Joy Let Loose

March 1, 2018

How to Choose Joy Today and Stand Up in the Fire

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As I sit and wait for my son to complete his state testing this afternoon, I’m pondering how to choose joy today, and stand up in the fire. Because this has been a challenging season for our family as we have been walking with our kids through some of the growing pains of developing an adult faith. 

Choose Joy Stand Up In Fire

Sometimes days are difficult and conversations are hard. And other days are encouraging and conversations show fruit. But everyday our goal is the same: more than anything in the world, we desire that our children know the reality that their identity is found in Christ alone.

So today I choose  joy.

Choose Joy Today

(Sidenote: I’m wearing this pendant as I write. It’s a very helpful reminder.)

Choose Joy Pendant – The Faithful Merchant

  • To choose joy is not to be naive and pretend that struggles don’t exist.
  • To choose joy is not to play happy all the time.
  • To choose joy is not to hide from challenging circumstances or decisions.
  • To choose joy is not to roll over and allow defeat.
  • To choose joy today I stand on the truth that the joy of the Lord will be my strength.

And beyond that, I choose to raise a banner over our kids’ heads and declare that the joy of the Lord will be their strength as well, all the way to victory. Because He has rescued them from the domain of darkness, and transferred them to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)

No matter the hurdles they face, no matter the lies they hear and believe, no matter the defeating statements they rehearse, the enemy has been defeated! The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8b)

Battle Armor

Today as a parent, I am wearing battle armor. And God’s joy is strengthening me to declare these things: 

Download the printable here!

Stand Up in the Fire

I love how God works. Because in the middle of a tricky season for me, He whispered reminders: He’s got our kids. His eye is on them. He calls them by name. And this week His reminder came through my own words. An article I wrote almost a year ago was published just yesterday with Annesley Writers. It chronicles a huge revelation I received through my daughter.

I read it and I heard my inner voice calling me to trust Him further. For I can stand up in the fire, and so can my children. So if you’d like to hear what it’s like to choose joy from another vantage point, head on over to Annesley to read “Stand Up in the Fire.” 

Stand Up in the Fire – Annesley Writers

My prayers are with you and your families today. Prayers that you will choose joy today and stand up in the fire.

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Family, Journey
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January 17, 2017

Seize the Moment (Be a Hummingbird)

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A few weeks ago I initiated  The Morning Joy Challenge. I hope many of you have chosen to seize the moment, and have begun to experience a fresh perspective with the rise of the sun. (Please feel free to leave comments below about your journey with that!)  Just what does the dawn of the day hold for each of us? We need to begin well, of course, but we also need to move on into the day well if we are going to truly be joy journeying.

Frantic Pace

I’ll just come right out with a confession: Mornings aside, I’ve lived too much of my life at a frantic pace, in body and in mind. (Have you ever watched a hamster run around his cage? Across the back, into the tunnel, out of the tunnel, on the wheel, in the food dish, over his brother, back on the wheel…).

I’ve been a lot like him. I’ve been a hamster.

And living life at a frantic pace has not been good for my soul. It has not been beneficial to my marriage, or my kids, or my friendships, or my vocation. And let’s not even talk about my housekeeping. (Incidentally, I’ve discovered a correlation between the state of my mind and the state of my house. Sometimes it’s actually the clutter around me that suddenly notifies me of my pace. It pays to be observant of these things, my friends.)

But I love to work and to be productive and efficient and good at what I do. So is it wrong for me to stack up on responsibilities and move deftly through them all the time? Well, no. And yes. It comes down in part to motivation. Does my pace of life honestly reflect a joyous engagement with the Lord and the imprint I can leave on this world? If so – awesome! I should keep it up. This world needs energetic and passionate people tirelessly bringing His Kingdom to bear in homes, in the marketplace, and in neighborhoods. I believe God has placed within me a desire to do good things with excellence, and it’s important to lean into God-given wiring.

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Posted in: Journey, Simplify, Soul care
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