Audits & Resolutions - Day 9

 Write From My Heart / December 9, 2020 / Audits & Resolutions – Day 9

 Question: Do I notice the simple joys in life?

 Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV) “…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

 John 15:9 and 11 (NIV) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. … I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

 Philippians 4:4 (NIV) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NLT) Always be joyful.

            At the risk of sounding cliché I will remind you of partial lyrics from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, and the song “My Favorite Things.” I think I will simply use a list format of those things especially found in winter…you can hum the tune in your head and fill in the gaps.

·       bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

·       brown paper packages tied up with string

·       doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

·       wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

·       snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

·       silver white winters that melt into springs

            The point is that some of the simplest pleasures in life go unnoticed because we are either too busy or too bogged down in our own concerns to notice them. Even more significant than this, our true source of joy is the love our Heavenly Father has for us. It is his desire that we are joyful in all things and through all concerns. Why? Because it is joy in our Heavenly Father that provides the strength we need to face those concerns. When you take time to notice the small things in life that surround you—those little blessings that so often go unnoticed—I believe it is our Heavenly Father’s way of getting us to stop and take a deep, refreshing breath in order to continue on our way with a little more strength than we had before. It is in those moments when we acknowledge our Heavenly Father’s love for us that we find joy in him becoming our strength.

Resolution: Be joyful…Be joy-filled.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

            You bless us daily and all too often we fail to notice. Forgive our failings. We are reminded that our inner joy comes from the love you have for us. Joy in you becomes the strength we need to face each day. Thank you for your daily blessings.

            In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, Amen.