Choosing Joy

This week my daughter had a few days off from her ballet training so we decided to take a quick trip to where she will be spending part of her summer for training.  We've never been to Fort Wayne, Indiana and so we decided to go.  I got someone to lead the Bible Study for me and DH took a couple of days off and following worship, Sunday, we headed out.  We were excited for a quick adventure!

We had such a fun time filled with joy.  Sunday morning as we were loading the car and getting ready for worship, I kept saying, "Today, I'm choosing JOY!  and you guys better too!!"  Every morning of the trip I said the same thing and we succeeded.

We laughed, we played, we lived and I wouldn't trade a minute of it!  Well, maybe the minute we had car trouble but that's really it.  

We had such a good time that like I do everytime we go anywhere and have fun, I decide that we need to move there.  We met interesting people.  People who seemed surprised to receive our smiles and hellos and people who were a bit strange and some who will make it into my sermon this week!

As we were leaving, the staff asked where all we'd been while there and we told them and they mentioned other places we should go, and we told them we'd be back and they were so sweet and funny about it!  They were great.  Most of the people we met were, even if they were surprised by our joy.

I'm thinking there really needs to be a lot more joy in the world, a lot more living, a lot more smiling and definitely a lot more love.  It always surprises me the effect a smile can have on someone, or a gentle hello.  I feel like there should really be a bigger smile ministry in the world.  I think it would bring a lot more joy to our lives as a whole people.