I Chose Joy

Whew!! What a week!! (Is it bad if you're saying that, and it's only Tuesday?) Yikes.

So here's my story.


We had a wonderful weekend at my in-laws'. A much needed rest.


On the drive home Sunday night, we got a phone call from Amy. She is worried about it looking like she's renting to us (since that can affect her taxes), so she doesn't want us to stay here too long. They want us out by November 17.


That means that we need to find a place to live in 2 1/2 weeks.


That's a little scary.


We're also still fighting off illnesses in our home. Becca had a virus for 2 weeks, was healthy for 2 days, then both of the girls got a cold. (I had Becca's virus in there, too.) They recovered from that, and then both of them threw up yesterday. This morning, my husband had to stay home from work because he had a stomach bug. And something is going on with Becca- she has been crying pretty much non-stop for the last two days.


When my husband picked up our mail yesterday, there was a bill from my cell phone company. Somehow I managed to go over my 500 minutes by 362 minutes. Ouch! I'm still trying to figure out my plan, and how to use it best. We don't have a land line right now, so all of our communication is done via our cell phones. This bill is a double whammy for me, though. Not only does it require money that we don't have at the moment, but it also means that I will be missing out on the conversation that has been helping me get through this move.


We've been feeling like we're just getting worn down. Like we're in a real life game of dodge ball, and someone is flinging everything they have at us, trying to get us out of the game.


It's hard.


But it's not hopeless.


I was reading the book of Philippians yesterday, and was extremely encouraged by what I read. Philippians was written by Paul- it is a letter that he wrote while he was in prison. And it is all about joy.


A letter written while a man was in prison.

And it was a lesson in joy!


(My thoughts about joy v. happiness were started when I read Earen's blog a few months ago. She talked about the difference between happiness and joy. Her thoughts have been rolling around inside my head for the last few months, and have finally found a place to take root.)

The commentary in my Bible says that happiness is based on 'happenings', whereas joy is based on Christ.

It also says that joy is one of the things that differentiates Christians from non believers. And that non believers often look to Christians, to see how we handle struggles. Do we handle them the same as everybody else, or do we handle them like people who believe in a big God?

Right now, I am struggling to be happy. My circumstances at the moment are scary, unsure, and are wearing me down. Pretty much everything in my life is up in the air at the moment, and it is hard to find rest.

But I have joy.

When I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, I chose joy. Unfortunately, it has taken me a long time to claim that joy. To understand it, and let it shape me.

That is the choice I make now.

I choose joy. I choose not to let my circumstances steal my joy. I choose to find my joy in Christ. I know that this is a choice that I will have to make over and over each day. But I believe that God IS big. And that He will take care of me. He will make a way. I will cling to joy.

Thank you, my bloggy friends, for your support, encouragement, and prayers during this crazy time in my life. Your sweet, encouraging comments have meant the world to me, and it is extremely uplifting to know that you are remembering me and my family in your prayers. You all are a great reminder to me of how wonderful God is, and I thank Him for the blessing that you are to me!