I've got one word for you 2016...JOY!!

Out with the old and in with the new! Another year has come and gone. Either you're sad to see it go, or can't wait for it to get the heck out of here.  I definitely wouldn't say that 2015 was a bad year for us. I met my very first grandbaby in 2015 and that, if nothing else, made the year worth it. It was a year that went by fast. Looking back on it, I feel like it flew by while I was standing around with my eyes closed.

I didn't have any resolutions in 2015 because I honestly never follow through with them. So, what's the point in making them? I decided this year I would set goals for myself. Actual reachable goals that I can take control of and make happen. So, I was recently on my Schoolhouse Crew forum and they were talking about their one word for 2016. I had never heard of this but thought this would be perfect to go along with my goals for this year. If you were asked to focus on one word for 2016, what word would it be? I instantly knew that my word would be JOY!! The Lord has really been dealing with me lately with that word. I didn't realize until spending some one on one time with Him that I had lost every single bit of my joy. Not only has the enemy taken all of MY joy, but also the joy of people that I love dearly. That has been on my mind constantly the last 2 weeks, so when I saw the post about one word for 2016, I knew it was God really wanting me to concentrate on getting back the joy that was lost.

So, by definition the word JOY means:  a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
Some synonyms for JOY are : delight, great pleasure, joyfulness, jubilation, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, gladness, glee, exhilaration, exuberance, elation, euphoria, bliss, ecstasy, and last but not least...rapture.

Now, let me count how many of those words described me in 2015. Not a one. Sure, I had moments that gave me "feelings of great pleasure", but on a day to day basis, I had not one ounce of joy in my spirit. There's a song that my kids learned in children's church. It goes "I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!" You've probably heard it. I sure can't sing that because it's not true at all. I let so many things and so many people take my joy. I allow the devil in to steal my joy. MY joy, not his! The enemy is ecstatic when I let things upset me, and depress me. He's in the business to kill, steal, and destroy. I apparently made it even easier for him by giving in to it. I would let the little seed he planted sit and fester until I was absolutely miserable.   I'm not saying that I walked around in a black cloud 24/7, but I was not what you would call happy either. It took a lot to make me smile, because even if it was a good moment, something would remind of the festering seed of the week, and then I would be upset or angry again.  I have held a lot of grudges this year and I honestly think that's the basis for my lack of joy. It's a poison when you don't forgive someone. God's really working on me with that forgiveness word too, so maybe I need to make a list of words for 2016. We can just add that to my "Please fix me Jesus" list.

I've realized that I was choosing to allow the devil to come in and steal every bit of my happiness.
Choosing. MY choice. Instead of choosing JOY or happiness, I was CHOOSING to live my life moment to moment and letting the devil win the majority of the time.  Have you ever seen people that are just happy all the time?  I've always thought those kind of people have GOT to be fake. No one is EVER that happy! No, there really are people that are that happy.  If you are one of those people, I'm not picking on you, I've just been jealous that I can't have that kind of happiness.  The issue is, I wasn't CHOOSING to be a person that was happy all of the time.  It's really an easy choice. You can choose to have joy in your life or you can choose to be miserable. Let's just say my choices haven't been wise ones. I have to have faith and trust in God so that I can allow myself the joy and happiness that He wants for me.  He doesn't want me to be miserable and unhappy.  I mean this verse says it all!

Psalm 28:7New International Version (NIV)

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

    and with my song I praise him.

So, I've decided that I'm going to really focus on the word this year, and find my joy. I am going to really put effort into getting MY joy back and doing things that make me happy! This doesn't mean I'm going to be perfect. I will always be a work in progress, but I can do my part for MY happiness.

I'm going to start today off with the question of "What changes can I make to give me joy in my life?"  Like I said, I don't do well with resolutions so I will start the year with reachable goals.
Instead of focusing on losing weight, I'm going to just eat better. The numbers on the scale will follow or they won't. At the end of the day, I know I'm doing something to better myself, and that makes me happy.  I want to eat dinner together with my family in the evenings. No phone, no t.v. just us. I want to do more outings with the kids, even if it's just the park. I'm going to be working to try and grow my blog this year. Lucky you! I also want to try and unplug more and really get into the moment of things, and have more family time in general. The most important thing will be really relying on God for my joy. When I trust in Him, He will always be there for me.

So, this year my word, my MOTTO actually, will be to choose JOY!! I even set my alarm that goes off every morning to say TODAY, CHOOSE JOY!! It's a new day everyday.  What is your word for the year and how can you focus on it? I hope you all have a blessed and prosperous new year, and I can't wait to see what JOYOUS things it brings!

"Joy is the serious business of heaven." - C.S. Lewis