Yes, I wrote Joy. Because, true joy is really hard to come by these days.
There's a whole lot of negative, a whole lot of stupid, a whole lot of vanity and myriad of joy-stealing things happening all around us.
Yet, who is in control of our own joy? We are. It's all up to us, whether we're going to say "today will be a great day" or stay grumpy. It's up to us to say, "I'm going to be productive today" -- even if that means one solitary, but solid, paragraph of writing.
Many days, the joy just isn't there, despite those words, despite yelling them out, or repeating them over and over. Joy is very elusive -- it is much like that missing sock when you take the clothes from the dryer ... sometimes never to find it again, but believing it is still very near.
For me, and my belief, my mantra -- if you will -- is "the joy of the Lord is my strength." That may not be yours, you may not agree, but I don't really care. It's the only way to explain how I get out of my funk. I don't have to do it in my own strength, but God's. I'd like to think that's far better, than trying to eek out joy from my dismal self, knowing full-well that it's nowhere to be found in my own strength.
That makes joy seem not so elusive, suddenly. It's mine to have, mine to obtain, mine to open up because God is in control of that very thing that is taking my joy.
Joy can be my middle name!
No actually, Joy is my middle name. It's a name I don't always live up to, but I know that when I am thankful for everything -- fingers, vision, food, my dog -- I will find joy. It will be my middle name.
There's a whole lot of negative, a whole lot of stupid, a whole lot of vanity and myriad of joy-stealing things happening all around us.
Yet, who is in control of our own joy? We are. It's all up to us, whether we're going to say "today will be a great day" or stay grumpy. It's up to us to say, "I'm going to be productive today" -- even if that means one solitary, but solid, paragraph of writing.Many days, the joy just isn't there, despite those words, despite yelling them out, or repeating them over and over. Joy is very elusive -- it is much like that missing sock when you take the clothes from the dryer ... sometimes never to find it again, but believing it is still very near.
For me, and my belief, my mantra -- if you will -- is "the joy of the Lord is my strength." That may not be yours, you may not agree, but I don't really care. It's the only way to explain how I get out of my funk. I don't have to do it in my own strength, but God's. I'd like to think that's far better, than trying to eek out joy from my dismal self, knowing full-well that it's nowhere to be found in my own strength.
That makes joy seem not so elusive, suddenly. It's mine to have, mine to obtain, mine to open up because God is in control of that very thing that is taking my joy.
Joy can be my middle name!
No actually, Joy is my middle name. It's a name I don't always live up to, but I know that when I am thankful for everything -- fingers, vision, food, my dog -- I will find joy. It will be my middle name.