What is JOY? Personally, I think all Christians have a reason to rejoice because JOY = Jesus owns you. Get it? Jesus Owns You! And for the creative minds, just by denting the “O”, we get a ♥! So it’s also Jesus ♥ You! Thus, there are 2 great reasons to rejoice, because not only does Jesus Own You, Jesus ♥ You as well!!! (A round of applause for these amazing acronyms please!)

There are always 2 ways of viewing things: with optimism or with pessimism. Happiness is a choice that all of us can choose to make and you can begin by going about all your daily tasks with JOY from today onwards!

For instance, studying can be a pain for some of us, but if you concentrate on the sense of satisfaction and joy you feel when you do well at the end of the semester, and how pleased your parents will be, wouldn’t you feel more JOY when doing it? This method certainly works for me! Through positive thinking,  I was able to complete the 4 hours of practise with joy rather than dread! 

I’d also like to talk about feeling JOY when serving the Lord. Serving in church ministries is never an easy task, especially when there are people involved. It is often difficult to get every member to be passionate about serving while ensuring no one is left behind.

Recalling my first time being in Zion as a freshie, I could feel the friendliness and passion of the people serving in Zion. Ushers were smiling to every person attending the service and I remember Deborah, Faith and Lynn amongst the many who came to speak to me on that first day. To this day, I can still feel the warmth, unity and passion exuded by Zion Praise Harvesters and the JOY in them when they serve the Lord.

The next group of people worth mentioning and giving credit to are the people involved in transport. I personally have benefited LOADS from this because it is really difficult to get anywhere in Perth without a car. Staying in ECU student village makes it even harder for me to get to UWA for Sunday service as public transport is not the most frequent on weekends. I am extremely thankful to all the drivers who helped in transporting people around for events and outings. They certainly have made a lot of difference to my life here in Perth and I’m sure many others can say the same as well. 3 cheers for the drivers!

In Zion Praise Harvest, I am learning to experience the JOY in serving the Lord. Many people have inspired me to serve. The drivers, members of the worship team, and the projection and sound ministries who get in at 6am in the morning just to set up and make sure everything is ready for the service. I believe getting up at 9 am is a big “no no” for many sleepy-heads on a Sunday, let alone being at UWA by 6am!!! Only JOY and Passion to serve in His house can be the driving force for these people, to be disciplined enough, to be up and ready to serve almost every week.

I have since then, been motivated to serve and very recently, joined the PA ministry. Now, I wake up at 6am on Sunday mornings and feel that unmistakeable JOY knowing that I’ll be helping PA prepare and set up for service. Feeling JOY getting up at 6am? Are You SERIOUS???!!! Yes I AM!!! I'm surprised by myself too, but it is true!

In a nutshell, JOY ( Jesus Owns You &  Jesus ♥ You ) is the key to happiness in all areas of our lives, be it when serving the Lord or going through the motions of mundane tasks. I have definitely experienced this JOY for myself. HAVE YOU? :D