Resolutions? Goals? Or What?

It's the beginning of the new year and I've done nothing about it. Well, now, that sounds rather weird, doesn't it. I've done nothing to think about the new year. I haven't reviewed 2018. I haven't set any goals. I didn't choose a word for the year or list any resolutions.

And today I decided that I'm not going to do any of those things.

I'm not trying to be rebellious or difficult or countercultural or anything. I think to keep the finding the joy I need to let go of some pressure. And that's what goals do for me - turn on the pressure.

I've always heard that goals are a good thing and, believe me, I've worked them. I set goals in different areas of life. I make plans (and sometimes follow them). But whenever I set goals - no matter what they are or how hard I work - I always see the failures. The ways I didn't meet them.

So I have three things for 2019...things related to helping me continue to find joy. (Call them goals if you want but I'm not going to do so.)

1. I'm going to read. I have a reading target (not goal!) of 75 books this year. Will I make it? I don't know. But I'm going to read a lot and read lots of different things. Some of them may be good for me but some will be just for fun. I love to read and I'm going to do a lot of it.

2. I'm going to learn something new. I want to learn something I've never done before. I have a couple of ideas but haven't settled on anything yet. Maybe use a sewing machine and make a quilt. Maybe take lessons on a musical instrument. Maybe something else. (Not skydiving!) But I want to learn something completely new and find joy in being a beginner.

3. I'm going to do something that scares me. (Again, not skydiving!) That may be write a book. It may be to preach a sermon. (Yikes!) It may be something else entirely. But I want to push myself a little harder, beyond my comfort zone, and find joy in just trying.


Today's Joy: Skip the goals and try something new.

A Child's Perspective

I find it easy on Sundays to see joy. Each week I get to spend time with kindergartners, talking with them and learning with them. I get to hear what they are thinking. I can see them create and play and practice and learn and explore.

Today as Cindy was telling our Bible story about Joseph, she mentioned that he had 11 brothers. She asked, "Would you want 11 brothers or sisters?" The consensus was no. Then one child spoke up: "Yes. Then they could clean everything and I wouldn't have to do it."

Hmm. Good cause and effect thinking!

Laster Cindy said that Jacob gave Joseph a special coat. "He loved Joseph most," Cindy said. A child said quietly, "Uh oh."

I chuckled to myself but also thought that the child is beginning to put things together, draw conclusions, and understand implications. And I must say that "Uh oh" is the perfect response. Just look what happened later in Joseph's life!

A child was using the paint sticks, making designs on a coat shape. The child wanted to use every color we had. Opening and using a pink color, he remarked: "Oh...this is HOT pink!"

I love to see their thinking and the way they bring their own observations and experiences to the new things they encounter.

Lastly, a child was drawing on the white board: "Guess what I'm drawing?" I made a few (ridiculous) guesses. The answer: "God."

"Wow," I said, "I can't wait to see it." Later the child called me over and asked me to take a picture. (See above.) There was God...amongst the stars.

I love listening to children's thinking and seeing them grow.

Today's Joy: Seeing things through a 5-year-old perspective

Little Moments

I'm an indoor guy. I like to read and write and not sunburn so I stay indoors more than I do stuff outdoors. But I do like to watch things outdoors.

My desk sits in front of a window and that window overlooks our backyard. Behind our fence is a wooded area. I often look out over this area as I'm "writing" and "thinking." And sometimes little moments of joy appear.

I saw a beautiful blue bird sitting among the empty brown branches. I don't know where he came from; he's the only one I've seen in months. But the bright colors reminded me that even in the starker times, color can be found.

Mostly I see squirrels. They bound along the tops of the fences. They leap from tree to ground to tree again. Sometimes they romp alone and other times they have fierce games of chase and tag. They appear in all shades of brown or gray and a few even look black. I know they are working to survive each day - but what they do often looks like they are enjoying themselves while they do it. That's what this journey of joy is all about for me. Seeing the bright spots in the journey, not missing the joys as I move along each day.

I love having a window in my office. Seeing the sun or the rain (or sometimes the snow). Seeing leaves fall and squirrels romp. Watching for the robins to return in the spring. Looking out on the world that God created reminds me that those little moments of joy can appear at any time. Don't miss them.

Today's Joy: The little moments in nature that make me smile

More Than Enough

Is it difficult to find joy in EVERY situation? When difficulties come, it can be challenging to see the joy, but that's when God makes Himself more known and we can find the joy that is in Him if in nothing else.

But it can also be challenging to find the joy in the mundane. Today I worked through the stack of mail that had built up on my desk over the past couple of weeks. It's one of my "favorite" times, when I pay everyone, when all those bills come due.

God has made Himself known to us this past year in this regular task. Each month we have enough - more than enough - to pay what we owe. We have lacked for nothing. I think back more than a year ago when we needed a car...and we found one just right for us at the just right price. We have received surprise gifts when we needed them (and even when we didn't).

And today, as I was transferring money online and writing checks, I received a call with a new assignment - additional work that will pay for our future needs. God is the God of more than enough. His grace superabounds over sin and over selfishness. Even in times of uncertainty, He never fails. He is more than enough.

Today's Joy: I have what I need...and even more.

Take a Breath

I've been a freelancer for a while now. It's still hard for me to shake the thought of working 8 to 5 - or a reasonable facsimile of that schedule. In my mind, I need to get up, eat breakfast, and jump into work. I end up working a variety of hours at a variety of times but still feel like I'm shirking if I'm not working in the middle of the day.

Today I decided to give myself time. I slept in a little late. I took my time through the morning routines. I watched a favorite show and even had a nap. Today I found joy in time for rest - literal and figurative.

God has been teaching me all during 2018 about rest. A key verse for me has been Matthew 11:28. If Jesus calls for us to rest in Him. I have not learned as much about rest as I could. I'm still keeping this verse as a focus for this year. I'm learning to give my anxiety to Him - to rest my mind on Him instead of worrying about things.

But I have not always been as good about resting physically. If I take any time off from working, I still think about it or feel guilty about it. Today I felt like I had to just stop. I didn't approach my computer until this evening. I didn't think about work or feel guilty about not working at that moment. I want to be responsible and to fulfill my work assignments. But I also want to enjoy the season I'm in right now. It's a freelance season - a season when my time is flexible. I want to rest in where God has me and what God has called me to be at this moment. I will enjoy and not put additional stress on myself. (And I will meet those deadlines!)

Today's Joy: Rest - and don't stress about it.

Source of Joy

Something I've noticed in the past few months - my attitude, based on feelings, can change quickly. I can feel happy and relaxed and connected...and then that's easily derailed by an off-hand comment or a perceived slight or an inconsiderate driver. I set off on this journey in January with high hopes and good intentions. And yet, here it is only the second day, and I began to wonder if it would really be possible to find joy each day.

Last night I read something that caused me to fret. I thought about it last night and again this morning. I put it away and refocused. I laughed and joked with Cindy and began feeling more upbeat again. Then something else careened in and brought me back into a less joy-filled state.

I thought about this and about my finding-joy journey. I knew that today would be spent at home, working and so forth. So I wondered where I would connect with joy today, where would I find joy if my mind kept focusing on other things.

Then I read in my devotional materials: "You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to 'go out' in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next." (Oswald Chambers)

I was hit between the eyes. (He often hits me there so I'll pay attention.) Joy isn't something I encounter or manufacture. Joy is in God. (I know this but God has to reteach me all the time.) If God is present, joy is present. I don't look for something to give me joy or help me achieve joy; I look to Someone for that.

I kept reading, this time in Psalms 107. I found these verses already highlighted for me: "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a murmur, and the waves of the sea were hushed. They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet. Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for." (Psalm 107:28-30)

We call to God. He stills the storm (around us or in us). We rejoice! He guides us to our destination.

Today's Joy: Not in circumstances but in the one who holds those circumstances.

Joy in the New

I like new things. There's something exciting and, yes joyous, opening up something for the first time.  What I like most is new office supplies. I don't know why but I love going into the office supply store and browsing. I enjoy opening up a new notebook with all the clean pages and using a new pencil with its sharpened point and smelling those new crayons as I slide open the lid. So many possibilities to fill the blank pages and wear down the crayon tips. So many ways the pencil can get used down to a stub. There is joy in the new.

Today is a brand new day. I know that there's nothing particularly different on this day - just a turn of the calendar. But January 1 seems the start of something new, full of possibilities. What great things could be done or discovered or explored in this new year!

I think we could even refocus that down further. Each day is a new gift, full of possibilities. Each day we open our eyes, God has given us a new gift to be used to glorify Him and to learn more about Him.

Today's Joy: A new day - how will I write on it?