Incomplete Joy

John 16:22-24
22And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

23And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

I hear it all the time in the christian world that we are to be "complete", "joyful", and "content" with whatever situation we may be in. No matter what the circumstances are. After I read this portion of John 16, it led me to think that indeed our joy can be incomplete. It led me to think that there will be times that we wont be at our happiest for one reason or another. That time in which our joy would be incomplete is the time the fills the spaces between the the time we ask for something and the appointed time in which we receive it.

In verse 24 it says "ask and ye shall receive; that your joy may be full. So is this suggesting that our joy is not full until receive that which we have asked for. That it is necessarily implicit that the time we are waiting for what we believe for to come to pass we will be in a state of "struggle" of sorts?

I've just always tried to be happy and be "complete" because that was what I was taught. Though sometime I did feel like I could be more happy if my prayers were answered, I felt like it was wrong to feel that way. But this verse suggests that that feeling is normal.

What are your takes?

Awoke Aggravated

Have you ever just woke up in the morning slightly agitated? I didnt sleep very well last night, i woke up probably ever 2.5 hours. I had probably between 4-5 different dreams of which only the first can I remember what it was about. Anyhow, I awake, then I go to pray at which time something in me decided to fight against it. Of course I had to press through and pray/praise anyhow, which I did. Once I started to pray I realized that I had been holding in a lot of things. I began to talk to God about all of it. I hadnt realized there was so much I hadnt told Him or hadnt spoke to Him about until I began to just let it out in prayer. I reckon that I should have been praying more and maybe I wouldnt have felt the way I did when I woke up. Anyhow, now my mood, im somewhere between a peaceful/thinking mode, and prayerfully the thinking part will fall off the end of that. Anyhow I must be getting ready for my Friday am classes. Maybe I'll have something more meaningful to say later.

Have a Blessed Day, God Loves You!

Whose Life is the Most Significant?

In my "Leading Lives that Matter" course yesterday, we came upon the issue of the significance of life. We viewed it through the eyes of two authors. One romanticized the blue collared workers life, as though their life was better and more meaningful because it involved "struggle." He said that they held the "secret of life". On the other hand, he went to a place of wealth, stayed a while, and found that place to be boring and without a purpose. He ridiculed those who were educated and sought to live their lives with the significance of gaining more knowledge. Here was my response to this subject (What do you think):

"The danger is in romanticizing one way of life over the other. The danger is doing things and not knowing or understanding why you do them but going off of what others say or think. There is an inherent wisdom that comes from learning from others, BUT you must be careful not to put people into boxes and make broad generalizations. We all are pieces of the same puzzle, with one part missing, the puzzle is not complete. You take away intellectualism you risk the failing of the democracy, liberty and freedom, the very laws of which we are governed. You take away the coal miners and you give away your countries independence and pull away the threads of the foundation of the things which are the basic necessities of life. However, the wheels will continue to turn because we are made to survive one way or another. Take away what we know as food, any man will find it in the trees, take away the water well, any thirsty man will dig til he finds it. However there is a level of accountability that will always be required, good and evil will always be present, and justice will always be sought."

In my view there is a need for both. What are your thoughts?

Where do I Begin?

Well this is my very first post and im not exactly sure what to write. But I guess I should maybe expound on why I created the blog in the first place. I'm a thinker, most of the time, I think waaaayyy too much, so im hoping that this will be a way that I can free up some space in my brain for the more important things in life. Im hoping that my blog will help others more than it helps me, because after all, life is not simply about me. I may use this as a journal of sorts, devotional of sorts, meditation of sorts, lol, a little bit of everything.

What am I feeling at this very moment? Slightly overwhelmed yet hopeful. Im currently trying to finish out my last semester of law school and it's proving harder than I thought to stay motivated to complete the work that I need to complete. I have been thinking about and focusing on things that probably should not be able to occupy my thoughts because they are indeed out of my control. I have no clue what area I want to practice, what is to come of me after graduation May 21, what location geographically I should focus my energy... a lot of unanswered questions, but I know it's all in God's hands and I need to let it stay there.

Romance? Hmmmm, what is that again? lol. I have also spent waaaaayyy too much time on considering the possibilities and have come to the conclusion that being in a relationship at this season in my life is not in the master plan. I dont want this blog to become one of complaining about how singleness sucks, but maybe one moreso about how in your singleness press forward to accomplish the things in life that are set before you. Enjoy life (I need to take this advice). Part of my battle in this whole area is that unlike others, I've never envisioned myself to be a professional, never envisioned being a lawyer, the only thing I've ever had a strong desire to do/have is to have a family and get married, yet my pathway seems to take me farther and farther away from that. I find it extremely frustrating, but I know in my heart God's got it all under control, but as a human, I still try to figure out how this will happen (which is definitely something I shouldnt worry about). :-(

So im constantly trying to refocus, and think on the things that are before me. I've always been the girl who wouldnt try new things, too afraid to step out of my box, but I think im about ready to try new things. Last week I ate Greek/Lebanese food for the first time, and yesterday I ate Indian food, for the very first time. I find that I am finding happiness in the little things in life now. I'm ready to experience life, but im ready to experience it the right way. Im not a wild child, I am very careful about where I go and who I associate myself with, and am very serious about my faith. Anyways I hope this gives a small picture of me, and you will see little pieces of me displayed through my writing.

God Bless You, and God Loves You