I’ve been inspired by some stories from a couple friends lately, and I made a calendar for you that contains 31 days of joy. Although I have believed that joy is very different than happiness, my thoughts are being challenged. I always thought that the biblical definition of joy is a state of being that is not changed by external circumstances. However, I’ve recently discovered that biblical joy and happiness are more tied together than I originally thought. To read more about that, I hope you’ll enjoy this article by Randy Alcorn. I do believe there are both mental and personal steps we can take to make joy (and happiness) a more distinguished part of our being. In my post, “I Lost Myself When I Became a Mom,” I talk about how I feel like motherhood robbed me of my joy. You’ll have to read the post to discover my journey to re-capturing joy.
Another way I have wanted to reclaim joy as a integral part of who I am is by hanging and memorizing scriptures about joy. I made this printable for you so that you can join me on that journey. Since I recognize that joy is based on our relationship with God rather than some dramatic life change, I know that grounding myself in scripture really is the true answer.
That said, I do love the concept of the 31 Days of Joy challenge I am presenting today.
As indicated, two conversations with friends inspired this idea. The first story was told to me by one of my dearest friends. Her dad has struggled with cancer. Now his health really isn’t doing well. He is in a lot of pain. I can only imagine how hard it would be to live in chronic pain. She wanted to encourage her dad, so she wrote him a series of notes with daily challenges like the ones I’m including today. She also wrote out encouragement from the Bible.
My second friend is a survivor of abuse. You can watch her testimony on YouTube. If you have abuse in your history, you’ll be encouraged by her story of hope and healing. I’m inspired by her strength in sharing with the hopes of helping others that have been impacted by the horrendous burden of abuse. Part of her journey included a counselor who encouraged her to do positive acts that inspire happy moments.
These two stories came to me within days of each other, and I knew immediately I wanted to create a 31 Days of Joy printable for my audience to utilize in their own lives. I hope these happy moments paired with some of the joy scriptures I’ve shared in the past begin or continue a journey to grasp onto joy and make it a character quality that helps define you.
31 Days of Joy
I am made a free printable joy calendar for you. Now, if you are type A – don’t panic. You don’t need to do everything verbatim. Day 1 may not be a Sunday. I know some of your heads might be exploding right now. If there’s an activity that wouldn’t bring you joy then make up something else that is more your style. I really am sorry for those whose brains really like to follow the rules. There really are no rules. Just do something that makes you smile each day. Help others to do the same. It’s that simple. Let me know about your journey to joy.
I believe part of finding joy is developing a sense of gratitude. Please visit my character building series for ideas of how to teach kids about thankfulness. Also visit my friend’s site, Sunny Day Family, to discover your a beautiful, printable gratitude journal she created. .
