“find your joy”
Here is my contribution to kick off C!C’s Devotional Journal entitled “find your joy”:
I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
As the idea for this devotional journal began to take shape, I knew that I would need to “practice what I preach” and thus began asking myself: “Jason, where do you find your joy?” In response I decided to start a list and pay attention to when I found myself joyful at the little things in my days. My search became a catalogue of surprise joys, and seemed to deepen the saturation of enjoyment that these little moments brought. Allow me to share the highlights:
- The “Daddy’s home” rush and outpouring of affection
- Stealing kisses with “the wife of my youth” in the kitchen
- Spontaneous laughter, five throats strong, at the dinner table . . . or the hallway . . . or the restaurant . . . or in the car . . . or . . .
- Reading Ps. 16:9 > “Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely,” and knowing that it is true in me.
- Realizing that my back isn’t hurting
- Realizing that my back is hurting but that it won’t hurt in heaven
- Sudden moments of conviction reminding me that God has called me to such important tasks that I cannot succeed on my own . . . in order that He can succeed through me.
- Watching family and friends learn to value and apply courage
- Each new word that my kids learn which make me anticipate future conversations
- Being pierced by the Word of God via fresh encouragement OR conviction from a passage as familiar as my “work jeans”
- Finding the beauty in the dance of shepherding my wife AND being shepherded by her
Where do you find your joy?