The laughter of a woman full of God is Contagious. Jacinda praises God and trusts Him with ALL she has. My first day around her was last Sunday and she helped Michelle feed us. She was such a joy to be around and just spoke life into us. Her laugh is something I will never forget. Even when I am having a bad day I can not help but join her in laughter. Jacinda is moving to a new house this week to be closer to her home. Her home is her church and that is what all the members call their church. She needed help cleaning it so she could move in so Brandy, Katie, and I helped her. I know what you are thinking mom she picked the wrong one to help clean! We washed windows, scrubbed floors, cleaned cabinets, and ironed and hung the curtains. I enjoyed serving her but that was nothing compared to what she showed us.
Jacinda sang with a Zambabwe Christian group a couple of years ago. She even wrote some of the songs and she put the CD in for us to listen to. It was an amazing CD and before we knew it we were singing and dancing in her living room. It was a lot of fun and so awesome to just sing Praises and Dance. This was just the beginning of her being a blessing to us. She began to speak of Abundance of Joy. Abundance is a great supply or more than sufficient and she has a great supply of joy. She spreads it every where she goes. She does not look at things that she has hers but God’s and how she can use them to bring kingdom to those around her. One of the things she has done was moved so she could be closer to home (her church) so she could use it as a ministry. I realized at this moment this is what I needed to be like. I need to put others first in all I have and do. I needed to be a joy to others. Everything I have is a blessing and I should see how I could bless others with them as they bless me.
John 15:11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.
What is joy? Joy is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Our relationship with Christ alone should bring us great joy. Yes, we are going to have good days and bad days but if we look at our relationship with Christ it should help us to have joy even during our trials.
The one thing God has showed me more than anything this trip is to have JOY. I have learned that even when I do not feel like it I should have joy. In John 17: 13 it says, Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with joy. The key to immeasurable joy is an intimate relationship with Christ. When we have this relationship with Christ He can fill us with joy even during times we don’t think we can have joy. Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice! Philippians 4:4. It is a good thing to rejoice in the Lord even when we don’t feel like it. I know it is hard but when we push forward and rejoice anyways joy will flow out of us. In James 1:2 it tells us to when troubles come our way to consider it great joy. This does not mean to pretend to be happy in the trials in our life but to have a positive outlook. I struggle in this sometimes but i know that it will get easier since i have such a better understanding of JOY.
