Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Joy Ride: My Word of the Year

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The last couple of years have been terrible for everyone.  At least that’s the way it seems.  Covid-19 lockdown snowballed into more struggles, more uncertainty and more pain.  I didn’t realize how universal these feelings were until I heard person after person wishing for 2023 to be a better year.  I hope you don’t fall into this category, but we all know sooner or later, we will have trouble (John 16:33).  Maybe we need a joy ride.

 

People often associate the term joy ride (sometimes spelled as a single word) with stealing a car.  But it simply means a ride for enjoyment.  And I, for one, need more enjoyment in my life.

 

Last year was a little better for me than the two years prior, but I still found myself saying the following to my mom and sister:  “I don’t know if I’ll ever feel true joy again.”  I almost couldn’t believe it came out of my mouth.  Full disclosure:  I realized a short time later that I needed a change in my anti-depressant and, as a result of that change, am feeling much better now.  But the reality is that I spent two years in sadness, grief and despair.  Medication or not, God has had to teach me anew to trust Him.  Hear me say that the lack of trust, of course, had nothing to do with His actions or who He is. I allowed my circumstances to skew my view of a God who never changes.

 

Which Leads Us to Now…

 

In the midst of that conversation with my loved ones, I knew “joy” needed to be my One Word focus for 2023.  I have put in a lot of work the last few years and I think God wants me to lighten up.  I know the Bible says we, in Christ, have joy no matter the circumstances.  James even said trials and the testing of our faith are counted as joy (James 1:2-3)!  For crying out loud!  But if I’m honest, joy is not exactly what I’ve been feeling.

 

Now I know feelings and truth don’t always line up, but I want to manifest the truth of supernatural joy in my life.  In plain speak, I’m tired of feeling burdened and sad.  I want to overflow with the joy that comes from knowing Jesus and walking daily with Him.  So I choose joy.  Not just for the moment, but for the year.  I plan on digging into what scripture has to say about it and exploring the things in my life that hold me back from its fullness.

 

Psalm 16:11 is my verse for the year.

 

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  ESV

 

If this resonated with you at all, I hope you will come on this journey (or ride, if you will) with me for 2023.  As I learn, maybe you will, too.  And please share your experiences with joy and the things you know about it in the comments.  I hope we encourage each other to soak up those pleasures forevermore.

 

Bonus:  I’m sharing the screen saver I made for my phone!

joy ride

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Joanne Viola gave a beautifully simple explanation of the gospel in Receive.  Thank you for linking up, Joanne!

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

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Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

I’m on Cruise Control

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I don’t care for cruise control.  Until recently, I really wasn’t sure why.  And if anyone needs cruise control, it’s me.  They called me Lead Foot Lucy in high school and college.  I have deferred adjudication, endured defensive driving and contested tickets more than anyone I know.  But I’m still always reluctant to use this safety feature.

 

This past holiday season marked two years in a row that my little family of four drove the entirety of Christmas day.  This time to Pueblo, Colorado.  That’s a solid 10 hour drive from where we live in the Dallas, Texas area.  My husband typically drives everywhere we go together; so I managed Spotify, lead us in a road game and helped search for the cleanest looking options for potty breaks.

 

At some barren spot in between the Texas panhandle and the edge of New Mexico, he said, “You really should try your cruise control.  It’s amazing.”  I skeptically had him show me how.  You see, I had my last car for nine years and never learned to use it.  Chuck explained that my new car (I call her Pearl) has adaptive cruise control.  And he demonstrated how it would automatically adjust the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from the car ahead.  Then if we change lanes, it would adjust to resume the set speed selected.  No resetting necessary.

 

Trying Cruise Control

 

I had the opportunity two days later to test it out.  My daughter needed to be home for the Passion Conference (if you haven’t heard of it, you should look it up) so the girls and I drove home and left my husband to fly home a few days later.  Not wanting to turn my lead foot loose in podunk speed traps, I set the cruise and took my foot off the gas.  I immediately experienced an uncalled for amount of anxiety, and knew why I didn’t like cruise control.  Because I am not in control.

 

I don’t like roller coasters or haunted houses or snow skiing (granted I didn’t give it much of a chance).  Cruise control is no different.  I don’t like the feeling of not being in control.  But disliking speeding tickets even more, I pushed through my discomfort and tried to trust this technology.

 

It probably took a couple of hours (or maybe more) for me to relax.  As I experienced Pearl regress and surge and signal me for potential dangers, I got more and more comfortable with my foot off of the gas.  As my white knuckles regained their pink hue, I began to believed that cruise control could protect me.  Not only from speed traps, but from the ebbs and flows of traffic.

 

Putting My New Knowledge to Work

 

A couple of days after my return home I spoke with a friend struggling with some difficult family dynamics.  “I need prayers, Lauren,” she said.  “I have no control over this situation and it’s so hard!”  Feeling a nudge, I shared my cruise control story.  While we talked I related to how difficult it is for us to release the appearance of control.  (And how we know control is never really ours, but God’s.)  But when we relax our white knuckle grip we can see that God is protecting us. He knows where we need to go, what we need to do and if we need to change lanes.  He knows better than we ever could when we need to slow down or go faster and he can guide us to safe distances.

 

Usually when someone declares themselves “on cruise control”, they mean that they are proceeding with minimal effort.  My friend and I decided that for us in 2023, it would mean releasing control to God.  Taking our hands off the wheel, if you will.  The metaphor falls apart a little here, but hopefully, you get my Tokyo drift.

 

What do you need to release to the One in control in this new year?

 

“Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.”  Psalm 62:8 NIV

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

My friend Stacey Pardoe has written a new online devotional that would be great study for the new year.  Check out Let God Set You Free!

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

 

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