The Joy Dare: February

Join me on a Joy Dare. Find 3 things to be thankful for every day and by the end of the year you'll have over 1000 reasons to be thankful.

Love


Lyrics By: Tom Loewen
Music By: Derek Elliotson, Leah Duerksen, Chris Kenny
Performed By: Leah Duerksen

Love It’s a many splendored thing Love is king It is patient and kind Leaving no one behind Love is the cure Perfect and pure It always endures Even through pain Love remains and sustains Love acts with urgency In an emergency Love is currency Though you can’t sell it or buy it Love whispers in the quiet And shouts from a mountain Love is the fountain of youth Love is truth So unchanging, it’s prehistoric But always new, love is euphoric Love is the food that nourishes And when it is fed, it flourishes Love is fragile But it can be agile Adapted for every circumstance Because love knows how to dance And when life makes demands Love abandons its plans Makes time for early mornings and last minutes Because love has no limits No conditions Love is our mission Life’s greatest ambition It believes in parity But love is more than charity When loves sees a need It’s the first on the scene Like vaccine Offering healing and help Because love lives beyond itself Love And it’s true, what they say: If you want love You’ve got to give it away

the joy dare: day 20

3 gifts you only saw when you got close-up
  • I found a spiderweb or five while I was dusting today. The sun shining through the window enhanced the intricate weaving of the fine silk. It was beautiful.
  • Snowflakes. When you get up close and personal with a snowflake and you take the time to stop and look, it's a very neat reminder of God's creativity and love for His creation.
  • Life. I noticed new shoots on the curly willow branches and the dogwood branch in the arrangement in our front foyer. Mom picked them from trees in our yard and stuck them in a pot along with some pine boughs, cedar cuttings and other greens, now they are growing. Anyone want a curly willow tree or a dogwood?

the joy dare: day 19

  • a grace in the kitchen: Borscht! I am loving the fact that on a blustery, stormy, snowy day there is Borscht in a pot on the stove ready to be warmed up and eaten. Mom made a big pot earlier in the week and I'm loving that I don't have to make anything for supper tonight.
  • a grace in the weather: Snow! This winter has been pretty mild so far. Today was snowy and stormy and has left the roads pretty slick. But the world outside looks wonderfully white and clean.
  • a grace that might never have been: _________ (struggling with this one, so I'll post and come back to it)

the joy dare: day 18

3 gifts from God's Word
  • Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV) "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
  • 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NLT) "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."
  • Psalm 34:18 (NIV) "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

the joy dare: day 17

  • one gift that made you laugh: the boy that I tutor on Tuesday nights. Last week we played 'Boggle' and one of the words on the list was 'nuts'. I used the other side of that sheet of paper for some math questions today. He turned the paper over and pointed to the word, so I asked "nuts?" and he burst into giggles (like a little school girl).
  • one gift that made you pray: "Thank you for Southern Ontario winter temperatures." We were at 9°C and rain all day while other parts of Canada were hovering around -40°C. While I do like some snow and cold during the winter, -40°C is a little excessive.
  • one gift that made you quiet: my friend, Tarina, told me about the car accident she was in on the weekend. She walked away with minor scrapes and bruises but the car is a complete write off.

the joy dare: day 16

3 ways you witnessed happiness today
  • watching Austin beam with pride as he jumped into the deep end (repeatedly) without the use of his life jacket.
  • my friend's look of sheer joy and excitement as she picked up, smelled and drooled over the freshly baked, gluten-free grape pie that she took home with her this afternoon.
  • while watching "Transporter 2" tonight, I glanced back to my friend during one of those intricately choreographed, incredibly complex and truly unbelievable fight scenes in the movie just so that I could see him smile. He caught me and asked "what?" with a bit of a smirk on his face. It was just really nice to see him smiling, maybe not truly 'happy', but content in that moment of time.