. . .
It amazes me how God moves.
I mean it really shouldn’t; He is God after all.
I saw this quote recently and it resonated within my spirit.
{apparently it’s been resonating in others as well}
Choose Him.
Choose Joy.
Lately i’ve found myself voicing my problems…a lot.
I struggle with this.
I’m one to point out not only my flaws, but the flaws of others.
Yes, yes judgy judgy.
It isn’t my best quality…in fact it very well could be my worst.
Over the last few years i’ve really been working on my heart.
God has called me to love, and He will judge.
{accountability is still in there though! ha}
I’m only human.
You’re only human.
And we make mistakes.
We have problems.
we fail.
The truth is…i’m also not the best at thanking God for my joys.
My blessings.
The blessings He has lovingly gave me.
So today i want to break the habit and talk about my Joys lately.
-waking up this morning.
-having quite nights to decompress and reflect.
-that Jesus never surrenders in the battle for my heart.
-that my brother will be walking in the front door in a few days.
-the ability to speak.
-that strong cup of coffee in the mornings.
-friends that love, support, and encourage me daily.
-my obnoxious but sweet cat.
-finances to cover my bills.
-and so much more.
-my obnoxious but sweet cat.
-finances to cover my bills.
-and so much more.
What are you joyful for today?
What problems are clouding you from seeing your joy?
Stop.
Take a minute.
Recognize and list of your joys. {i would love to read them.}
If you wrote a post this week that was frank, link up! 🙂
I LOVE this!! So much of our society is plagued by negativity today, but we still have so much to be thankful for! I am one of the worst to pray for things to happen, to pray when times are tough, and to pray for the sick…but then I just overlook the blessings I HAVE been given. I am definitely going to do my frankly Friday post joy-related this week too. I will have to wait until tonight though, I'm at work right now…shhh….:)
It still amazes me how God works as well. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I think that the problem comes when we cease to be amazed because it is then that we take God for granted.
Have you heard of the book 1000 Gifts? I haven't read it but I think this is what it's about… counting your joys. I could be wrong though… you know… since I haven't read it! haha. 🙂
Love this! so many wonderful things to be joyful about–I am going to take the time to focus on the same as well! thanks for the encouragement 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful day!
xoxo
Jess
http://foreverconvinced.blogspot.com/
Thanks for sharing your joys, dear! I tend to be very negative and judgemental too. We can work on it together. 🙂
This is a great post! Full of brutal honesty. I am thankful that it is Friday, payday, and excited for boyfriend's company's fancy dinner party tonight! I love a good reason to get all dressed up 🙂 I'm also so happy that I began blogging. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Amy!
Yes. I guess we are all learning this! I am finding how easy it is for me to live in stress mode than to live in joyful trust! YOu are so blessed. we are so blessed. when we focus on reasons to be thankful our attitude, demeanor, and relationships change. we become a light in a world that focuses on the dark!
oh yea! This just fills my heart with joy. Jesus is just so good for us and so good to us and he just pours grace on us and sets before us the promise of future grace. And we can just relax and settle into that because as you mentioned, Jesus never surrenders in the battle for our hearts. He wins! Even when I'm being rebellious he calls me to himself and just gives me more mercy and love and tenderness. I could go on and on! I just love reading this and getting the opportunity to share in your joy 🙂
Yes! SO good to focus on the joys! I love this, friend. 🙂
Going with my word this year which is gratitude…I try each day to find the little joys. It's easy to get swept up in the business or deadlines at work and become a stress case. But I like to remember that I am thankful to have a job, blessed to be a person of influence at work, so lucky to be able to go to work each day with my best friend… etc. Finding the little joys in a negative day or when you have a bad mood really perks things right up. 🙂
Oh Amy! I'm just reading this, but man all I keep thinking is "Me too!"
Seriously.
Choosing joy seems to be so difficult sometimes when really we should always be choosing it because of our wonderful God. Thank you for posting this! And for your honesty! Needed this reminder to CHOOSE JOY!