Happy Luau

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Share the Joy Thursday!

I am back from my visit to Arizona. I will write about this later, so much to share, so many lessons from my elderly friend and her even older friends at the retirement village!

Right now I wanted to participate in Meri's "Share the Joy Thursday". Please enjoy her post; it's wonderful. I found out about her from Kim, The Queen of Arts. Please also visit her blog and the others listed at the end of Meri's post if you want to feel more joy today. And who doesn't want to feel more joy?



What gives me JOY?

Today it is three big things and I wanted to share them right away in the hope that they might inspire you today:

(1) Knowing that God/The Universe loves me, cares for me, and it intimately concerned about my life. He/she feels the same way about each and every one of us.


(2) Feeling Grateful for everything, especially:

Being able to see
Being able to walk 
Having no pain much of the time
Having enough to eat
Being able to eat without assistance
Being able to take care of myself
Material blessings galore
Having a sound mind
Having a car
Living in a wonderful home
Living in a small town
The sun today
All the little things I ignore and take for granted
Grace
Kind people everywhere
My husband
My friends
YOU


(3) The ability to Dwell on the Positive:

Negative things happen to all of us every day. I discovered in Arizona that I feel much, much better when I dwell on positive things and positive people. When I forget about the nasty, toxic, ignorant people (who are actually just hurting, wounded, fearful folks) who intrude sometimes. When I refuse to dwell on them, but instead refocus on the many, many kind and considerate people. 


If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

~Photo by LoveHubbie Mark

14 comments:

Jane said...

Lovely post Olivia! I love your joy list. It sounds very much like what mine would be today. My mantra today is "All is well. God is healing me." and for that I feel joyful!

Love and light to you,
Jane

Kate Robertson said...

Wihing you JOy back, welcome home.

Kate Robertson said...

Oh I can not spell, I will try again.

Olivia, Wishing you many joys. Welcome home.

patti said...

Thankyou for sharing the joy O!

My father always used to tell me when things or people irked me, to 'rise above it'. This is what you are doing and I guess that's where the joy is.

Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Olivia! Reading your joy list makes me so happy...there's just sooo many things to be happy about! I've been thinking for awhile that I'd hop in and join Meri's Thursday Joy Fest but Thurs. comes and goes and I realize I missed it again...so next week I'm definitely going to focus on the joy along with you and the rest of the joy crowd!

Dawn Elliott said...

Positivity it is! Life is so much better when we can keep our cool and be kind in all situations. Thanks for the reminder!

Angie at Home said...

Hello there.... glad you are back and so happy you had a wonderful trip. Can't wait to hear more about that trip. Love your "joy" list.... and can't wait to participate in "Share the Joy" Thursday. Happy Friday, Happy Earth Day, Happy Good Friday... and hope you have a super weekend!

Olivia said...

Thank you lovely ladies for the warm welcome and for sharing the joy with me :) Much love to each of you, and thank you so much for commenting; it's so good to "see" you again after being away! xoO

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you really benefited from getting out and being with a dear friend. JOY back atcha!

Olivia said...

Thank you, Kelly! Yes, I did. I benefited SO much. She is precious to me and I had so much fun! Thank you for the JOY too :) xoO

Unknown said...

Thank you. I'm wishing you joy too.
I've been praying and pondering God's authority and power over my life. This has helped me let go of some of the stress knowing that God is in charge and is always faithful.

Olivia said...

I understand, Kristine! Yes, I so often focus on destructive people and how to protect myself from them; then I remember that God is in charge and that He/She can protect me far better than I can protect myself. Also, if these "enemies" are successful in some way, He/She can transform it into something good.

Thank you for your comment, Kristine. I hope you are having a lovely week with your hubbie.

xoO

Shanae Branham said...

I followed you over from "Share the Joy Thursday". What a powerful post! I totally agree with you: God, gratitude and a positive attitude are profound.

Olivia said...

Welcome to the happyluau, Shanae! I'm following your blog too. Blessings, Olivia