Every day I think about joy in one way or another. Knowing how to keep my joy bucket full and how to return to joy when upset has changed my life. Joy means “someone is glad to be with me; I’m the sparkle in someone’s eye.” Thanks to my mentor, Jim Wilder, I understand the importance of these statements and how to operate them in my life.
The easiest way for me to fill my joy bucket is by being with my grandchildren. They always light up when they see me, as I do when I see them. We laugh and play and snuggle and talk. Sometimes we have very serious talks–and we always return to joy when we mess up with each other.
Being with the ladies in my small group also brings me lots of joy. Sometimes I can’t believe how much God is doing in their lives and that I get to be a small part of it. Wednesdays are one of my favorite days.
Any time I have a chance to be with my children and/or their spouses, my joy bucket runs over. God has blessed all of us beyond words. It could seem miraculous that all 20 of us can go on vacation together, stay in one house and enjoy the week with very few negatives. I attribute that to the Lord whom all of us love and serve and walk with. One of my friends suggested we should have a reality show that followed us around on vacation to see that people can actually get along. I answered her with, “Well the fights are what they want to see on those kinds of shows, so they would not have a lot of negative action with our family–a little, but not much.”
That’s what joy means–we’re glad to be together no matter what
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Thanks for sharing. Great job! Congratulations on going public with your blog. Your words will bless many.
Love ya, Juli
Hi Barbara.
This is great! And I love the scenic picture too. I hope lots of people will read and take this all in. Thanks for all your ministry to me and others I love too.
Thanks. I will post each new one on FB so you will know. Love, B