J - O - Y

A fellow blogger, Anna, challenged me to think about what brings me joy.

Being this close to Christmas, when I hear the word "joy", I instantly hear in my head "JOY, to the WORLD! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King...and Heaven and Nature sing, and Heaven and Nature sing...". The song biblically says heaven and nature should be singing because of Jesus' arrival. I also think of - "J - O - Y , down in my heart; deep, deep down in my heart! Jesus put it there, and no one can destroy, d'stroy it, d'stroy it, huh!"...

And yet, it is so incredibly easy for me to become consumed with things that make me unjoyful, that have stripped me of every ounce of happiness, and have left me in a state of complete and total sadness and distress. Don't you know how this must grieve our Heavenly Father?? To see His child have sooooo many reasons to be joyful, and yet waste time not being so?

The Lord desires for His children to be a people of JOY. If nothing else, I should be overflowing with the joy to be saved by His grace. If nothing else, I should find joy in the true gift of the season - JESUS. If nothing else, every time I look at a nativity I should see the sovereignty - the grace - the mercy - and the love that it stands for.

Aside from joy we can find in Jesus, He also desires for us to enjoy our everyday lives - from the great big things to the tiniest most simple things.


So, for today, I'm finding joy in -


my husband's laughter, which is music to my ears and makes me smile from my heart...

my mother and sister's patience when I call them 400 times while I'm in the grocery store to ask what's in a recipe...


a "soul sister" who I can ask to do me a HUGE favor, because she understands my crazy life and knows that when I ask for help I REALLY need it...

What and where I am finding joy in the little things of daily life lately:

* 96.9 playing Christmas music ALL the TIME

* Being at home for 2 weeks

* Hearing "I uv you too, Hade-ey" (I love you too, Hayley - Sam)

* The Christmas trees lit up at night

* anxiously awaiting spending time with our families on Christmas

* fresh evergreen

* hope that a new year will bring new beginnings

* my Christmas treasures that each have a memory attached or story to tell

And, about a million other things that I am finding JOY "deep, deep down in my heart" about!!

So, now it's YOUR turn....WHAT HAS GIVEN YOU JOY LATELY?? Let's hear it!