A JOY beyond expression - Must Read - A short Encouragement

"...For the joy of the LORD is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10

Its one of the Promises. 
Claim and take hold of that JOY! Its yours! 

A Father's Letter: 

Paul Brand is a brilliant medical doctor who did pioneering work in the treatment of leprosy. He has received the Albert Lasker Award, been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen, served as the only Westerner on the Mahatma Ghandi foundation, and had medical procedures named after him. Brand grew up in India, where his parents were missionaries. At the age of nine he was sent to boarding school in England. Five years later, while a 14 year old student there, he received a telegram informing him that his beloved father had died of blackwater fever. 

Brand cherished fond memories of his father, a man who had a great love for people and a great love for the natural world around him. A short time after he received news of his father’s death Paul Brand received a letter from his father. It had been posted prior to his father’s death but took some time to reach Brand as it came by ship.

It’s words impacted deeply upon the young son. Paul’s father described the hills around their home and then finished with these words: “God means us to delight in his world. It isn’t necessary to know botany or zoology or biology in order to enjoy the manifold life of nature. Just observe. And remember. And compare. And be always looking to God with thankfulness and worship for having placed you in such a delightful corner of the universe as the planet Earth.” ~ love, Dad. 

Another, Encouraging story:

Enjoy the Moment! One day I was driving my car on a rural highway in Kansas. I was between destinations, with nothing to do but drive and watch the flat land and telephone poles pass by. Then God spoke to my heart, Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the moment? What was there to enjoy? I then realized that JOY is a decision that I make. I need to take pleasure in every minute of life, not just the exciting times. God wants us to draw joy from every moment, every circumstance. Enjoy your fellowship with others. Enjoy spending time with your family. Savor the moments. If you don’t, the life that God wants you to enjoy will pass you by, just like those telephone poles.

These 2 stories teaches us that, in spite of  any circumstance, good or bad, God gives a true joy which will be beyond expression inside of us, when we seek him with all our heart. When we have joy in our hearts, it will be obvious to everyone! 

"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face" - Proverbs 15:13

Be open to noticing and absorbing, and also contributing to, the joy around you! God bless.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" - Philippians 4:12-13