Joy

 

I first heard of the “one word” thing last year. People kept talking about it in blogging groups that I am a part of, but there was never really an explanation as to what it was.

(From what I gather) it is about having a theme for the year, centered around one word.

Last year, the word “joy” popped into my head.

I wanted to regain the joy of my salvation. To be a more joyful mama. To count it all joy.

A lot went on last year. The stresses of trying to majorly declutter my home with two very young, very active kids, without help, while trying to figure out being a mama of two and nursing both of the kids got to me. I lost my granddaddy. I lost focus. While joy is not happiness, I did lose some joy.

It might be breaking some kind of rule, but “joy” is my word for the year, again.

My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word.

May your unfailing love come to me, Lord,
    your salvation, according to your promise;
 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.

Psalm 119:28,41-42

Jesus used Scripture to fight Satan. The Word used the word.

I am printing and posting these Scriptures around my home to help keep me focused.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:12

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

 

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

James 1:2-3

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

Psalm 30:11

Is there one word the Lord has laid on your heart for the year? Or a Scripture?

The Giveaway for the copy of The Organically Clean Home is still going on! Please check it out in this post. You can enter until Jan 8th, 2016!

The Loft is open once again! Please come and join us!

Happy New Year 2016!

Welcome back to The Loft! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years holiday.

In case you had not noticed, we have a new look. While our name is the same, our look is a bit different…hopefully a bit warmer, cozier, and more inviting. Who doesn’t love sitting by a fire, sipping a cuppa, and enjoying the company of special friends? That is what we hope our new look invites you to do. Come in, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and enter into the conversation here at The Loft.

Please remember that we are a topic driven link-up, which means that we link posts that pertain to the topic of the week. Posts that are not on topic will be deleted. We will offer a month’s worth of topics each week so you can plan and prepare for a post that helps you enter into the conversation. Here are the January topics:

January 6 ~ One Word or Verse for 2016

January 13 ~ Bible Study – the how, when, who, what and why of it

January 20 ~ Hope

January 27 ~ Pot Luck ~ You may link up any post, on any topic today!

 

Just a reminder that the link-up goes live on Wednesday morning at 5am and will stay live until the following Monday at 5pm. If you link up at The Loft, please do not link-and-run. We want to create conversation and community, therefore, we ask that if you linkup one post, please visit two others. There are some beautiful people who link-up each week, and visiting their posts is the best way to get to know them.

 

Now, it it time to get to today’s link-up. Our topic is your One Word or Verse for 2016.

You will find the linky at the bottom of my post. Enjoy the fellowship at The Loft.

 

#TheLoft

 

Now it is time to linkup!

This week I have also linked up at Grace & Truth