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So I woke up Sunday morning in a very bad mood.  I think it started with the dream I had right before waking up?  I had dreamt a lot, but the part I remember most was when my head was chopped off.   Horrible, huh?  So as I laid there, I tried to think of why I would dream something like that?  I mean, I kind of use that analogy a lot.  You know the one, “sticking my neck out.”  Was it a premonition for the day?

I did not waste too much time though as I had to get to church.  My hubby knew I was not OK as soon as I got up, but because I didn’t know what was wrong, he didn’t know how to help.  So I got ready and went to church.  I was there to help some students put on the bible skit for the preschool class.  There is a script with a narrator, and then a couple more act out what is going on in the story.   So as the youth were doing a quick run through, we started to have a little fun.  One of the girls was hungry, and at one point in the story the people are hungry.  When she had to deliver her line, we all started laughing as she emphasized her great hunger.  She went a little overboard, but that is what made it fun.

So as we waited for the kids to finish their circle time, we quietly chatted offstage.  They asked me what I was doing, because I was attending to some last minute props.  Part of our story was of God providing manna in the wilderness for the Children of Israel.  I was taking some white tissue paper and tearing it into small pieces.  It was perfect, as I stood there one of the students asked “what is it?”  I then said…..exactly!  I love God’s sense of humor!  We stood there and I was able to tell her about manna.   How the word means “what is it,” that God provided this never before seen substance to feed His people, and how once they reached the promised land it was gone.  We were all talking, laughing and learning together.  That immediately reversed my mood.  I still wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, but serving with those students had given me something to counteract my grumpiness.  It wouldn’t be long before God showed me exactly what that “something” was.

It was then that I walked into service and got an earful about JOY.   Oh that was it.  Joy!  That is what I felt with those students, and that is what conquered my foul mood while I was with them.  I was not feeling joyful, and that was not a good place to be.  Why?  Well, it was something Pastor said that made me take notice.  He called JOY a safeguard.  It was then I remembered my math.

Holy Spirit + Me = peace, love, JOY, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

I never liked math until God started using it to help me understand Him.  If JOY was not a part of what I was feeling, then I knew that something was wrong with my math.   If I did not have that JOY, I could definitely say that the Spirit was not in the equation.   So what would hinder the Spirit?

On went the brakes!   I had a problem and I needed to find an answer fast!   So I looked to where I knew my blessing would come from, and it did not take God long to show me what was the problem.  Right then and there I took care of it with Him.  Suffice it to say, it was my own pride that had to be dealt with.  Again!!  By the time service was out, I was ready to have a different kind of day.  I not only talked about it with God, but also with my husband.   God gave him to me to help keep me honest.  By the time I was done JOY was again in the forefront of my mind, a little more pride had been overcome and my head was still firmly attached.