JOY 2009

I had dinner with a few friends a couple weeks ago and presented to them an idea. Let me start by saying I am not one to journal, keep a diary or blog (that often), but something stirred on the inside of me to begin this journal on JOY.

I purchased a small journal for each of them and typed out the guidelines. I inserted the guidelines on the inside front cover for reference; here they are:

Jesus: write today some praise to our God; let Him know how much you love him.

Others: write something joyful about someone in your life. It could  be someone you just met or someone you’ve known for a lifetime.

You: write a joyful reminder of who you are in Christ. One joyful thing that you can give thanks for.

That’s it; pretty simple. Keep it simple so it does not become taxing. One or two sentences at most on each topic. I was going to insert a scripture on JOY but there are so many! I challenge you to find one you love and write it out somewhere to meditate on it.

Here’s the plan:

• Start the journal January 1st
• Find a small group that will do this together and every 30 days exchange journals. You will be blessed by what they wrote and they will enjoy reading yours.
• Write in that journal for the next 30 days and so on…
• Remember to make the entries short; just a few quick thoughts.

Whether your life is as perfect as you could have ever imagined or whether it is a struggle to find joy in anything, I believe in my heart this can be life changing. God didn’t say we would never have problems, but meditating on His grace, mercy and love will keep us filled with joy every day!

If you decide to join, send me a note letting me know. If you would like me to send you the journal we are using, send me an email with your address and I’ll send you one.

God Bless and may 2009 be filled with JOYin Christ Jesus!