The Fruit of the Spirit is...Joy!

My Fruit of the Spirit mug!

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Galatians 5:22-23a.  You might be familiar with it: it's the one that details the fruit of the Spirit: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  In other parts of the Bible, love has been described as "the greatest of these," but notice what's listed second?  JOY!

Now that's the popular part of the verse.  That's the part of the verse that you'll find on posters, t-shirts, and mugs (like mine!).  But guess what follows after that?  The whole two verses read as follows: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23, NASB).  Against such things there is no law...part of the reason why that line is there is because in the preceding verses, the chapter outlines all sorts of things that are against the law of the Bible.  (You can read the whole chapter here.) But I think we can also take this to mean that not only should we seek the fruit of the Spirit, we deserve these fruits.  We deserve to live a life filled with joy, and we should share that joy with others!

Sometimes it's easy to let life get you down and to sink into a kind of negative thinking.  You know, those voices that tell you that maybe you don't deserve to be joyful, maybe you aren't meant to live a life of joy.  Life's challenges loom large, and you might even feel guilty feeling joyful.  But here it is, right in the Bible...joy is not against the law!  Be joyful, seek joy, and spread joy!

I'd love to hear from you!  Comment below on how you seek joy for yourself and/or spread joy to others!  

The Origins of the Joy Party!

I've been thinking a lot about joy lately, and have been wanting to explore the idea more.  And when I say "lately," I mean like the last two years, at least.  (I'm a BIT of a procrastinator!)  What makes someone joyful?  What makes someone feel joy?  I consider myself to be a rather happy-go-lucky person.  That isn't to say I don't have my times of being stressed out or crazy, but for the most part, on any given day, I am joyful.

I use the term "joyful" instead of "happy" because it really is about something more than just surface happiness.  I think joy is something that comes from deeper within a person, so that even when life's circumstances aren't perfect, there's still that underlying joy.

I've wondered...why do some people have more joy than others?  Is it a personality trait, that you either have it or you don't?  Does it come from life experiences?  My life, while far from perfect, has been rather blessed.  Maybe that's why I'm joyful--because I really haven't had anything in my life to drag me down.  But then I look at some people who have far less than me, and they radiate joy.  I see people who have had greater life challenges than me, and I see great joy.  And of course, I see those who have far more than I will ever have, who aren't joyful at all.  So maybe it's a combination of personality and life, maybe it's something that develops over time.  I don't know.  What I do know is that living a joyful life is something I wish for more people, and with that, The Joy Party is created!

I spend quite a bit of time in the car, commuting to various locations for my job and chauffeuring my kiddos to all their activities.  That gives me ample time to think about a great many things, including this blog.  I considered many different titles before settling on The Joy Party.  Discover Joy or Choose Joy (already taken), The Joy of Discovering Joy (meh), and Project Joy (sounded too much like work) were all contenders.  But at the end of the day, The Joy Party really embodied what I feel...that life, with all its trials and challenges, can still be fun, like...a party!  And if we seek joy in all we do, life will be much more worth living.  

Part of my hope with this blog is to explore the things in my life that bring me joy.  I have a lot of joy to share, and hopefully I can inspire others with my experiences.  But I'd also love to hear from you!  What's your life story?  Where do you find joy in your life?  You can comment below, send me an email, or visit my Facebook or Twitter pages to share more!  Thanks for joining the party!

Welcome to The Joy Party!

The Joy Party is under construction!  Thanks for visiting, and check back soon!