Joyful New Year!

As I was reading Facebook posts this morning and thinking about the upcoming year, I was thinking that wishing people a HAPPY New Year really didn't make that much sense to me. As much as it would be nice to have a HAPPY New Year, I realize that there are going to be times throughout the next year that will inevitably be unhappy. There will be moments of sadness, there might even be full days or weeks of sadness. There will be times when I do not feel at all HAPPY, when I am upset, mad, nervous, scared, etc. Not to be a total downer as we look ahead to the New Year, but I have decided that I will not be wishing people a HAPPY New Year for 2010. Instead, I think Joyful is a much better choice of words. No matter what happens during the next year of my life, I know Who I belong to, and that God has a master plan for all that happens in my life. I have little control over the day to day happenings in the world, whether they are happy, sad, devastating, or exciting. In fact, there are moments when I have no control over myself, but regardless of what happens in my world, I will still have JOY in my heart. The best news of all is that even in moments of great sorrow and pain, I have seen and experienced JOY in my own life and hope that each of you have as well. So, as we move forward in 2010, I wish you the JOY that comes from knowing how great a God we serve! JOYFUL 2010!