Choose Joy

Give yourself permission to rest today and often, so you can have the strength to choose joy when life’s challenges dares you not too.

Henry Nouwen says….

Joy is essential to the spiritual life. Whatever we may think of or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit. Jesus reveals to us God’s love so that his joy may become ours and that our joy may become complete. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing—sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death—can take that love away.

Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God’s love for us. . . .

Pastor Mike from FCBC NYC summed Nouwen up nicely….

You don’t always have to be busy.

Slow down, feel the sun and allow rejuvenation to wash over you so that you can fight another day.