Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Joy

Some days you just have to choose joy. There is so much stress in this world. We have so many tasks and demands pulling for our attention. It can get to be too much and can make us anxious and grumpy. I get that way sometimes.

Well, today I chose a little joy. I started out this morning with the song "Taylor the Latte Boy" running through my head, so I just had to go to YouTube and watch it - twice, because it's fun to see how different people sing it. My favorite is by Kristin Chenoweth:

Then I happened to notice that there was a "Taylor's Rebuttal" song (sung by Ben Hensley). I had never heard it before and it was so funny!

This brought me quite a bit of joy. Such cute lyrics and a catchy tune. I was singing "Taylor the Latte Boy" all day long.

Then a little later I saw a video on facebook. Candace Payne posted a video of herself with a Chewbacca mask she bought at Kohls. If you haven't seen it yet, you really need to. The joy she experienced from such a simple thing. I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard as she does. That brought lots of joy, too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/4k6d8p/oh_im_such_a_happy_chewbacca/


These things reminded me how important it is to choose joy. We will always have trouble, but we can have joy in the midst of it. It lightens our hearts and can encourage others around us. 

I don't want to make light of the terribly sad situations some of you may be experiencing right now. You may have no desire to hear songs about Starbucks baristas and watch a lady get hysterical over a silly mask. That's okay. Take time to grieve, but make sure you still choose joy in the midst of your pain. Find it in a beautiful spring flower, the smile of a young child, the hug your spouse gives you. Your happiness will come back in due time. 

For those of us with our regular life stresses, it's so important to choose joy. The tasks and demands will wait. Maybe taking some time to laugh will help us approach those things with a little more energy and patience. 

It couldn't hurt to try, right?

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22 NIV)

Are life's little stresses getting you down? Do you need a good laugh? How can focusing on God help you to find joy in the midst of stress?