The Joy Challenge

God gives us His armor to wear that includes the Helmet of Salvation, Breastplate of Righteousness, Belt of Truth, Shield of Faith, Sword of the Spirit, and Shoes of Peace.

Pray with me today and let's put on this gift of protection over our hearts and minds. Praying to Jesus helps us to align our mind with the power of God.

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Habits shape us and mindfulness is key in rewiring our hearts and brain to connect to our Joy giver. If we want to grow in joy or grow in our relationship with Jesus, we can consider what practices are nourishing us on a daily basis. What can we tweak or try in our daily lives?

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Introducing and series on Joy Retreats and why they are a great idea to fit into your framework. They are tools for planning out space to cultivate those joy habits. Listen to hear the heart of why this topic is so awesome.

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Creating an intentional framework for your life helps you make decisions with confidence, know your limits, create space for the good things that make us joyful and resilient. Having a healthy Rule of Life helps create boundaries that keep us from running on empty. Let's create a life where joy is intentional.

Food is a delightful gift. It's meant to be enjoyed. But what about when complications arise and we are not hungry, cant taste, and feel discouraged. Shifting our heart to the benefits of joy around the table can transform our meal times into something more. Food can be a opportunity for filling our heart just as much as our stomachs.

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Lent season brings a tool to consider for fostering joy. Fasting is a tool not for God, but for us. Today we explore using fasting as a way to re orient our heart to God's heart. By altering some of our normal rhythm or consumption we can help our heart focus on what is important. Becoming present with the Joy Giver is always a wise choice. Fasting is one way that we can exercise our soul and bring our body along with it.

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Loving others brings so much pleasure and reward, but what about when it's hard. A real talk about true love. Real love. Hard love. Exploring the benefits of love, the wisdom from Scripture and the science about how it impacts us. It may not be convenient, but it's worth it. Let's grow joy by increasing the love in our life.

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Using an analogy from a recent HITT workout, we describe what it's like to encourage yourself and others during times when life "hits" hard and intensity is high. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a peptalk... bring some courage and motivation to keep pressing on and not give up. We can be that bold voice of joy for ourselves and for others. It's a great way to retain our joy and fight to live well.

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Flow state is a fascinating gift God designed our brains to experience. With 5 different brain chemicals coming together, it's no wonder that this powerhouse of pleasure allures us back time and again. Sometimes we don't even recognize it. But when we understand how we are wired, we can steward our brains and bodies a little wiser. Flowstate is awesome and we can understand it and use it to our advantage to keep our joy tanks "flowing".

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I have fantastic news to share about the Joy Challenge. And in doing so, it's a great to just talk about Good News. The best news and also all the good news in our lives. The world needs more of it, and it's ready to be discovered.

I encourage listeners to share their own good news with us by writing in the comments. Let's share and celebrate together.

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