Joy

Really what more can be said? The author has summed it up quite nicely.

Any religion that's all somber and serious isn't Christianity. Easter is not an elders' meeting; it's an end zone dance. The curse is over, death is conquered, dawn is here. The words joy and Easter may not sound the same in English, but they are synonyms in the heart of God.

I wholeheartedly agree with 1 Peter 1:8, "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy." I can attest to this. Even with what I am going through with my mom right now, including her awful, awful fall yesterday, I am rejoicing. Oh, yes, she is hurt, and it looks terrible and it will take months to heal, but think about how much worse it could have been! My sister and I do not understand why He has not called her home yet, but trust in His divine timing. Through it all I am experiencing His joy and peace. If nothing more, He will be glorified!!!

"Faith leads to joy because, for all true followers of Jesus, death is only paradise in disguise. It's simply the doorway to the party swinging open at last. But for all others, death is the final trip into the tangled forest where the witch lives and all of the bread crumbs have been forever snatched away.

Terror or wonder. Doubt or belief. this moment holds the potential for either---the highway to hell or the gateway to life. Everlasting regret or inexpressible joy."

"...the rhythm of heaven echoing at last within my soul." I love this line.