Afraid to have Joy?

Hah, I haven't written in such a long time! I really want to pick up writing/blogging again--soon! I was just getting all sentimental and looking over past posts and journal entries... I feel like my art for tasteful words and descriptive writing has quite suffered and been quenched lately. Maybe due to too much intellectual thinking and critical observing? :( Disciplined and focused study seems to squelch the creative and wandering mind. :'(  Or maybe I'm going through a rebellious stage, thinking that tasteful and artful words are immature and unlearned from the hardships and sorrows that grown-up life throws at you, causing one to be slightly more rather reserved and careful in their joy. ....? Maybe?



Hmm... Food for thought...
Are we, as adults, with full knowledge of the hardships and sorrow of life, afraid to let ourselves grasp joy? 

There's certainly nothing like a great let-down to discourage us from wanting to ever expect anything again.
Then we're taught to not expect anything, or, if we are to expect something, expect it to be horrid and dismal (to "prepare for the worst", they say, to "protect yourself from disappointment").
Is this a right standpoint?
In our self-preservation efforts to not let disappointment harm us, we teach ourselves to lower expectations and prepare for a blow. We're holding onto a defensive shield rather than the joy of the Lord. 

There is good reason for being hesitant or afraid to grasp joy, for it's a scary thing to be vulnerable to disappointment. 

But rather than letting ourselves be affected by outside circumstances, why don't we let ourselves be affected and touched by the living and breathing Word of God?
For more than a single circumstance has authority to affect our attitude for a day, we have Christ Jesus who has power to infect our hearts and transform our entire lives.

Joy from the inside is more powerful than a blow from without. 



Pray for:
- Words to come to mind and flow freely, that I can write creatively, tastefully and imaginatively again, and not be discouraged by my patted down and more disciplined mind