This week’s Sunday Reading is about joy and gratitude. I read Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
I had a totally different book planned for this week’s Sunday Reading, but since the book was on hospitality, it just didn’t seem right for the current times. So I am waiting to talk about hospitality for a while and instead discussing gratitude and joy.
We can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we react to them.
Right now we are all dealing with plans that have been changed. School that have been canceled. Trips that have been postponed. Birthday celebrations that have been put on hold. And other important events that also have to be canceled or delayed.
In some way or another, all of use have been affected by the current situation, and there is not a lot we can do about it.
What we can do though is to choose gratitude. Even in the midst of trials and changed plans, we can choose to be happy.
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is a great reminder that we can choose joy in the midst of even the worst circumstances. It is easy to get caught up in all the negativity. But instead we should try to step back and focus on all that we do have to be thankful for.
There is always a time to grieve and to mourn what we have been through or what we have lost, but in the end, we need to focus on the positive not the negative.
The Christian life should be joyful.
Choosing to be joyful in difficult times is not easy. It is hard. We have to make a conscience choice to be cheerful. Nancy Leigh DeMoss helps remind us to be appreciative and bright even during the challenging times.
When we thank God and others, bitterness and entitlement are replaced with joy and the humility.
To not be joyful and to choose to not be grateful is costly. It drains the joy out of life and tends to make us bitter and proud. But when we do choose joy and gratitude, we are more mindful of the things around us and the gifts we have received from God.
In the midst of the current situation, let’s try to find the good. Be thankful for what we do have. Give thanks for those that are working hard to serve us and others.
Right now life is challenging for a lot of people.
Small businesses are suffering. Grocery store workers are working long hours serving customers that are not always the happiest. Those in the medical field are working hard to care for the sick and to prepare for the what may come in the weeks ahead. And there are so many other examples.
Instead of focusing on the bad and fear, let’s focus on the good.
Be thankful for those grocery store workers stocking the shelves.
Give thanks for those in the medical field working extra long hours serving others.
Support small business if you can.
Enjoy a slower pace schedule.
Spend time with your kids.
Read those books sitting in your TBR pile.
Tackle that cleaning project that you have been meaning to do.
Find ways to serve, give, and catch up if you can.
If you need help finding joy in the midst of the current life situations, Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss might be just the book you need right now!