Inspiration: 

 

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
–Buddha 

Joy on a Rainy Day

by Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Intern Minister  

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Inspiration: 

 

Spirit of gladness, open my heart to delight.

Surprised by Joy…and Mud!

I am not a spontaneous person by nature. I do recognize that, from time to time, I need a vacation from all the planning and preparing. These breaks tell me that the earth doesn’t stop spinning if I watch a little baseball before doing the dinner dishes. They help me see that some of my best experiences are unplanned. They remind me that I can’t prepare for every eventuality. During these breaks, I am often surprised by joy. Because it may be disguised as a muddy mess, it helps if I’m paying attention to how I’m feeling when it arrives. Sitting in the muck instead of my kayak on one Saturday, I felt free of concern for a short time, happy to be in the company of friends who could laugh with me, and glad to be part of the mess of life. Joy is something I can’t schedule or plan for – I need to be spontaneous enough to entertain it when it surprises me!

by Iris Hardin  TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

What do you work hard at for the pure joy of the accomplishment?

Live Joyfully

Why is it that we are so reluctant to show joy? At what point in our childhood, do we stop running to the front door when mom or dad comes home from work? When did we stop squealing with delight at good news, opting instead to express our joy with a calm, “well done” and a pat on the back? Why do we discredit the joy in our accomplishments, explaining our hard work away as good luck or discounting the success as less than it really is? And why is it so much easier to focus on the struggles we face in our relationships – petty jealousies, annoyances, disagreements, misunderstandings – than to focus on the joy that the relationship brings to our life?

Living a graceful and Grace-filled life requires that we not only embrace all of life’s emotions – joy, sadness, anger, happiness, anxiety, serenity – but that we share those emotions with others so that they might embrace them as well.  Negative emotions are often easily exhibited with complaints, eye-rolling, sneers, judgments and grudges. Yet joy – pure, unadulterated blissful joy – is often sedated and tempered.

by Christine Organ  TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair.
–Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

A Life Jacket of Hope

For me, hope was my life jacket as I floated in a vast sea of depression.  It is a miserable experience to float in a vast sea of depression, all on your own, no land in sight, sharks of despair circling nearby.

…Sometimes, the life jacket that holds you up seems more of a curse than a blessing.  Only once you have found your way to land are you sure that your life jacket had a purpose.  Thankfully, my life jacket, my hope, served a purpose.  My hope for a healthy future filled with love and meaning has become my reality through hard work, tenacity, and the grace of God.  For that I am profoundly grateful.

Gratitude, I believe, is hope that has evolved.  As soon as I left the ocean, I dropped my life jacket on the beach.  I no longer needed it the way I had.  But what surrounds me now and helps me navigate the earth is gratitude.  Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for my life and thankful that hope kept me afloat.

by Adam Gerhardstein  TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.
–Carl Sandburg 

Getting Out of Our Own Way Faithfully

Recently, I was on my way out the door at my local library. It was newsletter folding day, and several volunteers were out sick. I was asked to help out.

Now I pray regularly to be ready to help when asked. I had things to be done, but nothing urgent. Still, there was a moment of wrestling with the unplanned request. I stayed. I folded newsletters with my neighbors. I had a wonderful time and we all were able to go into a beautiful day sooner because of working together. It was a joy – and a moment of spiritual practice when I could transcend my expectations and plans for the day and answer the needs I met along the way. I was given the opportunity to live faithfully, to practice neighborliness and to be generous with what I had – time – letting go of my schedule that did not need to be so rigid.

by Rev. Naomi King, City of Refuge Ministries  TO READ MORE

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