Choose Joy

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted something. To be honest, the holidays are hard. The month of January is hard. Thus, the title for this - Choose Joy.

We have a sign over our stove that says, "Keep Choosing Joy." Not easy... Definitely something to learn, practice and - will I ever master it? Probably not. Hopefully get better with time!

And yet, today as I scroll Facebook (which I hate doing and often wish I wouldn't have started it), I saw two posts which made me stop and think.

The first said, "Once upon a time... there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated." Terry Tempest Williams

How true... the Bible is clear that the the earth and nature will celebrate God. The rocks will cry out. The trees will clap their hands. The birds will sing.

And yet, we as humans struggle with finding joy and choosing joy.

The other quote was something a friend shared from Dale Partridge's page. I have not heard of him, but I did not like his quote.

"If your pursuit of doctrine and theology is making you more intelligent without making you more loving, compassionate, and humble than your pursuit is not of Christ, it's of pride."

It seems that often as we grow in doctrine, we lose the heart of God and forget to choose joy. Joy brings a desire to share with others and we want to be loving, compassionate and humble.

Choosing joy is something to decide. It is not easy. It is easier to mope or feel sorry... but that brings us more difficulties.

My challenge today is to remember that the earth celebrates God. The world is not all evil. By choosing JOY we return to the heart of Yahweh. We return to what our Creator made us to do - celebrate Him.

Love and blessings,

Rose