Reflections on Joy, #2

Here's my 2nd observation about NT verses related to JOY:
Joy comes from rich fellowship.

Joy is often not me by myself. Our individualistic society whispers to us that the most spiritual thing we can do is spend time alone with God reading my Bible. Of course there is nothing wrong with reading my Bible. But these verses suggest that sometimes spirituality can be seeking out a spiritual friend, a mentor, or a co-struggler--those walking the journey of faith with you-- and sharpening one another. Follow the trail of these few verses if you like:

(2 Co. 7:4) When God saw that Paul needed some encouragment, He didn't tell Him "I am all you need." Rather, God sent Titus to comfort him.

(Phil 4:1, 1 Th. 2:19-20; 3:9) Joy comes from seeing others who are participating in the work of the gopsel and the life of faith with you.

Searching for Joy

I've been thinking about joy. It's something we all want, yet in our travels across Texas visiting with friends about life, it seems elusive to many at times. Me included. Yesterday, our 3rd apartment fell through when our prospective landlord decided he wanted to change the conditions of our contract. We are 10,000 miles away and we can't do anything about it. All our earthly posessions are somewhere in the middle of the Pacific on a boat right now. When they arrive, there will be no home to put them in. Furthermore, when we arrive, we will have no home. This is the latest in a string of unexpected, unpredictable, nothing-we-can-do events. I'm sure you can write you own list! These frustrations might in certain weak moments, be impetus for despair.

So, I'm fighting back. I'm searching for joy. I love looking at broad themes across the Bible and seeing a big picture. Here are my discoveries as I log them for myself; Please join me if you like!

Thought on Joy #1
Here seems the most basic, fundamental thing we can say about joy: Godly joy as defined by the Word of God comes from God. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22). Obvious, right? But it might help me to start by acknowledging my inability to produce it. I can certainly do things to hinder the flow, or things to put me on the path towards finding it. But most foundationally, I can't make it happen. So Paul says to the Thessalonians, "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. More to come...

Change of Plans

The alert readers among you will take note of the date on this entry and say "Hmmm. I thought you were supposed to be on a plane today." (Actually this blog is posting Singapore time, so really it's 8:30 pm on the 15th.) Yes, right you are. 3 days before our departure Jim and I looked at each other and agreed there was NO way we would be able to get on the plane in 3 days without major distress. That, combined with the fact that we heard our belongings STILL have not shipped from Singapore, means that we are staying a couple more weeks. Our new departure date is June 28th.

Honestly, I'm SO relieved. I had been moving at such a furious pace with all the details that when we finally made that decision I felt completely incapacitated for a day. But now we are both breathing easier with plenty of time to work on getting ready AND getting a bit of rest.

Most of the fun pics from our past month are below, but here are a couple more from the Bradford side to share:


We spent one more day with my sister in Arlington, on their 12th anniversary! They graciously agreed to share their special day with us instead of going out by themselves for dinner.















Ballet lessons for K, E and cousin Elise. This picture was taken only moments before Ellie decorated her entire tutu with modelling paint. The tutu is no more.















It will never happen again in the history of photography that any four given children will all be looking and smiling at a camera, all at one time. The four Bradford cousins: K, E, Elise and Ethan.















Here are the girls with my brother Aaron, Aunt Kristen, and dog extravaganza, Duncan (so named after Tim Duncan of the 2007 NBA Champion SA Spurs!)

More Highlights from Athens (East Texas)

Here are a few more great pics from our stay with Jim's parents. Wish it could have been longer!















Ellie would make a great fireman, as she LOVED sliding down the pole. Once she got the hang of it, she was scary--coming down whether mommy was there or not!
















This was a great 5 tricycle ride-- never seen anything like it! They had such fun!















Best sister pic in awhile. They are almost both smiling, both looking at the camera. This is a statistical impossibility. We were at the Arboretum in Athens, in front of a life-size doll house. It was such a great play area!

And this reminds me of another story I'll touch on briefly-- The day before this trip with the girls, my mother-in-law and I got lost on a sophisticated, all-uphill hiking trail for HOURS, in the pitch-black of night, while it was POURING down rain...a deluge...we were almost swept away! There are only a few words in the last sentence that could be considered slight exaggerations. When we were driving home looking like drowned rats, GG asked me if I thought Jim might be wondering what became of us by that point. He hadn't even begun to miss us. Probably the most memorable (definitley the most adventurous) few hours of our whole trip.
















Action shot! I love the flying hair! The girls with cousins Emma and Alli (Jim's sister's girls.)
















This poor turtle wandered into the wrong yard. He was a GREAT science project for the morning though. After mild torture he made a run for it and got away.















Here's all the girls with Aunt Becca, Jim's brother's wife.















Simple pleasures-- the pool at the hotel. Ellie loved to be thrown in the pool! Pictured here with "Uncle Dingo", Jim's brother.















Here's the whole Bishop fam-- Jim's sister, husband Jeff, Emma and Alli.

Texas State Fishery

OK, I'm catching up on the backlog of pics from our US time.
One trip of great interest was with GG and Da (Jim's parents) to the Texas State Fishery. Since you've never heard of this place, it is in Athens, TX. Yes, I know this is another place most of you have never heard of--It's in East Texas. We had a great time at the Fishery! One random detail-- While we were at the fishing pond, I got a call on my cell phone from a friend in China. I thought, "Is this real, that I am having a crystal clear conversation on my cell phone with my friend in China from East Texas??" I couldn't believe the great reception. OK, now back to the fishery.

First tank of note: HUGE, HUNGRY catfish. Don't they just look like they would gobble my little Ellie up??















Then we made our way to the fishing pond. This was GREAT for kids-- A big pond stocked full of small catfish. Every cast landed a whopper! Kathryn really got into it and thought it was grand fun.















Ellie wasn't sure she wanted to touch the slimy things, but before long she was fishin with the best of em.






























There was even a fun educational program for kids where a diver talks to you from inside the tank about the various fish. Kathryn wanted to know if she could go swimming with the fish too. I highly recommend this place-- next time you are in Athens, TX.