JOOY
Happy Monday friends!
Story time & an acronym memory that has changed my life.
In 2018 I was sitting in church nursery one morning when I turned & at the door was a mama holding her youngest 2 daughters, aged 3 & 1. It was a strange moment, I felt like this was so monumental. I checked kids into childcare every week for years & as soon as this mama & I made eye contact, I knew these were some really special people. They turned out to be some of the most life changing & life-giving friends I think I will ever know. They lived in Seattle for just 10 months & I had the privilege of being their babysitter. When they moved to CA, I visited them, and visited again for a week when they moved to TX. I met them just over 4 years ago & we don’t get to do regular life together now. But they are people that I think about every day, I pray for them, pictures of their 4 beautiful children pop up on my photo memories, their voices singing scripture play in my memory. It got me thinking…I really want to be like that. I want to shine Jesus so brightly that years after seeing people they would remember His light & life most of all.
Last Fall, I was sitting in the car with their 6-year-old and she told me she wanted to tell me something special. One of the many remarkable things these parents did was recite scripture & sing hymns to their children day in and day out. They had teddy bears that had voice recordings in them sharing a Bible verse in their dad’s voice & saying that He loves them. One phrase that they shared often that this sweet girl wanted to share in the care that day was JOOY.
Jesus.
Others.
Obedience.
Yourself.
It is such a timeless and fulfilling way to live life glorifying our Savior. Honor Jesus first, think of Him & how you are serving Him. Think of the other people around you & the blessings that they are & their needs & how we can love them well. Listen to our loving Father & obey Him in our daily life. And finally, think of yourself last. When we are putting Jesus and everything else in front of ourselves, our lives have such great JOOY in Him.