Ch. 4 – A Dee Dah Day (The Practice of Celebration)

Nobody knows you like your mother. She is the one who birthed you, who wiped your nose, kissed your boo boos, and brokered your behavior modification—unbeknownst to your father, which you were very grateful to her for. At least, that is my mom—very keen on my weakness and strengths, my fears and joys. That’s a mom’s job, to know you and all your funny little quirks—so when something is off in your life, she can tell and act accordingly.

“You’ve changed” are the words that will forever echo in my soul. In my mind, I knew part of my change was for the better and so at first I blew off her comments. Actually, her comments made me a little mad. But with her tone and facial expression, I knew her evaluation of me was deeper than I was considering. The more I replayed her words in my head, the more I understood that she couldn’t see her little boy anymore. You see, no matter how old you get your mom can always see the child that you were. You know the one who would hold her hand anywhere. Her sweet, fun, little Jason was gone. All joy had been sucked out of him.    

Since that day I have been working hard to get my joy back. I’d be lying if I said my joy is where it should be, but I’ve made a lot of progress since that “day”.

Now let’s remember how Ortberg defines Spiritual Disciplines: “any activity that can help me gain power to live the life that Jesus taught and then model it”. When I first picked up this book from Ortberg I wasn’t expecting this discipline of celebration to be a part of it. A lack of joy is something I’d been working on in my life recently and so I found Ortbergs incite helpful and encouraging. I’m looking forward to treating this “centrality of Joy” (p.61) as a spiritual discipline.

Ortberg challenges us to take Joy seriously because Joy is God’s basic character and joy is at the heart of God’s plan for human beings. In fact, he points out something I too often forget—that Joy is not an option for a Christian. Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This means we are commanded to be joyful.

Now I know what you’re thinking, you just can’t make yourself be happy. But that’s why this is a spiritual discipline to develop. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that “ the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The secret to this discipline is focus. It’s more than just being a glass is half full kind of person. Having and practicing Joy doesn’t mean you have to be the life of the party. Some of the most outgoing people the word knows are actually struggling with depression. This life of Joy is a life of intentional focus on eternal things and present blessings.

So here is where we are at, you’ve got to take this discipline seriously. Too many people who call themselves Christians are bitter and angry. Start this discipline off with having an honest discussion with God and others close to you about your joy or lack thereof. Also, remember this is one of the disciplines you can’t really do on your own. If you’re not in fellowship with other Christians outside of a weekend worship service or outside of interaction online, then you’re going to struggle to find your joy.

Focus and Fellowship will be a good start to your spiritual practice of JOY. So focus on your blessings this week. What is good in your life? Give thanks to God for those Blessings. Then make a commitment to spend some time in fellowship with other Christians you like to hang out with. Maybe make lunch plans or join a small group, or even sign up to serve with others.

Remember, the joy of the Lord is our Strength!!!

Blessings,
Jason