You have possession of your heart’s state of mind just like you have free will when it comes to making choices. The Bible instructs you to not let anyone take your joy. Sometimes it’s easy to miss the attempt to steal your happiness because it is subtle. Sometimes, the attack comes head on with guns blazing.

But you decide which answer you give: Is the glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty?  Most people choose one or the other. But have you ever considered that if you say the glass is 1/2 empty, it isn’t that you don’t have 1/2 of what you did, but that you still have 1/2. It’s yours to savor and enjoy at your leisure.

The devil likes you to be unhappy, downtrodden and outright hopeless. All those adjectives describe joylessness. As a child I learned a song in church, The Joy of the Lord is My Strength. If you want joy you must sing for it. It’s true and I still love that song. I put it into action every chance I get by singing along with one of my favorite CDs. But most of all, I learned the truth from that song that if I have a song in my heart, I have joy. No one sings a happy tune if they aren’t happy. I don’t believe you can frown and sign an upbeat song about happy, hopeful things.  You can sing about tragedy, but you can’t while you’re smiling. Your face will be angled downward into a frown.

When I guest blog on sites, as I type my responses, I smile. I am a firm believer that your attitude is conveyed through your actions and even your words. It is easier to respond and to be sincere when I smile during those replies. It is freeing. It is empowering. God gives each of us that power–to travel this world with a song in our hearts.

I know you see references to Casting Crowns and their songs in a lot of my posts. Well, their music and the message behind their lyrics give me joy. They have a new album out called, Thrive. It is very upbeat and you can’t help but tap your steering wheel while you’re waiting at the red light to change when listening to most of the songs on the album, the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8th (the 3rd & 8th especially for me). There are a few songs that are a bit dark, dealing with struggling relationships and disconnected families and one about the thief that comes in the night to steal—your joy and anything else he can. Don’t let him take your joy. Guard it well. Revel in it. Rejoice in it. and Witness through it.

The title song, Thrive, makes me happy when I sing along with it.

So, what song brings you joy?