adding joy.

tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.
tomorrow we begin to wait for the resurrection of Christ.
tomorrow is Lent.

tomorrow some of us are going to be freaking crabby as we give things up.
[really. have you met people who just quit smoking/consuming caffeine/booze/sugar/reality TV? crab apples. myself included -- which one do  you think i am!?]

you may remember last year... (read all about that here) I reflected on the meaning of the Lenten season and I gave up swear words. It was nuts. Sometimes not in a good way.

There's this wacky thing people have been doing a while, I guess. Instead of giving something up, they add something new to their lives during Lent.

yeah yeah. I love new things. I love intentional things. Let's roll.

This year for Lent I will add Joy.

Google "joy". Apparently, Joy is all about jumping. or it being Christmas.

[let me clarify. I try my best to be a positive person. Mostly, I try not to be a Debbie Downer, Negative Nancy or a Ruby Doom and Gloom. Naturally, I'm more inclined to be those women than Positive Polly. It's effort most days to put my rally cap on for positivity but I try my best, much to the chagrin of those around me. An ever present refrain in my world is- "there is always something to be positive about."]

This isn't about 'looking on the bright side' and pasting a smile on my face. This is Joy. The deep feeling in the bottom of your being that it's going to come out alright. That at the end of the day, all is well and that you are so very loved that today's troubles and trials will be done away with. Joy is choosing to acknowledge that, although things are shitty, there is hope of a better way.

I want to add more of that to my life. 

Joy is making the choice to not keep score in my relationships
Joy is not berating myself for what I've done wrong, but celebrating my ability to do. 
Joy is knowing that Jesus saves, redeems and renews.
I'm a smaller part of bigger plan, so no, I won't be saving the world today. 
Joy is Jesus. 

this is what I said last year (and there isn't a better way to say it this year...)
 I hope this little tiny thing [joy] will make me feel a little more connected to that big thing [death and Resurrection] by a change of consciousness, not because there's no room for negativity in the kingdom of God (He can handle it). 





what's on your dance card for this years Lenten season?