In this episode, fall's joy reveals itself in the '&'s' of life--when transitions are both welcome AND undesirable. When life as we know it dries up, fall's joy reorients us to the God who sees us, knows us, and loves us beyond our circumstances. Listen in! **And please leave your comments below. Your comments and review help others find this podcast!

“And” is a fall kind of word.

• hot & cold
• the start of a new season & a longing for the season just finished
• the smell of apples and cinnamon & the reality that the smell leads to a season leads to a season many of us don’t love.

Genesis 16 tells us the story of Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl who was both a servant & the mother of Abram’s first son.

Like the fall leaves, she was adorned with the colors of motherhood, radiant with life as she carried this hoped-for child. But like the fall lives, Hagar fell, decorated in her pride.

What do you notice in Genesis 16:7-12?

• Hagar is running away from her problems
• An angel found her
• The angel did most of the speaking

Here’s what’s especially noteworthy: the angel knew all about Hagar and yet asked where she’d come from and where she was going.

Stated a slightly different way, God’s messenger asks: what’s going on in your life and what do you intend for your life to look like?

Steps to claiming fall's joy in our lives.

1. Name the reason for joy’s absence in our lives. 
2. Acknowledge God’s Presence.
3. Make room for God’s Presence by drawing near.

God had His eyes on Hagar. And Hagar knew it.

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who truly sees me.’ She also said, ‘Have I truly seen the one who sees me?’ Genesis 16:13, NLT

El Roi—the God who sees me. The God who cradles in compassion. The God who sees the unseen and gives voice to the unheard.

Joy grows in us as we choose to walk in step with God--even when the way ahead will be difficult and painful.

Fall joy's invitation: Will you be seen by God in the '&'s' of your life?

Questions to consider as you live into fall's joy:

1. What do you welcome and appreciate about the God who sees you?
2. What name would you give God? Why?

Joy grows when we put ourselves in God’s proximity.
When we allow God to refine and redefine who we are and Whose we are.

**Before you go, would please comment below? Your comments and review help others find this podcast!

Complete show notes coming soon on my blog!

Connect with Jennifer here:

• Website - JenniferSakata.com
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• IG - @jennifersakata
• FREE! - 10 Pivots to a More Grace-Filled You

In this episode, we splash around in summer's ever-expanding joy through Paul's most familiar prison letter--Philippians. Chapter 4 leads us in choosing joy through a change of mindset, priority, and practice. Welcome to summer joy - it's contagious. Listen in! **And please leave your comments below. Your comments and review help others find this podcast!

For some of us, summer is the season all others lead up to!
It’s lighter and less chaotic—unless your kids play baseball or other summer sports. Nonetheless, summer is casual and easygoing—not as easily encumbered by deadlines and have-to’s.

It’s in this context we come to Philippians 4.

The word ‘joy’ or ‘rejoicing’ appears 16 times in just 4 chapters--especially significant since Paul wrote his letter from prison.

Chapter 4 reminds us that joy is about forward movement.

Joy is contagious--meant to spread like the ripples of a stone that’s been skipped into a summer lake. 

Before joy is released to do its outreaching work, it must first land in our lives.

Romans 5, Paul describes joy as the result of being made right by God when we place our faith in Jesus as Lord.

Everything about us is made right.

This, according to Paul, is the source and substance of our joy.

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of underserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Rom. 5:2

Three movements of summer’s joy in Philippians 4:

1. Change of Mindset (changing what we think about)
2. Change of Priority (changing what we will or want)
3. Change of Practice (changing what we do with our body)We orient our thoughts differently so that we can live differently.

Our lives lead where our minds marinate. When we orient our thoughts differently, our priorities follow and we live differently.

Joy results from practiced choices; it’s a full-bodied commitment with our mind, our will, and our body.

Summer joy’s invitation: Will you change your mindset and your priority for a change of practice?

Questions for you to consider in releasing summer's joy:

1. What has God been up to in your own life?
2. Where have you seen God at work in someone else’s life?
3. List 10 thoughts/reflections that fall into Paul's Philippians 4:8 description.

Joy is contagious--meant to spread like the ripples of a stone that’s been skipped into a summer lake. 

**Before you go, would you please comment below? Your comments and review help others find this podcast!

Complete show notes coming soon on my blog!

Connect with Jennifer here:

• Website - JenniferSakata.com
• FB - https://www.facebook.com/JenniferSakata.Author
• IG - @jennifersakata
• FREE! - 10 Pivots to a More Grace-Filled You

In this episode, lean into spring's joy as we remember that God's promises always accompany God's redirection. Listen in to the voice of Jeremiah calling us to a new beginning with God at the center. As we choose to 'unpack our bags,' spring's joy reaches forward to God's promises and hopes which are good and not for harm. Listen in!  **And please leave your comments below. Your comments and review help others find this podcast!

Spring is the season of potential. But for the bulbs and for us, spring comes only after winter has finished its work.

Jeremiah 29 lands us in this soon-to-be-spring-but-not-quite-yet season of life.

This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.” Jeremiah 29:10, NLT

What does God instruct His people to do?
How does joy find expression during Israel's captivity? 

• Unpack your bags and bloom where you’re planted (verses 5-6).
• Work for peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile (verse 7).
• Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare (verse 7).

Some stumbling blocks to ‘unpacking’ our bags:

• Having a temporary mindset
• Things aren’t like they used to be
• 'Cleaned-up' memories make our hearts ache for the ways things were before
• Fear of the unknown
• Despair/shame/guilt for being in this situation at all—I made my bed and now I’m stuck in it. No unpacking for me.

At some point, we must put aside the stumbling blocks and unpack our bags in order to choose spring's joy.

Joy grows in us when we take God at His Word.

Like spring bulbs that must push through the darker edges of winter, we choose joy when we allow God’s mercy and kindness to lift us out.

Spring joy's invitation: Will you be brought back home again--to a new beginning with God at the center?

Questions to consider as you choose joy around winter’s edges into spring:

1. Where do you think God wants to take you?
2. What might you need to leave behind?
3. Friends, let’s identify what’s challenging to genuinely unpack and stay awhile.
4. Consider this week how you might serve your community. What will you do and how will you do it?
5. Write a brief prayer for your neighborhood or community. And then pray it--3 times this week.

Joy results in forwarding movement. Toward God and toward others.

**Before you go, would you please comment below? Your review helps others find this podcast!

Complete show notes coming soon on my blog!

Connect with Jennifer here:

• Website - JenniferSakata.com
• FB - https://www.facebook.com/JenniferSakata.Author
• IG - @jennifersakata
• FREE! - 10 Pivots to a More Grace-Filled You