Friday, July 4, 2008

I've got the joy joy joy joy...


Yes, we all remember that fun childhood song. We sang it weekly in our Sunday School classes and at VBS. My new devotional is about finding real joy in life through Jesus. It's a great personal Bible Study and, for the first time, I'm really falling in love with the Scriptures and I look forward to my time of study everyday. This morning, my lesson talked about the difference between happiness and joy, a subtlety (spelling?!!) that often gets glossed over. The author, Jeanette Hanscome, says that "Happiness seems to be dependent on my circumstances. I see God answering prayers; I don't have any major problems to worry about, so I'm happy. Joy comes from a deeper place- a corner of my soul that trusts in God's faithfulness and love and refuses to let the downs of life keep me from smiling, laughing, and praising Him." I love that and I want that in every aspect of my life, not just in the parts of life that I have under control. I had to search my heart and the Lord showed me areas in which I haven't shown joy. When the journey gets bumpy do I still rejoice? So I'm going to start striving for a joyful heart in all things.

1 comment:

Spencer said...

Me too! I should just copy paste your blog....