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There are probably some days when we take for granted all the good things in our life. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. I’ve done it, and I’m pretty sure you have too. Each day we are given opportunities to choose joy, or to be grumpy; to live with a contented heart, or to live in envy and desire someone else’s life. Every highlight reel has a blooper reel too. If all you see are the highlights, you forget that everyone is facing some kind of battle. Remember that life is a wonderful beautiful ride, even on your hard days. Here is your dailyeword.

One thing that kids do naturally that we as adults can learn from, is to enjoy even the small things. There is so much that we have seen and done that we can kind of yawn at simple things, instead of jump for joy and be glad like a child! But we need kids around us to re-teach us this lesson. Life is wonderful! Jesus came to give us life to the full, overflowing and abundantly. Even with bumps along the way, life can be a wonderful, beautiful ride. That doesn’t erase the fact that bad things can happen to good people, because we do live in a fallen world. We need to remember that we are richly blessed – just even by where we live. We have so many opportunities that many people around the world never get to experience. Probably all of you had clean water to drink, and will eat 3 meals plus snacks today; that’s something to be glad about. We probably had a soft bed to sleep on, computer access to all that we desire to be connected to, and someone to love you. Those are great things to be thankful for. So instead of thinking about all the things you don’t have, or wish you could have, being content is saying, I’m thankful for the place I am in right now. That’s a great place to be! Keep getting excited about little things, and always be content in the joy of the moment.

Sometimes it is encouraging to look back and remember what it felt like to be a preschooler. They live life filled with joy and have life pretty well figured out. From the eyes of a preschooler, life is pretty simple! Here are some things they know from the perspective of a 4 year old:
God is Good (I Peter 2:3), the devil is bad (evil).

God gives life, the devil comes to take life.(John 10:10)
Just because stuff happens doesn’t mean it is God’s will. (We can’t blame God for things He doesn’t do)
God doesn’t hurt people, He helps them!
God can take the bad the devil tried to do, and makes it good. (The devil looses at his own game and is the biggest loser of them all.
Jesus makes you happy, the devil makes you sad.
Sounds simple to me! In Matt 6:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus makes it very clear that he wants the earth to experience a little bit of heaven…. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That sounds like joy unspeakable! You probably have the Lord’s Prayer memorized, if not, here it is.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Holy is your Name, Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done, On earth, As it is. In Heaven, Give us this Day, Our daily bread, And Forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors, Lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Yours is the Kingdom, And the Power and the Glory, Forever, Amen!
Let’s remember to keep things simple. Let’s be a taste of heaven to the people around us. Be a doer of the Word, and a believer who believes the Word. Live in the joy of the Lord. As complex as life can be, let’s try to make life simple. Seal everything with one of those slobbery preschool kisses! KISS…..that’s an acronym for Keep It Simple Sweetie! And let’s enjoy life with a little glimmer of heaven right here on this earth, living in the joy of the Lord!

True joy is only found in Jesus. You’ve probably heard that before! Jesus wants us to live the life we were meant to live, fully satisfied in Him, filled up with His joy. In Acts 16:25-34 Paul and Silas were in jail and after being beaten black and blue, they were bound in chains, guarded by that’s what you call extreme bondage! In those dismal circumstances, instead of whining and complaining about their situation, they were singing praises and worshipping God. Without natural freedom, they knew what true freedom was and that it is only found through knowing Jesus. Looking beyond their natural circumstances, they drew from the well of joy that was from within. Sometimes I think we need a reality check. What things are bothering you? What are you whining about? A slow fast food window? A traffic clog? An unhelpful clerk? Rising gas prices? A tight budget? A tight blouse? Think about things in life that really count. Is your home warm? Do you have transportation? Do you have peace in your heart? Do you know Jesus? That is where real joy begins, not in everyone treating you right, or your waist line shrinking, or having that new thing you desire. Rejoice in the fact that Jesus loves you, you are His child. He has a great plan for your life. You are safe in His arms. You have everything you’ll ever need in Jesus. Let Him fill your life with joy. Everything is better when Jesus is in it.

In Philiippians 4:8, Paul tells us to think on some specific things. Do you remember what he told us to think on? The list is short, but powerful. He said, Whatsoever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Anything contrary to this list needs to be replaced! That takes mental discipline doesn’t it. Part of the renewal process for us is learning to be self disciplined. It would be great if we could have the “thought police” inside of our head warning us when our thoughts are not on what is true, noble, just, pure…..etc. If the siren would go off, we would immediately change the direction of our thinking. But we have to do it on our own. Immediately when we begin thinking thoughts contrary to God’s Word, we have to capture them, and replace them with the truth. Because no area of life is untouched by your thoughts, we have to be disciplined and diligent in this area. Most of life’s challenges begin in the thought stage. Problems develop as we let our thoughts go to worry and fret. We need to rein them in! It takes work, but what a better way to live. Worry and fret are really like faith in the opposite direction. Because faith is the evidence of what we hope for, and worry is like evidence of the things we dread. And it all begins in our thoughts. So to have joy overflowing in your life, look for possibilities instead of problems. Think on God’s goodness, and His faithfulness to you. Dwell on the positives of life, and what is more positive than choosing to think on Phil 4:8! Meditate on things that mirror God’s character! Think on these things!

Intro:
So often it is easy to let our emotions determine how we feel. Yep, I’ve done that too! Hi this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. How about telling our emotions how to feel? It sounds backward, but we really can choose joy even in the midst of feeling down or discouraged, or negative circumstances. We can shut off the enemies echo in our ears, and choose to believe the truth of God’s Word. We know where our joy comes from. Here is your dailyeword.

Did you know there is a difference between happiness and joy? An easy way to tell the difference is joy lasts and lasts, and is a result of our relationship with God. Happiness is usually temporary. We are happy because of circumstances, or because somebody likes us, or things went our way. Joy isn’t dependent on how things are going. We have joy, just because we have Jesus. That doesn’t mean that the devil won’t try and steal our joy. If we start looking inward, and keep our focus only on ourselves, we can miss seeing the big picture of life, and totally lose our joy. We can look at circumstances and because everything isn’t going smoothly, we can let joy slip away. The best thing to do is continually draw from the joy that is on the inside (Is 12:2,3) When we are saved, we experience a joy that the world doesn’t know about (I Peter 1:8). We can have complete contentment, and a joy that lasts and lasts, that isn’t dependent on how happy we feel at the moment (Phil 4:11-13). God’s joy can become part of who we are. We can be joy filled, so we can be joy spilled to our world. Splash a little joy on someone you know. You’ll lift their day, and because what we give comes back to us, we’ll get a bucket full of joy in return! So keep your joy bucket filled to spill some joy on someone else.

I love to laugh! Laughing feels good! We can get through anything, even serious sickness or very negative circumstances, with laughter. That is exactly what Normal Cousins did. What an interesting patient he was. Not satisfied with a negative diagnosis, he found a cure through laughter to his painful, crippling disease. He literally laughed his way to health. How amazing to see the physical results of laughter….lower blood pressure, increased vascular blood flow, oxygenation of the blood, and even a muscle workout. Laughter just makes us feel good.

In our stress filled world, laughter helps ease tension and helps us “de-stress”. Even in the midst of serious situations, a little brevity can lighten the tension. Try it next time you’re in a stressful situation. Something I heard said years ago, has stuck with me. If it is gonna be funny later, it may as well be funny right now. Take advantage of each moment, and bring laughter to your life. Often in the midst of doing something embarrassing, we can learn to laugh at ourselves right then. What might have been uncomfortable, becomes bearable because we applied laughter to the situation. So want more joy in your life, learn to laugh daily! Don’t be so serious, find some joy today!

 

One definition for joy is having confidence in God. I like that, because our joy is tied to trusting God for everything. When we can have total faith and confidence in God we can live stress free. God has his hand on us, and we can live joyfully. We don’t have to try to figure out how to get what we want or need, we can rest securely in the fact that we are God’s sheep and we know His voice. We are led by the spirit, and His Word is our priority, so we can live in confidence. What a place of rest, and joy! Worst case scenario, or best case scenario, we don’t have to worry! We can confidently say, don’t worry be happy, or maybe even more correctly, don’t worry, be joyfilled! Just think of living in the joy of the Lord as being like a natural face lift. It definitely is a FAITH lift, but faith and confidence in our amazing God lets us live in a state of relaxation and joy. If you have listened to any health professionals about living with out stress, they say that it is good for every area of your life. Good for physical health, good for your family, good for your spouse, good for your work life. Choosing joy over worry, makes life better all around.

I pray that your life is filled with SOZO. Do you know what the word sozo means? It is the word for salvation and it has a 7 fold meaning, to save, heal, cure, preserve, keep safe and sound, rescue from danger, and to fare well. When you think about the cross of Calvary, where our salvation was bought and paid for, you can realize that God had our very best interest at heart. When Jesus gave up his life, he paid the price so that we could live abundantly, experiencing full sozo! When you think about living a joy filled life, we can see that kind of abundant living is what God wants for us. If you are needing a joy makeover, this word sozo, is a great place to start. It almost sounds like the word SOZO can be interchanged with abundant life, which includes fullness of joy and a bucket that is running over! As you read these words, my prayer for you is that your life is filled to the full with sozo. I pray that your life is filled with all God’s goodness, that along with a rich, full life serving the Lord, you experience glowing health, and life to the fullest of joy in every area of life. In Jesus Name! Just as parents want the best for our children, we can be sure that is what God wants for us as his children. So get along well! Enjoy life. Experience fullness of joy each day. Just like it says in 3 John 2, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. Enjoy today!

Are you living in the joy of the Lord? Or is your life overwhelmed by circumstances and negative influences? I want you to make a choice to live on a higher level. Jesus died to bring us life abundant, so let’s live there. As silly as it sounds, accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative is a great place to start. Rid yourself of negativity in your thought life. Surround yourself with people who are pursuing the purposes of God in a positive way. And believe for your circumstances to change! God is at work within you, helping you to do what He wants in your life. So live joyfully, 24/7, 12 months of every year, and every year of your life! When we look at a year of living joyfully, we can see that simple little things really do matter. Take time today to ponder ways your day, this month, and this year can be more joyful. Most of all choose joy TODAY! Act the way you want to feel! Here are some ways the Bible tells us to get joy
Sing for joy Ps 67:4
Dance for joy, Jeremiah 31:13
Shout for joy, Is 44:23
Clap for joy, Ps 98:8
Let’s do it! Sing, dance, shout and clap for JOY! Let’s live joyfully today!

There are so many scriptures in the Bible on Joy. It is mentioned in almost every book of the Bible, and in all about 215 times. WOW! It you add all of the scriptures about rejoicing, being joyful, being glad and gladness, there are almost too many to count! Here are a few of my favorite Joy Scriptures:
We are to count it all joy whatever our circumstances. James 1:2.
God will fill you with joy in His presence, and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11
With joy will you draw water from the well of salvation. Is 12:3
Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full. John 16:24
For the kingdom of God is not just eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
One thing Christians have as a big advantage is emotional strength because we can live in the joy of the Lord. It doesn’t matter what our circumstances look like, we can still be joyful. We don’t have to be moved by what we see or feel. We’ve read the end of the book, and we win! Even if life is tough this side of heaven, we still have heaven to look forward to. And heaven is a win! Earth is very short, while heaven is very long. Life is more than just a pursuit of happiness; it is living in the joy of the Lord on a daily basis! We get to enjoy the journey, on the way to our fabulous destination. So can you have more joy in your life everyday? Yes you can!