What do you do when life hands you really difficult moments? Where do you look for joy? Sometimes it is easy to think that it is not possible to be joyful when times are hard.

But if we are planning on moments of joy being part of our lives, then we will find the joy. Sometimes it may only be a moment of joy and at other times there may be many such moments.

I recently had several difficult things happen and they coincided with a trip to visit my granddaughters who live south of me. My planner includes a page that intentionally asks me to plan a moment of joy. One particular day I was not sure what exactly that moment would be or if I would be able to find one.

I made a trip to see my eldest granddaughter in her new apartment space near Xavier University. I took my youngest graddaughter along with me on the visit. Since it was nearing the lunch hour, I offered to take them all to lunch. That was not going to happen however. Instead the colege student announced that she was taking us to lunch. The first time she could do this.

We drove down the street to a small restaurant near the campus. We ate, we laughed, we had a wonderful time. After we had ordered, the youngest asked if I had a quarter. We all shared a moment of joy as she explained that she wanted to put it into the juke box at our table. Her sister explained that it no longer worked but shared how it would have worked in a different time. That time was my time. We all laughed as we looked at the music shown on the juke box and tried to figure out how anyone could hear abything when all the jukeboxes were playing different songs.

It was a special time of joy and laughter. The difficult things that lay ahead of me did not diminish the  joy one bit.

In fact, having had that wonderful time to share a meal and to laugh together made the difficult things so much easier.

Write out your plan for joy. Take a moment for joy and for gratitude every day. You will feel burdens life and be encouraged to live the next days planning4joy!

When fear and frustration, anger and grief fill our minds it becomes hard for our eyes to perceive the many moments of joy God sends our way rach and every day. When we set our intention to be aware and seek the moments of joy then gradually all the negatives begin to fade.

I have had a difficult time over the last week or so - difficult enough that I simply could not sit here at my computer and write. Worry took a toll on me. Until the day my granddaughter Maddy came to spend the day. She wanted to create something special to set her room apart. She wanted to make the space she had her own.

We talked about what her vision was. She knows me well enough to know that I will honor her ideas and not impose my own. Our agreement is that when she makes art, it is hers alone. I tell her my thought only if there is something she wants to do that I know will not work. For instance, if she wants to paint watercolor on top of glossy acrylics, I will let her try but also tell her why it might not work. I want her to feel confident and to know that she is learning as we all must do when we try new things.

We managed to get one of her projects done and another is in the works. I found a moment of great joy when I quietly watched her working. She was taking such care as she decorated some words to hang on her wall. She was quiet, as was I. And I saw a small smile play on her lips as she worked. My cares slipped away for that moment and I felt the joy.

Often in our culture we work very hard at manufacturing happiness. We are told that things will make us happy. Sometimes when we seek happiness, we seek the big thrill, the excitement of possession or striving. Happiness is a good thing but it can be shallow and fleeting.

Joy I have found tends to sneak up on me. It tip toes into my heart and often no one else knows. It stirs my heart and puts a smile on my face. And more often than not, it sneaks up when I give to others in a quiet way.

Seek joy, give it permission to enter your heart. We will always have cares. Life is often not exactly as we wish it to be. But when your heart and mind are open to joy, God surely will send it your way.