Wednesday, October 2, 2024:
Immersing in Joy (morning)
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Pondering Point
You have a joy-focused bible verse each day. Why? To help connect this wonder of brain science with your faith life – and see this re-wiring as the handiwork of God who “wired us” for joy.
One user describes the benefit of this God-design as “living at the speed of joy – a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work in our lives.
Pray aloud
Holy Spirit, build in me the foundational fruit of love, joy, and peace. Add to that the other fruit of patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I desire to bear such fruit for God.
Five Minutes
Use your GO TO JOYS and ANTICIPATED JOYS to fill a 5-minute window. Remember: use an alarm. If necessary, review the explanation.
Read the identity in Christ
statement aloud
In Jesus, we are people who display the Spirit’s fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Closing Prayer
Close by giving thanks to God for these moments together.
Ask Him to bless the upcoming day, then…
GO – in JOY, with JOY and anticipating JOY.
Remember, the goal is to focus on joy daily, whether in one, two or three 5-minute sessions. If you miss one (or two) in a day, don’t despair. Re-joy-ce by jumping in the next day.
Story Time
"We can reset our default emotional state to joy. This happens in our brains as a response to repeated exposure to state of gratitude. Gratitude is an on-ramp for raising joy in our lives. The Thirty-day Joy exercise is a spiritual disciple that will benefit every Christian.”Top
~ Wilder, Hendricks, Other Half of Church, page 218
Wednesday, October 2, 2024:
Sometime During Your Day
Level 3: Savoring joys of the past.
A quick reminder: Sometime-During-Your-Day Sessions are great times to share your joys with others. Learning to share joy stories (with descriptors of emotion and body sensation) is a skill that can infuse joy into myriad situations. Plan to hone your joy-sharing skills by giving and receiving joyful memories. Start with partners, but don’t limit yourself.
The midday sessions focus on joyful memories of the past. They can be as recent as last week or back to the days of childhood. Filling five minutes generally takes more than one memory. It has been compared to chewing gum. Once the flavor of the memory dissipates, move to another memory. Key words to these memories (like “Zoo Trip”) become important later to recall the joy again. For session 1, think about places that you enjoyed as a child – a farm, neighbor’s house, school, a park, grandma’s house, sledding hill, local lake, etc.
Journal Prompt:
Joyful memories involving faraway locations:
Key Words:
During these five-minute joy windows, you can sit, walk, lay back, etc. The goal is to talk about (or think) of something or someone that brings you joy. The Joy Challenge has proven scientifically to re-wire the brain, teaching it (you) to look for joy in whatever environment you happen to be in. And keep in mind that you can share your joy stories with others for your 5 minutes. It builds community and spreads the joy.
Top
Immersing in Joy (evening)
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Pondering Point
Over the next month, you will be introduced to a few books on this topic of joy and peace in the life of a Jesus-follower. Here is one. Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey show how to build habits that fill our lives with greater joy and satisfaction. The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled People is based on the latest neuroscience and attachment theory but written in everyday language. It is practical and easy to comprehend. They provide exercises and tools you can put into practice now. Joy doesn’t have to be a random experience you taste now and then. Some of the most joyful people have endured unbelievable trauma. It shares skills and habits to develop that will enhance your very quality of life.
Pray aloud
God of hope, thank You for the opportunity to deepen our joy on this disciple’s journey. Fill us with joy and peace as we trust in You, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Review
Scour the day for ANTICIPATED or SURPRISE JOYS. You are training your brain to look for joy. This builds the habit. Recall the body sensations and emotion.
This solidifies the habit. Remember: use an alarm
Read the identity in Jesus
statement aloud
In Jesus, we are people who deepen our joy (or “complete” it) by sharing it – just like we are to share love and peace and other fruit of the Spirit.
Evening Prayer
Thank God for blessing the day, ask for peaceful rest, then GO to sleep – in grateful JOY, anticipating new JOY tomorrow under His grace.