Joy and God-Sized dreams

I am coming a little late to this party...but then, I am a little late to everything. Yep, that's me, late since the day I was born. Literally. 20 days late. I would just like to take a moment and apologize to my mom for that...sorry Mom!!!

Anyway...Holley Gerth at Heart to Heart with Holley has written a book called  You're Made for God-Sized Dreams and on her blog, she writes with themes from the book and invites other bloggers to share about the topic she has written about. This week's post was about joy and how it relates to your God-sized dreams. She points out that though joy can make us feel vulnerable, we can choose to be transformed by renewing our minds (Rom 12:2). She asked the question “What is God telling me through what brings me joy?” So, what renews my mind and brings me joy? Not just makes me happy, but brings me JOY? And is God trying to tell me something through those experiences?

I am joyful when:

• I learn something new. I love to discover, especially when God has lead me to the knowledge.
• I am solving problems. Whether I am fixing my own or someone else's dilemma, it always renews me.
• I am being useful. Serving others gives me the most peaceful feeling and helps to make my own problems a little less.
• I am painting, drawing, and taking pictures. Creating beauty is an experience that is all at once exciting and yet calming. It gives a fullness to my heart that I rarely feel at any other time.
• I am doing anything with the horses. This is a fulfillment of a dream that has been a long time coming and I feel blessed to be allowed to care for these magnificent, wonderful creatures. Connecting with them somehow makes it easier to remember that God is a part of his creations.

What is God telling me through these things? I believe that he is telling me that I bring Him joy when I am doing the things that He made me for. He created me, every cell in my body, every neuron in my brain, and I think He is delighted when He sees His creations doing what He made them to do. It seems to me that, for Him, it is like when we give our children a present, something we have put a lot of thought in, or went through Hell to find just because we knew they would love it, and they do! They play with it every day, and enjoy it to the fullest. We are thrilled that the child loves and appreciates the gift. I think that God is thrilled when we use our talents, our gifts, and not only use them, but ENJOY them! He loves the joy in our hearts that we get from his gifts to us. It is a form of worship when you are joyful about what you have received from your heavenly father. This will help me to remember that when I am not feeling so joyful, I need to go and pick up that beloved gift and play with it for awhile, to remind myself that my God loves me, that He wants me to be happy, peaceful, calm, and most of all, loved. That is the greatest joy of all, to remember that God loves me. Really, truly, deeply, loves me. And that I please him when I enjoy myself :) What a great Dad!
Romans 12:2

New International Version (NIV)

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.