Joy Project

Before I chose JOY as my word for 2018, I had always thought it was such an ungraspable quality. I mean, when do you actually see joy as an adult on a regular basis?

Then I started a list:

• My grandkids’ faces . . . almost always

• Birthday cake blower-outers

• The expression on a dog when it’s finally let out of the house or its pen

• Ferris wheel riders

• The looks of kids on a winning team . . . especially when the game was close

• The student who gets back a paper that says “A” on the top

• People after the first bite of their In ‘n’ Out burger

• Walkers or runners after they’ve made it over the I’m-too-tired-to-do-this hump

• Kayakers . . . at all times

When a friend gave me this JOY bracelet earlier this month, I decided that 2018 would be a JOY Project–and that I would wear it every day. The choleric/melancholy in me tends to see problems that need to be fixed. This year, instead, I will be looking for JOY . . . and it’s been fun finding the word and images that represent the word all over the place. I guess I had been hiding out in a cave of problems and issues to be solved. I should have been on the lookout for JOY all these years.

For someone whose business name is Looking Up! . . . well, it was about time, right?

So, my theme and expression for the year is “Choosing JOY!” After all, Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:17-18).

While there could be much to grumble about, I will be looking for JOY and choosing JOY even in the midst of struggles. I’m seeing it much like a mystery to solve. Where will I find JOY next? After all, they didn’t call me Sherlock in high school for nothing!

I hope you’re choosing JOY this year, too!