I will be the first to say that I struggle to find joy in the everyday tasks of life. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with making sure the house hold runs well (most days it’s a circus), that all of my children get their school work done (I homeschool 9 out of my 10 kiddos), and that we to have good family time (I know right ?!).
The last couple of years I have found myself smiling at little things throughout my crazy day. I think God has been helping me find little nuggets of joy in the midst of my chaos. I am so thankful for those little nuggets.
In the last 2 1/2 years we moved to a beautiful fixer house outside the city (the projects are never ending), discovered some major health issues, that have made us change our way of living, and had gorgeous baby girl, who was born with several medical problems. It has been such a challenging time in my life.
God has showed His faithfulness through it all. Pumping full-time and teaching my children (sometimes at the same time), running to countless doctors appointments and park dates with my kids …I would say that I’ve probably seen more of the negative than the positive. But God is so good…He just keeps giving me joy in those little things… the beauty of the river as I drive to yet another appointment, lunch with my husband when things seem overwhelming, watching my children cheer Baby Violet on as she grows and learns.
I want to see the joy all of the time. I want to crowd out the struggles and mundane things in life with the blessings of God: big and small. Life is real. We WILL struggle, bad things will happen. Our challenge is to find the joy, hold onto it, treasure it, and let God transform us.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4
Ravings of a Bacon Starved Mind 
Amen! When I lose joy it’s like my heart is sick. Joy is such a grace because it cant be forced. As you mentioned it can be cultivated, but the seed of joy especially in hard times is completely from God. I found myself humming and whistling all day today. Thank you Jesus! Just a few days ago I was feeling quite down and all I could do was recognize my poor state and ask God for help. He brought me out of it! Not because circumstances changed but just because He put it in my heart.
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Praise God!! You are so right, sometimes the only joy we can get is completely from God. Fabulous testimony ❤️
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