One Word: Joy

There are so many tangents related to this topic running around in my head I'm not sure I can get them all out coherently, so please bear with me!

Christmas hangings we found in both the girls' names this year

Last year I picked the word Hope, and reading back through that post, in light of the year, I didn't know how much I would need that word to face some of the things that happened.  Especially the suicides.  I didn't even remember I'd written about that until I read my post last night.  To have that word running around in my head though, it really helped.  And finally just in the last couple months of last year I've really started to feel like things can change.

I'm not huge into following the trends, and obviously I'm about 10 days late with this one, but I've been thinking about it since Christmas, just not had time to put my thoughts on paper until now.  Since I did Hope last year I thought, well, the obvious choice would be Joy for this year, but that's kind of cliche!  So I cast about for another word and instead in a million little ways I've gotten confirmation that this should be my word for 2016.

There is Joy, and then there is Choosing Joy, which was the post from (in)courage that came between Christmas and New Year.  And this is where I've been feeling led to camp out this year.  In the choice. (and this post, which actually came up this morning and prompted me to finally write!)

So many choices in life and often I feel like I make the wrong ones, especially when it comes to my attitude.  I've had a copy of Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts for a few years and while I love what she has to say, my Type A, black and white brain just can't handle very much of her poetic style at a time!  But the meaning behind all the words I still need.  So one of my goals for this year is to get through that book.  And I know that it's also choosing three things each day to be thankful for so I'm starting that now, even before the book.

I am the total realist, even pessimist, to my husband's optimist.  There's nothing wrong with being a realist, but sometimes it can get you down, and the people around you too.  So I'm hoping that by trying to see the good in things and be thankful I simply won't be so overwhelmed all the time.

Besides, you know, it's one of the fruits of the Spirit!

I'll leave you with this picture my friend Jenny put up on Facebook just this morning, one final note of confirmation (and the song now running around in my head!).

Did you choose a word for this year?