My joy (AND MORE!) comes from the Lord

 

 

In our family, we have a saying, "You sucked the joy right out of that."  You know what that means?  Something good is happening . . .something fun is going on . . .and someone comes along and does something that seems to suck the joy right out of the situation.  Now do you understand?

Last week when I was at She Speaks I realized (once again!) that my joy comes from the Lord.  My joy is not dependent on others.  I also realized that joy is not the only thing that I have allowed others to remove from my life.  Quite a few other things have "leaked out" over the years . . things like my confidence.  My confidence is not built on the opinions of others (I need to keep saying that over and over).   I am created by God for a purpose - maybe for many purposes.   I am a beautiful woman.  I am smart.  I am good.  I have gifts.  I am not saying these things because I think I am better than anyone else.  I am saying these things because maybe you need to hear them as much as I do.  Maybe someone has said things to you over the years that have sucked the joy and confidence out of your life.  Maybe someone has said things to you over the years and you have allowed those words to seep into your heart and into your mind and into your brain.  Maybe those words have made you think that you aren't beautiful . . .made you think that you aren't smart . . . made you think that you aren't good enough.  YOU ARE!!!  I AM!!!!  Why?  Because all that we are and all that we have comes from the Lord.  He is enough! 

Do you struggle with any issues like this?