June 5, 2010

Choose Joy

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:00 pm by shannonsbest

In my first blog, I talked about the outside – hair, makeup, all the things other people see. Now, I’m going to talk about the inside. I’m going to talk about joy.

Joy isn’t the same as happiness. Joy is a force from the inside of you that transforms who you are. Happiness is the feeling we get when a puppy waddles into the room and jumps on our lap. It’s a warm fuzzy but more external. It’s a reaction to good things happening to us.

We choose to be joyful. Joy is powerful and pushes darkness away. It lights up your life.

Life’s situations try to steal joy from you. When a car cuts you off in traffic, you have choices. Do you shout at the driver, even though they can’t hear you? (What’s the point?) Do you make a rude gesture with your hand? (Shame on you.) Do you grumble about it for the next five miles? (Again, what’s the point?)

Or do you decide to continue feeling joy, to ignore the incident?

I’ve learned that I can choose to be joyful. I can think joy and have joy. Again, it’s not from the outside; it’s not based on happy little things in your life like someone holding the door for you or finding a dollar (or more) beside the road. Focus on having joy in your life. People around you may focus on the negative but you can keep your focus on joy.

Challenge:The next time a negative situation or thought presents itself, say “No, thank you. I’m choosing joy.” Keep doing for a week then check to see if you have more joy in your life. You may be surprised.

“. . . for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” Neh 8:10 (NLT)

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