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Authors: Candace Cameron Bure, Erin Davis
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grieve, because the joy of the L ord is your stronghold ” (Neh. 8:10, emphasis mine).
Where can we find the strength to keep going when life is tough? Joy! When we feel weak, what gives us strength to carry on? Joy! Joy and strength are two sides of the same coin. Joy fortifies. It shores up. Sometimes it’s the reinforcement we need to stay standing.
As Christians it’s okay to let loose and have joy instead of getting overly wrapped up in our circumstances. My circumstances didn’t change. The jive was still a difficult dance to learn. I was still feeling the pressure of competing on a live show watched by millions. I was still an amateur dancer trying to compete with Olympic athletes. Getting upset wasn’t going to make any of that any easier but choosing joy did! I was strengthened for the journey by making a conscious effort to be joyful along the way.
That may not always look like forcing a smile while learning a new dance routine. My sister noticed my decision to be joyful while on the show. She’s a great mom who homeschools her four kids. She loves it! She’s naturally joyful, but she told me that when she watched me perform and respond with joy on the show she recognized that sometimes she forgets to have fun. She took it as a reminder to put a smile on her face that would serve as an example of joy to her family and all those around her.
Whether you’re a celebrity on a dancing competition or a homeschooling mom of four, attitude is everything. We may not be able to choose our circumstances, but we can choose to smile. We can choose joy.
In fact, my prayer is that Psalm 32:11 becomes the battle cry of the stressed out, worn out, frustrated, discouraged, and maxed out among us.
Be glad in the L ord and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.
No matter what we face, we can force those happy brain neurons to keep firing by choosing to unwrap God’s gift of joy.
A Joyful Jive
I don’t mean to give the impression that we can choose joy once and for all. I didn’t slap a smile on my face in rehearsals and then never feel another moment of stress for the duration of the show. Nope, stress and anxiety and nerves came in waves. Every time the waves hit, I had the choice to choose joy or to choose an attitude that would be less constructive.
The moment before we went live for week three was one of the moments I felt pummeled by nerves. The jive was a difficult dance to master with its sharp kicks and flicks, and there was one piece of choreography in the middle of the routine that was hit or miss with my steps. I wasn’t consistently nailing it and I knew my nerves were getting to me even more because of it. I wasn’t sure I was ready to showcase it in front of the watching world.
The stress must have shown on my face because right as we were standing on the dance floor, with the audience surrounding us, waiting for the video package to play before immediately going into the routine, Mark grabbed me and prayed with me. He took my hands, pulled them in close, and recited the Lord’s Prayer, whispering it into my ear. Tears filled my eyes and a huge smile was upon my face as we both said, “Amen.” It was a significant moment for me! Not only did I feel totally loved and supported by Mark, but it was also a huge answer to my prayers. One of my friends had been encouraging me to pray with Mark. My response was, “I’m praying about praying with Mark.” I know that sounds silly, especially because I’m a praying gal and I’m rarely shy about it. I was certainly open to praying with Mark and wanted to, but I recognized the amount of time we’d be spending together day in and day out over what could potentially be several months so I hesitated initiating prayer because I didn’t want to force it if it made him feel uncomfortable and make our time together awkward.
There’s a difference between in-your-face and Spirit-led Christianity. I hadn’t hid my faith from my
Where can we find the strength to keep going when life is tough? Joy! When we feel weak, what gives us strength to carry on? Joy! Joy and strength are two sides of the same coin. Joy fortifies. It shores up. Sometimes it’s the reinforcement we need to stay standing.
As Christians it’s okay to let loose and have joy instead of getting overly wrapped up in our circumstances. My circumstances didn’t change. The jive was still a difficult dance to learn. I was still feeling the pressure of competing on a live show watched by millions. I was still an amateur dancer trying to compete with Olympic athletes. Getting upset wasn’t going to make any of that any easier but choosing joy did! I was strengthened for the journey by making a conscious effort to be joyful along the way.
That may not always look like forcing a smile while learning a new dance routine. My sister noticed my decision to be joyful while on the show. She’s a great mom who homeschools her four kids. She loves it! She’s naturally joyful, but she told me that when she watched me perform and respond with joy on the show she recognized that sometimes she forgets to have fun. She took it as a reminder to put a smile on her face that would serve as an example of joy to her family and all those around her.
Whether you’re a celebrity on a dancing competition or a homeschooling mom of four, attitude is everything. We may not be able to choose our circumstances, but we can choose to smile. We can choose joy.
In fact, my prayer is that Psalm 32:11 becomes the battle cry of the stressed out, worn out, frustrated, discouraged, and maxed out among us.
Be glad in the L ord and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.
No matter what we face, we can force those happy brain neurons to keep firing by choosing to unwrap God’s gift of joy.
A Joyful Jive
I don’t mean to give the impression that we can choose joy once and for all. I didn’t slap a smile on my face in rehearsals and then never feel another moment of stress for the duration of the show. Nope, stress and anxiety and nerves came in waves. Every time the waves hit, I had the choice to choose joy or to choose an attitude that would be less constructive.
The moment before we went live for week three was one of the moments I felt pummeled by nerves. The jive was a difficult dance to master with its sharp kicks and flicks, and there was one piece of choreography in the middle of the routine that was hit or miss with my steps. I wasn’t consistently nailing it and I knew my nerves were getting to me even more because of it. I wasn’t sure I was ready to showcase it in front of the watching world.
The stress must have shown on my face because right as we were standing on the dance floor, with the audience surrounding us, waiting for the video package to play before immediately going into the routine, Mark grabbed me and prayed with me. He took my hands, pulled them in close, and recited the Lord’s Prayer, whispering it into my ear. Tears filled my eyes and a huge smile was upon my face as we both said, “Amen.” It was a significant moment for me! Not only did I feel totally loved and supported by Mark, but it was also a huge answer to my prayers. One of my friends had been encouraging me to pray with Mark. My response was, “I’m praying about praying with Mark.” I know that sounds silly, especially because I’m a praying gal and I’m rarely shy about it. I was certainly open to praying with Mark and wanted to, but I recognized the amount of time we’d be spending together day in and day out over what could potentially be several months so I hesitated initiating prayer because I didn’t want to force it if it made him feel uncomfortable and make our time together awkward.
There’s a difference between in-your-face and Spirit-led Christianity. I hadn’t hid my faith from my
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