{"id":15771,"date":"2026-11-15T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=15771"},"modified":"2026-10-10T06:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T11:32:58","slug":"serving-with-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/11\/15\/serving-with-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving with Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nov.-15th-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nov.-15th-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nov.-15th-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nov.-15th-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nov.-15th.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re out here counting quarters for every ball you feed, then it\u2019s time to quit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can\u2019t remember which tennis coach said those words during a training session, but I\u2019ve never forgotten them. As coaches, we should teach the game because we love it, not just to make a paycheck. After ten years of coaching, when I started dreading going to the courts, his words made me evaluate my actions. As a result, I stepped back from coaching because I had lost the joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God wants the same thing from us. He gives us freedom to live our lives any way we want. He wants us to choose to serve others with joy. Freedom doesn\u2019t give us an excuse to sin. The Lord\u2019s grace doesn\u2019t let us indulge our sinful desires. The freedom we receive from Christ enables us to live differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our good works don\u2019t save us, but the freedom we receive from Christ should change how we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We should want to serve others. As we understand the unconditional love God gives us, and the mercy He shows us, it should motivate us to share it with others. My love of tennis motivated me to want others to love the game as much as I do. Once I stepped back from full-time coaching, I missed it. Now, I coach families on a limited basis and have rediscovered the joy of sharing the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same happens when we serve others with love from the freedom we find in Christ. As they develop a relationship with the Savior and their life begins to transform, they become motivated to share their faith. Discovering the freedom Jesus gives us helps us follow Him, deny ourselves, and pick up our cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submitting our lives to Jesus causes a heart transplant. Our desires change as we let go of the past and embrace a new future in Christ\u2014one where we can make different decisions and do different things. Instead of falling to the flesh, we let the Lord\u2019s Spirit guide us. We will no longer live merely to please ourselves, but live with love and serve others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t serve out of necessity. Let God\u2019s love change your heart, and serve others willingly out of the abundance of love and freedom the Savior gives us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How are you using your freedom in Christ to honor God rather than satisfy your own desires?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can you put someone else\u2019s needs ahead of your own preferences this week?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is one practical way you can show Christ\u2019s love by serving someone today?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Use the freedom Christ has given you to set aside selfish desires and serve others with genuine love, reflecting His heart in your everyday actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read. \u201cIf you\u2019re out here counting quarters for every ball you feed, then it\u2019s time to quit.\u201d I can\u2019t remember which tennis coach said those words during a training session, but I\u2019ve never forgotten them. As coaches, we should teach the game because we love it, not just to make a paycheck. After ten&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/11\/15\/serving-with-joy\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Serving with Joy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15771"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15777,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15771\/revisions\/15777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}