High highs and low lows are all part of living the abundant life Jesus came to give us. Being fully alive is not always filled with roller coasters and rainbows and some days can bring us the best of the best as well as the worst of the worst. It’s in the bittersweet moments and days of ups and downs that joy might seem elusive but I feel that the awareness of being fully alive brings a joy of its own that nothing can ultimately squelch. 

Romans 8:16 – God’s Spirit joins with my spirit to affirm that I am His child. 

Though I don’t always have this truth in the forefront of my thoughts, God faithfully reminds me of it whenever I am confused and questioning. When I ask Him to dispel the lies and show me the Truth, He brings me to rest in reminding me I belong to Him and that is all that matters in the end. This is joy to me. 

If you read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have you ever thought about how many times Jesus calls people to come and join Him? I was especially struck with this tonight as my small group practiced a meditative prayer time with the passage in Matthew 14, when Jesus walks in water and invites Peter to come walk with Him. 

Jesus was already there in the water, doing it, walking on water!  All He did was invite Peter to do what Jesus was already doing. 

I got the sense tonight that God still invites us to join in with what He’s already doing in our lives. Specifically for me, the Spirit affirmed that I should walk forward into a potential open door for my job search, helping me to see God working already in the midst of my searching and enabling me to firmly grasp that I can trust what He is doing. This brings me great joy 😊. 

Is there some area of your life where the Spirit is inviting you to come and join in where God is already doing His work ?

I suppose, the season of Lent may seem like a dark time to many. The practice of sacrificing something during this season can be difficult , though technically we’re supposed to add something more of God into our lives in place of what we are giving up. It also might seem dark to people because it’s focused on Jesus’ sacrifice and death. 

Yet, the actual light, as in daylight, begins to increase as we move further into spring. This says something to my spirit. Jesus’ death didn’t happen during the darkest time of the year. It happened when new life was literally bursting forth from all of nature and when the brightness of the sun was growing (which, by the way, brings forth the brightest light of the year around the time of Pentecost,the giving of the Spirit). 

So, on this day, as we prepare for our annual focus on remembering Christ’s giving of His life for ours, perhaps our greatest focus should be on Him as The Light of the world and in the glory of God that Ge brought to us all. Maybe then our joy will be made more complete during this season as God’s glory is proclaimed by the birds singing all around us and the flowers beginning to break through from there sleep in the darkness. 

As I ran out to start my daughter’s car yesterday morning, so it could warm up for her to go to school, I noticed something lovely. Then, my flower beds and the neighbor’s lilac tree caught my eye. Birds were singing and talking with one another, not just the one or two I had noticed last week, and there were buds on the lilac tree as well as tulip buds and fronds pushing through the mulch in my flower bed. 

Despite my apparent disappointment with our lack of a proper winter here in OH this year,  the singing birds and determined buds brought a smile to my face that I couldn’t contain. Thoughts of the freshness and lightening of Spring bubbled up joy in me, and ultimately, that’s what this blog is about….. 

I began this intentional search for joy 50 days ago with the purpose of keeping my mind and heart focused on all the good and the stuff of life that brings joy, as well as hoping to inspire someone who would read these posts. We’re halfway in this adventure, and I can testify that it is making a difference in me.  I encourage you to join this journey if you haven’t and begin to purposefully look for joy. 

Learning more and more to rest and trust in the midst of this transition part of life as we prepare to move, as I’m looking for jobs and houses, as our children are closer to leaving the nest, and as midlife hormones hit harder and harder. Someone told me to find value in the process, to not only look for the end result. Finding joy in the journey is all part of that valuing the day to day process of this time of growth and change. I read this the other day, and it’s so fitting: “One of the tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” (Dale Carnegie)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to me when God moves in unexpected ways, but it still does. He is still all about showing me that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine.  I am amazed and full of joy as I sense being held by my Abba Father and know ever more firmly that He can be trusted. 

I had the honor of hosting a Trades of Hope party in my home tonight, along with my teenage daughter. This kept me busy yesterday and all day today, preparing the house and the food and such.  My goal was to share the wonderful mission of Trades of Hope with some friends who may have never heard of it before now.  My dear friend Amy is the one who works for the company.

The primary mission of this company is to aid women all around the globe  in having sustainable businesses and a living wage. Trades of hope also helps with other needs around the world. One of the current promotions is that a fruit tree is donated to a family in Africa for every $75 in product that is sold. 

My heart was full of joy when I learned that our little group of women tonight ordered enough to supply 5 fruit trees to families in Africa!  I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to share the wonderful mission and products of Trades of Hope with some very special friends tonight!

How do you fight for joy in the midst of the stress of the day-to-dayness of this life ?  I am learning more everyday to take life one moment, one breath at a time. When the to-do list seems a mile long and unfinishable, I am realizing the way to joy lies within the perspective of the now that is directly before me, not in the successful completion of the entire list. Accomplishing one little thing at a time adds together to eventually finishing all that needs to be done and all the while allows for time to live, to breathe and find the joy of life in the midst of stress and the crazy demands of living.