Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast featuring multiple guests

who have appeared in their own episodes of the Jesus Calling Podcast to talk about the

blessings God has brought their way and how being grateful, even through the hard times,

has changed their lives.

We'll start with a thought from Pastor Max Lakado.

We can discover a happiness that's not dependent upon circumstances.

Really the kind of happiness that's described in the Bible, the kind of joy that's taught

in Scripture is a happiness that's deeply rooted in what God has done for us and who we

are in God, rather than circumstances around us.

I know our habit is to be happy if certain things are happening, our joy can be contingent

upon circumstances or environments, but that's a risky and that's a fragile type of joy.

The best kind of joy is to seek to pursue that kind of joy that is independent of any

external circumstances, takes a decision on our part and that's not to say that our

emotions are not going to come and go and fluctuate, but that is to say that there is

a deeply rooted type of contentment or joy that is discoverable and is really worth

to pursue.

We practice is like journaling matter because we need the practice of recording what we're

learning.

There's something about recording what we're learning that enables it to stick more deeply

within our system and as we record what we learn, then we can go back and reflect upon

what we learn.

I've got a shelf full of journals and these journals come in handy when I want to look back

...