Yippee!

 

I am not sure you can tell by the title of this BLOG, but I am excited for this weekend. A HUGE portion of my family will be coming to SPICELAND for a visit. I picked up Klayton at the airport yesterday. He was hungry, so where did I take him? WEENEE WORLD!!!!! Yes, AND I plan at least one more trip there to indoctrinate the rest of the FAMILY to the best of NEW CASTLE! LOL! The CALIFORNIA CREW is coming, the BERNE CREW is coming, and the GARRETT CREW IS COMING. We won't have all of the family together, but it will be close!  We have planned the sleeping arrangements, and we will have to use some creativity for furniture to sit on, as our extra couch and loveseat won't be delivered until the 24th. IT WILL BE JOYOUS CHAOS! 

I wrapped up reading Philippians yesterday, but as I was reflecting on this short letter, I realized something I want to share today. 

PAUL uses the word REJOICE or JOY 14 times in this short book. For a guy writing from PRISON, I think that is extraordinary. IF I were in prison, I would hope I could even utter the word one time. But Paul didn't let his circumstances determine his attitude. He truly was a special guy. I often share that any time a word is repeated in scripture, we should stop and take note. Of the 14 times Paul writes the word JOY or REJOICE, in this letter, four of them are in just a few sentences:

"Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will REJOICE even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that JOY. Yes, you should REJOICE, and I will share your JOY." (Philippians 2:16-18, NLT, emphasis added)

I know my JOY this weekend is coming because of great circumstances with the family coming to visit. But, when I think of my family, I just can't help but REJOICE in that GIFT from God. That makes it all the more amazing that PAUL shared his JOY while in prison. The entire letter of Philippians is one JOYFUL expression after another, and not a single mention of the pain of prison life. 

I don't ever remember the word "YIPPEE" being in the BIBLE, but in the STEVE RHOADES TRANSLATION, YIPPEE MEANS REJOICE! REJOICE! REJOICE!

REJOICE in the LORD today! Regardless of your circumstances, regardless of the trials, the challenges, and the pain in life, REJOICE. Regardless of the tiredness, the stress, and the uncertainty, TAKE TODAY to REJOICE IN THE LORD! I SAY IT AGAIN, REJOICE!

(Just so you know my competitive nature, I used the word JOY or Rejoice 22 times, and that doesn't even count the THREE "YIPPEES!"