Joy – Reflecting His Heart Ministries

From the Manger to the Cross

5 Comments / Comfort, Hope, Joy, Peace / Tami / March 23, 2025

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing.” ~Zephaniah 3:17 ESV As I write this, Christmas is long past, winter’s icy grip is melting into spring and Easter will soon be upon us. Even so, I have a Christmas Hymn playing in my head as it speaks to my heart during this Lenten season. As a child, I loved how “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing” ushered in the closing scene of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with its melodic summation of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. The soft “lu lu lu” of the Peanuts gang followed by their choral declaration that angels herald the long-awaited birth of Christ was indeed good news and worthy of proclamation. But this wasn’t just any good news, it was the Good News, prophesied seven centuries before, of an infant King who would choose to leave His heavenly home and be born of a woman, for the sole purpose of giving up that same physical life (God Incarnate) to a gruesome death on a cross. This gift…this perfect lamb…had now come into the world and would soon die (exchange his life for ours) so that we don’t have to experience life apart from Him, now or for eternity. Eternal separation from God at the time of our death is already the default setting. Every person in this world is born with a natural proclivity to do wrong…a sinful nature. The Good News is God wants us to always be with Him, yet it’s impossible for a Holy God to be in the presence of sin. So, from His outrageous love, He made another way…He sent His son, Jesus, to be born and to later shed his blood and die in exchange for us; to be the filter through which God will forever see us. “Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” Now, listen to verse two as it describes the first, voluntary coming of our Lord Jesus: “Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time, behold Him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the God-head see, Hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.” (means ‘God with us’) As the song continues, this beloved Hymn builds on the truths of its previous verses, until finally, the joyful last verse ties together the “why” of His birth and shouts unabashedly: “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail, the Son of righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, Risen with healing in His wings! Mild, He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.” He defeated death, once and for all; securing an eternity of life for those who accept and follow Him. From Christmas to Easter, from the Manger to the Cross; Raised from the grave, from death to everlasting life. “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King; peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”

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Unto Us

1 Comment / Christmas, Joy, Peace / Jennifer / December 21, 2022

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6 ESV) “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us; we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ESV) Jesus. My Savior. My LORD. My King. There aren’t enough words in the English language to convey what Jesus means to me. He entered this fallen world as a baby with His eyes fixed on the cross. God wrapped in human flesh. The very thought overwhelms me. He came as a servant, born in a barn, with a feeding trough in which to lay His head. He grew up a carpenter but all the while knowing His greatest purpose lie ahead. He was sinless as He walked this earth; both fully God and fully man. He willingly laid down His life so mine could be eternally saved. He took my punishment and, in return, has clothed me in His righteousness. Something I could not earn nor do I even deserve. What an amazing and incomprehensible love He has lavished upon me. How do I even begin to say thank you? He is constant, faithful, and true. Even when I am not. I am overwhelmed by His infinite mercy and amazing grace. I love Christmas. Although Jesus was most likely born in the Spring, we celebrate His birth at Christmas. To me, the timeframe doesn’t matter as much because I celebrate His birth every single day! A few weeks ago, my daughter shared a Facebook post with me she had seen in her feed. In it were facts surrounding the birth of Jesus I had never heard before. Reading the words just reaffirmed my belief that God is very much in the details. The Manger Lamb ~ by Brent Hanson God is in the details. Amazingly so! A manger is a feed trough and in ancient Israel, and still in the Middle East, they’re made of stone. If needed, they can be a protective basinet, and they were. The priests of Bethlehem would place certain lambs in them. Not all lambs; just those that were without blemish and suitable for sacrifice, for the sins of the people. These were the lambs Bethlehem was known for. Near the hills, there was a tower name “Migdal Eder” and the flocks near there produced lambs specifically for sacrifice. When the time neared, priests chose male lambs for sacrifice, those without blemish. To protect the lamb for sacrifice, a priest would wrap the lamb snuggly in cloth. Then he’d lay the swaddled lamb in a stone manger until the time came. The word “manger” is mentioned once in the account of Jesus’ birth (in Luke). Now all of the above details should make sense to you. However, on that night long ago, there was only a small group of people who would understand its significance. Those who heard the words, “You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth, and lying in a manger.” The shepherds! The Bethlehem shepherds of the sacrificial flock. These shepherds knew what the swaddling cloth and manger meant. “This will be a sign unto you,” the angel said. And it was. It wouldn’t have been a sign to many. But to those shepherds, most definitely! This one detail is staggering. The long awaited Messiah wasn’t born to a king’s palace. No, the “Lamb of God” was found swaddled in a stone manger, destined for sacrifice. “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners, reconciled.” ~ Luke 2:11-14 (KJV) ~ “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” I have read the account of Jesus’ birth in the gospel of Luke my entire life and, until now, have never known the significance of the words spoken by the angel. I just took them at face value because God’s word is inerrant and Jesus was, indeed, found in a manger by the shepherds. But it’s so much deeper than that. Never again will I read about the birth of Jesus in the same way. God has revealed just a little bit more of who He is and how much He loves and I am undone. I am so thankful God is in the details. Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God, wrapped in swaddling cloth, laid in a manger, born for sacrifice. I am so thankful God sent His one and only Son… Unto us.

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Thank You for the Valley

1 Comment / Comfort, Healing, Hope, Joy / Jennifer / September 29, 2022

My counselor gave me an assignment. During one of our sessions a few months ago, I was a bit down and felt as if my healing journey had taken a few steps back. I felt stuck. In order to put my healing journey into perspective, Holly asked me to go back and read previous writings then compare them to where I am now. I had never thought to do that so I did as she suggested. I was pleasantly surprised to find I have come much further than I thought. Guess that’s why she’s the professional. The past eight blog posts, with the exception of From House to Home, have been part of that assignment, as is this one. (I have a few more I’m working on as well.) My eyes have been opened, not only to the kind of man I was married to and how very abused I was, but to the growth and healing that have definitely taken place. Back then, I was such a frightened young woman, living completely in denial, trying to cover up and hide my reality, and all the while being and doing everything possible to hold onto my marriage. However, I now know and understand the reason for the valleys and why God left me in them for as long as He did. It took time to unravel the tangled web of lies and manipulation I was living under. God revealed truth to me gradually, possibly so I’d be accepting of each one as they came. God knows my heart like no other and He knows exactly what I need, exactly when I need it. Had He revealed everything at once, it may have been far too overwhelming. But as each part was brought into the Light, my faith grew stronger. I can see that now. With all that being said, the excerpt below was originally written on July 20, 2015, but I need to fill in some background details first. At the time I wrote it, my ex-husband worked for the Missile Defense Agency and was given the job to build a missile site in Japan. The project started with a parcel of land, in the middle of a rural area, completely covered with trees and was home to a hoard of wild monkeys. His job was to clear it all off then set up an Army post, complete with all the amenities needed to sustain those who would be working and living there once it was complete. He had many months of work ahead of him which meant he’d be going back and forth to Japan for a very long time. Before a project of this caliber is started, there are several short trips to the region to make plans with the locals and check out the site, etc. It was during one of these short trips, my ex-husband met the woman who would, eventually, be the catalyst for the end of our marriage. I’m convinced, he somehow finagled his way into getting the assignment just so he could continue to travel to Japan (completely at the government’s expense, I might add) to be with her. His first thirty-day trip was planned for August 2015 and I was completely devastated. I always hated to be separated from him but the start of this assignment would be the longest we’d been apart since he came home from his year deployment to Kuwait in 1998. I also believe I was still reeling from the discovery of his “emotional affair” a few months before this and didn’t trust him. (See No More Idol Excuses) I can see now, even though I had no idea what my ex was doing behind my back, God was preparing me for the end. July 20, 2015 I am in a valley. I’m sitting here reflecting over the twelve plus years of my walk through this life with Jesus. My faith and my trust have been tested too many times to count. There have been some deep valleys. Ones so deep I thought I’d never find my way out. But there have also been some wonderful mountaintop experiences, too. However, those didn’t seem to last as long. But if I were allowed to stay on the mountaintop, how would I learn anything new? How would I grow? It’s in the valley experiences and in the trials where I learn the most valuable lessons. It’s there I have to totally rely on Jesus to get me through. There was a time in my life when I would beg God to take the trial away and set me back up on the mountaintop. And you know what? He never did. Why? Because He knew I needed that valley for a specific purpose. He was teaching me even though I didn’t understand or see what He was doing. I don’t beg God to take valleys away anymore. It’s not that I enjoy walking there but it’s in those times I feel my Savior’s arms around me. It’s there He wipes away my tears. It’s there His Spirit whispers to me, “It’s going to be okay. I am here. I will never let you go.” He is so faithful. He doesn’t let go. He never leaves me. Recently, I was hurled into a valley so deep that I didn’t see any way out. I just didn’t know what to do. I was sobbing and asking God, “Why, God? Why are You taking me here? Noooooooo…” You know what God did? He let me cry and protest as loud as I wanted but then all of a sudden, I felt the most wonderful peace come over me and my sobs softened. It was as if all He said was, “Shhh…” and that was it. Did He immediately lift me out of the valley and take all the hurt away? No, He did not. In fact, I’m still in it and He is, too. Walking right beside me, holding my hand. Can we

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In Pursuit of HappyNess

1 Comment / Encouragement, Healing, Joy, Peace / Jennifer / January 13, 2022

I don’t make new years resolutions. I haven’t for quite a few years. The reason for it, in my estimation, is that resolutions don’t work. In years past, I would make resolutions, promises if you will, that went something like… “This is the year I’m going to lose weight! This is the year I’m going to exercise more! This is the year I’m going to take more time off from work! This is the year I’m going to take more time for me!” On and on and on. And what always, inevitably, happened is I’d fail to keep up the routine and I’d beat myself up for months after because I couldn’t stick to it. Best laid plans and all that. Now, don’t get me wrong. All of the goals I mentioned above are good ones. I do need to do all of those things. I realize that more and more as I continue to grow older. I do intend to incorporate them into my life whenever I can. However, I don’t want to be controlled by them. I spent many years being controlled by another. No matter what I did, it was never good enough. Even when I worked out every single day, for three hours at a time, and maintained a size 2 body by starving myself…it was never enough. Nothing I did was ever good enough, done long enough, or even wise enough. For the past few days, I’ve had a song going through my head. It’s one I used to sing years ago at our church in Alaska. In fact, it was so long ago I couldn’t even remember the title to it until I googled some of the words. When the Time Comes by David Kavich Cleanse me Lord, Of all my silly, sad charades How I want to be all and only Yours Take away the clutter in my life everyday And make me like a child at play Give me joy I love to laugh and cry with You You’ve become a Friend with me all the time Help me to be patient as I watch and as I pray Growing in Your love each day Lord, show me the way. Fill me, Lord I want Your love to overflow Running free through me to a lonely world Let me share that simple truth that sets people free How I want them all to see, how it can be. When the time comes, I wanna be ready When Jesus comes to take me Take me home. In and of themselves, making plans and having goals are not bad things, but if they become the only thing we’re focused on and/or allow them to consume our every waking moment, then we’ve clearly lost sight of what’s most important. During my marriage, I was completely obsessed with being, doing, and becoming every single thing my ex wanted me to be, do, and become. It got so bad that if I had a weak moment and had the audacity to eat a candy bar, I would stuff the wrapper inside a soda can and hide it in the garbage because I didn’t want him to find it. I didn’t want to be ridiculed or chastised over it. I tired not to let him see me eat anything that could be deemed unhealthy. It’s the only thing I focused all of my energy on. This was not just a goal I wanted to achieve eventually. This was an every single day goal that I felt had to be achieved every single day! I felt I had no other choice. I had to keep him happy to be accepted. I had to keep him happy to be loved. I had to keep him happy so he’d stay. A lot of good it all did. He left anyway. I believe that’s why this song has been trapped in my mind the past few days and I’m so thankful it has. Perhaps the Spirit brought these words to mind so I’d, once again, realize the importance of keeping Him first in my life. To know that whatever I do to try to keep another happy is in vain. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy and fill the deep longing in our hearts. To remember I’m a just a sinner saved by grace and that I need to be ever mindful of any sin that may creep in and immediately confess it when convicted by the Holy Spirit. To stay true to the desire of my heart to be an example of Jesus to all those I come into contact with and to all those who read the words I write. Knowing Jesus is the greatest and most amazing privilege of my life and I long for others to know Him as I do. Often times, life gets so busy and we get caught up with all the things we have to do or even be. The enemy loves nothing more than keeping us distracted by all the things we allow to clutter up our lives. His goal is to get us to take our eyes off of Jesus. He doesn’t care what it is. Even if the things in our lives are good for us. Even good things can become bad if given the wrong priority. I posted a new scripture on the website a few days ago. It’s from a devotion I read this week and it was exactly what I needed. “There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O LORD!” You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” ~ Psalm 4:6-8 ESV Unfortunately, the world view is me, me, me, mine, mine, mine. In this passage of scripture above, King David is referring to those who

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