Joy Comes This Morning (Paperback)

by Norma DeShields Brown (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"I am just an everyday woman who has given her life to Christ and has allowed Him to heal me, deliver me and use me. God will do the same for you, if you let Him."

Celebrate the wonder of God's love!

Norma DeShields Brown's life suddenly changed when her only son was tragically taken from her by a senseless act. Consumed by grief and despair, she turned to God for answers, understanding and direction, beginning an intimate journal that became Joy Comes This Morning.

Filled with thoughtful devotions, this powerful book enables you to begin each day filled with hope and wisdom. Each entry includes a Scripture reading followed by words of encouragement that will strengthen and deepen your own relationship with God.

This beautifully written book will inspire and reward you again and again, nurturing your faith in God's abiding love and guiding you on a spiritual journey that will sustain you throughout this year, and all the years to follow.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

—Psalms 118:24

Do you realize that today is a day that has never been seen before by any man? God has blessed you and allowed you to share this day on earth. He woke you up this morning and gave you new mercy (Lamentations 3:22, 23). That is worth rejoicing about, don't you think? Give God the glory for your life today!

What are your plans for this year? What has God put into your spirit to do? Have you given it much thought? If not, today would be a good day to sit down and write out your dreams and goals. It has been said that people who actually have their goals written down on paper are the most successful in achieving their goals.

If your life is not where you want to be, it's up to you to change it. Don't get frustrated and mad, make a plan. Get started now! Procrastination is a dream killer. Make a commitment and stick to the plan. Just do it! Make God the CEO of your life and put your plan before Him. He will direct your paths.

There is a worship song that we sometimes sing in our church entitled, "This Is The Day." The song's lyrics remind us that no matter what is going on in our life, we are blessed because we have God and therefore we should always be thankful.

This is a blessed day. It's a blessed year! Rise up and rejoice, for your blessings are on the way!

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalms 37:4

What a great promise of God! God will give us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him. Wouldn't life be wonderful if we had all our desires fulfilled? We would be on cloud nine every day. God wants to do just that, but He has one requirement for us— that we delight also in the Lord. What exactly does that mean? The word delight means to be soft or pliable; to desire. God wants us to be soft and pliable in His hands and to desire Him above all things. When we have this kind of intimate relationship with God, He can pour out the blessings of our desires upon us because we will only desire those things that bring Him glory.

I want to be soft and pliable in God's hands. Even as I am being molded and made into the image of Christ, I know that God is well pleased with me. He loves me just as I am, and my desire is to become more like Him. Do you want these things, too?

Join me today in asking God to change you into the godly person He created you to be. The Lord loves you. Give Him your heart today. Allow Him to mold you and direct you. Seek Him first, and He will reveal to you the things that are good for you. Give Him full reign in your life. Spend as much time as you can building an intimate relationship with Him, learning of Him and receiving from Him. I guarantee you will fall in love with God, too, just as I have and you will soon delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

—Psalms 116:12

Today God has a load of benefits and blessings just for you! For starters, He woke you up this morning. Now, the rest of the day can be a breeze—if we choose for it to be.

God does His part by giving us life. We have free will and must choose how we are going to live the life He has given us. God has already provided everything we need. He knows what is going to happen long before we know. The provision is there. The question that we must ask ourselves is—are we going to take it? God's job is to provide, our job is to receive.

When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, He fed them manna from Heaven each day. "And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun waxed hot it melted" (Exodus 16:21). He cared for them day by day and not in advance. I believe this was to teach them to trust God each day for their provision. He wanted to show them that He would supply all their needs and that they could trust Him to provide their daily bread.

Enjoy your day today. Receive the benefits God has provided for you. If you do not know what God has provided for you, read the Bible and find out. The promises are real and available to everyone who believes. When you know what God has for you, it will not be so easy for the enemy to upset you. Choose life!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

—Luke 4:18

Jesus is truly awesome! He left Heaven and the Father to come to earth, be tortured and killed, for us. He came to heal broken hearts and deliver people who were bound. He came to give spiritual and physical sight to the blind and freedom to those who were wounded and held captive. But most importantly, Jesus came to give us eternal life. He came to be the propitiation for our sins. What an awesome God we serve!

Are you serving Jesus? Have you accepted His generous free gift of eternal life by becoming born again? Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life? If you cannot say yes to all these questions, change that right now. Give Jesus full reign in your life. Receive what He died to give you and start over fresh and new in Christ. Jesus died for the whole world; but only those who receive Him, receive salvation and eternal life.

Repeat this prayer: "Father I realize that I have sinned against you. I give You all rights to my life and ask that Jesus be my personal Lord and Savior. I accept His death and resurrection for my salvation. I want the Holy Spirit to fill me and lead me. Jesus died that I might have life and have it more abundantly. I receive abundant blessings in my life. Thank you, Father. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:9, 10

We are complete in Jesus. He is the fullness of the Godhead. He dwells in us when we make Him our Lord. Therefore, if you've made Jesus your Lord, you lack no good thing. Yes, I realize that can be hard to believe sometimes. Especially, when we feel as though we are far from being complete in Him. Well, that is when you must exercise your faith. If God said it, then that settles it—no if, ands or buts about it.

You are complete in Christ Jesus! Knowing that, you must act like a complete person. Another person or a thing does not make you complete. You were made by God. Once you receive Jesus, you have everything you need. Couples oftentimes make the big mistake of entering into a relationship thinking that they need the other person to make them complete. That is not true. Each person in the relationship should be complete in Christ, self-sustaining and whole before connecting with another. Only God can complete you.

The Holy Spirit will help you walk in completeness. Only God can change you and make you into the whole person He created you to be. We cannot do it ourselves and neither can another person do it for us. Let God, through the Holy Spirit work out in you the fullness of your personality and abilities so you can be all He created you to be. "It is He who has made us and not we ourselves" (Psalms 100:3).

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

—Matthew 11:28-30

If we are going to have peace, and enjoy our lives, we must rest in God. The truth of the matter is that we will never have peace or joy if it depends upon all our circumstances being perfect. That just isn't going to happen. We must find our peace and joy in God who changes not. People change, circumstances change, things break and life has many surprises and storms.

Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He wants to take your heavy yoke, the one that is pulling you down to the ground, and give you His light one that lifts you up. He wants you to give Him the burden that is weighing you down and has you bent over so He can remove it with His anointed power. I think that's a pretty good exchange, don't you?

If you really want to enjoy your life and have unspeakable joy in your heart, you must go beyond this physical, natural world we live in and begin to live in the spiritual by putting your trust in God. There is no lasting joy or peace apart from God. Even if we manage to pull out a good day every now and then, it will not be long before something comes along to put another yoke around our necks to bring us down again.

Enter into the rest of God by giving Him your yokes and burdens. Cast the care on Him. Know that God is going to see you through and praise Him now for it. Then go out and enjoy your day.

And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

—2 Corinthians 12:9

Isaw God's grace most profoundly when my son was suddenly gone from this world. There was no way in the natural world that I could handle something as traumatic as that. My body and mind wanted to die and stop functioning. I could feel myself trying to shut down. But there was another stronger force working inside of me. That force was the Holy Spirit of God and He gave me the grace to withstand and hold up under unbearable circumstances. I did not lose my mind or physically break down. It was God's grace that pulled me through.

God's grace is not only prevalent in difficult situations, it is poured out to us daily. God gives us grace to do our jobs, to raise our children, to be good spouses, to be kind to irritating people, to serve in ministry and to live our everyday lives.

God has an unlimited amount of grace. If we are going to make it each day, we must receive more grace, especially in areas where we know we are weak. God will help us in our weakness ...

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kimani Press (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373830351
• ISBN-13: 978-0373830350
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,981,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars If you need strength, encouragement and inspiration, this book is for you, July 30, 2008

By	SistahFriend Book Club (www.sistahfriend.com) - See all my reviews

Joy Comes This Morning is a spiritual book filled with encouraging messages that uplift and empower you. Norma DeShields Brown shares her own tragedy to inspire others to build their relationship with God by allowing him into thier hearts, believing that he will lead you. This book was well-written and enlightening! No matter what trials or tribulations you are going through, Joy Comes This Morning offers awesome devotionals that will strengthen, encourage and inspire you.

4 1/2 Hugs
Sistah Shawn of the SistahFriend Book Club

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!, March 24, 2008

By	L. Hilton "lollipops5" (Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Norma DeShields Brown's life was changed when her only son was tragically murdered. Consumed by grief, she turned to God for direction, and she ended up creating a journal that eventually became a series of thoughtful devotions.

Each entry includes a portion of Scripture, followed by words filled with encouragement that will help strengthen and deepen your own relationship with God. The entries are each short, only lasting from a half page to a page and a half, easily read in just a few minutes.

I was impressed by this well-thought-out devotional, and enjoyed reading through it. This will be one of the devotionals that will be used over and over again instead of read once and put aside.

If you are looking for a good devotional, make sure you pick up a copy of JOY COMES THIS MORNING for yourself or a friend.

5.0 out of 5 stars Salve For the Pain and Sunshine After the Rain, December 11, 2007

By	Rhymes, Views & News Reviews "Author, Arts P... (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

Norma DeShields Brown is a woman like you and I, who has gone through her share of personal pain and then triumph. Rather than bury the hurt of losing a loved one, Brown, an evangelic counselor in Chicago, chose to write down her daily hopes, dreams and reflections and pray amidst her time of need. What came out of Brown's spiritual reflection was the inspirational book, Joy Comes This Morning. Each beautifully written passage in Joy Comes This Morning is designed to give the reader motivation toward spiritual and emotional healing with scriptural reference. Brown speaks from a place of love and personal truth within the passages of the book such as: "You Are So Beautiful", "Hit the Power Switch", "Do It God's Way", and "You Are Invincible." Joy Comes This Morning reveals the spiritual pearls of wisdom that we all need to catch a little sunshine in our everyday lives.


DuEwa M. Frazier
Rhymes, Views & News Reviews