Make a Difference Challenge ~ Choose the Joyful

This week is my first full week at home this summer with absolutely no big plans. We have a few things here or there that will occupy our time, but they are considerably minimal on my  part. Basically, I am the driver, so it requires little effort from me.  I am finding I don’t know what to do with myself. Though I have pile of incomplete lists, created in May,  staring at me; I should be able to occupy myself.  I am finding I am a bit tired from the traveling, though it was so good, I think I need to experience summer.  I am a bit reluctant to start planning, though what is coming will be fun and exciting.  I just want to be.

{Do you ever have moments like that?}

Now that I have completed my summer travels,  I am trying to catch up on the breathing. I am trying to exhale grace in the living and finding that it is easy to be swept up in the exhaustion of consistent moving. I find myself more able to reflect and to ponder when I choose to pause. The yield in motion also means I need to unwind; it is easy to lose sight of joy when I do that.

When we are traveling in the consistency of moving forward, it is a little hard to make the choice to just stop.  If we fail to cease the momentum, we may miss the chance to choose the joyful. 

Find the joyful relish of the everyday, soak up the mundane, absorb the common, and reflect on the living.

Though I was still on my speaking schedule last week, I had the privilege to be home in the mornings with my kids. I was able to take time to walk in the garden and pass time pondering the freedom in my schedule to come, if only for  a short time.   Over the last few days the Lord has been speaking to my heart as I have simply been resting in His Presence, longing for a thirst quenching drink of His grace.

{Have you ever felt the need to just crash in order to catch your breath?}

I didn’t realize this was where I going till this morning as I sat quietly in my Jesus Chair with coffee and my Bible.  I am quite sure I didn’t even open the Holy Writ because I just sat there and felt His heart meet mine.  It was that hug that I didn’t know I needed, the reminder to rest and just be.

Rest, Be Still, and know that I AM in your midst. I bring the Joy on the wings of the morning as the Son rises in your hearts by faith.(Ps. 46:10, 139:9, 30:5; 2 Pt.1:19)

I realized that over the last few days He has been gifting me with small moments of joy, and though I recognized them for what they were at the time… blessings from His hand… I didn’t realize they were a preparation for the quiet moments of reflection to come.

Little moments that I can choose joyful are found in:

• The arms of my woman-child reminding me she still needs reassurance even when she doesn’t want my advice… finding joy in the stages of mothering.
• The sudden color meeting my eyes as I recognize my favorite flowers finally in bloom, vibrant yellow smiles wherever I look… feeling joy bubble up in the throaty giggle of surprise.
• The memories floating on the breeze as the Queen Anne’s Lace dances in the wind and I heard my precious grandma’s laughter caress my heart yet once more… joy remembering her words replaced the pain of the missing her once more.
• The promise of hope bubbling out in song and silliness, when a random chant escapes your lips, children smiling as they learn mom can be funny(some of the time)… joy in choosing to be unreserved.
• The feel of a, ‘Hello!’, and a ,’How are you?’, from that dear heart you love to spend time with, encouraging you that you are important… joy comes in the whisper of recognition.
• The phone call from a kindred spirit who just wants to know that they matter, to know they can be themselves with you, to hear you share the living, and to commune with them on the journey… joy is in the living.
• The moment when you watch the young man, who towers over you, choose to honor commitments and bless others, giving a glimpse of the man he is going to be… making the discipline even more worth the effort… joy shines in the viewing.
• The beauty of the harvest , reinforcing the diligence of determined effort…finding joy in the mosaic it creates.
• The touch of a gentle heart who longs to see you smile, just because you are loved… the heart filled feels joy in abundance.
• The encouragement of a note that moves beyond the author’s intent… reminding you that joy is available by every choice we make

I need these moments pieced together like a quilt to help me choose joy consistently. They are a reminder and a challenge. They are a petition that I need to address and a purpose to aim for. So I am going to ask you to walk with me again. Are you willing?

{Make a Difference Challenge– How can you choose the joyful in the momentary and the mundane?}

Friends, unless we find a way to let joy reach the depths of our hearts we are going to miss the beauty along the way. When we let the Joy of the Lord be our strength, then we are changed. We make a difference because a difference has first been made in us.

This day is holy to our Lord, Do not be grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. ~ Nehemiah 8:10

These challenges I am giving are drawing me up and pulling me out of my comfort zone. I need them to strip off the ropes which pull on me as I go. I challenge you to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, to embrace laughter as a caressing promise of hope, to invest in the living moments, putting joy in your heart,  Choose the joyful!

~Blessings,

Linking up with joyfilled hearts:

Jen@ SDG Gathering/Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood

Sybil @ Make A Difference Mondays/ She Lives Free