Motivational Monday – Joy

 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18

Each year I decide on a word of the year as a mindset for guiding my daily walk. My word for this year is joy. I was deciding between a couple of words, then a colleague gave a coffee mug for Christmas, with one single word on it – Joy. Aaah, joy would be my word.

One sunshiny but cold winter day, I sat at one of my favorite writing spots working on a few projects. Sipping Hazelnut coffee and eating chicken with wild rice soup, along with a Fugi Apple salad, I was feeling energized. I outlined my blog post about finding joy even while going through frustrating situations.

The outline included tips on ways to experience joy. A few hours later, satisfied with what I’d accomplished during my writing session, I bundled up and headed home. I turned on the  car radio; I know a radio may sound antiquated to some people, but I still use mine in this age of XM radio.

YouTube Video Credit: Commodores - Brick House Audio

I don't own the rights to this song.

The DJ was playing a throwback from the 1970’s – Brick House by the Commodores. I blasted the volume and had my own car concert going. I was moving my shoulders and bouncing my head to the beat of the music. My energy remained high…until I attempted to pull into my driveway.

The snow removal folks (whomever they were) had cleaned my street and pushed all the snow in front of my driveway. I thought I could drive over it. My tires began spinning, I put the car in reverse, got a little traction, drove forward again, the car moved a little further into the driveway, then stopped. The tires were spinning again with no forward movement. My joy was fading fast.

I got out of the car, grabbed a shovel from the garage, and began chopping at the snow around my tires. I bent my legs like one does when completing a squat as part of an exercise routine. Scooping chunks of snow, the size of small boulders, I tossed them to the other side of the driveway. Finally, I was ready to get behind the wheel of the car again.

Once behind the wheel of the car, I shifted into reverse and the car began to move over a stretch of solid packed snow. Then I heard a loud ripping sound and stopped immediately. I got out of the car and saw that my front bumper was ripped out of place and my car sat halfway in the street.

A neighbor drove slowly past then backed up and asked if I needed help. Looking dejected, I said, “No, I just messed up my car. I’ll call my son.” To say my spirit was deflated is an understatement. I went into the house, flopped down into an armchair near my front window and hoped no one would hit my car. And if they did, oh well, there was nothing else I could do at that moment.

Joy –  was evasive at that moment. Hours earlier I was bubbly and upbeat, writing about how to have joy. Now thrown into a situation where I needed to follow my own advice. It was not easy. My best advice at that moment was to first breathe and be still. I had to remind myself not to sweat the things I can’t control. Still not easy.

As I sat and waited for my son, I pulled out the notes I had planned for this blog post. Here are five ways to find joy amid difficulties:

1.      Notice one thing that didn’t go wrong today.

2.      Choose joy even though everything isn’t figured out.

3.      Text someone for no other reason than to say, “thinking of you.”

4.      Take a walk and wave at random people like you know them.

5.      Rest without earning it – no need to justify why you want to rest, just do it.

What do you do to find joy when it tries to evade you?

 

 

 

Monday Musings – ‘Tis the Season

 

Cheesecake that a coworker made and brought to work -delicious and brought joy to my palate.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la, la, la,la la la laaa. Every day is a new opportunity to experience joy or make your day jolly. However, the Holiday season can challenging for some people. How do you hurdle over challenges? I use humor. Let’s  be food.

The eating season begins with Halloween, whether you observe this holiday or not, there’s plenty of sweet treats to tempt your taste buds. In the office where I work there is the “candy lady.”  If you have a craving for chocolate, she has it. Need a piece of hard candy for your throat? She has that too. My job is a threat to my girlish figure (that’s hiding somewhere deep inside my plumpness).

Have you ever noticed that as soon as Halloween ends, there’s only a pit stop to celebrate Thanksgiving. Before you can even decide who’s coming to Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas is knocking at the door. I love the Christmas season. We celebrate the birth of Christ, but there is also a lot of food involved. There are programs at church that involve food; visits with family that offer lots of food choices. Then there is the office, where everyone brings in leftover food they don’t want to keep at home.

Cheesecake aftermath...the empty plate

I’m feeling bloated just thinking about all the delicious food I consume during the Holidays. Humorist Erma Bombeck once said, “If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.” This leads me to a story. I was chatting with co-workers last week, around the proverbial water cooler (we have one, but that’s not where we were chatting).

My supervisor was telling us about a new dog he has. Two of my colleagues were engaged and making comments. Next my supervisor tells us the size of his dog, “hew pretty big, he weighs 167 pounds.” My thought seeped from my head and I said, “I wish I weighed 167 pounds. Those were the good old days.”

Yes, indeed, the good old days. I’m still trying to lose my post pregnancy weight…it’s been 29 years. Perhaps the reason I’m not losing weight like I want to be is because I have so many jokes about my weight in my comedy sets. Yes, that must be the reason.

This is the season to be jolly, and I plan to do just that. I experience joy each time I share it with someone else. Whether you experience the battle of the bulge during the Holiday or struggle with something else, acknowledge it and move forward. Make time for self-care – smile more, giggle, relax. You can do it.

Feel Good Friday – 10 Things that bring you joy

 

Joy – “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” What are you doing to experience your share of joy as often as possible? Do something today that gives you a feeling of happiness and great pleasure.

Don’t miss out on the joys in your life. An article I read suggested making a list of 10 things that bring you joy. For those who are writers, the article suggested that you write about one of the items in a journal, essay, or blog post.

For those who are not writers, don’t fret. Here’s your challenge…everyday for ten days, engage in one item from your list. What would you include as the 10 things that bring you joy? Below are 7 examples from my list:

1.      Relaxing on a lawn chair soaking up the sunshine

2.      Watching a Hallmark movie

3.      Reading a good book

4.      Laughing with family and friends

5.      Reading a devotional

6.      Experiencing a massage

7.      Sipping coffee and watching a sunrise

I could probably come up with a story to share related to each one of the items above, but I’ll share a quick one. I remember sitting in my backyard on a blanket on a warm sunny day during the COVID quarantine. I relaxed with a book, my bare feet, and birds tweet overhead.

An unwanted guest interrupted my relaxation. Out of my peripheral vision, a shadow swept past me. Was it a bunny, a chipmunk, a little bird who lost its’ way? No, it was a mouse. Minnie and Mickey Mouse are cute on TV, but not dashing through my backyard. I took up my blanket and left.

Now I enjoy the sunshine and breeze from the sliding door in my kitchen.

You may be able to come up with an extensive list of ways you find joy, if so, create a list of 30 things. Your task then becomes a 30-day challenge of seeking great pleasure and happiness. Go for it.

Wordless Wednesday - Happiness Happens Month

Happiness is...finding joy in the moment. 

August is Happiness Happens Month. Each day find something that provides you with an infusion of happiness

Feel Good Friday – 10 Things that bring you joy

 

Joy – “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” What are you doing to experience your share of joy as often as possible? Do something today that gives you a feeling of happiness and great pleasure.

Don’t miss out on the joys in your life. An article I read suggested making a list of 10 things that bring you joy. For those who are writers, the article suggested that you write about one of the items in a journal, essay, or blog post.

For those who are not writers, don’t fret. Here’s your challenge…everyday for ten days, engage in one item from your list. What would you include as the 10 things that bring you joy? Below are 7 examples from my list:

1.      Relaxing on a lawn chair soaking up the sunshine

2.      Watching a Hallmark movie

3.      Reading a good book

4.      Laughing with family and friends

5.      Reading a devotional

6.      Experiencing a massage

7.      Sipping coffee and watching a sunrise

I could probably come up with a story to share related to each one of the items above, but I’ll share a quick one. I remember sitting in my backyard on a blanket on a warm sunny day during the COVID quarantine. I relaxed with a book, my bare feet, and birds tweet overhead.

An unwanted guest interrupted my relaxation. Out of my peripheral vision, a shadow swept past me. Was it a bunny, a chipmunk, a little bird who lost its’ way? No, it was a mouse. Minnie and Mickey Mouse are cute on TV, but no dashing through my backyard. I took up my blanket and left.

Now I enjoy the sunshine and breeze from the sliding door in my kitchen.

You may be able to come up with an extensive list of ways you find joy, if so, create a list of 30 things. Your task then becomes a 30-day challenge of seeking great pleasure and happiness. Go for it.

Wordless Wednesday - Finding Joy

Finding joy in times of trouble

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (New International Version)

Photo from Google Images

I experienced a discouraging situation today. Someone stole my cell phone when I turned my back for four minutes. I sat my phone down so I could help a coworker hand out snacks to a group of people.

I didn’t have the phone attached to me because I was wearing a dress. I was holding the phone because I was getting ready to call my son. I refused to believe someone took my phone that quick.

I turned in circles, I retraced my steps. I even checked the fridge to make sure I didn’t set the phone in there when I took out snacks. No phone. My feelings were hurt, not just because my phone was gone, but my coworkers and I were going above what we needed to provide.

Some of the people present were familiar to us, but there were also new faces. I couldn’t understand why someone would take a phone that would be shut down as soon as I realized it was missing. I also had a code on it. All I could say was “wow.”

I had bigger issues to deal with at the moment. I realize that life can’t stop because I’m frustrated. My son still had to get to a basketball game. My grandfather’s funeral is coming up in a couple of days. And our day camp program is starting on Monday.

It was several hours later before I was able to get over my feelings of disappointment and discouragement. Now I can say I still have joy. I reflected on my first speaking engagement from last month, where part of the theme was “having joy.”

If you want to learn about having joy, read the book of Philippians. As I prepared for the speaking engagement, I learned a lot about joy. Below is a recap of what I spoke about.

When we think about Paul’s message to the church at Philipi and how the book of Philippians stresses having joy, does it make you wonder how can they have joy? And where can I get some of that joy?

How can we have some of that joy while going through challenges?

For one thing…I Corinthians 4:16 says, “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” You see when we follow Jesus, we’re following the right one. It’s like the old Pepsi commercial, “you got the right one babyyyy.”

How many of you know there is purpose in our trials? Somebody reading this may be going through something. Somebody doesn’t know how their bills are going to be paid next week, how they’re going to put gas in their car, worried about their kids or parents. There’s trouble on the job, there’s job loss. All kinds of trials going on, but nothing is too big for God to work out.

When you have joy, the Lord will strengthen you. When you have strength….guess what? You can move forward. Joy is an obligation and something we should have despite our circumstances. Joy comes in our lives because of our relationship with Christ.
The gospel singing duo, Mary Mary said you can’t get mad at the things you been through it builds your muscle. Your faith is NOT small.

Don’t let anyone still your joy! Rest, regroup and keep moving forward.

Have you experienced a time when it was difficult to find joy in a situation?