FINDING THE SWEET SPOT OF JOY

FINDING THE SWEET SPOT OF JOY

Isaiah 12; Luke 2:8-20

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

When I was a young boy, Christmas came once a week.

When I was between the ages of 8 and 10, my family lived in Whitesboro, NJ.

Once a week my mother would give me a quarter, 25 cents, for the four of us children to go and get sweet treats from the store.

That meant that each of us (Cynthia, Michael, Felecia, and me) had 5 cents to buy whatever each of us wanted.

We had joy coming and going.

We had the joy of anticipation and expectation as we hurried along to the candy store.

We had the same question for each other, “What are you going to get with your 5 cents?”

The Sweet Spot of Joy has a front door and a back door.

It’s important to make sure that both doors are open to you.

First, The Front Door Invites You to Come In.

The Angels told the Shepherds that they were invited to go and enter the Front Door of God’s Sweet Spot of Joy—A Stable.

· Expect the Unexpected. God’s Sweet Spots can be the most unlikely of places. They had to go there. Of all the unlikely places. Who would imagine a King in a dirty, smelly stable? And resting in a wooden box that the animals ate out of? No, way!

· Don’t be MIA. Did any shepherd opt out of going? The scriptures don’t tell us that. I assume that they all went. Like my siblings and I hurrying to the Candy Store, these Shepherds had been prompted. Pity those who miss out on the Joy-filled experiences of Life. Whatever their excuses, nothing ever measures up to, “Girl, you should have been there! Boy, you missed out big time!”

· When You Enter the Sweet Spot for the First Time, Capture all of the Goodness. Capture your memories of the Christmas celebrations past and present. Remember what was good. Remember the delicious food and the noisy family and friends… Remember your parents, grands, aunties, uncles, cousins, and siblings…Memory is a gift. Imagination is a gift. Imaginationgives us a window to God. God is timeless. Our memory gives us a glimpse into how God sees and knows us, how God has loved us all along.

· All of Humanity recognizes the value of stealing the present moment—The Polaroid Camera became a sensation…

· Be Grateful for the gift of Salvation. Salvation makes sense of the good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Salvation reminds us that God took bad and made something good come out of it. You may find yourself between the best of times and worst of times in your own life. The gift of salvation reminds us of the sweet spots of the past and gives us hope for the goodness that is to come. Like David, I confess that “I would have given up if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.”

·

There is Joy in the Journey—Having your hair done, Getting all dressed up. Spraying yourself with some smell-good, arranging every detail for arriving on time…

There is something to be said about showing up for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of God Showing out.

God surprises us—eyes, ears, nose, have not experienced the sensational joyfilled experiences that God has up His sleaves. I had an amazing sunset experience floating on my noodle in Harrington Sound. I took it all in…

This leads me to the second point.

Secondly,

There is a Back Door, an Exit Strategy for Stealing and Hiding Up Treasurable Moments

· —Nowadays, iPhones provide immediate access to photos on demand. The photos in your Photo Albums, cameras, and iPhones, are Back Door access to joyful memories.

But no technology competes with how our minds are wired. Our brains are amazing. We can keep the Sweet Spots of the past stored in our brains, and (get this) experience the sensations afresh.

The Shepherds came in the front door and left out the back door.

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:15-20

Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

Mary doesn't take the moment for granted. She appreciates the importance of these events. As the shepherds explain their angelic encounter, she "treasures" and "ponders" what is happening. She protects, preserves, and makes a deliberate effort to remember all that she sees and hears.

https://www.bibleref.com/Luke/2/Luke-2-19.html#commentary

Capture the Sweet Moments and Preserve them for later.

Treasure

Telling stories is the best way to preserve memories. Mostly in villages, the elderly people tell stories to preserve their memories and till now the same tradition is continuing. So, if you want, you can share your memories with your near and dear ones by telling stories.

Why is the role of griot neededin society?

The griots' role has traditionally been to preserve the family lineages, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their people; praise songs are also part of the griot's repertoire.

1. And then, thirdly, I’ll return to where I began: with memories of childhood when every week we experienced a taste of Christmas.

Christmas is foremostly about children. The Messiah comes to us as a child: the innocent infant Jesus.

Children need to enjoy the joys of childhood free from the real and present dangers of the world today. It is truly sad that so many children in the world today are targeted for destruction.

As adults, we need to recover our Childhood memories and share our stories.

We are Jesus’ heart and hands, Jesus’ voice and hope for the children of the world, so many of whom need healing of their memories.[vi]

This Christmastide:

· Remember from where you have come as a child, and be grateful for all that was so good.

· Remember from where you have come as a child, and claim redemption for the good that has come out of the bad. It’s miraculous, and the miracles have not ended. There’s more.

· Remember the children. Do it for Jesus. Do it in Jesus’ name. Do it in Jesus’ power and love. Remember the children of today. Help them unwrap the good news of great joy promised by Jesus.

Joy says it all. Today is the third Sunday of Advent is marked by the pink- or rose-colored candle. It is the one where we are reminded of the news that shall be a great joy to all people—the news that Emmanuel is born, God with us. There can be no greater joy than that.

The Power of Thanksgiving on the Battlefield

There are Seven Words for Praise.

Todah is the third word and means Thanks.

Follow Jehoshaphat’s Playbook

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa.

As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

Have you ever noticed that hot air balloons need a continuing burning fire to maintain altitudes?

Without hope, joy, thanksgiving, and peace, your altitude will nosedive.

· You will find yourself down; beneath; on the bottom and not on top; at the tail and not at the head

· You will define yourself as a victim and not as a victor

· You will find yourself crying over your trials and not celebrating your triumphs.

Gratitude sustains us on the battlefield—-Thankfulness is the frontline of our defensive (along side faith, hope and love)

—Thanksgiving is chief amongst the arsenal of praise

—Thanksgiving is the preamble of prayer

—Thanksgiving is Powerful

Our Misery is Satan’s Greatest Joy

Satan’s Misery is our Greatest Joy

Your Practice of the Presence, Praise, and Prayer are sources for our Highest Joy and Satan’s Agony in Defeat

Three Hebrews facing the fiery furnace testified to the Power of Thankfulness

Powerful

Thank you for the deliverance that is to come.

Thank you for the hope and consolation of your people.

Thank you for the Joy that will take away our sorrows.

Thank you for the Healing that is at work in our bodies.

Thankfulness is a lovely attitude.

Thankfulness is an Attitude of Gratitude that impacts your Altitude.

Your Altitude is determined by your Altitude.

When you have an attitude deflated by negative thoughts and experiences you will languish in the lowlands of unhappiness.

When you have an attitude inflated by gratitude your altitude will be quite high and uplift others around you.