[1] I’m back! I didn’t actually go anywhere and had no intention of taking a 2-week blog break without notice, I guess things have just been a little crazy in the Blakey home the last two weeks…

At the beginning of my spontaneous hiatus my in-laws moved back to Texas. They had been working for the last two years at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley only an hour and a half away from us. We enjoyed seeing them at least once a month. So it is a change that they are so far away now, but we are thrilled for them to be shepherding the flock of [2] Believer’s Fellowship in San Antonio now.

[3] I’m so glad that Fall is here! The weather is cooling down and the Disneyland crowds are diminished. We went with Bobby’s parents two weeks ago and twice this week! Tyler’s new favorite rides are the tea cups and the Dumbo ride. Today my sister, [4] Alicia and I took the kids there for the express purpose of going on the Finding Nemo submarine ride. In the summer when this attraction opened the wait was 4 hours, but today it was about 45. All summer we said we would wait till October, so today was the day! Alicia is due in just a couple of weeks so I’m “on call” to go take care of her kids when she goes into labor, which may be soon after hours of walking around Disneyland!

Last week I had the opportunity to teach from 1 Peter 1:6-9 for our Women’s Bible Study.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Peter speaks a profound message of joy in trials. This is something most would consider a contradiction, but for the Christian, these two are meant to go hand-in-hand. I’m concerned at how the Christian community seems to be confused about this. Just walk into any Christian bookstore and you will be bombarded with the idea that the Christian life is easy and makes you happy.

God’s Word is clear in saying that following Christ will be difficult. We will face trials, opposition and pain, but in Him we can have joy that overrides and is unhindered by anything and everything that we face.This joy isn’t like happiness, based on what is happening, instead it is from an internal rest in Christ.

The points from my passage were that our joy can be unhindered as we

• Rejoice in our incredible salvation (v. 6a)
  
• Rejoice in a proven faith (v. 6b-7)
  
• Rejoice in personal fellowship with Christ. (v. 8-9)

If what we value is Christ we can have a joy that is unstoppable. Joy and faith that perseveres in trials is an important testimony that the world needs to see.