Joy

I love the word "Joy".  Really, I do.  I used to wish my name were Joy.  It is a word that looks pretty, sounds nice and encompasses deep meaning.  But really, how do you define joy?  It is more than just a moment.  It is deeper than a happy feeling.  What is it?  How do you achieve it?  How do you hold onto it?  Can we claim to be joyful even in the midst of an unhappy circumstance?  Hmmm.... do I have you pondering all this yet?

I am currently reading The Disciple's Joy by Michael W. Foss.  I recommend it!  As I was reading even just the very first chapter I kept coming across some great quotes and thought-provoking remarks.  I decided I would just put together a post with some of those beginning quotes and see what comments you might have on them.  Here we go...

"Joy is not the same thing as being happy.  Our experience of happiness is a mere echo of true joy.  Being happy is a very temporary reaction to present life circumstances.  Happiness is transitory -- it arises and falls aways as our circumstances change."

"Joy breaks through the realities of our present situation, reframes the present situation in the light of God's infinite grace and love, and enables us to live both trustingly and confidently through whatever circumstances life brings our way."

" Faith takes our moments of both happiness and sorrow, collects them and arranges them into a worldview that sees God's hand in all things.  Therein is joy."

"Joy transforms our experiences of personal pain to purpose."

"Joy integrates the present into a much larger vision of life as a whole."

See what I mean?  Do those quotes speak to you as they do to me?  I am anxious to finish reading this book and to better understand where he is going with all this.  Mike and I will be attending a workshop by this author and I think it will be a good one!  I will let you know more about it later.  In the meantime, I'm getting back to my Kindle edition of it.  I have more reading to do!