Joy

I've been learning a lot about JOY lately.  I find myself thinking about what "joy" looks like several times a day.  And when I'm in the Word or talking with friends -- I feel like life is on repeat....

Fullness of joy.  Joyful. Joy. Joyous. Glad.

It's just that -- never before in my life did I know how full the JOY of the Lord was, until now.  I have never felt JOY so freely, so abundantly in my soul.  I know that despite anything or everything I can find JOY -- because my soul is fat with the richness of Jesus.

Joy isn't just being happy.  Anything can make you happy.  And when you're looking for "happy" you end up looking for things like a good book, a cup of coffee, time alone, being pampered, another baby, a new couch or shoes.  These happy things are happy, indeed.  But they are not filling and satisfying.  They are, simply, little things that we have been told will make us full and feel better. 

Only Jesus can make you feel better and full.

You can't really know joy without Jesus.  

He is joy in the fullest way.  

He is joy in the most abundant way.  

He is joy in the strongest way.  

He is joy in the darkest days.  

He is joy in the brightest seasons. 

He gives us joy through His word, prayer, struggle, and tangible blessings. 

He is always willing to fill us with joy.  

And friends, it is so satisfying to be full of joy in the Lord. 

Last year was hard in a lot of ways, and joyful in so many other ways.  As I look forward to 2013, I can't help but think of how I may respond to some situations.  I think of the good that can come and the bad.  I think of what I've learned and how I've grown. I think if areas of struggle and temptations.  And at the end of each thought I am brought back to JOY.  

I just want to know joy {and peace} in Jesus.

So I will seek to make this year a joyful year. A year filled with JOY. In fact, I want to be so full of joy in the Lord that every day for the rest of my life is joyful.  Even in pain and suffering, I want to rest in the joy I have from knowing the God Most High.  

And that my goal, my "resolution" if you will, for 2013: JOY.