“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us.”
-Henri J.M. Nouwen
-Henri J.M. Nouwen
11 Thoughts Shared:
Thanks for sharing about joy, in the Lord, it is very encouraging.
Almost 7 years ago...when we were struggling with issues and problems with our oldest daughter, my heart truly felt as if it had lost ALL JOY. But then I discovered something. Joy is not from without...it'f from within. I read this by Frederick Buechner, "Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes."
I stopped. Right then. I stopped thinking that my joy came from my circumstances. A few short months later, our first "joyous boy" in the form of a grandson was born. Right before December 25th.
I don't know why I rambled Melanie. I just had you on my heart. Thanks for reminding me of JOY.
Love you much! Have a blessed day!
I enjoy quotes like this, those that are so true and really make you think.
I thought of you yesterday when I was browsing an internet site that sells jewlery. They had one bracelet called the Fruit of the Spirit. Each color stone represented a different fruit. http://www.sharehisstory.com/
God bless!
Thanks--I love this quote!
Beth@TheAccidentalPharisee
That's so right... I must choose joy every day. Thank you for the reminder.
Blessings
That is a great quote.
Thanks for sharing!
Have a great day!
Cheryl
Thanks for sharing that quote, Melanie. I just love it - it is so very true. Some days JOY is a choice we have to make. :)
That is good, and it definitely is a choice! You can have joy in the midst of chaos and suffering... if you chose too!
Blessings!
Melanie, I JUST learned TODAY how to "follow" some-one's blog. Isn't that little widget thingy the coolest thing? (I'm SOOOO SLOW!) I still have some updating to do on it.. but I at least got it started today.
It's been a LONG and busy day.. our 10 year old hurt his hand over the weekend. The swelling wouldn't go down so I decided to take him to a doctor. Would you believe he broke a bone in his hand? I'd never heard of such! (I'm going to try to post a couple of pictures of him wearing his cast tomorrow)
I'll talk with you soon.. =-)
LOVE YOU!
It's silly to think that we, at times, would choose anything else. But we do... and although it's our choice, we then wonder where our joy has gone. This is a great quote... a great reminder as to why we CAN choose joy.
What a great quote! This is a lesson I have had to learn in the fire of life. I am so thankful God never gives up on us!
I just found your blog. I will definitely be back!
Take care,
Alicia
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