Experiencing Joy and Meaning in Daily Life

God desires for us to experience joy every day.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." And in Proverbs 17:22 we read, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

There are countless things to find joy in—sunrises, birds singing, clear skies, a tiny flower blooming in a hidden spot, and sunsets. We find joy in conversations with friends, children's laughter, a sweet baby hug, and the comfortable silence between two people who truly understand each other. There's beautiful music to enjoy, books to read, and podcasts to expand your mind. There's delicious food to savor, hot coffee or refreshing iced tea to drink, and the pleasure of preparing and enjoying good meals.

Your daily life holds meaning. This is also a source of joy. Some people need to feel God's love in a way only you can provide, prayers to offer for everyone you meet, and every place you visit. As a child of God, His Spirit lives with you. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16 Bringing God with you into every situation is a beautiful, powerful responsibility that should fill every moment of your life with joy. Some ways to do this is to pray over the people and places you come in contact with every day. Remember that each person you meet is a gift to this world from God, and treat them that way. Your words have the power to bring life or death into situations - speak carefully. One of my recent favorite quotes is "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." ~ WIlliam Jacobs

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Fresh fruits and vegetables for my morning smoothie. I love seeing how many colors I can get in each morning.

Our letter of the week is Ww - we watched a couple videos and made a torn paper collage on the letter W.

Today's Bible story was about big, strong Samson!

I got lots of snuggles from sweet baby Phoenix!

A few other books and videos we enjoyed this morning.

A little building with the Gears building set.

We had tacos for dinner yesterday. Usually, when we have tacos, I make a taco casserole the next day with the leftovers. I just layer all the ingredients, starting with crumbled taco shells on the bottom, then layering in the meat, diced vegetables, rice, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, and topping it all with cheese.

This afternoon, we talked about bones, and how nurses help us if we break a bone.

Dinner this evening was simple. I love these broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breasts. Michael put a together a salad for us and I added tater tots and called it good.