Sparkling Album Covers

My coffee is steaming all in front of my computer screen, and I can't tell if it's aesthetic or humorous, but either way it looks pretty cool.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day, or at least that you are planning for a wonderful day. If not, go ahead and plan for a wonderful day, because you look wonderful today, and you should always match your days. It's considered polite, or something.

God made each of us spectacular for a spectacularly different reason, my friends. He gave each of us something different, or someone different, or somewhere different to lift up His name and spread it far and wide. It's not a name just to be whispered, either. It is to be shouted from the rooftops, sung (sang? singed?) to the sky, and praised in music and dance.

I hope if you are feeling scared or anxious, or lost or confused, that your lips can at least remember that much. That it's not all about us, and it's definitely not all about what we're worried about. We can use our fears and anxiety to lift Him up, and believe me, if you're trusting Him, He will use something.

He has a plan for everything, and if you don't quite understand that plan, take a moment and pray about it. Pray, because the only place we can look for answers is Up. If you have a more questions than you ever imagined, and if you feel more scared than happy, pray. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Continually.

See, His will doesn't seem that hard, right? What's hard about staying joyful, praying constantly and consistently, and praising even in times of trouble?

So it's a little harder than it seems; I understand. I don't uphold those three simple things everyday and all the time, even when I know I should. It's hard to stay happy when you feel so down.

But if you pay attention, it doesn't say be happy always. It says joyful, and I think there's a difference.
Joy, to me, is more than smiling and laughing and not being sad. Joy is a more constant feeling, and more pure feeling. Joy is a constant assurance that there is hope despite what you are feeling. Joy is something we can have in the darkest of darkest, in the most quiet times. Joy, that we are promised peace one day, no matter how far in the future that is. We have a piece of that peace buried in our soul, a peace knowing that tomorrow isn't scary because we are going into with God in the lead, with God taking the reins. Because He knows where to lead us.

We follow.

If you don't know Christ, He's there, waiting. And despite everything, He loves you. No matter what you may think you've done; He loves you. If you want that constant Joy, it's there for the taking, a gift made completely and purely for you.

If you do know Christ, I hope you remember that Joy today. Be joyful and know that no matter what, it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay because our hope isn't focused on the things down here that can look so broken.

I love you guys, my sparkling album covers, and don't forget that you look wonderful, so make it wonderful.