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| September 2008 | Vol. 1 | Issue 4Greetings!
September is here, which means school buses are back and classes are in session. Our classes started during the first week of the month. It was a great, albeit a hectic week. There was a lot to take in including 125 new student names, meeting my colleagues, finding the right classrooms, and setting up my office space.
Since I met no less than 8 students named William during the week and several named Sam, I'm just going to guess those two names if I don't the student's actual name. I did manage to find all of the right rooms even though I was thoroughly confused when I arrived for one of my classes only to discover that someone had started teaching it already. He happened to be in the wrong room, but I thought it was a sweet deal if he taught and I got paid! My office decor is coming along nicely. Can you say "pre-lit palm trees?" Good stuff.
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 Entering into My Weaknesses.
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by Susan
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...a different kind of boasting.
Perhaps like me, there was a tether ball on the playground
you used as a child. I can't say that I
am any clearer today than I was then about the rules of tether ball, but I
think the analogy I'm going to propose here will still work. If not, we'll call in the referees to make a
decision. (Do they even have referees for tether ball? Is there instant replay?) I digress.
I find a tether ball a fitting analogy for how I want to
live out the message of 2 Corinthians 12:1-20 (ESV). It's worth quoting it in
its entirety here:
"I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained
by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago
was caught up to the third heaven-whether in the body or out of the body I do
not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into
paradise-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-and he
heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this
man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.
Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be
speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me
than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from being too elated by the
surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a
messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times
I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me,
'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with
weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am
weak, then I am strong."
Paul is pretty clear here: He's only going to boast about his weaknesses because it is in his
weaknesses that God's power is made perfect.
In essence, he is more than willing to enter into his weaknesses and in that entrance, to be content. Before I walk down this path
of boasting in
my weaknesses, let's consider the tether ball.
If God is the pole anchored in cement and I am the ball, the
string that connects us is the cross. More specifically, it is the triumph of Jesus
over the cross. No matter what direction
I swing or how hard I am hit, I am always connected to God. No hit (i.e., no weakness, insult, hardship,
persecution, or difficulty) can crush me (see 2 Corinthians 4:7-12). Better yet, a really hard hit just means that
I end up wrapped around God all the more.
For me, launching Defiant Joy was an exercise of entering
into my weakness. Since the cornerstone
of my story and the ministry is my journey through depression, it sometimes
feels like my weakness is strung up on a banner for the whole world to
see. While I can't say that I've come to
a place where I am always comfortable with the public declaration of my
weaknesses, I can say that it makes sense to me why it is important to enter
into the weakness. If Defiant Joy is one
big boast of my weakness then I will carry on because it means living out the
truth that His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my
weakness. This is truly opposite of the world's
thinking.
Of course, His power is made perfect in my weakness. This is
the point of the cross. I am weak. He is strong.
I didn't arrive at the foot of the cross because of my strength. It was clearly an exercise of my weakness and
(if I might add) not an exercise that I willingly submitted to the first few
hundred go-arounds! Yet, how quickly and
easily I can try to move past the cross in my own strength. By remaining at the foot of the cross in my
weakness (consider Hebrews 4:16), I am able to carry out the Great Commission-to
move out in the world around me in His perfect power.
Consider these questions with me in the coming weeks:
1. What would it look like for me to
boast in my weakness?
2. What would it look like for me to
delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in
difficulties?
3. How might boasting in my weaknesses
be an act of defiant joy?
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Joy in the Word |
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"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy."
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See the Joy
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Looking for Opportunities
The mass mailing has occurred! Please pray that the information would make its way into the right hands.
If you know of anyone with a need for a speaker, please feel free to send them my way via the website or susan@defiantjoyministries.com.
You can also check out topic descriptions by clicking on the speaker information sheet link on the Topics page.
Keep up with events by checking out the See the Joy calendar.
You can also keep up with Defiant Joy news and other fun tidbits by checking the Journal the Joy blog regularly.
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Joy Moments
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Good Times at the Grocery
 This was a recent blog entry of mine and I thought it was worth reprinting here because it was so much fun to watch.
Talk about defiant joy. Earlier this evening, I was at the grocery
store when I had the privilege of witnessing the following scene.
The
grocery store has carts that have a little car attached to them in the
front that a child can ride in while the parent pushes the cart around
while shopping. As I walked down the aisle, one of these carts was
headed toward me with a wide-eyed little girl behind the driver's
seat. She was clearly anticipating her next move as the driver and
hoping that we wouldn't crash head on as her dad was a bit distracted by
picking out the right freezer bags.
Dad looked up just in time to see
me attempting to maneuver around him. He said, "I totally wasn't
paying attention and neither was my driver." I said, "Oh, she was
watching and trying to make a quick turn." He laughed and said, "So,
it's pretty much my fault."
A few aisles later, I ran into them again
(not literally), but this time the little girl was spinning around in
the car compliments of her dad helping her to off road it. As he spun
the cart with the car attached to it around and around, she laughed and
laughed saying, "Again, daddy! Again!"
There he was spinning her
around right in the middle of the aisle. Who could get frustrated
about this kind of traffic jam? It was fun to watch the two of them
just living life together. Good stuff.
Look around you--joyful moments abound! Click here to share yours!
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Joyful Resources
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The Cross Centered Life.
C.J. Mahaney's The Cross Centered Life is a small, but mighty book about never forgetting the power of the cross. What I like most about this book is that it does not overly complicate the issue. In a straightforward and concise manner, C.J. reminds us all that we can approach the throne of grace with boldness because of the cross. It's definitely a good read.
Want to share a joyful resource? Send us a message.
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Joy in Art
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Let's Play!
Following up on the last Joy in Art entry, I decided to direct us toward making our own art. It's easy to think we're not creative if we can't draw a perfect circle or sketch something that is even half-way identifiable. The good news is that creativity isn't defined by these rules.
You can always start out with something simple--say a pad of paper and some crayons. What would you draw? Anything you want--scribbles, lines, shapes, people, scenery, etc. My favorite drawing utensil of choice are Cray-pas (thanks to my pal Bethany for introducing them to me).
So, grab some art supplies and take joy in making your own art.
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Prayer and Thanks
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I'm Giving Thanks...- For your continued encouragement
- For a good start to the school year and new job
- For a permanent job!
- For some good conversations about the direction of Defiant Joy
- For a dear friend volunteering to proof this newsletter
Please Pray...- For my willingness to enter into my weaknesses
- For speaking opportunities
- For continued reflection and insight as I meet with my ministry coach
It would be a privilege to pray for you. E-mail Susan.
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With Defiant Joy,
Susan
Susan M. Ward, Ph.D.
Founder | Defiant Joy Ministries
susan@defiantjoyministries.com
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Thanks!
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