Joy and Contentment

For forty days I'm deliberately choosing to find joy. To start from the beginning, click here 

I took this photo Spring Break 2009. I think their faces reflect pure joy and contentment

Day 15

So I've been away from the internet for a week on a staff mission trip, but I have continued to count my joys. In the next couple of days I'll post another list of joys that I counted during the week. However, I want to share about finding Joy and Contentment in where God has placed you.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain."

1 Timothy 6: 6

Meet AnnaLee. She is a woman probably in her late 60s early 70s. She has short gorgeous gray hair and is approximately 5 feet nothing. She smiles as she greets every customer at Chick-fil-a and not only asks if you need a refill on your drink, but wants to know where you are from and where you are going. Her smile does not fade as she begins to wipe down tables and wash windows. She is full of joy and learning to be content on where God has placed her in life - as a prophet of the Most High  stationed at Chick-fil-a in Texas.

Meet "Twigs". He is a rugby built 31 year old man with a beautiful wife and two adorable kids. After giving God his life in his early 20s he has radically followed God's path for him all the way from Connecticut to a church in Tulsa, OK. Although he holds the title "Youth Pastor" he does not proclaim it. He used to say he would never work for a church, now he is choosing to joy in following Christ's path for him and his family. He is  learning to be content in where God has placed him in his life - as a prophet of the Most High stationed as a youth pastor in Oklahoma.

Several times throughout this week I praised God for giving me a job where I can be challenged in his Word as I complete manual labor that makes me groan at the end of the week with every movement I make. I find so much joy when I am on a trip. As I continue work back in the office I pray that God reminds me to choose to be joyful in that situation too.

Are you choosing to be joyful in the job that God has placed you in? From Starbucks, to College Admissions, to Teaching, to Ministry?

How are you acting out that choice of joy in your job?