Seeking Joy (Who’s in?)

Peace 1 Minute

And in the end, I found my tribe…and strength…and joy.

My Canadian blogger friend Dave left me the message above on my post last week, and I found myself Googling James 1:2.

Dave would know a thing or two about trials, having undergone two kidney transplants. I wondered, but didn’t ask, if his group experiment happened as he waited for that second kidney earlier this year. I copied and pasted the scripture into my iPhone notes and replied:

And he responded once more:

Oh dang! So now I can’t keep the joy to myself, Dave? You mean, I have to seek it and share it with others and coerce them to do the same? I mean, that takes some vulnerability, Dave!

Of course, I didn’t say any of that. Instead, I took Dave’s challenge and texted my like-minded, elementary-school besties: Pamela, Starla, and Denise, my friends for forty-plus years, whom I voted most likely to play along. Their words in turn conveyed varying degrees of enthusiasm in no particular order:

“It’s going to be a hard month, but I will do it with you.”

“I thought that was why God made wine? To find joy in the struggles.”

“Count it all Joy! Oh boy…this is tough. I will write it on a sticky on my desk.”

And in the end with some arm twisting, I found my tribe…and strength…and JOY. Ya’ll, my life is not without problems. Am I seeking joy? Um, yeah. Do I intentionally surround myself with good energy? Absolutely.

Paul from Lightly Seared on the Reality Grill shared these four minutes of pure JOY:

By the way a recent survey has named Belgium the happiest country in the EU.

Life is not trial free, and our struggles strengthen us. May you seek and find JOY in your challenges.

Published by Crystal Byers

When I was young, my dad would always say, "Crystal, you can choose your attitude." One day I chose to believe him.

Published

31 thoughts on “Seeking Joy (Who’s in?)”

  1. Gratitude is the attitude. Instead of weeping for what we do not have, we need to be thankful for what we do have, no matter how small or insignificant. You are right Crystal, keeping this attitude is always tougher, as we go into the dark days of winter, but, then there is the pretty snow. Cheers. Allan

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  2. I hope this month for you will be eye opening. I actually have had 3 kidney transplants, 1986, 1987, and 2019 by the way. I hope this tribe can get together and encourage and share once a week. There will be weeks, when obstacles will come, maybe quite yucky so to speak, but that’s the cool part. When those happen and you count them as joy, you see and handle the difficulty differently inside and out. I hope the sharing helps each of you during the month.

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  3. Sounds like a challenging month for you with everything…work? family? transportation?
    You will persist. Here is an old army saying I like: “If you find yourself in a fair fight, you did not properly prepare.” Most of us have no idea of the battles each week until we are in them.

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  5. I love that scripture….I try, but yet, it’s hard. Right when that cloud starts to engulf me, and those 2 cement blocks are placed on my shoulders, I say, “no, not today!” I say, “Alexa, play Joe Walsh.” I put some lipstick on and I head out the door, thinking, I can walk, I can can see, I have a dependable car and I say, “life is what you make it! Now, get your glad rags on and COUNT IT ALL JOY! In all things, be specific and always thankful.
    Thank you for the reminder. Good read……
    Love you mucho 😍
    DanaNanaNinaMom

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    1. Thank you, Alaedin! I can only imagine seeing the Sound of Music on the big screen. It seems like I watched it once a year on TV growing up. Those songs are some of my favorite things. ❤️

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    1. Aww! Thanks so much! Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see my great niece sing a church, and the lyrics went like this, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God has done…” I keep remembering those words, and counting it all. Happy Sunday!

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  9. I find that the practice of bringing Joyful attention to be one that greatly increases my sense of being grounded. So everything in the bittersweet experiences of life can be seen as joyful. Thanks for posting this.
    Bryan

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  10. I’m glad I stumbled upon this post. My teacher / counselor friends in the Texas Panhandle have been talking about gratitude lately and looking for ways to lift each other up, so I’m totally stealing this idea! Thanks!

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    1. You’re so welcome. I’m from the OK panhandle originally and just drove through last week. I’m always amazed how the messages show up when I need them, and happy I can be the source for others.

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  13. Hi Crystal, just up in the middle of night thinking and was rereading this post. I hope your month was filled with joy, and your gal pals also had an amazing month.

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    1. I appreciate the extra thought and the re-visit, Dave! Last summer was a little rough, but I’ve hit a patch of much joy! Thanks for checking. Wishing you continued joy, too!

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  14. Pingback: Dear Reader, Thank you! – Faith + Gratitude = Peace + Hope

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