For forty days I'm deliberately choosing to find joy, to start from the beginning, click here.
I may have been a slacking a little bit on posting here, but I have not slacked in my joy challenge.
Since the last post I have flown back to OKC and have been helping my mom as we prepare for my brother's wedding which is happening this coming Sunday up in Wichita, KS. So admist, I crazy schedule here are some of the things that I've found/chosen joy in.
Day 6 - Sunday evening I spent with my host family and their friends. We made dinner and then started a camp fire and played several rounds of mafia (yep, that crazy middle school youth group game). This was a little bit of finding and choosing joy. Here I was having fun with practical strangers having fun very similar to the fun that my community back at JBU would have choosen for a relaxed evening. I found joy in remembering all of those fun times with the people whom God placed in my life for the past four years. I choose to set aside some of those memories also so I could enjoy time with this new community that God has placed me among in Chicago.
I may have been a slacking a little bit on posting here, but I have not slacked in my joy challenge.
Since the last post I have flown back to OKC and have been helping my mom as we prepare for my brother's wedding which is happening this coming Sunday up in Wichita, KS. So admist, I crazy schedule here are some of the things that I've found/chosen joy in.
Day 6 - Sunday evening I spent with my host family and their friends. We made dinner and then started a camp fire and played several rounds of mafia (yep, that crazy middle school youth group game). This was a little bit of finding and choosing joy. Here I was having fun with practical strangers having fun very similar to the fun that my community back at JBU would have choosen for a relaxed evening. I found joy in remembering all of those fun times with the people whom God placed in my life for the past four years. I choose to set aside some of those memories also so I could enjoy time with this new community that God has placed me among in Chicago.
Day 7 - I have found lots of joy returning to OKC and getting to see and
hang out with my family. Right after flying in, I went and saw a movie
with my mom. The next evening my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousin
came over to celebrate my birthday with me. I got pedicures with my mom
AND my dad last night. I know that more joy with family is to come as I
head to Kansas this weekend to celebrate my brother's wedding. This is
one of the most joyful reasons of the weekend:
My niece the flowergirl! Can't wait to see her tomorrow.
Day 8 - The other night I had trouble falling asleep and was just thinking through some things that I discovered joy in from this summer. So day eight is dedicated to a past joy
- living without mirrors -
The church I lived in for three weeks while on trips only had mirrors located in the boxing gym in the basement. So I learned how to live without looking in the mirror, and actually avoided looking in the ones that I knew were there. Reasons I found this joyful:
+ I found that it was actually easier to see myself as beautiful since it was harder to view the things I typically critique
+ You learn to trust your friends to tell you about the important things that we've leaned to use mirrors for, such as (a) food in your teeth (b) hair looks too ridiculous or (c) when a zit is ready to pop.
Day 9 - Finishing a journal brings me a small amount of joy. I feel joy at knowing my relationship with God is growing and changing and living. Each journal represents a certain stage in my life and I smile at knowing one day I will go back and read where God has brought me from and remembering what he has done in my life and what he will do because of that.
So have you been thinking about your choice to live in joy?
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