**I’m posting this early (Tuesday evening) because I head out at 4:30 am Wednesday to drive to Reno so Brownie can get her braces off.**


JOY [joi] – noun

–verb (used without object)

–verb (used with object)

What is it that all men everywhere seek? I believe it is happiness and joy. The challenge comes is finding what brings us that joy. Some go looking for physical pleasure or for riches wondering why after all they have done they do not feel happy. They learn that joy is a consequence, that the actions they chose took them down the wrong path leading them to a different result than the one they were seeking.

I am not a great philosopher nor do I claim any expertise in the field of “finding joy” so I can only offer you my own observations taken from my own journey to find happiness. I write this post knowing that some are afflicted with the terrible debilitating disease of depression that hinders their ability to experience emotion thus robbing them of that joy they would otherwise feel. This post is not for them as I have not personally had to deal with depression and so do not fully understand it. It is for those who do have a choice whether to be happy or sad.

I have two choices. I can choose to be happy
or I can choose to be sad.
I choose to be happy. ~Marjorie Pay Hinckley~

I am naturally a cheerfully optimistic person. But it hasn’t always been that way. Have you noticed? LIFE IS HARD! Life is hard but that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy. The first step is to realize who you are. You are a child of God.

It is difficult to make a man miserable
while he feels he is worthy of himself
and claims kindred to the great God who made him.
~Abraham Lincoln, 1862~

Don’t you as a parent want your children to be happy? God is our Heavenly Father. He created us, you and me, and wants us to be happy too, not later on, but NOW. We need to stop blaming others for our unhappiness and realize that happiness comes from within. We have a choice. Of course we will face challenges, sadness, disappointments. We cannot, however, allow those to become setbacks in our journey to find joy.

Now I’ve waxed eloquent enough. So without taking too much of your time (I want you to go read what others have to say on this topic!) here is my list for finding joy:

* An active faith in Jesus Christ
* Studying the scriptures
* Serving others
* Spending time with my husband
* Playing with my children
* Taking time for creative pursuits like piano playing, photography, and blogging
* Being grateful for what I have
* Smiling
* Laughing

There are so many other, for lack of a better word, THINGS that bring me joy. What do you do to find joy in your life?

Make sure to check out the random winner from last month’s Wordfull Wednesday participants! A random winner will be chosen from all those who participate in Wordfull Wednesdays for September. That includes those of you who do not live in the states!

Now go write your own post about the topic “Finding Joy”, come back to sign the Mr. Linky, and remember to only use the actual post’s url.