Stumbling Blocks to Joy

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.
- Kahlil Gibran

Experiencing JOY everyday. . . Is it really possible? Life is full of unexpected events, distractions, bad moods and illnesses. Can you honestly be joyous in the midst of these events, when things don’t go the way you think they should?

The truth is that God’s grace is new each morning, and joy is ours for the taking, but so often we choose to focus on the negative. What takes away your joy and peace? In my research of this topic, I was blessed to hear from so many moms and the feedback has been amazing! While the fun ideas on how to enjoy your family have abounded, what I found to be the most interesting was the comments concerning what stole your family’s joy. They really boiled down to 8 main themes, the first three of which we will discuss today: Comparison, Busyness, Health, Media, Scheduling, Worry, Interruptions, and Housework. Do you see yourself in this list?

The habit of comparison is an old friend of mine. I believe it’s a trait all women are born with, and regardless if you are a single woman, working mom or homeschooling mom, we all battle some form of this habit daily. From your comments, it appears that comparison shows no favorites – every aspect of life is up for scrutiny and evaluated against our perception of someone else. Whether it is that they have . . .

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