Saturday, April 28, 2007

Source of Joy: the Beginning Story

Ever since I entered the world of the blogosphere some six short months ago, I have been delighted to find that there is quite an abundance of blogs written by conservative Christian young ladies who seem to have a sincere heart after God.

Knowing this, when the idea first began to grow on me that I should like to have "a blog of my very own", I knew I would have to come up with some very good reasons why to present to my father before gaining permission to join the rest of the blogosphere butterflies. In my customary fashion, I prefaced this conversation by trying to imagine every question he might ask, in order to see if I need even bother going to him about it.

Somewhere along the line in questioning myself, I got sidetracked on a question my father probably wouldn't have asked, (but I would) which was what I would name my blog, should I have one. And oddly enough, that decision was what suddenly broke away the branches and showed me the flower of purpose I had been catching whiffs of. As any observant reader has already noticed, the name I finally decided on is Source of Joy.

My father and mother named me "Abigail" after the godly woman of wisdom and discernment in the Bible. From a young age, that name has challenged me to be all that it declares I am---both to be like Abigail of old in wisdom and discretion, and also to live up to the literal meaning of the name, which is, "source of joy". Many times I have lain in bed at night considering certain courses of action, and my name has come to mind as a strong reminder of the spiritual heritage I cannot bear to disgrace.

"I am to be a source of joy---I cannot do that thing and bring grief to my father and mother." "I am to be a source of joy---I must find a way to encourage my friend in this dark time." "I am to be a source of joy---I cannot give way to murmuring and complaining and discourage my family even further through this hardship."

What a blessing this name has been. And yet...for most of my life, while the joy of being Christ's child has earned me nicknames like "the songbird" and "smiley", I have not known the full joy of victory that my Creator intended for me. Instead, I was daily grieving both myself and everyone I was supposed to be a "source of joy" to by defeat after defeat in my Christian life.

In John 15, the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples of how they might know this victory, by a constant abiding in Himself, who alone is the Victory. And finally in verse eleven, He explained, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." Since I became a Christian, the joy of Christ has been my treasure, for He lives within me by His Holy Spirit. However, I never realized that Jesus' work on the cross has made possible a much greater plane of the Christian life that I was missing---the life of a joy made FULL.

And that is the primary purpose of this blog. There are many secondary purposes, such as challenging me to write regularly and with excellence, but the overarching desire of my heart in launching Source of Joy is to create a place where I can share with my dear brothers and sister the FULL joy Christ gives me as He works in me that complete surrender to Christ's entire possession of my life.

I believe that to truly live up to my name, I must first of all and most of all be a joy to my God. And I am now quite convinced that it is this life of victory that brings the greatest joy to my beloved Savior's heart, for He is glorified when we bear fruit, and we can bear fruit only when we abide in the Vine---the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have given myself over to Him as fully as I know how, but the process of surrender will continue, and I want to share with you the lessons I learn along the way, as well as encourage you to step onto the path and join me in this journey if you have not already. I have received such a blessing from listening in on God's lessons to other Christian young ladies in the blogosphere through their blogs, and it is my hope that that same blessing might be yours through mine.

May I be a source of joy to you as I share with you the Source and Fullness of my joy!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm excited to have you join us, Abigail. May God bless this endeavor and give you joy as you continue to seek to bring joy to your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Rebelution now links to you. =)

Katrina Rowe said...

I am so glad that you finally have a blog! I've been waiting for it for a long time. I can't wait to see what you will write! It's a great name, by the way.

Daniel Stabler said...

Praise be to God that you have grown up into such a godly young woman, Abigail. You have been a wonderful source of joy in my life, even when all I had with me was memories.

Kristin Braun said...

Welcome to the blogosphere Abigail! It's nice to have you and I can't wait to read more :D

Lauren said...

Ah, I have found a kindred spirit. : ) I determined this especially through reading your book list. What wonderful lit'rature.

What a wonderful start! I look forward to reading more.

Blessings,
Lauren

Anonymous said...

Abigail-
I really like your blog. :) Keep up the awesome work!
-Joy