Search for Joy

This blog is the start of a new beginning for me. I was reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I was inspired by it to try my hand at something new. So blogging it is. I may turn out to be a total failure, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
Anyway, lately I've not been feeling too joyful, particularly at work, and I think I need a perspective shift. The author of the Happiness Project wants to be happier, but I want to take it a step further and be more joyful. What's the difference between happiness and joy, you say?
"Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy," according to Wikipedia.
Joy is:
a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires  (m-w.com).


So the definitions here aren't much help, I see. 
So if I do a little word study using my study Bible, I turn to James 1:2 "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy." (New Living Translation). Say what??? An opportunity  for joy? Meaning it's not going to be handed to me?  (Please note the sarcasm here.)  Happiness seems to be dependent on circumstances, while joy is something we choose.  Furthermore, Christ says in John 15:10-11,"When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in His love. I have told you this  so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" Choosing to obey Christ brings joy. 


The purpose of this blog, if I stick with this, will be to actively seek out and be filled with joy, no matter my circumstances.

With each post, I will write about something that brings me joy, even if it is silly. 

The feeling of clean sheets when you have gone to bed. It makes me feel like a kid all over again when my mother would tuck me into bed. Clean sheets give me a feeling of security. You can almost smell the clean.
I'd had a very long day of work , and of course it was my first day back from vacation. All the problems I'd left behind were still there when I got back, the biggest of which is that I really don't like what I'm doing for work. My boss is great, I get along with my coworkers, I just don't like the work itself. Which means that every day I'm going in with a great feeling of dread. I am trying to find a new job, but that's going to be a process. So those clean sheets at the end of the day were awesome.