dad pulled over to the shoulder of the road and the car behind him did the same.  My dad gets out of the car and turns around to see who this person was that had rear-ended him.  Out from the other car steps my grandfather (his dad) laughing uncontrollably!!  My dad said, “DAD!  Why did you do that!?!?!” My grandfather says, “I just wanted to see what would happen!”

After Lauren was born, he and my grandmother picked me & Meredith up from the hospital to take us home.  The hospital was in downtown Louisville and our house was in the suburbs of Louisville.  After not hearing from him in the time that it should’ve taken us to get home, my dad and mom became a bit worried...and these were the days before cell phones.  A couple of hours later, they get a phone call from my grandfather.  He says, “Son, I turned the wrong direction and I’m not sure the right way to your house.”  My dad says, “Well, where are you and I’ll help you get back.”  My grandfather says, laughing, “Well, I saw a sign a few minutes ago that said, ‘Welcome to Indiana.”  Fun times, fun times. :)

A little eccentric is a memorable way to describe him too.  I’ll never forget the time we heard that he had hit roadkill while driving down the road.  He simply got out, threw it in the back of his truck, and took it home to have for dinner.  Like who does that??!?!  He loved visiting the homebound or people who hadn’t been to church in a while, but when he would visit them and they wouldn’t be home, he’d just walk in their house and sit and wait on them until they got back!!  Home invader! :)

He had a huge assortment of sayings that made us burst out laughing.  We shared some of those on his celebration service program.  For those of you who didn’t get one, I’ll share a few here…

• Old age is pit-e-ful.
• How do you feel?  I feel with my fingers!
• Are you tired?  Tired of what…livin’?
• Hey!  Fodder.
• Well…that’s a deep subject.
• Guess what?  Rabbit squats.
• The best part of a chicken is the skin, of course!

The past 6 years that he lived in the same town as us was for me & my sisters, the most memorable out of all the years we’ve known him.  There are SO many memories and funny times…too many to share here.  I’m so grateful that he was able to come live in Tennessee near us.  I wouldn’t trade the past six years for anything.  Many of the funny moments we remembered, we were able to capture on video.  We compiled a bunch of the funny ones and showed them at his celebration service.  He was a hoot and we love to re-watch these videos.  If you haven’t already seen this video, I hope you’ll watch it so you can see his funny side too!

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine.”  My grandfather definitely had a joyful heart!  In fact, “J.O.Y.” was his initials, Joseph O. Young!  So I guess joy was just in his DNA! :)  I’m so thankful for his joyful heart.  His joy brought such joy to our hearts and I will never forget these moments. 

...But Joy Comes in the Morning

"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5

The day after Jesus’ death had to have been an intensely difficult day for the followers of Jesus.  The day before, they had just witnessed their Good Shepherd/Teacher/friend be killed by crucifixion and placed in Joseph’s tomb.  Sorrow, hopelessness, and a deep depression more than likely began to settle into many of the followers.  Questions filled their minds and the One who could bring the answers was no longer there.  Heartache.  Weeping.  Mourning. 

Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”  Never would those words ring so true than on the day following this intense day of sadness.  But how on earth could things get better to the point of “rejoicing?”  Miraculously enough, however...everything did.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen!  (Luke 24:1-6)

Rejoicing had come in the morning!  Jesus is risen!  The women immediately ran to the other disciples to share this news.  Skeptical, the disciples ran to the tomb and discovered that Jesus was indeed no longer there.  Over the course of days and weeks, as Jesus began appearing to His followers, they came to realize that the news they had heard about His resurrection was indeed true…He had defeated the grave.  He had risen from the dead.  He is ALIVE!

This week my church lost a dear encourager, prayer warrior, and friend.  Her sweet family lost their precious wife and mother.  So many of us, including myself, can attest to the fact that our sweet friend Shirl was always one to offer her prayers and support during our time of need.  Her loss was unexpected and is so incredibly heartbreaking to so many of us.  When I found out yesterday that she had entered the throne-room of heaven, I immediately thought of Psalm 30:5.  The logic-part of my mind thinks the same thing the followers of Jesus thought on the day after the crucifixion – “how on earth can rejoicing come in the morning?”  I’m sad.  I’m heartbroken.  I miss my friend. 

Then there’s my faith.  My faith in the very One who rose from the dead.  My faith in the One my dear friend is with today because she knew Jesus as her Savior.  Because of Jesus I know that although our sadness and loss of our dear friend (and loss of so many other friends and loved ones) may endure for a while, as believers in Him, our joy will come when He comes again! 

In Revelation 22:7, Jesus says, “Look, I am coming soon!”  Someday in the not so distant future, Christ will return to take His followers to heaven with Him.  We will rejoice in heaven with our loved ones and friends at the feet of Jesus.  We will be in a place where there is “no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All of these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4).  Our rejoicing will continue for eternity!

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen” (Matthew 24:36).  Are you ready?  Is your faith in Christ?  Have you accepted Him as your Savior?  Do you believe with all your heart that He is the Son of God?  Have you confessed Him publically as Savior of your life?  If you haven’t, He’s ready with open arms to accept you as His child.  I can’t think of anything better this Easter than to surrender your life to the One who gave His life for you.

“ALIVE!  ALIVE!  Look what mercy’s overcome!  Death has lost and Love has WON!  ALIVE!  ALIVE!  Hallelujah, risen Lord, the only One I fall before, I am His because He is ALIVE!”