I believe Joy is a choice and not a response. I believe it is a decision and not an emotion. I believe joy is not a result of circumstances, rather it is a choice.

So the question is, how do I find joy with all that is going on with my life?

I am going to try to explain something that is very hard to explain. Boldness, confidence, self-esteem, and yes even joy can be jump started by a physical action. I was with a friend one time in Kentucky who is a lawyer. He was from Florida and we were meeting on a hotel deal in Louisville. Before he left Florida he had gotten a prescription from his doctor that he needed filled. I was driving and he said he wanted to go by the CVS to get his prescription filled. I proceeded to tell him that he would have to drop it off and then come back later to pick it up. He told me, it is all about how confident you are when you ask for it to be filled while you wait. So here we go into the CVS and I watched him boldly and nicely ask for it to be filled while we wait. !0 minutes later it was filled and we were back in the car heading for dinner.

I have thought about that many times since that day and while it is not true every time, you can usually carry a different tenor into a conversation if you simply act like it. It is hard to explain but I do know that if you start a conversation with boldness it usually sets a positive tenor for the meeting or conversation. I also know that if you start looking down and acting like you are unsure about what you are talking about, it usually sets the negative tenor for the meeting.

So back to joy. I believe if you act joyful your emotions will usually follow your physical actions. Sounds deep right? The term Boldness is referred to in the New Testament 42 times and I believe it is there for a reason. Many times, your boldness, confidence, self-esteem and yes even joy, takes it cue from how you physically act. So before you make a phone call, set an appointment or even start a day, decide that you are going to be bold about it and I believe you will see what I mean by setting the tenor of a situation. KT

The commandment to “Fear Not” is the most used commandment in the bible. It is actually in the bible 365 times. I think it is also providential that there are 365 days in a year. Therefore, one commandment for each day is something to pay attention to.

God doesn’t want you to go a single day without hearing his word of comfort to fear not. The only explanation is to understand that God already knows everything going on with you. He knows how many hairs were on your head yesterday and also how many are on your head today. The bible also says his eye is on every sparrow and therefore as his child, you better believe he is watching over you. The meaning is that the sparrow is considered the most insignificant of all birds and if he has his eye on it, don’t you think he has his eye on you? KT

Look at the statistics below and guess whether it describes the NBA or the NFL.

36 accused of spousal abuse

7 convicted of fraud

19 caught passing bad checks

117 business bankruptcy’s caused directly or indirectly

3 doing time for assault

76 cannot get a credit card

14 busted for drugs

8 convicted of shoplifting

21 defendants in lawsuits

84 arrested for drunk driving within the last year

Answer: wait for it,,,,, it is neither. It is the United Sates Congress. KT

I believe one of the biggest mistakes people can make in their life is to think that they did it all by themselves. One of the dumbest terms I have ever heard a man say was “I am a self-made man.” What he meant was he did it all and that God played no part in it. I think when those words come out of your mouth, you will find that you just crested the hill of life.

I remember the Beatles in the mid 60’s. They were all things to music around the globe and their popularity was unprecedented until John Lennon was interviewed in 1966. John Lennon said publicly that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. He went on to say that Christianity will vanish and shrink. Well, right after he said that, the Beatles had to cancel every America tour and their albums were pulled from the shelves. After than, the Beatles were never the same.

Deuteronomy 8:18 says; “But thou shall remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee the power to get wealth.”

I heard a man say one time that the more wealth or prosperity you gain, the harder it becomes not to take the credit for it. I believe one of the fundamentals of life is to always keep in your mind and heart how you got to the place you are and never take the credit for it. KT