Empty me of Irritability and Fill Me With Joy

Relentless Grace

The intro episode focuses on how we can move from an irritable state of existence that erodes our life to be filled with the Spirit of joy.
Intro: 18l; Psalm 16-3:50; James 1:2-4-5:01; John 15:9-11-5:22; Message 5:51; Joy is Like the Rain-23:30; Community Connection-25:33; Closing 30:53
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me in this bold new venture with encouragement, feedback, and financial support. I will be setting up a Patreon account if you wish to provide support for this ministry or you can direct it to me personally.. The levels are different for support but everyone gets the same thing--a promise of prayers and gratitude as I seek to both improve the quality of the production and make it a sustainable outreach. and work to build a community outside the church building.
Thanks to Camy Wenberg for singing Joy is Like the Rain, MT Winter for providing copyright permission to use it, Ruth Skinner for singing the closing benediction, Dan McKnight for providing the introduction and reading the Scriptures, Libby Karim for for the Cover Art, Joe McGarry for guiding me in the way of podcasting and Mike Mason, author of Champagne for the Soul-Rediscovering God's Gift of Joy for providing the following suggestions for keeping a 90 day Joy Journal.
1. You don’t have to manufacture joy; it’s already there in your life. Every day, look for moments of joy, however small, and ask: Why am I feeling this? What is going on? And then, whatever it is, start doing more of that. Before you know it, moments will become minutes, and minutes hours, and so on.
2. Don’t depend on big, mountain-top experiences. Look for joy right under your nose, in simple, everyday things.
3. Get in touch with the gospel. Meditate on the simple message of the gospel—from the forgiveness of sins to the gift of eternal life—until it produces in you an explosion of joy. If the gospel doesn’t make you happy, nothing else will.
4. If you want to be happy, you’ll have to fight for it. In a search for joy, all manner of lies will invade your mind. Be prepared to resist these, putting on the full armor of God (Eph 6).
5. Are you grieving? Trying to make sense of tragedy? No matter: you can still find joy. [Quote from “Brokenness”]
6. Meditate on Psalm 100, the Ten Commandments of Joy.
7. Be thankful for five things every day. Gratitude is the sister of joy. Don’t go to sleep until you have your five things.
8. Bathe in nature. Time spent in enjoyment and wonder at God’s creation will not disappoint you. Read Thomas Traherne’s poem “Wonder.” [Print]
9. Take a sabbath, a whole day of rest and recreation. Then incorporate time for rest into every day.
10. Read Champagne for the Soul by Mike Mason!
Finally, thanks to John Musick, who died in August, for inspiring the theme of this inaugural series with what we need to empty ourselves of to be filled with the Spirit of God.

https://www.patreon.com/RelentlessGracePodcast