I have a lovely friend who has experienced this first-hand, so I asked her to write a short piece about what she has learned about joy. Here it is. 

“Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the
remembrance of His holy name” (Psalm 30:4).

Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I will say rejoice” (Phil. 4:4).

Part of the Christian’s walk with God is to have joy. He would not
command something if it were not possible to do it. It is easy to feel
joy on a beautiful morning, or when something good has happened to us or
when we feel like a million dollars, look at the first signs of spring
and say with elated emotion, “God is so good.” But what about those
people whose winter doesn’t turn to spring? Whose circumstances are
continuously night with little day dawning? Who suffer long-term under a
load that seems too heavy to bear? These people, due to situations often
beyond their control, may not feel the elated emotions of joy very
often, yet God still commands joy.

So, how is it possible to have joy in a seemingly, continuous winter? It Read More

Twenty or twenty-five years ago I came across a list called Checkpoints for the Tongue. I copied it down and have used it many times. I am sorry not to have the name of the person who compiled the list, but all the points come from the Bible. Hope you will find it useful.
Do you criticize unnecessarily? Proverbs 16:28
Do you talk too much? Proverbs 10:19; 26:20
Are you judgmental of fellow believers and do the same things? James 4:11;Psalm 50:20
Do you talk about others the way you would like them to talk about you? Matthew 19:19
Do you humiliate or mock others? Galatians 5:15
Do you evade responsibility for your words? Matthew 12:34; Proverbs 26:18-19
Do you take care to speak the truth? Read More

Just when I think I have finally learned something, some new provocation arises to prove to me that I really haven’t gotten it at all. And that, in turn, helps to teach me my great need to bear with others since they are probably learning at the same rate I am, which means slowly. In other words, I give them plenty of opportunities to bear with me.
For example, living in community means expecting a certain amount of bumps and collisions, which requires extending forgiveness and taking it easy. A community is full of characters of all sorts, and this means there will be lots of bungling on all sides, including my side. But just knowing this is not enough. Just when I think I have this down pat, I find that I have either given offense to someone, or I am provoked by someone in an unexpected way. How I react Read More

In our community we have waves of weddings, and we are learning the discipline of celebration. It takes practice to get really good at it, and God has blessed us with lots of opportunities for such practice. So from time to time I compose a few etiquette reminders for the saints.

In Moscow we have a very unique situation: we do not yet have our own church building proper, we have lots of weddings, a large Christian community, an overwhelming desire to include everyone, and very modest budgets for Read More

It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insuinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of HIs children; you have such a wavering hold of Jeus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee — it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee — it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though Read More

“Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:26).

While listening to a tape series, I was struck by an off-hand comment made by the speaker. She said that women are some of the worst misogynists in the world. This is really true. The women’s movement itself is fueled by a woman-hating agenda. It certainly has not created unity among unbelieving women, but has rather divided and alienated them.But this woman-hating attitude can exist even among Christian sisters, where criticism, envy, and distrust can destroy the possibility of close fellowship. Though there may be a surface congeniality, a deep love of the sisters is frequently nonexistent. Where there should be kindness and love, there is instead “debates, envying, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults” (2 Cor. 12:20). Women tend to be far more critical of the other women than they are of men. But, by the grace of God, Christian women have the opportunity to build a wonderful climate of love, encouragement, and support among the sisters in the church community. What is it that causes women to be so quick to be critical, envious, and distrustful of one another?I believe part of the answer has to do with a sinful sense of competition among sisters that keeps them from fulfilling their obligation to love one another. This competition centers, of course, around men. The young women compete for attention from the young men, and the older married women can carry on the Read More