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the fight for joy (Brooke)

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I v e r y often forget.  I forget that life is a gift.  That we are here on purpose. on mission.  I forget that God gave me this moment. and also this moment.  I forget that eternity & souls is what it is all about. & not me.  I forget that people and love and serving is the very heart of God.  I just forget.  

 I forget & easily choose:
grumpiness
selfishness --over & over & over again
my schedule
my plans
my dreams
not moving towards my neighbors
seeing the day as mundane.

And when I do this I miss SO much.  I miss what God could do. wants to do through me.  I miss seeing things from His perspective.  I miss a better story.  

I'm praying today that I will yield to His dreams for my life and enjoy this DAY He has given me- the only 4/10/14 we will ever have.  It's a gift.  I am praying that I will choose joy & not grumpiness.  laughter & not bitterness.  

John Piper shares 15 ways to Fight for JOY--I find them incredibly helpful:

1. Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift.
2. Realize that joy must be fought for relentlessly.
3. Resolve to attack all known sin in your life.
4. Learn the secret of gutsy guilt - how to fight like a justified sinner.
5. Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who he is.
6. Meditate on the Word of God day and night.
7. Pray earnestly and continually for open heart-eyes and an inclination for God.
8. Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.
9. Spend time with God-saturated people who help you see God and fight the fight.
10. Be patient in the night of God's seeming absence.
11. Get the rest, exercise, and proper diet that your body was designed by God to have.
12. Make a proper use of God's revelation in nature.
13. Read great books about God and biographies of great saints.
14. Do the hard and loving thing for the sake of others (witness and mercy).
15. Get a global vision for the cause of Christ and pour yourself out for the unreached.







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