Happy Monday!
Congrats, friend – you’ve made it to a new week! I hope you get a chance to step outside today, even for just a few minutes, to soak up some sunshine. (If you happen to be reading this from a place where it isn’t sunny today, then I hope a natural Vitamin D boost comes your way sometime later this week!) Thanks to everyone who gave positive feedback to the inaugural Monday Musings last week. I’m glad that it seemed to bring some brightness to the start of your week. Just think – soon we’ll reach the darkest day of the year, and then start journeying back towards the light. Thanks be to God for that! peace, Ann-Louise
We are now in the third week of Advent – the week of Joy. Folks are drawing closer to the light…just like us! (Image by Mark Birge-Anderson)
To me, there is joy in knowing that I am part of a larger story – a theme that Stuart Kestenbaum lifts up in his poem Joy. Click here to read it. (Photo by Esperanza Doronila on Unsplash)
I read a great article in the New York Times last week on how staying physically active may protect our brains as they age. You don’t have to run a marathon, or hit the gym every day – they reported that “simple activities like walking boost immune cells in the brain that may help to keep memory sharp and even ward off Alzheimer’s disease.” That feels like some joyful news to me! If you’d like to read the article, click here.
Missed church? You can watch Sunday’s service online! First, copy this access passcode: =P@j89+5 Then click here to play the recording; enter the access passcode when prompted. If you JUST want to revisit that video of EMBODIED JOY – click here!
One thing I didn’t get around to talking about this past Sunday is how to cultivate more joy in life. It’s true, as Dexter told us during the candle-lighting, that joy is a choice. It’s also true, as I mentioned in the sermon, that joy is our birthright. But sometimes, joy just seems so far away. How do you bring it closer? One way to increase your own sense of joy is to cultivate a practice of gratitude. When you take time every day to be aware of the things in your life for which you’re grateful, it helps to bring the positive into sharper focus. Grounded in a spirit of gratitude, you see more clearly how life is a gift, and a source of joy. Try it this week, and see if you notice a difference. When you roll out of bed in the morning, instead of saying, “Oh, my aching knees! Why does my back hurt so much?,” pause to think, “Oh, how well I slept last night!” Or if the night wasn’t so good, reframe it by saying, “I am grateful that at least I had a comfortable bed and warm shelter as I tossed and turned last night.” Keep a list of three things that you’re grateful for each day, and know that it’s okay to start small! I’m grateful today for the alarm that woke me up on time (even though it felt way too early to get out of bed), for hot water in my shower, and for the bright blue sky above. Just holding those gems of gratitude for a moment sparks a little bit of joy in my heart – and maybe yours will for you, too.
(Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash)
