I have a poster on my bathroom wall, that says "Simple Ways to Bless Your Day" and then it has a list of ways to indeed, bless your day. I have decided that every other day, I will expound on one Simple Way, from that list.....
Today's Simple Way is.....
Drum Roll, please......
TAKE JOY IN THE GIFT OF TODAY
Habakkuk 3:18-19 (NLT)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.
I just wrote a blog post on joy, I think....I'm sorry if I seem to be repeating myself!! Joy is so important, this day and age....The world is full of sorrow and angst. As followers of Christ, is it not our duty to bring joy to the people around us? But, how can we bring joy, if we ourselves, have no joy?
For me, joy is the simple act of living in love. It is the endowment of the salvation given to me by my best friend Jesus. The knowledge that for me, the grave is not the end. Everyone has his or her own take on what joy really is.....An answer to prayer....a touch from a loved one...true acceptance....a job promotion....a baby's smile....a good grade on a test....chocolate.....The list is endless and both personal and versatile.
Take joy in the gift of today, huh?
I'm taking the joy in the gift of today by spending an hour on the phone with my friend Rosemary! It was a complete joy to spend time talking about our upcoming surgeries and to help each other through the confusion and the disappointment we've had by the reactions of others. It was a joy to support Rosemary through her pain....It was a joy to once again, feel the strength of our thirty year friendship.
I'm taking joy in the gift of today, by praising the Lord for the calm weather.....It's overcast, but at least the wind isn't blowing and I'm not having to stand up my mailbox and chase my trash cans down the street, looking like a complete and total loon.
I'm taking joy in the gift of today, by cooking meatloaf for Mark and Mariah's dinner, when I myself, despise meatloaf (I'm having Mac N Cheese).
I'm taking joy in the gift of today, by washing my dishes and cleaning my kitchen, because I'd like to think that I'm becoming a better keeper of my home.
I'm taking joy in the gift of today, by looking at the beauty of spring; (memo to me, tomorrow is the day to plant new gladiolus corms) the sudden green of the trees as they robe themselves in leaves, the wild crocus popping up all over...The intense blue of the flowers on my rosemary bush (If anyone needs fresh rosemary, please let me know our bush is getting humongous) hearing the songs of the birds, returned home for the spring.
There's joy everywhere...you just have to look for it and have an open mind, when you find it...Then you need to let it shine through you....
I know it's short today, but it was way long, yesterday!
Love each other as He loves....
In Him,
Lisa
Lisa, this was such an encouraging blog today. I did try to write on your caterpillars blog a while back, but my computer shut down, so I lost all I had written. It was similar to what your friend wrote. Anyway, I love this "Joy" take on life. yes, I, too, needed to hear this. I realized about a week ago, that I had lost my joy. I have been on a journey this past week, of prayer and seeking God's face to find out how I lost it. Anyway, I am enjoying your writing, and glad you are at it again. Good job on the kitchen work and cooking what your family loves. I too, try to fix what they want, even if its not a huge favorite of mine. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteHugs and love,
Laura