Return to Joy

Today I have a quote... "...if you ever took truly to heart the ultimate goodness and joy of things, even at their bleakest, the need to praise someone or something for it would be so great that you might even have to go out and speak of it to the birds of the air." Frederick Buechner in The Sacred Journey I am involved in a weekly Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) right now, and this quote was included in the study lesson for the week. We are on week two - joy. Lately I have not been dwelling in the joy of my Savior. As I was reviewing the lesson one last time this morning, the passages just reached out and grabbed me, reminding me of the ways the Lord infuses His joy into my life - and I just ignore it. Acts 2:42-47 shares the joy of the early church in fellowship and growth with one another. Phil 1:18-26 reminds us of Paul's joy of simply being able to see salvation and growth among the people he ministered to, as well as the ultimate joy he was anticipating of seeing his Savior face to face. Then there's 1 Peter 1:3-9. I almost boo-hooed through this one. How often do I truly stop and rejoice in the fact that I have salvation because of Christ's sacrifice?! I have been so self-centered lately. I've griped, complained, moaned and groaned. My allergies are bad, my kids are frustrating, my project list is backing up, my, my, my...me, me, me. In our Bible study group, we have a list of challenges. We choose one to live out during our week. One of the challenges is to keep a joy journal that we write in daily. Even if the group doesn't choose this challenge, I'm challenging myself to it - starting today. I greatly long to live in the joy of the Lord, and I will choose to focus on His beautiful presence in my life - I long to live in such a way that I can't help but praise my Lord for all the ways I see Him in my life!