Home Run Happiness — Upgrade Your Joy

Pam Farrel is a "Joy Girl!" Her motto, "Choosing Joy," isn't just a casual mantra for a happy life; it's biblical wisdom for a joy-filled, God-honoring life. In this Attitudes UPGRADE, she shares a super-practical way to add more joy to our lives.

"We are the fulltime caregivers for my aging in-laws," Pam says. "My father-in-law loves Dodger baseball, and right now—due to the pandemic—there is no baseball. So he is not a happy camper."

I (Dawn) think it's hard enough being a caregiver in "regular" times, but it's extra hard during a pandemic! But Pam and her husband Bill found a way to spread some joy.

Pam continues . . .

My father-in-law was set to celebrate his 91^st birthday while we were all “sheltering at home,” and we could feel his depression rising. I began to pray for a creative idea to lift his spirits, and one morning I woke with a simple idea.

We decided we needed to help him cultivate some joy, so we arranged a family zoom virtual gathering, we all wore baseball caps, sang “Take me out to the ballgame,” gave him peanuts and cracker jacks—and, of course, his favorite meal complete with birthday cake.  

It was a homerun hit!

Sometimes in our lives, the circumstances are so stressful or uncommonly difficult that normal happiness feels hard to come by. In these trying times, we must pro-actively cultivate our joy.

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy (Psalm 94:19).

As the wave of Covid-19 spreads, fear spreads with it. So how do we move from being anxious (being tormented by a multitude of disquieting thoughts) to the place of God’s consolation (His comfort) that brings us to a place of joy and delight and, with it, the ability to smile again?  

Like in baseball, run the bases!

FIRST BASE: Study Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4).

It is a CHOICE to REJOICE!

Let’s look a little deeper at the meaning of the key words of this verse:

• Rejoice: (verb) be glad, joyful, favorably disposed to grace, lean in, thrive, calm delight.
• Always: at ALL times—this means you are not joyful about trials, but joyful in the midst of the trials. 
  
• Again: meaning once more, just a little further. (It might feel overwhelming to picture yourself being happy or joyful for the long haul, and God recognizes this, so the word “again” shows it is a moment-by-moment decision to "choose joy.")
• Say: meaning to tell, call, lay to rest. (The term "lay to rest" reflects the wise choice to pre-decide: I will be a person who trusts God and walks in faith, not fear. The result will be the ability to  "choose joy!" )
• In the LORD: This is committing EVERYTHING to our Master Creator who exercises absolute ownership rights. In other words, giving over whatever circumstance is robbing our joy to our Abba Father in Heaven who is the ONLY ONE who has the power to really move on our behalf.

SECOND BASE: Speak Joy

In my own life, there was an avalanche of bad news, difficult circumstances and a host of trials and tribulations that hit our life—all at once. You can read a condensed story of how God taught me to say—and live out—the "Choosing Joy!" motto.

Recently, while writing Discovering Joy in Philippians, as I studied the word joy (chairo) in the New Testament, I realized two vital truths.

1. God uses this word more than 70 times in the New Testament. So joy is important to God!
2. Of all the definitions of joy, the one that resonated most to me was "calm delight."

When you feel stress or anxiety rising in you or others, you can simply push pause and ask God, "What would calm me? Calm the situation? Calm others?" and "What would bring delight to me? To the circumstance? To others?"

Praying for, and then exercising calm delight can radically lower your stress!  

THIRD BASE: Schedule Joy

While talking with my friend who works helping First Responders with PTSD, I learned that when you suffer trauma, all the world seems to turn from vibrant color and happiness to a washed out grey.

This conversation inspired me to create a JOY BLOSSOM coloring sheet to help those who are discouraged reclaim joy.

It begins with listing 30 things that have brought you joy in the past. Think simple: sunshine on your face, standing barefoot in the grass or sand, etc. Write one joy on each leaf or petal.

Then schedule one joy moment into your life each day!

For an additional boost, color the joy blossom. Your brain will focus on staying in the lines while you color, and it will be a reprieve from thinking about problems! This lowers stress and boosts your immunity for better health—mentally and physically) 

HOME PLATE: Sketch Joy

I enjoy Bible Art. It helps me memorize and meditate on God’s truths. For what I call a Sabbath Selah (or a pause to ponder God’s goodness), I will often turn on Christian music, which also soothes the soul, and then I spend a few hours studying, creating faith-based art in my Art Bible or in my JOY JOURNAL where I include quotes and verses on joy.  

When the Coronavirus hit, I decided that perhaps my life patterns of study, speaking, scheduling and sketching joy might breath joy into others, so I penned an eBook, Infectious Joy,  that includes 30 days of joy verses, simple art to accompany it, and a space to write or draw to capture and cultivate joy.

Infectious Joy is designed to help all who read it process the powerful truths from God’s heart to create positivity and a JOY that OVERCOMES circumstances. (I invite you to print out Infectious Joy and take it to a quiet spot in the fresh air and LEAVE your tech devices behind.)

It is my hope and prayer that running these four bases to happiness will help you become a person of Infectious Joy who is a life-giver of joy, peace, calm and positivity to those around you.

Who needs a little more joy from you today?

Pam Farrel is an international speaker, relationship expert, author of 50 books including ones featuring joy: Discovering Joy in Philippians: A Creative Bible Study Experience, 10 Secrets of Living Strong, Smart and Savvy or 7 Simple Skills for Every Woman: Success In Keeping It All Together. Download your free copy of Infectious Joy and tell others about it too—become contagious with joy! Pam and her husband, Bill, Co-Direct Love-Wise ministries. They invite you to become a member of the Living Love-Wise Community.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Pixabay.