Dee Dah Bday

If you haven't read the book, The Life You've Always Wanted by: John Ortberg... ya need to buy it now! :) It's that good.
Chapter 4 is solely dedicated to joy in this life. It really puts life in a whole new perspective, and also gave me a new perspective on how God views joy and is joy. For me, I have never seen God as joyful.... that is as foreign to my mind/heart as dinuguan (pork blood soup) was to my mouth in the Philippines. Trust me the two didn't get along well!
Seeing God as joyful and creating us to be joyful in this life is a very new concept for me. The new idea clicked for me in kids, which the book describes as well. Most kids aren't weighted down yet by the cares of a fallen world, tragedies, standards, fears, social injustices and responsibilities. They are just simply joy lovers! Kids want to play, play, and play some more. I can see this in my neice and nephew, and after reading that book, I want that same unadulterated joy they have in life. The kind that after simply bouncing her in my arms on Sunday, Raney said, do it again. So of course... I did. Then it came time after time, do it again, do it again, do it again. Hearing her cute little laugh, seeing her giggling and having fun gives me joy as I watch her full of life and joy.
Somewhere along the road my view of a 'godly spiritual' life took a detour and ended up where joy was a sign that I was being rebellious and not obeying God. I am seeing this is soooo very wrong! And since then I have made an effort to make time for joy and even days of joy...Dee Dah Days... ya gotta read the book! :)
One of those days was my birthday, which was this past Saturday. The week leading up to my birthday was a week from hell. It only seemed to get worse and worse even right up to Saturday... almost as if there was an invisible war waged against me experiencing joy on my birthday.
Well, all I can say is God truly is the God of joy, because I had such a joy filled birthday, which in the surrounding circumstances, without a joyful God intervening, would have been impossible! And intervene He did!!!
It truly was a Dee Dah Bday...just having my parents there to share my special day was such a blessing. The simple fact that they were here, not in the Philippines, travelling, or gone, and were able to physically be there Saturday and Sunday gave me great joy! Spending the morning with my mom, my best friend, was a gift from God and brought amazing joy. Having precious friends & their kids that I could fellowship with, play with, laugh with, talk to...brought such joy. Having my family over with my adorable babies (that aren't so much babies anymore) brought me so much joy!
Looking back I am amazed at what a wonderful Dee Dah Bday I had. I'll have to admit, I think it was my best yet! There wasn't anything big and spectacular about it...no big overdone, overspent parties, no fanciness...it was the simple, small, personal, heart ways that God gave me joy that made it so amazing! Maybe that means they'll only get better and better and more and more joyful in the years to come! Lord knows I could use more joy from day to day. I think maybe we all could! I think that will be my birthday wish/prayer... that God would increase my capacity to enjoy Him and to experience an ever growing abundance of joy in life from year to year.
I am so thankful for my Dee Dah Bday... it truly was a blessing from Him, the Creator of joy!