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“Nana,” my 4-year-old granddaughter ran to me. I got on one knee and spread my arms wide to catch her dainty body.

Seven Ways to Find Joy

It was our favorite Mexican restaurant and hubby and I sat across the table from friends with whom we re-connected after decades.

And in the lively conversation a comment was made that jolted my senses. I positioned the wheelchair beside the table (I still couldn’t put weight on the foot with the broken bone).

The comment came innocently, I’m sure. “Janet is blind and now lame,” he chuckled. “So… so much for this Jesus thing.”

Although it was a comment in jest, he had a point. Amigos, does the world think that when you become a Christ follower, life is perfect? Or does it mean that when you commit your life to Jesus, troubles end? Contracts flood in, and speaking engagements jam our calendar?

The answer is a resounding “no.” Life will not be perfect. But you will be perfectly equipped to face the fierce storms in life.

And even when life is ugly, here are seven ways to know joy, true joy that plays the melody of confidence in the symphony of Jesus’ promises:

1. Joy comes because we know His love will transcend all—blindness, illness, broken feet, broken hearts and broken plans.
2. Joy comes because He promised to bring solutions we never dreamed.
3. Joy fills our heart because loneliness is a foreign word. The constant whisper that God would never abandon us echoes while sweet sleep comes at night.
4. Joy is ours because when the rest of the world is searching, looking and hungry for fulfillment Christ fills the void, feeds the spiritual hunger, and puts in place the piece that makes us whole.
5.  Joy is complete because our purpose is defined: To Love God with all our mind, heart and soul and love one another. Love those who wound us, ridicule and insult us.
6. Joy sings in our heart because this life is short, often dotted with trials, but we live in anticipation to the forever eternity promised to those to whom Jesus is their Lord.
7. Joy is our promise, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, and you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20).

Father, the joy you promise is the treasure that shines beyond setbacks, pain or troubles. For that gift, I praise and thank you in the name of your son Jesus, amen.

• Where do you find the joy that keeps you going?

• What is the force that ushers peace to your nights?

• Where do you turn in painful moments?

 

Janet Perez Eckles

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…

www.janetperezeckles.com

 

Title

This past Sunday, hubby and I headed to the beach to visit friends and catch some sun rays. But the trip turned cold when the display on the dash showed we had 14 miles before empty. Gulp. Nothing but highway ahead.

What to do when facing injustice.

How do you put in words the devastation that leaves you numb? As writers, we need to possess the ability to express the deepest pain, the biggest joy, and the most complicated emotions.

I tried that. But the effort nearly drained me.

The Advantages of Listening

Don’t you hate long, silly greetings on phones? I do. I want quickly to get to the beep so I can leave a message.

But I was surprised when I called a new friend and heard her beautiful greeting. “I love that sweet greeting,” I said when she returned my call. “It sounds so very positive and upbeat. Not like most that are the same as everyone else. I love how your personality comes through.”

“Who is this?” the person said.

Gulp. I had dialed the wrong number. Lesson learned: listen, listen, really listen—before speaking!

And you know what? Being the smart chica that I try to be, I decided that I’d carry that lesson when I read God’s Word. As I often do, I ring God for a private conversation. I dial the Bible verse. Then check to see if it’s the one I need to hear. And to my surprise, it seldom is.

And because I learned to listen, it often happens that particular verse is one I desperately need to learn. It’s the one God meant for me to hear. It’s the specific one that would change me, change my attitude and even change my circumstance.

How about you? Have you been listening to God lately? I mean really listening? If you have, your heart will sing: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand…How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 16:11, 119: 103).

Father, when I taste the bitterness of life, I shall learn to listen to you, to your voice, your guidance and promise so my life turns sweet with reassurance and joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

• What voice are you listening to?

• What keeps you from listening to His whisper?

• What change have you seen when His voice speaks louder than the world?

Janet

Blindness tried to darken her life. Tragedy tried to defeat her. But instead, Janet Perez Eckles became an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host and personal success coach. Her passion is to help you see the best of life by conquering fear and showing you the secret to personal success. www.janetperezeckles.com

Sailing to the Shore of Success

 

“Did you want a four or a seven-day Caribbean cruise?” the travel agent asked.

What a choice. Even one day on that luxurious cruise ship is enough to make me salivate with excitement.

Five Keys to Triumph Over Internet Insanity

By: Janet Perez Eckles

Anybody out there dizzy like I am? Are you being bombarded by offers, suggestions, advice, luring seminars, and workshops—all to expose your writing, enhance marketing efforts and boost sales?

Confessing…I’ve been caught in the gotta-try-that frenzy. Most of us are dashing here and there, hoping to get that platform built. Eager to get our books promoted. Trying to get that door to open, one that will make our work soar to the top. Trying to book that big speaking engagement. Trying, trying till we collapse in bed, our head exploding with endless possibilities—too many to try. And some, too expensive to accept.

So, what to do? How to dodge the firing of internet luring. I just came up with five practical steps, simple to follow. And with a bit of diligence, will bring serenity to the internet insanity.

1. Begin the day with prayer for God’s wisdom—abundant wisdom to choose, evaluate and discern.

2. Be careful. Is the offer sounding too good to be true? It probably is.

3. Be prepared. Is the lure touching your emotions with wording: “only three spots left; act now and save…offer only today.”

4. Be bold. Check out input from trusted fellow authors and speakers. They will share their experience, giving valuable insight.

5. Be faithful and embrace this truth: in the midst of endless offers, God offers His grace to accomplish what we cannot.

At the end of the day, you can put your head on the pillow of peace, and having made Godly-wise decisions, your heart will echo, “All is well with my soul.”

Janet

Cheering you on to experience life, harvest its lessons and share their outcome.

Although blind, Janet Perez Eckles inspires you to see the best in life. With her #1 Amazon best-selling release, Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta, she inspires you to look beyond a complicated world to find the simplicity of God’s joy and success. www.janetperezeckles.com

Seven ways to conquer fear.

By Janet Perez Eckles

“You have to go to school,” my father ordered.

 My 12-year-old heart beat fast with worry. Just off the airplane from Bolivia, I knew no English. And America was too big, too different and strange. Weeks of anxiety at school made the adjustment harder.

But what paralyzed me with fear were the relay races in which I was told to participate. The distance I'd have to run between the starting point and the next runner where I'd hand off the baton made my stomach cramp. With each new race, I anguished—what if I should stumble or drop the baton? What if I fell or caused my team to lose?

Have you been there? A new year begins. Another race. One more stretch of life is before you, and you wonder if you'll make it. Ahead is a journey, uncertain and often painfully foreign. Sweat pours out. And you ask, “Will I make it one more step?  Will I have enough speaking engagements? Will my marketing efforts pay off? Will I make it to the finish line?”

But while we question, God is not on the bleachers. He’s right on the racetrack, right beside us, hearing our every sigh of stress. Watching each obstacle in the way. And listening to each doubt that pours from our anxious heart.

And in the midst of it all, His reassurance pours and peace blots out fear. Even when we don’t understand the language of adversity, we step on the racetrack of life. And with the God of the universe as our divine coach, He takes us to the finish line with these seven promises:

1. With the firmness of His Word, He will give us confidence.
2. With His grace, He will lighten the load.
3. With His promises, He will cheer us on.
4. With His mighty hand, He will hold us up.
5. With His mercy, He will  bring us through.
6. With His strength, He will keep us on track.
7. And because of His love, triumph will shine.

And with fear left in the locker room of negative emotions, God’s cheering fuels the soul: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Father, thank you for preparing the gold medal of triumph when we run on the track of your grace. I will run fueled by your power, and cheered on by your promises. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

• Will this New Year be different for you?
• How will you face this year’s challenges?
• What obstacles get in your way from reaching triumph?

Janet

Cheering you on to experience life, harvest its lessons and share their outcome.

Surprise, surprise!

Hey you sophisticated speakers out there. Have you ever
found a surprise during a speaking engagement?

 

Only for a Moment

A knock at my hotel room startled me.

"Room service," a voice said. I hurried to let her in. “Only need fresh towels,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

She brought them in and I smiled at her. “Thank you. What’s your name?”

“Rachel.”

We chatted about mundane stuff. But when I told her why I had visited her city, she was open to hear about my ministry.

I reached for my suitcase. “Got something for you,” I said.

I put a CD in her hands. 

“This is for me?” she asked, her voice gasping a bit.

“Sure it is,” I said. “Hope you like it and it inspires you.”

Two days passed, and I had delivered a message to 500 women on three different occasions during the weekend.

On the last day, as I entered my room, a voice got closer. “This is Rachel.”

“I want to tell you that I heard your CD. It was so wonderful. And I gave it to my friend who really needed to be encouraged. She loved it too. Thank you.”

Her words filled with emotion made my heart leap with gratitude.

I had traveled to address an audience, but he Lord had me minister to her.

What a sweet thing. Every opportunity, every moment, every person we meet on the way is planted by the Lord.

I had developed a sort of crazy habit. Before I leave hotel rooms, I steal the already used soap, place it in a plastic bag and bring it home. I place it on my soap dish in my bathroom. Each time I use it, I say a prayer for the person I met that touched my heart.

This time it’s Rachel, the housekeeping lady who helped me clean my perception. She changed my view of why the Lord sends us speakers to faraway places. It’s not always for the crowd but for the person who knocks at our heart unexpectedly, deliberately and so timely.

Heavenly Father, keep me humble, keep me open to the people you put before me. Keep me mindful of your lead and your prompting to reach those that brush our lives even for a moment.

Janet

Cheering you on to experience life, harvest its lessons and share their outcome.

www.janetperezeckles.com

Author #1 bestselling book, Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta