Day 30: JOY (The Freedoms of Joy)
…weeping may last through the night,but joy comes with the morning.Psalm 30:5 (NIV)
Trying Too Hard
In Christmases past, I’ve wasted so much time trying too hard to manufacture the “right conditions” to produce the “right responses”:
- decorating the house just right so that my guests will admire me.
- buying the just right gifts so that their recipients will be grateful.
- cooking all the right foods so that those who eat it will be happy.
- planning the right family time so that we’ll all feel connected.
But things always managed to go wrong.
- The carrot noses disappeared from all my hand-crafted snow-people, ruining my decorating scheme.
- Certain people refused to even open their gifts or, if they did, insisted they didn’t need what I’d so carefully selected.
- Some item of food always sets of the smoke alarm and the meal was never ready on time.
- At any given moment, someone was grouchy and someone was tired and someone was mad at someone and it could not possibly have been more obvious that we are four very different PURSE-onalities!
Joy is a Gift
Grieving, I’m finding, is a rebirth process that invites joy to flourish in the present.
When I’m not burdened by anxiety for the future or regrets from the past, I’m freed to live in the here and now.
I can receive each present moment as a gift.
I love the verb tense of the Christmas carol lyrics “Joy to the world the Lord is come.”
It’s in the present tense.
The Lord is come!
Joy is a Choice
I used to try too hard so that other people would react the way I needed them to so that I could experience holiday joy.
But my experience of joy is not dependent on any other person.
I experience joy because Jesus is come.
As I choose to focus on Jesus, I choose joy.
The Freedoms of Joy
When I choose Joy, I’m freed from trying too hard so that… Instead,
- I can decorate my home because doing so is an outward expression of inner celebration … whether or not the carrot noses are ever found.
- I can give gifts because of how much I’ve been given … whether or not they’re opened or appreciated “properly.”
- I can fix food because it’s one way we celebrate the many ways God has provided … regardless of whether the hot foods are hot or cold foods cold when served.
- I can hang out with family because — regardless of our moods — we are recipients of and expressions of God’s unfathomable love.
No matter what the issues I’ve struggled with in holidays past, this year I am free to choose joy. (Click to Tweet this.)
Instead of struggling so that…, I will celebrate because
The Lord is come!
Your Turn:
- What does “joy” mean to you? How is it different from happiness? What causes you to experience joy?
- What types of “trying so hard so that…” has blocked your holiday joy in the past?
- Anything else on your heart!
Start Your Holiday Ready Heart Journey Here:
- How It Works (via Bullet Points & Videos!)
- Day 1: LOVED (+ 2 Vital Questions to Ask NOW)
- Day 2: CHOSEN – Making Right Holiday Choices
- Day 3: COMPLETE (+ 5 Gift-Giving Questions)
- Day 4: PURE (+ Goodbye, Ghosts of Christmas Past)
- Day 5: RIGHTEOUS (+ Rituals vs. Relationships)
- Day 6: FORGIVEN (+ The Story I Choose to Tell)
- Day 7: FREE (+ 14+ Ways to Enjoy “Free” Holy-Days!)
- Day 8: VICTORIOUS (+ Heading Off Holiday Hurts)
- Day 9: NEW (+ The Power to Get or to Give?)
- Day 10: CONFIDENT (+ 10 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas)
- Day 11: MASTERPIECE (+ Being Content With What I DO Have)
- Day 12: INSEPARABLE (+ Missing Loved Ones at the Holidays)
- Day 13: DELIVERED (+ Why the Holidays Can Overwhelm)
- Day 14: TRUST (+ How Each PURSE-onality Can Get Day Overwhelmed)
- Day 15: PATIENT (+ Practicing Now for Patience Then)
- Day 16: NO RECORD (+ How to Have Grudge-Free Holidays)
- Day 17: TRUTH (Each PURSE-onality’s Take on Truth)
- Day 18: PERSEVERE (+2 Cures for Procrastination)
- Day 19: BLESS (Your Feelings Can Help You Choose)
- Day 20: BUILDING (20+ Ways to Build with Words)
- Day 21: HOLD (Hold Back, Let Go, and Step Up)
- Day 22: FRUIT (I Didn’t Think…I Was a People-Pleaser!)
- Day 23: CLEANSE (A Holiday-Ready Home)
- Day 24: REJOICE (We Share the Same Heart Rate)
- Day 25: NEAR (“Everything Else” or Emmanuel?)
- Day 26: THANKSGIVING (5 Ideas for Daily Thanks-Living)
- Day 27: GUARD (How Obedience Brings Peace)
- Day 28: CONTENT (My Heart’s Contents Control My Contentment)
- Day 29: STRENGTH (In My Weakness, His Strength)
Thank you for the reminder to focus on Jesus! In this season it is so easy to forget this.
I love the first picture of joy! So cheery.
For me, joy is inner peace(with a smile) that sustains my circumstances. You have motivated me to let my inner joy motivate my celebration rather than getting caught up in the stressful “holiday spirit.” Thanks for sharing this series.
Karen
Wow! Doing this series has been an eye opener for me. Back a couple of years ago I gave up on Christmas celebration and I really could not give a full answer as to why. With two children I came up with creative answers as to why mom did not want to celebrate anymore. After reading today’s entry, I realize that I let the moaners and groaners steal my holiday joy. In all my efforts to deal with them and keep them happy, I no longer was celebrating simply because ‘the Lord is come’. Thank you so much for helping me to realize this. This year I think there will be a new mindset and more than a few changes as we celebrate the coming of our Lord.