mom-daughter-sweet-moment-kitchen

Last night I danced.

I put on the Bluetooth speaker, cranked up the songs, grabbed an 11-year old who happened to be walking through the kitchen, and we danced.  She was a little baffled at first until I grabbed her hands and we twirled around the kitchen. Her face lit up as her smile widened. We laughed and sang and I thoroughly enjoyed this moment with my daughter.  

Joy.

In the hustle and bustle of single parenting I forget to dance. I’m so busy I can’t seem to find time to just enjoy life.  I have so much to do and so little sleep to work with, I think sometimes I have forgotten to even look for those moments. Maybe it’s my drooping eyelids, but sometimes I find it difficult to look up…to look for the bright side of things. To celebrate a moment…any moment.

I want to choose joy – to, as Paul says…

[verse reference=”Philippians 4:4″]Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice![/verse]

Single parenting is hard. Sometimes it seems like the music coming out of life’s speaker is more of a dirge or some chaotic modern piece of music that makes my head hurt.  

Where is my joyful song? Where are the dancing moments? Why not more? I cherish moments of rejoicing, but I want a life of it!

I’m beginning to believe it’s up to me.

I want to count it all joy…count this life all joy.  (James 1:2) This life…maybe joy comes with remembering that I am loved…that, no matter what, God loves me.  No matter how I feel, no matter how well I do things, no matter how difficult things are…God loves me.

Count on Him.  Count the blessings.

I remember one Sunday when I was young, my mom and I sang, “Count Your Many Blessings”. The words are beautiful.

I believe that counting our blessings is very similar to counting it all joy.  Within every moment is a blessing. I know that to be true, but sometimes I forget.  I forget to count it all joy because it doesn’t feel joyful. I don’t feel like I’m living blessings.  I feel like I’m surviving burdens. But that is not how God has called me to live. He has called me to live as more than a conqueror.

[verse reference=”Romans 8:37″]No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.[/verse]

What’s the first step I can take in the process of changing my perspective from burden-focused to blessing-focused?  

Counting my blessings.  Maybe it’s time to start a journal of thankful thoughts.  I believe it is. I will start today…

  1. I am thankful for a time to dance with my daughter.