I’ve been looking for it all year, but I seem lately to be findingjoy in the unexpected by thinking outside the box. When I first started to write for Joy Let Loose, I think I tethered it to something I believed it ought to be. I’m a believer in Jesus, and I believe our joy is found in God. And I wanted everything I wrote to be a proof text of that.
God = Joy, so I thought that Joy Let Loose must be very specifically tied to Scriptural truth in the form of passages, devotions, prayers etc. I have loved every piece I have written here for you over the last year, and all of these things are GOOD.
Finding Joy in the Unexpected
But God has been nudging at me to open my peripheral vision a bit. I think He’s inviting me to pull my head out of the pages just a little, and to get outside of my mind a bit. I think He is asking me to unwrap the gift of joy that He shares through the tangible world around me, in people, laughter, health, and beauty.
And I’m wrestling with this. In fact, I’ve resisted publishing anything on Joy Let Loose for several weeks because I’m finding joy in the unexpected, and I don’t know how to tell you about it.
Please Pray?
So, dear readers, would you please pray? I want to respond well to the Lord, and continue finding joy in the unexpected by looking outside the box. I might be writing about some different kinds of things in the future. But it will be amidst the same kinds of pieces I’ve been writing all along. And this may seem bigger to me than it will for you, but I still would love your prayers moving forward.
It has been ten weeks since I launchedJoy Let Loose, and I’m so thankful for reader engagement so far! The journey to the place that joy lives, so it spills out and impacts people around us is one so many of us crave, and it is possible through Jesus Christ. Our God is a joy-giver!
At this ten week point, I re-assessed to make sure I’m on track with my writing to convey what I intend to. I decided to run a word search through Wordle to get a visual representation of what we have been thinking about over the last ten weeks together. I was pleased with the results, and affirmed that I have been remaining in the intended lane for this blog.
The Focus of Joy Let Loose
Other Places Joy Lives
Thankfully, joy is more than simply the subject of my blog. It is something I am contending for in all areas of my life. I am thankful to have opportunity to write for other venues as well, lending my voice to different aspects of life. At the end of February, one of my articles appeared with Annesley Writers, whose monthly theme was “Beauty”. I found it a challenge to write this article because it sits so close to home, and is something I tend to keep in the shadows.
You see, gains and losses have been a pattern for my whole life as I’ve struggled to be… enough. Malicious, the lie taunts me with forked tongue and tempts me to trust its razor sharp voice as it slices me open again and again. You are fat. You are ugly. You are less than. Tears sting and salt snakes its way down my cheeks and the familiar ache creeps into my jaw.
Head on over to Annesley to read this article, Steel. While you are there, please browse other authors’ writings. Because you will find that joy lives there!
Teaching Worship
Next week I have the opportunity to teach a three-day intensive course about worship to people currently pursuing ordination. This is another place joy lives for me. After all, I love the discoveries people make when they dig deep in to the theology and philosophy of corporate worship, and begin to see our patterns of worship inside the larger context of God’s Story. We need to be reminded again and again of God’s faithfulness through all of time. William White says, “We are a forgetful people. We need storytellers. We need someone to lay the drama of God’s love before us. We need to be reminded of the uncommon grace of God.:
Please pray for me and for the students I teach. Because I want God to be visible, and celebrated for all of His goodness?
Where Your Joy Lives
Some of you have been faithful readers for the last ten weeks. You’ve taken the Morning Joy Challenge, contributed ideas of Family Traditions, and begun praying the morning prayers, or memorizing Joy Scriptures. Thank you for coming along with me! Others may have stumbled on this post through Pinterest or through a variety of blogging groups I belong to. Regardless how you got here, you are on your own journey, and I’m confident it includes a desire for joy. God has made us to discover His joy, and let it loose! While I’m busy finalizing my teaching curriculum, and then pouring out to ministry students next week, I would love to hear from you!
Please Let Me Know!
What aspects of joy are you focusing on in your life?
Are there questions about the joy journey that I can address in upcoming posts?
Will you share your living joy testimony with our readers at Joy Let Loose?
Please add your voice to the comments below. I will be eager to respond!
