It's JOY Week!

Did you know the third week of advent is Joy?

The sermon I heard on Sunday was all about joy.
And it was good!

As one who battles depression, two quotes which were shared during the sermon were particularly meaningful to me.
What do you think of these words?

The evil one is pleased with sadness and melancholy because he himself is sad and melancholy and will be so for all of eternity; hence he desires that everyone should be like himself. ~St. Francis

Joy is natural in the presence of God. Joy is a pervasive sense of well-being that is deeper and broader than any pleasure. It is a basic element of inner transformation into Christlikeness and the outer life that flows from it. ~Dallas Willard

On the one hand, it makes me mad to think of the evil one being pleased when I am in one of my down moods. I don't want him to be pleased with anything in my life.
And, on the other hand, it inspires me all the more to lean in to God and fix my eyes on HIM. I have learned - and continue to learn! - that I must focus on God, and tell myself the Truth in order to find joy in the midst of motherhood, and all other aspects of life.

If you're like me and you sometimes struggle with feeling down, will you join me this week in pursuing joy? Let us take our eyes off our circumstances and fix them on the One who loved us enough to give us His Son.

In your presence there is fullness of joy.

Psalm 16:11 (ESV)