Thoughts on JOY and PEACE

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you
were called in one body; and be thankful."  -  Colossians 3:15

What a week this has been - blessings upon blessings, and I realized that it doesn’t take much to fill my heart with JOY. For me, joy is not in the major happenings, the expensive gifts or the elaborate plans. It is in the simple things in my everyday life.

I’ve been blogging about the Shared Blessings journals that my friend, Peggy and I have been keeping. Our plan was to exchange the journals (via mail) around the 15th and 29th of each month and continue recording our blessings in the other person’s book. Well, this week it was time for our first exchange and something unexpected happened. I got a FaceBook message from Peggy on Monday saying she and her husband would be in town (Denver) that evening and wanted to get together for dinner. So, not only did we get to see a beautiful double rainbow before dinner, have a yummy meal and awesome conversation (“girl talk” till wee-hours of the morning), but we got to exchange our journals in person! My heart was filled with joy - Ann Voskamp (author of One Thousand Gifts) was right, “Blessings definitely do precede the miracles!”

Then, on Tuesday I happened to be flipping through a Parents magazine and came across a Johnson’s baby shampoo ad. What caught my attention was the caption at the top of the page. It said, “Make a promise…” followed by the statement “… to pause, reflect and recognize the everyday joy that is already there in your everyday life.” Coincidence or God Wink? You decide.

I believe that acknowledging and appreciating the blessings in all things and all circumstances, has already begun to change my attitude. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we should go around pretending to be happy all the time, even when we are going through struggles. There is a difference… happiness is an outward expression, based on circumstances - whereas joy is an inward feeling, based on attitude. We need to recognize our blessings, so that even in troubled times we can find joy and peace. Joy in knowing that God is at work in our lives, and peace in knowing that God is in control and always present. I am beginning to see the difference…. contentment, comfort, gratitude = joy and peace.

As I thought about the changes in my attitude a song came to mind, one I use to sing when I was young. It was a popular Christian song called Down in my Heart, often sung around the campfire and during scouting events.  There were many verses to the song, but here are two that really speak to our topic of joy and peace:

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart

Down in my heart

Down in my heart

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart

Down in my heart to stay

I've got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart

Down in my heart

Down in my heart

I've got the peace that passes understanding

Down in my heart

Down in my heart to stay

It’s Friday, Let’s Sparkle… action required… Monday I posted a blog about crayons.   Joy, peace, smiles, and color crayons – there is a connection! The childhood memory of coloring pictures put joy in my heart. It also reminded me of a way that we can share our joy with others.  A non-profit organization called Color A Smile provides a way for any one of us to pass along our joy to those needing a “smile,” and to do it, all you need are some color crayons…. how cool! Here are the details:

Color A Smile was started when Jerry Harris was in the kitchen at a friend’s house and noticed how cheerful the refrigerator door looked with all the colorful artwork from their children. Since 1986, Color A Smile has been collecting crayon drawings and distributing the colorful masterpieces to Nursing Homes, Meals on Wheels programs, and individuals all across the country. Their goal is to make people smile… and they are always looking for more suppliers of drawings. The Color A Smile website allows you to down load pictures to color or templates for drawing your own pictures (their guidelines are included on the website). You can also add a name of someone you know who might be needing a smile, and would benefit from receiving a masterpiece.  An easy, free and fun way to spread joy, peace and God’s love… for the price of a box of crayons!  Check out their website: http://www.colorasmile.org/

I couldn’t resist… I bought a box of 64 beautiful colors this week and look at my masterpiece.

As our heart fills with joy, we receive a peace that passes all understanding. The same peace that scripture talks about in the following verses:

"and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  - Philippians 4:7

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
- Romans 15:13

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer
I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

I’m putting my masterpiece in the mail to Color A Smile today… and passing along my JOY. Why not join in the fun?

Have a blessed weekend. Pass on your joy!
God’s Peace, Donna Weaver

“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.

A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed,

we would launch one. It would explode high in the air – explode softly –

and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air
Floating down to earth – boxes of Crayolas.
And we wouldn’t go cheap, either – not little boxes of eight. 
Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and

gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and

all the rest. And people would smile and get a funny look on their faces

and cover the world with imagination.”   – Robert Fulghum

What is your favorite color?

 

“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty,

some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names,

but they all have learned to live together in the same box."

- Robert Fulghum

The weather here in Colorado sure has been wet lately... it seems like every afternoon a thunderstorm has rolled in. It’s during those times I think of my childhood and one of my favorite rainy day activities. I long for a brand new box of color crayons (preferably the BIG BOX of 64) and a fresh, new coloring book. I remember looking through the book and picking out my favorite picture. Then I would carefully choose my favorite colors and line them all up to begin making my page come to life. I would get lost for hours in blending the colors, outlining my designs, coloring the background and even adding my own person touch. But the picture was never complete until I had signed my name at the bottom.

As I reminisce about those rainy days, I compared my favorite activity and those sticks of wax (crayons) to being a Christan:

1. Crayons are made on an assembly line but individually molded and labeled with their own unique paper. Then they are placed in a box where they reside with a variety of other unique, individually created colors.

2. To continue to be useful, a crayon can’t stay perfect and sharp (unused). It has to become worn, sometimes the outer wrapper needs to be peeled down, others times it gets broken but still can be used for awesome shading, and other times (especially if it's your favorite color) it gets used up.

3. Combining colors can create a brand new color (ie. red + yellow = orange) or can be used side by side to make a beautiful rainbow.

4. Whether you color inside the lines, on the lines, or all around the outside of the lines, each page which started out as black and white comes alive in its own unique way!

Can you see the similarities?

As Christians we are meant to love and encourage one another, to be in relationship with one another and to live in peace together. The poem below is a perfect reminder that NO CHRISTIAN IS MEANT TO BE AN ISLAND.

Just A Box Of Crayons

- written by Shane DeRolf

While walking in a toy store

The day before today,

I over heard a Crayon Box

With many things to say.

“I don’t like red!” said Yellow.

And Green said, “Nor do I!”

And no one here likes Orange,

But no one knows quite why.

“We are a box of crayons

that really doesn’t get along,”

Said Blue to all the others.

“Something here is wrong!”

Well, I bought that box of crayons

And took it home with me

And laid out all the crayons

So the crayons could all see

They watched me as I colored

With Red and Blue and Green

And Black and White and Orange

And every color in between

They watched as Green became the grass

And Blue became the sky.

The Yellow sun was shining bright

On White clouds drifting by.

Colors changing as they touched,

Becoming something new.

They watched me as I colored.

They watched till I was through.

And when I’d finally finished,

I began to walk away.

And as I did the Crayon box

Had something more to say……..

“I do like Red! ” said the Yellow

And Green said, “So do I !”

And Blue you are terrific!

“So high up in the sky.”

“We are a Box of Crayons

Each of us unique,

But when we get together

The picture is complete”

Crayola Trivia: In 1902 Crayola introduced its crayons not with one box, but with a full product line. By 1905, the line had expanded to offering 18 different-sized crayon boxes with five different-sized crayons, only two of which survive today - the "standard size" and the "large size.” The product line offered boxes containing 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 24, 28, or 30 different color crayons. Some of these boxes were targeted for artists and contained crayons with no wrappers, while others had a color number printed on the wrapper that corresponded to a number on a list of color names printed inside the box lid, but some boxes contained crayons with their color names printed on their wrappers. As the size of Crayola crayon packs increased, the variety of colors available has also increased — reaching 120 colors by 1998.

Colors of Faith  - author unknown

Red is for love and service to others,
treating all people as sisters and brothers.

Yellow represents the value of hope,

helping you hold out, hang on and copy.

Green is for trusting that God’s always there

listening, answering every prayer.

Orange is for following Christ every day,

with the light of your faith leading the way.

Blue is for joy and the peace you’ll receive,
when you open your heart and choose to believe!

Have you ever wanted to color an object a certain color, but someone else was using that color. So, you use another color as a substitute and your picture came out even better than you could have imagined. Sometimes in life, we don’t have all of the colors we want, but we always have the colors we need. I pray that we will all color our lives in such way, with whatever colors are available to us, that the finished picture brings glory and honor to Christ.

Have a colorful, imaginative, and creative week...
God’s Peace, Donna Weaver

“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world.

Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will

always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture

by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.”

- Allen Klein

For more Crayola trivia checkout : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayola