I am so happy to let you know that I am going to try something new with my blog. And if all goes well with it and I can keep up, lol, it could work into even more exciting and fun things. So starting today I will be posting daily, yes daily. This will be your little daily dose of spiritual and/or motivational content. Each day I will focus on various scriptures, quotes, motivational talks, etc. It shouldn’t take you more than 3-7 minutes to read. This one may be a bit longer because I want to explain why I am doing this. I would love to have your feedback on things that you would like help with. Or things that you have questions about that you would like me to study and share. Or maybe things that I have posted in the past that you would like more of. And then we will just walk this path together and hopefully it leads us all to somewhere great!
As you may know if you’ve followed me long enough, I LOVE journals! I have several. Gratitude journals, scripture journals, personal journals, mental health journey journals, my favorite-things-I’ve-come-across-that-I-want-to-remember journals.
The funny thing is that they each have their purpose. But right now they pile up in my home and no one gets to read them. I really think that they can be of benefit to more than just me.
So on to today and this week’s ponderings. JOY!
It’s so mysterious the way the Lord works. I am continually amazed at how He threads and weaves patterns into our lives and increases our faith by the experiences that we are allowed to have. As I have been preparing my upcoming blogs this past week (because I have to be at least a few days ahead :)), and have been studying joy, I have had placed in my path too many coincidences to count as coincidences. I have been shown, taught, or filled with joy through various avenues. Whether it be through a quote or scripture that I have come across on social media etc., an act of service, or a talk that someone gave in church. Even in a book that was recommended to others through a story on Instagram. I love to see the Lord working in my life and in others. He truly wants us to have this joy that feels our souls even in times of trial and difficulty. I hope that you can find some of that joy today!
Something you should also know about me is that I am a thinker and a ponderer and a lover of learning, and I ask God a lot of questions. What I know is that He always finds a way to give me the answers. Sometimes they come soon and sometimes they take longer. And to be honest, there are some that I am still waiting on the answers. But here’s the thing, I KNOW that God loves me and I KNOW that He loves you too. And if you ask, He has promised that you will receive.
Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Doctrine and Covenants 88:63
He wants the best for us He wants us to be happy and above that He wants us to have JOY! He wants to bless us and He will meet us where we are and show us the way.
JOY! There is a difference between happiness and joy. I want you to ask yourself, what makes joy different than happiness for you?
Ponder on that, and today I want to share a story that comes from the Book of Mormon. I’m not going to share the whole story here because I want you to go and read all of Alma 26 it is SO good!
This is the story of Ammon and his brethren who went to preach to the lamanites and converted many souls to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ammon is expressing the joy he feels. He states in 26:8. Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.
Here Ammon is expressing his joy for the conversion of many of the Lamanites. In fact he is so bold in his joy that his brother chastises him for boasting. Ammon explains in V.11-12
11 … I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.
12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
and then further down in v. 36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people.
Yes my friends, we have an awesome God who can bring so much joy! He is mindful of our daily struggles but if we put our focus and trust in Him we can find that kind of joy.
I also did a little research on Joy which we will get more into as the week progresses. However, if you look joy up in the dictionary it says that it is an emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Some synonyms for joy are; bliss, comfort, satisfaction, wonder, gladness, solace, treasure, elation, glee, delight, cheer, gaiety, gratification. And these are just a few.
I asked my husband what he thought the difference was between joy and happiness, he explained that joy is so much more! It envelops you, it’s encompassing, it pushes everything else away and consumes you in the most positive way. I loved that so much! In short, happiness is fleeting, an experience that comes and goes. But joy is eternal, everlasting.
I have experienced that true unfiltered joy when I had each of my babies. There is just nothing like that feeling of being so joyful that you feel like you might burst! Holding that miracle in your arms for the first time, snuggling that tiny nose. And counting all 10 fingers and toes. Having them snuggle into your chest and fall asleep. And oh the smell of a newborn baby! The feeling, that bond, is like nothing else in this world and it goes on and on as they grow, (even when they sometimes drive you crazy, haha).
There are a lot of other ways and times that joy is developed and grows and we’ll talk about it a lot more this week. As you go about your day, ask yourself what brings me true joy, the kind that goes on and on? And then take a minute to record it somewhere… maybe in a new pretty journal 😉 so you can read about that experience next time you are having a down day. That’s it for today! Make it a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow!
XO Wendy
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