Whee!!!

I love this picture of my grandson. He is 3 months old now and smiling, grinning, laughing and having fun (most of the time). He still has a few fussy moments from what his mommy tells me, but his exploring,learning and happy moments are outnumbering the grumpy ones. I cannot wait to have some playtime with him in a few days. When other grandmas told me that being a grandmother would be like nothing else, I was a bit skeptical. I have been around children all of my life. First taking care of younger cousins, then babysitting, then having my own. Not to mention 28 years of teaching younger children. However, there truly is nothing quite like being this little guy's grandmama. Thank you, God, for this blessing of pure joy!

JOY

Our ladies Bible study is reading Treasures of Encouragement by Sharon Betters. I have always said I want to meet Barnabas in heaven. His name literally means "son of encouragement." As we meet together each week, we are encouraged by being in the presence of each other and by God's encouraging Words of Scripture. Last week during our study, we experienced a lot of laughter, which in itself is the essence of joy. We are each thinking of and praying for a person to share a "Joy Box" with as was talked about in chapter 2. Our pastor talked about joy yesterday at church. We are to go out into the world with peace and joy. Nehemiah 8:10b says, "Do not grieve, for the JOY of the LORD is your strength." I loved listening to the song "Rest in Him" ( You can watch it on Youtube) this morning as it is an encouragement to know that God loves us so much. So go forth this day to love and serve the Lord in peace and joy!