September 2018 Articles

Archives by Months

Spiritual Corner: Choose Joy.

Spiritual Corner: Choose Joy.

As I type this, my husband, Randy, and I are heading home from somewhat of a miniature vacation that we took to Waco, Texas and San Antonio, Texas. We haven’t had an actual vacation for just the two of us in quite some time, so this weekend was a real treat. We were both so joyful throughout the course of the trip and rarely had any disagreements. We were attentive to each other and patient. We were apologetic if we offended the other and we were filled with excitement over the smallest things. It made me wonder why our attitudes were so different on our trip versus how they are sometimes at home. I’m not saying that things at home are bad, but we are definitely more likely to argue or be less joy-filled in the midst of our normal days and routines then we were on our mini vacation. As I thought about the differences in our attitudes, I realized that a simple change in routine and scenery aided in our excitement. Also, we weren’t dealing with the stresses and exhaustion that work brings or having to observe the often-messy house. We weren’t being pestered by our never-ending to-do list or having to dwell too much on our day-in and day-out routine. I found that there is definitely a difference in a vacation and a normal day at home; after all, that is why it’s called a vacation—because you’re taking a small break from your normal responsibilities and stresses. However, even though this may be true, I refuse to accept the fact that we’re joyful on vacations and only tolerable during our daily routines of life. Here’s the thing—and it may be easier said than done—WE get to choose our attitude each day. Whether we’re strolling down the San Antonio Riverwalk or sitting at a desk grading papers, we have control over our attitude. Imagine what our life would be like if we chose to live each day with a JOYFUL attitude?! You see, WE get to choose how we speak to others, how we react to situations, how we allow incidents to impact us. We have the choice every single day to wake up and be joyful or to wake up and be miserable. We could easily choose to complain about having to go to work or we could choose to thank God that we have a job. We could choose to be annoyed by a person who is in our life or we could feel blessed that we have the ability to positively impact them for God. God wants us to choose joy each day. In fact, he commands us to choose joy, for joy is one of the fruits of the spirit, which as a Christian, we should possess. Stop for a minute and think about how living every second of your life with joy could impact your life. I’ll take a look at mine for example. If I lived every second of my life with joy, I can promise you that my husband would be more joyful as well. My students would be more joyful, my coworkers would be more joyful, even my dogs would be more joyful! The thing is…pure JOY is contagious! And we have every reason to be filled with joy for Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised again so that we can have a home with our Father in heaven! Talk about something to make you be filled with pure and rich JOY! And if we are filled with this joy, then all of those around us will begin to reap the affects of our joy. That joy will spread to them and hopefully they will find that same joy in Jesus and begin to share it as well! Then the cycle will continue on and on and on. Can you imagine if our whole community, state or even world was JOY-FILLED?! Oh what kind of world it would be to live in and oh, how people would come to know Jesus! The thing is…I learned a valuable lesson this weekend on my trip with my husband. We had a marvelous time and I believe a good vacation is always a positive thing. However, I became more aware of the fact that I am not always joyful at home or during my daily routine. I also came to the obvious realization that…I can change that fact anytime I want! So tomorrow, even though our vacation is over and I have to go back to work, I will strive to choose joy. I was blessed to be able to go on a vacation, I GET to go to work to impact students and coworkers, and I am filled with JOY because I know Jesus as my LORD and Savior. Accept this challenge with me friends and choose joy.

--Dana Alexander

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with JOY”.
--Psalm 126:3

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”.
--Galatians 5:22-23

“Do not grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength.”