Every night my husband, my\u00a0 two little girls, and I pile onto our big comfy bed and have \u201ccuddling time\u201dfor the thirty minutes just prior to the kids\u2019 bedtime. For years, we have been using that one on one time to connect, to spend some undivided time paying attention to each other, and to simply enjoy the uniqueness that each member brings to our family. We just genuinely like each other, and we love to hang out with each other. There is so much joy in simply being in each other\u2019s presence. We laugh. We discuss. We dream. Our lives are very full as we enjoy each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n
Sometimes for family cuddling time we watch a portion of a movie, read
\nsilently, or act out Bible stories. For the past several months we have been
\nreading books out loud to each other. Right now we are reading the book \u201cThe
\nRainbow Garden\u201d by Patricia St. John. In this story a young girl, Elaine, gets
\nsent away from her mother to live in the English countryside with a vicar and
\nhis family. This girl\u2019s tragic life had included great spans of time being
\nalone and lonely, isolated from the very people who were supposed to care for
\nand nurture her. Her time with the vicar and his family was so different than
\nanything she\u2019d ever experienced before. They were full of life, authentic, and
\nbubbling over with joy even in the midst of the real restraints of their meager
\nlittle life. One day Elaine stumbles across the statement \u201c\u2026.fullness of joy\u201d
\non a tombstone in a graveyard. She has no clue what it means, but she makes it
\nher life\u2019s goal to find out what \u201cfullness of joy\u201d means and how to have it for
\nherself.<\/p>\n
Through a series of misadventures Elaine finds that, contrary to many I have found myself pondering this delightful little book and its great big I\u00a0hope you\u2019ll be challenging yourself to find out both through the conference and The joy that my little family finds in each other\u2019s presence during family
\npreliminary false understandings, the one true meaning of that phrase is found
\nin Scripture. She is taught that Psalm 16:11 says \u201cYou will make known to me
\nthe path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; <\/strong><\/em>In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.\u201d The book then becomes a delightful unpacking of what it actually means to find the full measure of joy in a relationship with God through faith in Christ.<\/p>\n
\nBiblical message many times through the day. First, I find myself reflecting on
\nthe privilege it is to be invited into a relationship with God, where I myself
\nhave found the fullness of joy that I searched for so many years to find.
\nSecondly, it has made me have a new measure of passion in helping others find
\nthe joy that they are so desperately seeking, often through various sinful
\ntools.<\/p>\n
\nthrough other Godly tools presented through your own local church how to truly
\nexperience \u201cfullness of joy.\u201d Learning how to walk the path of life, basking in
\nGod\u2019s presence results in fullness of joy, and that fullness of joy makes you a
\ntruly beautiful woman\u2026 engaging, winsome, and deep. You\u2019ll become a woman who does not rely on shifting circumstances to satisfy you, because your joy is
\ncomplete, full, and mature in the unchanging love of your savior.<\/p>\n
\ncuddling time is but a tiny reflection of the fullness of joy that believers
\nfind in their Heavenly Father\u2019s presence. We only glimpse that fullness of joy
\nhere on earth, but we will one day experience it as fully as possible when we
\nare finally in his physical presence in heaven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"