"Days of Joy"

I once road the Mind Bender at Six Flags 5 times in a row. It was late in the season and a cool day and not many people were in line. My son and I just kept getting back on that thing. We never laughed so much. There is not much else I remember that happened that year as clearly as that particular day. We really had fun.

The days that stand out in my mind and probably in yours too, are the days of Joy. There have been bad days too of course. The trick is to make the Joy days memorable and the bad days forgettable. Keeping our focus on the good things is what God really wants us to do.

Most people struggle all their lives to build a secure future and after it is built, the people they were building it for are off building their own. The big house they worked all their life to pay for is now too big with the children gone. Many end up selling their home and buying one about the size of the house they started out with. I’m not saying that a home and security are not important. They are! But, there are other things that should take a higher priority.
Living comfortably and joyously means living with less worry. Are you content, or contentious? When you lay down to sleep each night, are you at peace? Are your days filled with joy, or an over abundance of anxiety? Stress robs us of our joy. Worry crowds out our peace. A life of stress and worry is a life that is unpleasing not only to us but also to God.

The abundant life, which the Lord wants us to live, has little to do with the abundance of things. Somehow, man got the idea that if he wanted success and joy he had to measure up to an ideology of wealth measured in dollars and cents. However, some of the saddest people in the world are wealthy and some of the happiest people have very little.

We need to take the time needed to be happy. When our children are young, we need to spend every possible moment we can with them. I believe if it is at all possible, mothers should not work anywhere except at home with thier children and dads should spend as much time as possible at home with the children too. I realize that we have to work, but I also know from personal experience that one day those children will be grown and you will have missed the most important years of your life. The children will remember the days you spent with them and will not mind if those days were spent in a used car or a new car. There is no joy that compares to the joy of growing up with your children.

Now I have grandchildren. My grandson Taylor is 1 1/2 and my granddaughter Bailey just turned 1. I intend to spend every possible moment with them. They, like my children, are my Joy. I encourage you to find the time to spend with loved ones making lasting memories of joy filled days.

We have a great opportunity as Christians to set an example of the abundant life. After all, we are the children of God.