Choose Joy.....
Updated: Dec 9, 2020
My thoughts from mid February while spending some quiet time in the calving barn. I need this again during this ever-changing season we are all going through. I have to remind myself weekly, daily, hourly, and some days min. by min. to choose Joy, it is a choice. Everyday may not be good, but there is good in everyday.
What do you see in this picture? For many people, this looks like a very weird picture of a stick. But that stick brought me Joy and a smile to my face yesterday, when our feed man sent it home with Jerry. As I looked at it tonight, while checking cows, God showed me another thing through it... “Heather, do you look for the Joy in all the “little” things in life?” Yikes, that made me take a mental step back. Today, I was mentally having a pity party, thinking only of ME! I definitely was not looking for Joy in the little things or in anything at all for that matter! This reminder was so right on for me today and I thought it may encourage someone else, so I wanted to share here too in hopes it’s a great shift in perspective for someone else as well.
Join me in asking yourself: Do I look for joy? Or do I look for things to gripe and complain about? Man, it pleases satan so much to see Christ followers not looking for Joy; complaining, picking fights and flat out being selfish. Lord forgive me.... I want to look for the Joy in all situations. Even when: the tractor took “too long” to start... enter joyful shift change = Hello, it started! Yay! And when the laundry/dishes never end.... enter that shift change again = Thank you Lord for my family that dirties those clothes and makes those dishes stack high in the sink. Praise the Lord that my kids are active and healthy, as many struggle with health issues. Praise the Lord for the food that we eat, because many lack food daily. So yep, those are the thoughts God put on my heart today.
Look for JOY!
“Count it all JOY, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds....” James 1:2
-Heather-