Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day! -Henry van Dyke

Wow, couldn’t we all use a bit of immortal gladness today! I have sung this song in church many times, but never really took the time to truly listen to the words! As I write, I am thinking about what I have done today to make myself feel joyful and “unfolding my heart to the sun like a flower” seemed to have missed my “to do” list.  No wonder being joyful today didn’t come so easily.

That’s the thing about joy, sometimes we expect the feeling of joy to just wash over us unconsciously~ and when it doesn’t happen, we miss out on the blessing. We need to seek out our joys in life! We need to make time to unfold our hearts to the sun and let the joy fill us up with the light of day. Get active in your quest for a joyful life! Go after it with great expectation and unwavering determination!! Joy is yours for the taking.  Just look around and start celebrating your life one tiny joyful moment at a time.

Whether you are washing the dishes, paying your bills, or shuffling your kids off to school…seek joy while you do it! I am off to joyfully throw in another load of laundry before I head out to the studio for a joyful day of work! What are you going to do???