Choose Joy

"...One of the most powerful mood changers God has ever taught me was to open my mouth and say "I choose joy. I may not feel it, but God has appropriated it and I choose it." " Beth Moore

I was working on my Sunday school lesson today and ran across this in some of the literature we are using.

There are a lot of things in our lives we get to choose. Our spouses, where we will live, our occupation, our job, our school and education, and the list goes on. And each of these decisions in turn affect our future.

But none of these affect our day to day as much as the decision to choose joy. Joy is not happiness. Joy is not a change in circumstances but a change in our perception. How many times has my day been horrible because it started with griping at the kids and being irritated (probably irrationally so) at my kids and their choices? Or my spouse? More times than I can count, I have let others choices affect my mood and day.

So starting tomorrow, I plan to start my day the way Beth Moore recommended, by choosing joy. Will you join me?