First: Why Joyful January?

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a disaster… on so many levels.

But guess what?

WE MADE IT!

And now that we are finally here in 2021 I wanted to make the start of this year all about JOY! Because, momma… I know we need it. And I know a lot of us have lost our joy at times this year.

If you’re feeling joyless… you’re not alone.

Join me in reclaiming your joy this month with the Joyful January Challenge!

Here’s how it works…

Start each day with Psalms 118:24.

It’s important to start the day with the right mindset. So before your feet hit the floor I want you to declare out loud “Today is the day the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

Yes. You will feel silly, at first.

But by the end of the month I am sure it will make a major difference in your attitudes going through the rest of your day! If you do feel silly speaking this out loud, just keep this in mind... it’s a small sacrifice for a transformation.

And you can be patient with yourself. Start out with a whisper, if that’s all you can manage… that still counts. But, I want you to be intentional to speak these words at the start of every day.

2. Spend daily time with God.

The main source of our joy is in Him, so we MUST spend time with Him daily.

Can I just be really honest right now?

Not enough Christians actually take the time to study the word. And it wreaks havoc on our attitudes and our entire lives.

We have to make this a priority. And it doesn’t have to be perfect! I get it… I’m a mom with 3 kids running around my house all day (and 2 dogs, a cat & a hamster… trust me I get it.)

If all you can do is take ONE VERSE and you meditate on that one verse all week long… then do it. But please don’t neglect the practice of getting the word deep inside of you. It will change your life.

And keep an open dialogue with God all day long. Cast your cares on Him. He cares about you and He wants to spend time with you.

3. End each day with gratitude.

Ending the day on a positive note, we sit down and write out 3 things we are grateful for. Now this is important: I want you to really commit to finding 3 NEW things to write each day. I know it’s really easy to just put “family” and “friends” in a category together and count that as one. But I want you to really put thought into the details… Ask yourself why specifically that family members means so much to you. This of memories, moments and character traits.

To help with this, I’ve created this list of gratitude journal prompts to help you out if you ever start to get writers block over the next 30 days.

Summary

My prayer is that this challenge inspires you to see the beauty that is already present in your day to day and to really find Joy in the Lord. We can reclaim our joy! It’s available to us always in Jesus.

Feel free to follow me over on IG where I’ll be sharing joy filled insta stories throughout January.

I’m excited to see what’s in store for us in the month of January!