More thanks, more joy

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

A joyful heart, oh yes, good medicine indeed! What comes to mind when you think about a joyful heart?

Joy seems to be the product of thankfulness, especially when choosing thankfulness over getting upset, being prideful or selfish. For example:

  • Hearing the footsteps of my children at a time when they’re supposed to be in bed, or when I’m trying to get some rest.
  • When our basement nearly flooded due to a frozen pipe or when our dishwasher flooded our kitchen. Both could have been 1,000 times worse. We caught both just in time. No small miracles.
  • Thinking about how long and how earnestly I prayed for a wife. The one I have is the one I will keep, for better or for worse.
  • A nice blanket of snow.
  • Deep, deep laugher, or remembering a time when we deeply laughed. That wasn’t just happiness, it was joy.
  • Getting a glimpse into the wretchedness, the weight, and the cost of my sin. What greater joy than knowing that it is forgiven?

Today’s featured photo is of Atalie Joan Somers, the newest addition to Somers family. Newborn baby foreheads: GREAT JOY! Congratulations Mike, Jamie, and Eleanor! May God continue to bless and keep you.

Today’s reading: Joshua 17 & Proverbs 17