Tag: joy

Categories
wisdom

Wisdom Leads to Joy

Wisdom Leads to Joy

To be wise is to learn what is important and what won’t matter in a few years. It is to be able to discern between the foolishness of short-term pleasure and long-term satisfaction. Wisdom leads to joy while foolishness leads to heartache and regret.

“Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.”

Proverbs 3:13 (NLT)

Someone may know how to manipulate and get their way in the short term. But what happens to the relationship with the duped victim? Another person may give in to a short-term addiction only to discover it ruins their life. None of us can predict the future. But wisdom can help us shape our future in ways that are predictable and tested through the ages.

Yesterday, I was listening to How Now Shall We Live? by Chuck Colson. In the book, he writes what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote this phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

United States Declaration of Independence

Colson’s assertion is that this opening phrase was never meant to be a license to hedonistic pleasure. John Stonestreet from the Colson Center also alludes to this and quotes Colson on a July 4, 2019, podcast. “Happiness” was not meant as an excuse to do whatever feels good. Instead, happiness comes from living a virtuous, wise life.

Wisdom causes us to pursue virtue. That pursuit leads to joy. My hope and prayer for everyone are that we take a long-term approach to life and pursue a wise life of virtue that leads to happiness and joy.

Categories
motivation

Finding Joy at Work

Finding Joy at Work

Yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent. This week’s Advent theme is joy. Now comes Monday! It is easy to think about joy when we are singing Christmas carols and contemplating the season that brings good news of great joy. But what about the rest of the week?

Yes, it is possible to find joy at work! A Harvard Business Review article, entitled Making Joy a Priority at Work, talks about why joy is an important part of the workplace. But often workplace culture gets in the way. We can be so focused on meeting sales goals, staying in our comfort zones, and resisting new ways of connecting, that we forget our emotions play a big part in success.

The writer goes on to say, “In any team environment, joy arises from a combination of harmony, impact, and, acknowledgment — all of which business leaders can engender in their organizations.” Yes, these are all qualities each of us would value and love to have in our workplaces.

Harmony

How we interact with each other brings harmony. When we are respectful, professional, and look out for each other, everyone benefits. If you ever had a child that has just started playing a musical instrument, you know how hard on the ears it is when they are just starting to play in a band. An elementary school band that hasn’t learned to play together in harmony can wreck a concert.

When we look out for our coworkers, are helpful, and destroy silos, we can work together in a harmony that brings an unbeatable competitive advantage.

Impact

Everyone wants to feel their part at work makes an impact. We want to know that what we do matters. We want to know that our idea has made a positive difference to the bottom line.

Harmony makes teams work. Impact comes both as team members and individuals. When we see that our part of the business is a valued part of the company’s success, it makes a big difference.

Acknowledgment

Everyone wants to feel acknowledged. We want to know that we are seen. If we feel we are just a number in a mindless bureaucracy, we tend to wonder if there is a point to it all. We may even make a little disharmony just to see if anyone notices. Perhaps, we stop seeing that we are making an impact.

Acknowledgment needs to come in a positive way. No one wants only to be acknowledged when they messed up. We forget that we tend to get the behavior that gets attention. If an employee only gets acknowledged for bad behavior, that is what the company will get more of.

Yes, it’s possible to have joy at work. As we get closer to Christmas, may we experience joy in our workplaces. May you receive some joy and be the giver of joy to those around you this week.

Categories
Christmas holiday

The Third Sunday of Advent is about Joy

Advent Candles

Joy has been something we’ve all sought the last two years. We’ve kept hoping the pandemic would be over soon, only to realize more challenges were on the way. Where is our Christmas joy?

Last night, I saw a battle under a Christmas tree. An adult got a remote-controlled toy at a Christmas party. The children were thrilled and the adult allowed them to try it out.

One preschool boy was having a blast but was a little rough with it. When he steered the toy into a wall, the adult knew this wasn’t going to end well. So he took the toy from the boy. The boy’s joy quickly turned into a grinchy pouting match. It looked a little like this cartoon:

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

I’ve had a few tips in the past that are easy to implement when you’re giving advice, but challenging when you are in the midst of pacifying a preschooler with a wounded ego, and dashed Christmas hopes.

How to teach your kids about Christmas Joy

Joy can be challenging when things aren’t going our way. But when our faith is based on a foundation much stronger than our circumstances, it is possible! As we light the third candle of Advent this Sunday morning, we can remember there is someone coming who brings glad tidings of great joy!

Categories
motivation

The Challenge of Waiting

Cartoon of people waiting in line. One man says, "I don't normally expect long, Christmas-shopping lines at a convenience store."

Yesterday, I had an appointment. We were making good time on the freeway. the GPS app showed an accident was ahead, but it would only delay us four minutes. Then we slowed down. and we waited….

  • And we waited…
  • And we waited…
  • And we waited more…

Traffic was at a standstill for two hours. We had to cancel the first appointment. Did my wife and me waist our afternoon? It felt as pointless as the couple waiting in my cartoon.

Cartoon of people waiting in line. One man says, "I don't normally expect long, Christmas-shopping lines at a convenience store."

When traffic finally moved again, we decided to keep our dinner appointment with friends. After all, we came this far! It ended up being a pleasant evening. The memory of the two-hour standstill faded. Eventually, the wait did feel worth it! It reminded me of this verse:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12 NIV

It resonates with me because my wife and I have been in a period of waiting. We know things are about to change in our life, but we don’t know how or when. We only know it begins when she resigns from her position as a children’s pastor at the end of the year.

We are all forced to wait once in a while. I didn’t feel joyful, patient or faithful in the traffic jam. But how I waited ended up mattering more and led to an enjoyable evening.

Sometimes, how we wait during this time of year is more important than the event we are anticipating.

Categories
Teen Cartoons

Too Busy Having Fun

Cartoon of two kids at an amusement park. One says, "We're too busy having fun to be happy."Can anyone achieve happiness through busy-ness? If you are too busy to remember what you did, is it happiness? If the busy time ends and discontent reappears, was it ever really happiness?

It reminds me of a proverb:

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. Proverbs 14:13 NLT

Diversion may work for a while, but if you are struggling with something major, get help.