Joining the A Joyful Heart – Bible Journaling Study

There is no charge for joining the A Joyful Heart bible journaling study. Simply use this article, grab the free calendar and mini-kit provided upon sign up at the bottom of this article, and get started! To join our Bible journaling family and share your thoughts and layouts head over to  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BibleJournalingforBeginners.

There are multiple options to do the study. The devotional and kits are designed to help you take a deeper dive into the Word and start applying biblical principles to your life. They are not required, but they’re a fun way to grow in the Word creatively!

• Join Momentum – Momentum members get just about everything for only $25/month. Click here to learn more.
• Subscribe to the 2018 kits – New for 2018! You can get all of the 2018 devotionals and their corresponding kit as they release for only $52. That’s $1/Week. You also get the How to Study Bible Topics Guide and worksheets Click here to purchase.
• Purchase the kit by itself –New for 2018! Purchase the devotional and kit for only $7. You’ll also get the How to Study Bible Topics Guide and worksheets. Click here to purchase.
• Free option – To get the calendar and free mini-kit, please scroll to the bottom of this article and register for our emails between August 31 and September 30, 2018. If you are on the email list and haven’t received it, please check your spam! The emails will begin sending out on the 31st!

10 Ways to Find Joy in Every Season

Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. However, unlike happiness, joy is a consistent state of hope, confidence, and contentment. It can occur during challenging times and can simultaneously exist with sorrow (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Unfortunately, life gets in the way, making it difficult to feel joyful. How do you find joy when you’re rushing to work, dealing with a challenge you’re not sure you can overcome, or going through a distressing transition? Even the most devote followers sometimes lose their joy. That’s why it’s so important to be connected with God through the Holy Spirit and powered by His Word. Here are ten ways (in no particular order) to be joyful Christian that will help keep you centered, especially when you’re not feeling it.

1. Read God’s Word

Feelings of discouragement and stress are not conducive to joy. When you feel yourself giving into a sense of hopelessness, make reading God’s Word your first response even if you’re not sure where to begin. Simply open your Bible and ask the Lord to guide you to a passage that will help restore your joy.

If we love the Word, we’ll find great joy and comfort in reading it (Psalm 119:111).

2. Spend time with Him in Prayer

God is the source of Joy (Psalm 16:11). It makes sense that if you want to have more joy, that you seek it from the source. True happiness and authentic joy can only be found in God’s presence. Get in the habit of praying daily, and you’ll feel joyous in no time.

3. Be in a Community with Others

There is true power in gathering together with other like-minded Christians. The relationship that we have with fellow believers unites us, and we are called to lift each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Through fellowship, volunteer service, prayer, and worship, you’ll find your joy restored. If you can’t find a community nearby, consider starting one. You don’t need to be a biblical scholar to get a few people together to praise and worship our Lord.

4. Pay Attention

Pay close attention to those you surround yourself with. It’s good to have all types of friends, but make sure you’re surrounding yourself with ones that you want be like.  If the friends you’re spending most of your time with live in a state of self-induced negativity, don’t believe in the Lord, or are generally judgmental people, you’ll find some of it rubs off on you even if you have your guard up. It’s important to take a step back and assess who contributes or hinders your joy. You don’t need to cut them off completely, but you should be aware of how they impact you at a minimum.

5. Be in Tune with the Holy Spirit

Find a quiet place where you can peacefully reflect whether it’s through meditation, prayer, or just sitting still and opening your mind. Make time to tune in to the Holy Spirit. You’ll be surprised by how much better you’ll feel and how much more at peace you’ll be.

6. Share the Good News about Jesus

While some feel a sense of social awkwardness when it comes to talking about spirituality, it’s one of the best ways to bring joy back into your life. Sharing the good news about Jesus can be life-changing for those who hear- hence a restoration of joy.

Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21 ESV.

7. Help Others

There’s nothing quite like the joy of helping others. Whether it’s donating to your favorite charity, volunteering, and being kind. Doing good is its own reward. Most people that make it a point to help others say they do it because it makes them feel great. Helping others is also a powerful way to give back in thanks for all the blessings you’ve received in life.

8. Give

It seems counterintuitive to give stuff or money away and expect to feel joyful, but I promise you it’s not. God loves a cheerful giver (1 Corinthians 9:7) and there’s even scientific evidence that He hard-wired it in our brains so that we would experience joy in doing so.

9. Worship God

Worship is critical because it’s the key to God’s presence. When we worship God, we forget about what’s going on in our lives and place our focus on Christ. Sing a hymn, dance on the sidewalk, play your instrument in His honor. It is during these times that we truly experience His presence.

10. Bible Journal

Joy is most complete when it’s expressed in worship, whether it’s through prayer, giving to others, or in a creative way like Bible journaling. Bible journaling is an artistic way to enrich your spiritual life. Journaling is about growing in the Word creatively, and often those who engage in it deepen their joy instantaneously. As you unleash your creativity on the pages, inspired by scripture, you’ll feel your heart fill with joy too.

You can be joyful every day and in every season. But it does take practice. Consider doing one or more of these items each day and experience how life-changing staying connected to God can be. It will dramatically impact how you feel, lifting you up and preparing you to receive pure joy and happiness.

What are other things you can do to be more joyful?

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

John 15:11

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Psalm 1:3

2 Corinthians 6:10

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Psalm 16:11

Jude 1:24

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.

Nehemiah 12:43

And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

1 Peter 1:5-8

Who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Bibles used in these photos are: