Contentment

A re-occurring theme in my life, especially in the last year or so, is how different I am because of my joy level.

And how misunderstood I am because of it.

There are lots of posts on here that deal with it...I've done a bad job of labeling them but you can look on the sidebar for links if you want to read more.

The fact is, I have fought for and still do fight to maintain contentment and joy. I fight because I truly believe it is a biblical mandate to be content and joyful in all circumstances. And it really is a fight to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). A hard fight. And it's something I've always struggled with, just ask those that knew me in high school and college:).

Lately, in the last week or so, I've been realizing that there are two things in particular that the enemy is using to chip away at my contentment. These two things are really benign but they have had a big impact on me lately: 1) HGTV and 2) Facebook healthy living groups.

HGTV: Watching too much of this makes it really hard for me to be content in our current home in it's current state (crappy kitchen, dirty carpets, grass-less backyard, etc) with our current budget (zero). So I'm cutting it out/limiting what I watch.

Facebook: I have 'liked' multiple healthy living pages and I love the recipes, ideas, and articles they share...but I can't afford (financial or time) to be 'that' person right now. I feel my frustration (with our finances and life circumstances), anxiety (about how I'm ruining my family's health), and depression levels rising. So guess what, I've hidden those pages from my newsfeed for now. I can still look them up when I want to, but now I'm the one controlling how much I see and when I see it.

So there you have it. I'm choosing joy and contentment. I'm fighting for it.

What in your life is robbing you of joy and contentment?

Prayers! This battle is a hard one that never ends.