By some counts, the word joy (or words related to joy) appears close to 200 times in the Bible. Its uses range from when we’re told that God will turn our mourning into joy, to James’ exhortation to “count it all joy” when we experience all sorts of trials. One of the most important things to know and remember about authentic joy is that it’s not necessarily something we can manufacture on our own. It is a gift from God that flows from knowing who (and who’s) we are and living according to the Lord’s purpose for our lives. When we do that, nothing can take away our joy, regardless of how difficult life can be at times. Would you consider yourself a joyful person? Do you have a deep and abiding joy that the world and all its tribulations can’t rob from you? If you’ve ever lost your sense of joy, how did you rediscover it? This will be our illuminating conversation on Monday. Hope you can join us and call with your take!