another great joyce saying

got up this morning at 7 and watched joycey (as my friend becky calls her!). she had an inspiring preacher on there who talked about growing up in his dad's successful church and being called at a very young age to start a church in inner city L.A.
this guy admitted that he was afraid all the time when he first got started, but that didn't mean God was trying to tell him to give up or leave. joyce said that a phrase she likes to use is "DO IT AFRAID". she said that God never told us we couldn't tremble or shake or sweat. why run from something just because we're scared? what ~ are we going to die? is anyone actually scared to death?
i immediately think of auditions. fellow opera singers, you can probably smell the nola sound studios in new york city, just by thinking about it. this is the audition hub. 500 singers packed into a hallway on the 17th-ish floor of a nasty old building. boobs and attitude flying every which way. it's hard enough to just do the stinking audition, but the real lion's den is in the hallway! am i right ladies?
but what's so awful about being afraid? or embarrassed or uncomfortable? i don't think my feelings are fear when i'm auditioning. maybe the fear of being rejected, but that's par for the course. no matter what that icky emotion is that comes over me when i'm waiting for my turn to sing, surely i can handle it for one hour. but can i handle spending my whole life thinking, "i coulda done that..."???
anyway, i like joyce's idea. just let yourself keep going, no matter how scared you are. if you know it's the will of God, He'll protect you. But He won't necessarily always take away your fear. I mean, we are human beings, right?
i hope this brings you the same type of strength it brought me this morning!!!! have a great week and don't forget to comment on my blog!!!!!

another one from momma

hi ladies! i hope everyone is having a great month! here is another joyce snippit i received from my mom this morning, and i thought i would share it with you all. i really like it a lot. it sums up how i've been feeling lately ~ i've just been so thankful for the hard times because i know they bring about change and clarity and peace. a smooth life ~ does that exist?

mom, is this from your "ending your day right" book, by joyce? just wondering, so people can have the opportunity to buy this book if they want more...

SO OFTEN PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF BROKENNESS, BUT, IF YOUR OUTER MAN IS BROKEN, THE POWERFUL THINGS INSIDE YOU CAN POUR FORTH....YOU MUST ALLOW GOD TO DO WITH YOU AS HE WILLS, KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING IN LIFE CHANGES.

IF YOU ARE TO HAVE STABILITY IN YOUR LIFE YOU MUST REMEMBER LIFE IS A CONTINUED PROCESS IN WHICH EVERYTHING--INCLUDING YOU--IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING. YOU MUST HOPE IN GOD, THE ONLY ONE WHO "IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER."

a confident life

i can't believe it has been more than a month since i have blogged! God has really been working on me this last month and all my thoughts have been sort of scrambled and unclear. but the beauty of being confused and conflicted is, if you keep your eye on God, you come out on the other side more focused and more clear than if you had never been confused in the first place. the book "prison to praise" discusses this phenomenon. it says to praise the Lord even more while you are going through something hard because this brings about such clarity and faith and strength in the end. i think we all pray sometimes for an easy, pain-free life. but the outcome of hardship and difficulty is so much sweeter. sure ~ it's easier to chomp down on a hamburger, but there's nothing like cutting into a perfectly-cooked filet mignon!

my mother called me last night and read this to me before i went to bed ~ you can imagine what kind of restful sleep i had after this nightcap...thanks mom!

PHIL: 4:13 I HAVE STRENGTH FOR ALL THINGS IN CHRIST WHO EMPOWERS ME (I AM READY FOR ANYTHING AND EQUAL TO ANYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO INFUSES INNER STRENGTH INTO ME).

YOU WERE CREATED BY A GREAT GOD TO DO GREAT THINGS. BUT WITHOUT CONFIDENCE YOU WILL NEVER FULFILL YOUR DESTINY. IT IS IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, TO REMEMBER YOU ARE TO BE CONFIDENT NOT IN YOURSELF BUT IN CHRIST WHO DWELLS IN YOU.

SATAN TRIES TO STEAL YOUR CONFIDENCE, BUT YOU MUST RESIST HIM AT ALL TIMES. IF HE HAS TORMENTED YOU WITH FEARS ABOUT YOUR WORTH AND ABILITIES, BOLDLY REMIND HIM GOD IS WITH YOU AND YOU ARE EQUAL TO ANYTHING.

IT IS ENCOURAGING TO KNOW GOD IS ABLE EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT. HE HAS HIS EYE ON YOU AND IS WAITING FOR YOU TO SHOW CONFIDENCE IN HIM. FAITH OPENS THE DOOR FOR GOD'S GREATNESS TO BE SEEN THROUGH YOUR LIFE, SO TRUST HIM AND ENJOY THE PEACE AND POWER OF A CONFIDENT LIFE.