Wow! I am really doing it…I’m starting a blog. It is super crazy how God works in our daily life. I have been pondering starting a blog for months maybe even a full year. You see I love to chat and have conversations with people BUT writing, now that is not my strong suit. With enough encouragement from my husband and dear friends here I am.
SO what am I going to talk about? The first blog post became daunting as I had no idea what I wanted to write about so I slept on it and prayed for some wisdom, and THEN IT HAPPENED…
Tonight I attended the first of a five-week study Everybody, Always with Bob Goff. Let me tell you what an AMAZING first night. I mean first off its BOB GOFF and he is great! One of the discussion questions my group chatted about was on joy and happiness and if there is a difference between the two. It really invoked a deep discussion. As I pondered the two words in my head I immediately thought of them as two different words with different meanings. Before we jumped to look up the definitions online we chatted freely. Joy was described as long-term and having deeper meaning. Whereas happiness was more short-term “in the moment”. It was really interesting because to me I had the exact opposite thought. For the longest time I had a sign in my apartment that stated “Happiness is a destination not a way of life.” So for me when I think of happiness, I think of long term, big picture, a state of mind we journey to achieve. Joy, to me, is in the “moments”. It’s a feeling you get. It’s going out of your way to do something kind for someone, making a difference for someone, or the feeling you get based on something that happens.
In many experiences in my life I have come to realize that you cannot bring someone happiness, but you can bring them joy. When I think of the term “it’s the little things” the word JOY completely rushes into my mind.
You may not always be happy, it may take many days, weeks, months or even years to reach a state of happiness, but Joy can be found in each new day. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5 NLT
The song “Your Love Never Fails” by the Newsboys also portrays joy coming in the morning:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
but joy comes in the morning
Well it has been a pleasure writing this first blog post I am excited to say that it is complete and not as scary as I thought it would be. I wish you a wonderful night and may there by joy in the morning!
Under the Clutter 