Sunday Best

When people think of stalkers, they typically think of a stranger lurking in the bushes and looking into their homes, with ill-intentions. However, in reality, the majority of us who encounter stalking behavior will be stalked by someone we know, often a former partner, a family member, a past acquaintance, and will typically be stalked because someone wants to maintain or build a relationship or seek contact, not because violence is intended. Or maybe it is. Sometimes we can't know what is in a person's mind or maybe we know! Most stalkers are not psychopaths, because stalking most often hinges on wanting to form a relationship with someone, which is in congruent with the callousness and lack of emotional capability that characterizes psychopathy. Some stalkers demonstrate narcissistic traits, such as entitlement. There is no single reason why someone stalks.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. I have a family member that refuses to accept me but cannot refrain to wanting to know everything about me. The same with my stalker woman who posts negatively but does not look at the blessings she has and attempt to make her life better. I had a mother who could not say a good thing about me and even after death, her damage and cruelty continues on. I understand the difficulty in forgiving those who have blamed me for events and situations that I was never a part of. I am grateful for the strength to carry on, to grow stronger, better, more accomplished, and confident.

Yesterday was a day of enlightenment, smiles, and new beginnings. Today brings hop for healing, love, and grace. Sunday dinner with my beloved, chats and texts with loved ones, some homework, reading, and preparation for a new work week, and better today than I was yesterday. And marvelous tomorrow!

DEMONS

We had an interesting class last night.  We are speaking about mental disorders that can alter the journey of one's path.  Are they really mental illness or the attempt at being a coward? I have always wondered about the mind of the coward, though.

Here are some of my thoughts:

• Cowards are pretty consistent in their cowardice. I’ve never seen a coward doing something brave.
• If you put a courageous person next to a coward, the coward will become less scared; or more brutal!
• However, it is possible that she (the coward) is just acting brave because she is afraid of the consequences of having a braver person witnessing her cowardice.
• Short: the coward becomes braver because she’s afraid of being called out.
• Never blame a coward! It’s not her fault; or is it?!
• Never trust a coward!
• Bravery is the most inconsistent virtue of all.
• Alcohol makes people brave while a hangover can turn you into a coward.
• Once a person has committed an act of cowardice, it’s very difficult for them to change their behavior. Cowardice sticks.
• Bravery, on the other hand, doesn’t.  It is easier to bully behind a computer screen than it is to live in the real world.
• Coward is an ugly word. It isn’t helpful and should never be used on the battlefield.

Since I am in a soon-to-be legal battle with a coward, as I look through the documents that will be presented, I am seeing a pattern.  A pattern of concealing the demons; a life that has not been an easy one, and a life filled with pain and suffering. 

Mental illness or self-induced?

Sunny Days

 

There has never been more of a beautiful day than today! Do you have those kinds of days where everything falls into place? The weather is perfect, people are perfect, employment is perfect, and home is perfect. I have never been more grateful for my blessings than I am at this moment.

I had an amazing class last night. It is all about understanding our own levels of emotional immaturity. People who are emotionally immature don’t meet society's expectations for social behavior within their age range. It’s safe to assume that a grown-up will be able to consider their impact on others and pay attention to their feelings. Emotionally mature people can accept criticism and learn from it. Adults with emotional maturity can think about and plan for the future as well. People with emotional immaturity, however, struggle with these things.

Emotionally immature people lack certain emotional and social skills and have trouble relating with other adults. Some behaviors can be a signal that you’re dealing with an emotionally immature person. In general, adults don’t resort to schoolyard tactics when they relate to other adults. You seldom see two adults calling each other mean names. Someone who behaves like a mean kid in school is not using mature emotional tactics. Instead, they are relying on childlike displays of temper. An essential facet of maturity is the ability to think about other people’s needs and feelings. Immature people only appear to care about themselves. They dislike compromise and don’t want to take other people’s ideas into account. They always want to have their own way.

I guess I will have to work to understand how the emotions of another works. I can empathize but not sympathize. Creating healthy boundaries has been working as well as the assistance of professional agencies. I will not be a victim of a person who cannot handle personal issues let alone attempt to solve issues of our surroundings.

This is one of the blessings of the day! I am grateful for the opportunity to keep on learning and growing.

 

 

Entitled or Blessed?

 Have you ever met someone who seems to act like the whole world owes them? Someone who is not satisfied unless their own needs are being met. Trying to deal with someone who has acted this way can feel frustrating. In fact, in society, this type of behavior typically attracts strong criticism and condemnation. If this sounds like someone you know, you may be dealing with someone who has a sense of entitlement, defined as "an unrealistic, unmerited, or inappropriate expectation of favorable living conditions and favorable treatment at the hands of others."

I was the recipient of a strange telephone call from the area where my stalker resides. It seems she is busy and literally suing the town she lives in. She has declared everything she owns under the guise of a business and yet doesn't want to pay the business fees. She lives within the walls of the business and feels that she should be billed personal fees. Yet, she has declared herself under the business in order to not pay the judgments that she is court-ordered to pay. Yet, she is honest in declaring that she owes no monies to anyone in the State of Idaho! (And a page long rant on social media on the how's and why's and validation of such behavior!)

Entitlement! Accusing others of entitlement and yet receiving goods and services that do not have to be paid back! A skewed definition of entitlement.

A sense of entitlement is a personality trait that is based on a person’s belief that they deserve privileges or recognition for things that they did not earn. In simple terms, people experiencing this believe that the world owes them something in exchange for nothing. She has a business but lives on the government; she has a business but lives on government healthcare and food stamps. Yet, the rest of us are damned because we pay our bills, feed our families, and care for ourselves by working in the private sector and paying the taxes to which she believes should pay her bills. Interesting way of thinking!

Within this conversation, it was declared that she is absolutely a joke, and she will find a way not to pay anyone including the attorneys (I know how this goes). She was called one of the most dishonest persons that the town knows; a "filthy liar and a cheat". We understand that certain personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder may cause such symptoms. The town is beyond feeling sorry for her! When someone with a sense of entitlement doesn’t get what they want, it is not uncommon for them to lash out at others in anger or frustration. Maybe their attitude changes often, especially when things don’t go their way. The behaviors that are manifested by a person who has a sense of entitlement is usually rooted in their belief that they should be admired and respected. Although they may come across as people with a bold personality or a great sense of self-confidence, many people battle personal insecurities. Unfortunately, their attention-seeking behavior and overbearing personalities often lead to isolation from those who were once family and friends. This, in turn, can lead to further feelings of isolation and depression. We left this conversation as being the cause of her malicious behavior and dishonesty. In her reality, she doesn't have to live by the same moral compass as the rest of us but quick to pass judgment! To date, she condemns me for taking care of an invalid husband (she could not and was expelled from his home; he was afraid of her and her violence), condemns me for paying for my own health insurance and other needs, paying my own home mortgage and other necessities, and for not living on government assistance. She condemns me for having made mistakes in my life but at least I am not hated by an entire town, and I don't hide behind my business. Everyone that I own and do not own is registered in my personal name! Even the payment of my taxes to the United States Government! 3 or 10 ... this is how life really works! Hmmmm! Even former lovers keep her at arm's length!

And how do we know this?!

#candalee #candaleeparker #candaparker #parkercandalee #candidcandaspeakso #candidcandaspeaksout www.candaleeparker.me www.candaleeparkerbeingcandid.com www.candaleeparkerfamily.wordpress.com

 Not every self-centered person you know is a true narcissist. But there are trademarks of the personality disorder that you might be able to identify. “A narcissist, by definition, is someone with a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy,” says Cory Newman, PhD, a professor of psychology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who has written on narcissistic personality disorder. He points out that the disorder is also one that emerges in early adulthood.

It’s difficult to say what exactly causes narcissistic personality disorder, but both genetics and upbringing likely play a role. “To quite a degree, personalities are inherited,” says Newman. “But if someone was super indulged, always told that he or she was special or better than other kids, and never given limits, that would likely contribute.” At the other end of the spectrum, some researchers think that parental neglect can also contribute to narcissism which can include parental abuse which can include physical, psychological, and sexual.

I have a narcissist who is totally fixated on me. Her every waking moment is in the pursuit of me. Remember, narcissists can be charming, charismatic, seductive, exciting, and engaging. They can also act entitled, exploitative, arrogant, aggressive, cold, competitive, selfish, obnoxious, cruel, and vindictive. You can fall in love with their charming side and be destroyed by their dark side. It can be baffling, but it all makes sense when you understand what drives them (a quote given to me by one of her “soul mates”). That awareness protects me from her games, lies, and manipulation. I love the software program that reports to me whenever my name and personal information is used. This is all coming together for another major lawsuit against her. Every click of the keyboard or screen shot or the entering of my personal information is being recorded by an agency hired by my husband and me.

Why the pursuit of me? Because she is stuck in a circle of her own despair, her own cruel and violent making. Reports from her classmates have told us that she was a crazy, misled, cruel individual. Adults in her realm report a self-centered sense of entitlement combined with her lack of empathy makes her ripe for taking advantage of people for her own benefit. Her threats, her personal self, her surroundings are ugly and cluttered. She has to dispute what she truly knows as truth because she cannot handle the reality of truth. She can’t handle that movement forward by me is a boost in her reputation of crazy.

Narcissists have an impaired or undeveloped self. They think and function differently from other people. They behave as they do because of the way their brain is wired, whether due to nature or nurture. The severity of narcissism varies. Some people have more symptoms with greater intensity, while other narcissists have fewer, milder symptoms. I understand this and I empathize with the plight and despair of what she suffers. Without empathy, narcissists can be selfish, hurtful, and cold when it doesn’t serve them to be charming or cooperative. To them relationships are transactional. Rather than respond to feelings, they’re interested in getting their needs met; sometimes, even if it means exploiting others, cheating, lying, or breaking the law. The illegal actions, and lack of payment on her judgment (though claims to be a law-abiding citizen), the searches, and the violations of a permanent injunction order will soon become public record … again. Thank you for the keystrokes and the look ups!

AND, I don’t apologize for moving life onward and away from her!

Truth Excuses

 Have you ever been around someone who "skirts around the truth"? They don't have the courage to speak or write the truth so they "skirt around the truth" and blame it on someone else. It is the person who plays the victim with the angry outburts and suffers from depression, even admits to it. Every bad thing in the world has happened to them. They are self-absorbed in a strange, negative way. Nothing is really their fault.

In one of my classes, we have been a personality construct that is termed as "Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood" or TIV. TIV is defined as an "enduring feeling that the self is a victim across different kinds of interpersonal relationships" of which there are several core components, including:

Need for Recognition: I have an experience where a woman I know of has a high level of need for her victimization to be seen and recognized by others; social media, letters, telephone, emails, etc.

Moral Elitism: Seeing oneself as morally pure or "immaculate", and seeing those who oppose, criticize, or victimize oneself as completely immoral and unjust. The truth can be placed in front but it will be looked over and thrust away.

Lack of Empathy: In my experience with the same woman, she has little empathy or concern for the suffering of others because her victimhood is much greater than the suffering of others even at the annihilation of her own acts. This includes her dilated entitilement to act selfishly or harmfully towards others without recognizing their pain at her destruction.

Rumination: She has a tendency to brood and remain extremely fixated on times, ways, and relationships where she thinks she has experienced victimization and her fear of being taken advantage of. There is a tendency to recall the negative occurences in her life instead of the positive.

Individuals who were high in the tendency to see themselves as victims felt feelings of hurt more intensely, felt that hurt longer, and were more likely to recall that hurt at later times. They responded more strongly to negative stimuli. People who saw themselves as enduring victims were more likely to hold grudges, seek revenge, and to feel entitled to engage in immoral, destructive behaviors in order to punish others.

Truth will never be told, never be written, blame placed elsewhere, angry bantering, the innate social media posts, and the name throwing are all in an attempt to feel justified in 'truth' excuses for her actions. And life goes on ...

Setting the Story Straight

 

I had a relative of my stalker who sent me a public post written by her. I know she is referring to me and I am not embarassed in the slightest. I have developed great courage, perseverence, and faith in her actions and how I do not want to be. I am taking care of a disabled husband and work hard to care for him and our properties. I love that she inspires me to be a better person today than yesterday. Her hatefulness, her mental illness (proclaimed by her), and her fake persona is easily seen through and through.

"If you run up a bill with an attorney, and then file bankruptcy against the attorney!!!! So you don’t have to pay him/her!!!! Is he/she still your attorney? Asking for a “sister in Christ”.

Let's set the story straight; how I pay my bills is my business. She has no idea what happened to us during the time my husband was in hospice because she did not make an attempt to care for her dying husband. She did not work two and three jobs to care for him because she was too busy receiving aid from the government.

The attorney bill that she is writing about is HER'S, THE STALKER, to pay. She is court-mandated to pay the attorney bills that she is referring to as well as a judgment amount to me. NOTHING HAS BEEN PAID; attorney or me! Over $42K.

She does not know what we have paid the attorney and she claims to be a Christian who pays all of her bills; yet receives government assistance and food stamps; and tax evasion. She hids under the umbrella of a business so we cannot collect on the judgment (there are ways around this).

She could not care for her husband; she divorced him; attempted to take his assets from his family; can barely care for herself; all while having an affair with another man.

She is a coward and a fake because she cannot and will not write truth. I dare her to write that she owes our attorney and us in settlement monies for her bad behavior and personal destruction. We know her reputation and what she does to all persons besides us including memebers of her own family.

Your Sister in Christ! After all, it is Christ who does know the truth!

Loving the Enemy

There are two reasons for us to love our enemies. One is simply because God said to, but the other is because God loved us first.

If I post something that my stalker feels relates to her on Facebook, within a few moments, she is posting it to her Facebook. So, who is really stalking who? I am not sure that admiration is the word of the day, but my court case is. The post that she failed to share is the judgment that she owes to my husband and I for her past negative behavior, stalking, and defamation. AND I do not want to know all of her profiles, but it is a good pattern to show the court her mental state and what she is a capable of. Her profile is blocked to me, and I am grateful to an impartial friend that can provide me with her antics and posts. My husband and I have a permanent injunction that forbids her to contact us, she was instructed to remove all negative posts from the internet in regard to me (which she has not done and in contempt of a court proceeding), AND what I posted to her profile, that she is a coward to reveal, is the judgments that she owes us and our attorney! She claims that she doesn't owe monies in the State of Idaho (her public post) but she does! She made sure to let the world know of everything she thought we owed and what we really didn't owe! I no longer care what opinions that people have of me. The important people know the truth including her ex-family members. I do not check her profiles. I do not have to!

Let's talk about Johnny Ray Reynolds. For years, while married to his wife, he cheated with other women. My stalker wanted him, but he wouldn't have her. She continued to have an intimate relationship with him even while living with and married to another man (her dated public posts). He refused to let her live with him, he refused to marry her, and she tried to make him jealous by marrying another man. That marriage didn't last long either because it wasn't built on the relationship that it should have been. He stated that he was scared of her, that she is "pyscho". I have recorded conversations about his opinion of her, but he is a coward to tell her. I am grateful that there was NOT ONE word about me because there is nothing to say. Despite my shortcomings and mistakes, my marriage is working and strong. She tried to destroy it. It didn't work. In fact, it made my husband call out the cowards for who they really were; they use people until they cannot get more. I have stayed and cared for a disabled husband and not tried to sue his family members for what I feel that I deserve. I was grateful to assist in their defense. She mocks my ill husband and my son who passed away. I have not threatened her with a gun or a motorcycle gang as she has threatened my family and me. We understand her desire to control, manipulate, and to destroy in her violent outbursts. We understand the mental imbalances that she deals with. BE IT CLEAR, there is no stalking, no want or desire, to humiliate her or embarrass her. She has her following and I am grateful that they are there for her. This is why there is prayer for her.

Admiration is moving forward from her. I am assisting others in defense of being bullied by persons that should know better. CBS is working with me on a documentary in regard to cyber bullies. My short stories are selling. My dreams for the future are coming alive. Love is what makes all the difference. Loving others, even enemies, flows out of knowing love. The conclusion Jesus brings it to is for us to be like our Heavenly Father who is perfect and merciful. The word perfect can make us cringe due to our humanity. Only God is perfect. But the word perfect in the original Greek means complete. It comes from a primary word meaning to set out for a definite point or goal. Jesus is saying for us to make it our goal to love as our Heavenly Father loves.

Jesus brought up the issue of mercy repeatedly. Everyone wants mercy. The Bible tells us that 'mercy triumphs over judgment'. Of course, we want it. Giving mercy requires us to give up revenge and hand the judgment part to God. Loving our enemies doesn’t mean allowing them to continue to hurt us. That would be a failure of loving ourselves as God loves us. We can do what is in our control to protect ourselves while trusting God to step in.

We can always pray for our enemies. Praying is an act of mercy. Praying is loving like our Heavenly Father. Praying changes our hearts. I remember when the Lord directed me to speak a blessing over an enemy who brought harm to a family member. With tears streaming down my face, and pain in my soul, I did. The person continued acting as an enemy, but it broke the chain off my heart. The love of God saved me from bitterness and unforgiveness.

Loving our enemies means seeing them as human beings in need of the Father’s love. I see my stalker/bully as a child of God, in need of prayer for her healings, and I bless her as a sister in Christ.

AND one wonderful thing to remember, I am not responsible for the versions of me that exist in other persons minds due to the negative actions of the one.

Parable

 

The parable of the lost sheep explains, in terms that ordinary people of the time could understand, how the ‘good shepherd’ worries over the loss of a single sheep and rejoices when that single sheep is found. God, says Jesus, cares and is worried about each one of us. When we lose our way, God will not abandon us even though family members and friends will. He would keep reminding us, through the goodness of others around us, that there is a better way to lead our lives. For Christians, this goodness comes through volunteers and groups of the faithful who engage in daily prayer, and I am grateful for those who I pray for, pray for me, and pray with me.

Nowadays, it is easy to side with anyone who tells us that by associating with ‘wicked people’ we are being wicked ourselves (even though we have skeletons not yet revealed). The meaning is simple yet profound: lost humans need a loving, personal Savior. Jesus taught this lesson three times in succession to drive home His meaning. God deeply loves and cares personally for us as individuals and that means ME. We are valuable to him, and He will seek far and wide to bring us back home to Him. When the one who was lost returns, the Good Shepherd receives him/her back with joy, and He does not rejoice alone.
I love the painting that is illustrated with this post! Yes, that is me! My beautiful, compassionate, loving, honoring my shortcomings and weaknesses, and somewhat rebellious self!
"In the parable of the lost sheep, a shepherd has a hundred sheep. One of the lambs wanders off and it lost from the fold. Perhaps this lamb was distracted by something that looked interesting. Perhaps he laid down to rest while the rest of the flock moved on. Whatever the reason, this lost sheep became lost and could not find his way back. When the shepherd discovers that the lamb is lost, he immediately goes in search of it. Once found, he places the lamb on his shoulders and brings it home rejoicing. In our high-tech, low-spirituality world it can become easy to stray from the fold. Always intending to catch up later, only to find the darkness closing in and the fold nowhere in sight. Sometimes when we wander off, we mistakenly think the shepherd has forgotten us. We feel alone and scared and believe that there is no way back. The longer we wander in the wilderness the harder it becomes to believe that anyone knows we are missing or that anyone is looking for us. As leaders we are bound by covenant to go to the homes of those who are lost. To pick them up and put them on our shoulders and bring them back to the fold. The shepherd in the parable was not worried about what the sheep might think of him showing up so late. He was only concerned that he finds the lost lamb and bring it home."

Journal Post 10 Joy in My Day

 

Joy comes in many ways! A snowflake, a puppy kiss, the sweet smell of our horses eating their hay, and my husband's kisses! The crunch of snow and bacon with breakfast.

I have seen too many dark days, yet I have also seen the goodness of God and His hand at work even in the worst circumstances. I can promise you; joy does come in the morning. I felt that when I was completing legal papers this morning. I have waited many years for this moment.

John Gill tells us: "alluding to the time when all nature is fresh and gay, when man rises cheerful from his rest, darkness removes, light breaks forth, and the sun rises and sheds its beams, and everything looks pleasant and delightful; moreover, the mercies of God are new every morning, which cause joy, and call for thankfulness; and especially it is a time of joy after weeping and darkness, when the sun of righteousness arises with healing in his wings; as it will be to perfection in the resurrection morn, when the dead in Christ will rise first, and be like to him, and reign with him for evermore." I look forward to this day for the TRUTHS of all will be presented to those who told lies. This will be another joy for me. One of my favorite books of the Bible is Psalms. Psalm 30 was written by David. In His commentary on the Bible, Matthew Henry writes, “This is a psalm of thanksgiving for the great deliverances which God had wrought for David, penned … upon his recovery from a dangerous fit of sickness, which might happen to be about the time of the dedication of his house.” I am soon to be delivered and the she-devil exposed as well as her "army".

The Psalm begins with David praising God and thanking Him for not allowing his enemies to rejoice over him. He also thanks God for healing him after he cried out to Him for help. He sings praises to God and encourages others to do the same. Then comes our key verse, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5, NASB). The word used here for joy is the Hebrew word Rinnah. It means “ringing cry of entreaty, supplication” or “ringing cry in proclamation, joy, praise.” Can you feel the tension in this word? It’s both a cry of prayer and a praise. It’s a powerful word, a powerful concept. It shows that joy is found not after pain, not after everything is made right but in the midst of it. The only way this is possible is because of the work of the Lord. He is the only one who can enter our pain and fill us with joy.

The word Rinnah is used 33 other times in the Bible. Let’s take a look at some of these verses and see what else Scripture has to say about joy. (The following verses are all in the New American Standard Version.)

“O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy”. Psalm 47:1.

“And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout”, Psalm 105:43.

“Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. And tell of His works with joyful singing", Psalm 107:22.

“The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly”, Psalm 118:15.

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them’” Psalm 126:2.

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting”, .

“And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away” Isaiah 35:10.

“Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted” Isaiah 49:13.

“Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman,’ says the LORD” Isaiah 54:1.

“For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands” Isaiah 55:12.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17.

I know it can feel impossible to experience joy in our worst circumstances. It can feel like a cruel joke, something we’re taunted with and fear we’ll never experience again. But joy is possible! So how can we experience joy in our worst circumstances? I think it’s important to know that happiness and joy are not the exact same thing. Happiness is a feeling based on pleasant circumstances, but I believe joy is something we can choose even in the midst of our worst circumstances. For years, I have lived the worst of the worst and slowly living and loving my best life making sure that my husband and I are secure, loving our time together, and loving my diplomas on the wall! My success has been silence, but it doesn't mean I have not noticed what was still going on behind my back. And the important persons in my life who assisted in making it happen.

Even Jesus chose joy in His worst circumstance. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

This is important: Jesus didn’t experience joy because of the pain of the cross or the shame heaped upon Him, but He did endure horrible circumstances for the joy that came out of it. He chose to walk in obedience to God because of the joy set before Him. The joy of reconciling man and God. The joy of conquering sin and death. The joy of the resurrection. The joy of making a way for us to be free and experience new life. He endured hostility so we will not grow weary and lose heart. We can experience joy in the midst of our worst circumstances because He is with us.

We look to Jesus. We abide in Him and simply ask Him to fill us with joy. Abiding with Jesus means spending time with Him. As we spend time with Him, we allow His truth and love to fill our weary hearts and fill us with joy.

In John 15, we read about what it means to abide. I love what Jesus says in John 15:9, 11: “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love…These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Joy is found in Jesus. Joy is found in my husband. Joy is found in our home. Joy is found on our farm and livestock. Joy is found in my career. Joy is found in my college classes. It’s as simple and beautiful as that. We make things so complicated sometimes, I know I do. But when we cease our striving, we’ll find peace and joy in our Lord; even in the midst of our worst circumstances. When we are faithful, the Lord provides meaning in our trials and joy in our success.