Part 5 | The Joy of James

Well, I woke up in great anticipation of digging into the final chapter of my favorite book of all — JAMES. And just what “treasures and truths” would be unearthed as I riffled through the last pages? Just what growth and wisdom would land oh-so-sweetly in my soul??

Well, how about a whole lotta … near to nothing. LOL!

No, truly, I was so pumped and primed to be spending some time in this book and just BE “wowed” by just what was in there. Only to feel and see?? There didn’t seem to be too much to receive.

Like, OK, I get the first chunk (verses 1-6) about the rich people learning to not put too much into their wealth. How $$ will not save, not last and will corrode. And, oh, I KNOW that making money doesn’t drive my day and so, I sorta-skimmed over to the next section titled:

“Patient Suffering” — oh, HELLO!!! Yes, THIS looks like it would be JUST up my alley! Oh, I can just imagine all the cool CHRIST-based Concepts coming out of there.

Only to hear?

“Echoes” in my spiritual ears. LOL!

No, seriously, once again I feel I found only a few new tidbits to take away. Sure, there were all these “wonderful words” that start with the letter P: perseverance, promise, patience (verses 7-11). And, well, that IS cool, but I feel we have seen that before, and so, I went on a little bit more.

Then I hit two four-letter words that are kinda neat, how when life is sweet, we should SING (verse 13), and when it is not, we should PRAY (verse 15). And I thought, “OK, that is nice and neat, but again feels kinda like a repeat.”

And just as I was wrapping it up, just as I hit the final verse, there was something that just hit me right in the heart, and here it is:

“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the TRUTH and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover a multitude of sins.

And, oh, THAT brought back a few memories of when a few people came to ME to say they had concerns about things I was doing … or what they were seeing … and how they saw me acting, even when I couldn’t see it myself, when I wouldn’t see it myself, when I said I won’t admit THAT I am wrong to myself (let alone anyone else). Yes, that verse and that “season’’ made me think of a concept that keeps coming back to me lately. And it is this:

Regarding Spiritual Growth, there are three mindsets:

WILLING … WANT TO … OR WON’T.

And, oh, don’t I know I have been them ALL.

Yup, I look back, and I see how all those people who REALLY LOVED me showed they cared by stepping out to say something TO me. (Yes, me — THE Carol Conroy, leader and woman of all things Bible study … was deep in the study of?? DOING THINGS WRONG. And maybe more honestly and to call it even more correctly, I was the girl who chose to keep on sinning).

But you know? GOD didn’t give up on me, and HE wound up winning. 

Because through HIM and all the things and people and words and messages HE sent my way?

HE shifted, humbled, melted my heart and mind to be able to say …

I will give up “won’t” … I was open to “willing” … and finally? I truly DO “want to.”

Yes, my deepest seasons of SOUL-SHIFT all started with a few brave SOULS “caring more about ME more than what I thought about them”. And GOD BLESS ‘em (as I have done in my prayers, and to their faces, more than a few times or two)!

And that is what I’d love to do and be for you. ’Cause as someone recently JUST said, my SKILL is to sniff out BAD BELIEFS, the ones in your head you don’t even KNOW that you KNOW. And you see? I know I do this, and do it well, because as you just read, it was done for ME.

I am the QUEEN of “mess-ups and mistakes,” but am also living PROOF of what GOD can DO, and THAT is the thing that drives my days now. And I want it for you, until YOU can see it too.

Bless you for being willing to walk along this wee little BOOK, and truly hope you felt the JOY of JAMES too. Because what better JOY can you find than to leave behind the OLD ways and start growing into the BETTER ones HE has set for you.

Love you to the moon, ladies, and can’t wait to read what jumped out at you today.

Carol 😉

Change-Choice-TRUTH.