Every session includes a Bible verse that references joy. Some verses, like above, involve building joy into your life. That designation will be in the icon to the left of the verse. After completing your 5-min Joy Session, you will close with a prayer based on that verse and joy.

Week One focuses on joyful memories. They can be as recent as last week or back to the days of childhood. Filling five minutes generally takes more than one memory. It has been compared to chewing gum. Once the flavor of the memory dissipates, move to another memory. Key words to these memories (like “Zoo Trip”) become important later to recall the joy again. For session 1A, think about places that you enjoyed as a child – a farm, neighbor’s house, school, a park, grandma’s house, sledding hill, local lake, etc.

Week One’s Reading assignment is pp. 1-13 of Joyful Journey.

The Finding Joy marker is the separator between the morning and afternoon devotions, and the afternoon and evening devotions.

Session B will be an introduction to and eventually practice of Immanuel Journaling, a way to speak to and listen to Jesus, Immanuel – God with us. Consider this Joyful Journey quote:

Interacting with God is a simple idea, yet it is something many of us don't know how to navigate. Most of us can neither see nor hear God, and we have some reservations about people who say they do! Even when Jesus came in the form of Immanuel (God with us) those closest to Him had difficulty seeing God in Him. Simon Peter, who went back to fishing, and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus failed to recognize Jesus after the resurrection (Luke 24). Jesus diagnosed them with sluggish vision (being slow-of-heart) as they were focused mainly on the pain in their lives… God has provided the Holy Spirit to empower us to experience Immanuel, the God who walks with us.
p.2, Joyful Journey, Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow (hereafter JJ, WKLL)

Session C: Focus next week will turn to gratitude, an opportunity to dwell on things to appreciate that day, recently, or while reminiscing about the past. By the way, the spiritual discipline known as Examen invites the Holy Spirit to lead a mental walk back through your day looking for, among other things, times for gratitude. We are training our brains to find gratitude which in turn brings out joy.

“When we start our day with joy, it is easier to face the challenges we will meet throughout the day. When we know we will end our day in a place of joy and peace, sleep comes more easily and we do not dread life quite so much.”
p. 20, The 4 Habits, Warner, Coursey

Again, with alarm set, run back through your day with appreciation (or deeper into your past as desired). After your alarm sounds, close session C with a brief worship of God based in joy. Both verse and prayer are provided. For now, continue to practice joyful memories exercises and then close with a little bit of worship joy toward God.

Now a thought-rhyming response from God:
And _____ (use your name), My heart is glad in You. I love that you trust in Me – and I love You!