One Word 2013: Joy

 Hello 2013!

I have 4 grandchildren (3 boys, 1 girl) and one grandbaby due any time now. I'm surrounded by bright and happy piano students. I play music at a skilled nursing facility and teach music to a kindergarten class. What I am finding is that many folks are concerned about the future and a bit discouraged with life's challenges. For this new year, I am asking the Lord for joy because the joy of the Lord is my/our strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Wordless Wednesday

 
From Webster's Dictionary:

joy is a noun, a feeling of great pleasure and happiness : tears of joy | the joy of being alive.
• a thing that causes joy : the joys of Manhattan.
verb [ intrans. ] poetic/literary
rejoice : I felt shame that I had ever joyed in his discomfiture or pain.
DERIVATIVES
joyless adjective
joylessly adverb
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French joie, based on Latin gaudium, from gaudere ‘rejoice.’

For me, I wake up to a beautiful sunrise almost every day, looking eastward from my 9 foot sliding glass doors. I have a beautiful view of a gorgeous valley with a large mountain in the background. Any time of the day, I can walk about our 2 1/2 avocado grove. I am blessed and to have a bunch of beautiful grandchildren gives me great joy!

"There are quite a few biblical expressions of joy. One of them is rejoicing, which often includes dancing as when King David escorted the Ark of the Covenant to its place in the Tabernacle years after it had been kidnapped in a battle. Shouting and loud noisy celebration also frequently accompany joy. So does singing and skipping. Perhaps the most famous expression of joy was when the prenatal John the Baptist "leapt" in his mother when she first met the pregnant mother of Jesus.

Read more: What Does the Bible Say About Joy? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4577528_what-does-bible-say-joy.html#ixzz2GlYllvDQ

So, it's wonderful to have joy when all is well with parents and children, or our avocado harvest comes in abundantly. Having confidence in your salvation brings joy and victory over your enemies, for sure. But then, there are times when life seems full of burdens and taxing times. We feel sad, discouraged and sometimes defeated.

I went to the store (Fresh & Easy) and giggled with a sales lady (at the banana aisle) reassuring her with hope for the future, possible job loss. I guess this small grocery chain may be going out of business in April, so this gal was concerned if she should be looking for a new job. I told her to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down when I see her again and we both laughed. In that moment of joy, it seemed like a small world to be encouraging a worried soul with a giggle and a caring way to share hope for tomorrow.

Psalm 27:6 - "Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD." (NIV)

Psalm 97:11-12 - "Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name." (NIV) 

Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (NIV) 

For more information about choosing your word, visit One Word 365 and One Little Word 2013. For a pretty custom One Word button, visit Melanie at Only A Breath!

Proverbs 15:13 - "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." (NIV)

Proverbs 15:23 - "A man finds joy in giving an apt reply - and how good is a timely word!" (NIV)

Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (NIV)

Isaiah 35:10 - "And the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." (NIV)

Isaiah 55:12 - "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (NIV)

Nehemiah 8:10 - "Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'" (NIV)

John 16:22 - "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.". (NIV)    

Wishing you Joy this new year!   






 “You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." C. S. Lewis

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