I choose joy

I consider myself to be a realist.

At times the glass is half full.  Other times it is half empty.  And most of the time?

It just is.  The glass has water in it.

That being said, my roommate and I often talk what it looks like to live with joy, with hope.  It can be a struggle for both of us.

I know that I live with hope.  I know Christ.  He is my Savior and someday I will get to see Him face to face, in a place that is without the sin that has so corrupted this world.  And when I live in light of that?  Hope is easy.  Joy is easy.

But most days I forget about that truth.

I instead let life get in the way.  How will bills get paid while I am in school? Will I ever learn to trust Christ with everything? Will I ever know what it is like to have a boyfriend? be married? have children?  How will I get all my school work be done?  Will the people in my life who don't know Christ come to know Him as their Savior?  What do people think of me?  Am I too fat? too dorky? too tall? too quirky?

I get lost.

And then I talk to roomie and we discuss how we should choose joy. choose hope.  choose trust.

And I have learned over the last few months of attempting to choose joy, hope, trust, that it is a moment by moment decision; a hour by hour decision; a day by day decision.

I have been reading Sarah Markley's blog off and on for a while know.  Yesterday I saw this post and decided I want to join her in a quest to choose joy.

While I don't know if I will find 100 joys in December... or if I will be able to remember to photograph those things... of if I'll even remember to blog about it... I am going to choose joy.

Today I choose joy.

I am joyful because I had a super, duper productive night last night.  I mean, the type of productiveness that meant I crossed off 5 plus things off of my must-do-this-before-the-end-semester-which-ends-on-Dec-8th list.  And it felt good.

I am joyful because I have an awesome roomie who listens, keeps me accountable and is willing to live an authentic life with me.

I am joyful because I have a great group of friends who check in on me.

I am joyful because after last night's awesome convo with the roomie, I felt the Lord lift my anxieties off of my shoulders.

How are you choosing joy today?