Preparations Underway....

Eastern Europe…..

Pure Joy International is headed to Eastern Europe this spring. The team is in the process of being formed. We have a few places left for team members. If you sense He is tugging at your heart to consider this trip, then contact me immediately at vickie@purejoyinternational.org for more information regarding the conference. Registration for non-team members will open in February sometime.

Jesus Is In The Boat……

Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV)
 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.  And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

This week I just want to take time to encourage all of us to remember, “Jesus Is In
The Boat.” Sometimes when the storms and waves of life come and seem as if they are overcoming us… we, like the disciples, begin to fear.

I highly suspect they tried to handle things themselves as the storm began to grow in intensity, not wanting to bother Jesus and/or believing they could handle the situation themselves. In either case, you can bet their focus was on the storm and waves at first and not on Jesus. When it became more than they could handle they shifted their focus to the Savior.

Isn’t that just like us? We try to handle it ourselves. We don’t want to bother Him with it. We think we should be able to handle it. Like the disciples we know He is there. But we don’t want to bother Him if we think we can handle it. 

Can I encourage you (and myself included) to keep our focus on Him no matter the circumstances in your life? His word clearly tells us in Isaiah 26:3, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Remember Jesus is in the boat. Keep your focus on Him. Not the storms and waves. Have a great week!

His,
Vickie