Journeying In Joy — The Journey Begins

There are seasons in life when God begins stirring something new in our hearts.

Sometimes we understand where He is taking us. Other times, we simply know that He is inviting us to take the next step.

That is really where Journeying In Joy began.

Sharon and I recently recorded the first episode of our new podcast, Journeying In Joy. We recorded it while we were in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, but the journey behind it has been unfolding for much longer.

Why Journeying In Joy?

One of the Scriptures that has become important to us is Psalm 16:11:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.”

There is something significant about the word journeying.

Neither Sharon nor I believe that we have arrived. We are still learning. We are still growing. We are still discovering more about God, about ourselves, about each other, and about what it means to walk with Jesus every day.

That is why this isn't simply about joy.

It is about journeying in joy.

It is the ongoing walk with Jesus.

Our Journey Has Had Many Seasons

Like everyone else, our lives have contained many different seasons.

There have been seasons involving marriage and family, raising children and homeschooling, careers and changing responsibilities.

There have also been emotional and spiritual seasons.

We've had to learn about love.

We've had to learn about forgiveness.

We've experienced disappointment.

We've had to grow in our relationship with one another and, most importantly, in our relationship with God.

And we're still learning.

One of the things we talked about in our first episode is that discipleship isn't something that eventually becomes finished. Walking with Jesus is a continuing relationship.

He is continually teaching us.

Sometimes He teaches us through Scripture.

Sometimes through another person.

Sometimes through our marriage or our family.

And sometimes He teaches us through circumstances we never would have chosen for ourselves.

Saying Yes to the Holy Spirit

This podcast is also an act of obedience for us.

We believe the Holy Spirit has been encouraging us to begin sharing some of what God has taught—and continues to teach—us.

Sharon described this season of her life as one in which she has more capacity to pursue some of the things God has placed on her heart.

One of those things is encouraging people.

Another is sharing wisdom and resources that have helped us.

But ultimately, our desire is very simple:

We want to help people draw closer to God.

We don't intend for Journeying In Joy to be a polished presentation by two people who have everything figured out.

Quite the opposite.

We want it to be a conversation.

We want to talk about what God is teaching us right now.

Sometimes that may involve Scripture. Sometimes relationships. Sometimes family. Sometimes emotional healing.

And sometimes it will involve the difficult places of life.

In fact, one of the subjects the Holy Spirit has already put on our hearts to talk about next is disappointment.

Jesus Is Present in the Journey

Perhaps one of the most important things we wanted people to hear in our first conversation is this:

You are loved.

You are held.

And Jesus is present.

That doesn't mean every part of the journey is easy.

There may be moments when we don't understand what God is doing. There may be places where our expectations and our experiences seem very far apart.

There may even be moments when Jesus feels distant.

But what if He isn't?

What if part of our journey is learning to recognize His presence in places where we didn't recognize Him before?

That brings us to the question we left with at the end of Episode 1.

A Question for the Journey

When you think about your relationship with Jesus, do you think of Him as distant or close?

Don't answer that too quickly.

Instead, take some time with Jesus.

At the end of your day, look back over the moments you experienced—the good ones, the frustrating ones, the ordinary ones, and perhaps even the painful ones.

Then ask Him:

“Lord, where were You in every moment of my day?”

And listen.

Perhaps part of journeying in joy is discovering that Jesus has been walking with us much more closely than we realized.

That's the journey Sharon and I are on.

And we invite you to journey with us.

Mark & Sharon Koehn
Journeying In Joy

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.” — Psalm 16:11