Choosing Joy When It’s Just a Tuesday

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It started on an ordinary weekday. A guy named Neil Pasrisha opens his laptop after a tough season. His marriage had fallen apart and his best friend had taken his own life. Neil was 28 at the time. He decides to notice one small good thing, just one, every day. He calls the blog 1,000 Awesome Things. No grand speeches, just simple joys like fresh bread from a bakery or popping bubble wrap. He posts again the next day and the next until it becomes a daily rhythm.

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But here's the question. Does naming tiny joys actually change anything? Or is it just a cute list on the internet?

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Hey friends, welcome back to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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I'm Bart Leger and for the next few minutes we're going to slow down together and look for joy.

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Not just in the big mountaintop moments, but in the ordinary Tuesdays that fill most of our lives. Turns out, naming life's simple joys even on a mundane Tuesday can change a lot. Neil kept going. One awesome thing every weekday until his blog hit number one almost four years later. Along the way, the project drew millions of readers, won Webby Awards, even became the Book of Awesome. But the bigger win was what it did to everyday people. It trained eyes to look for to be joyful and thankful for clean sheets, the first sip of coffee, or a friend's unexpected text.

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Ordinary life didn't get any grander, but gratitude turned it into joy. That's why Nehemiah says, Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The reality is, most of life is made up of Tuesdays.

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Not birthdays, not vacations, just regular days filled with errands and work and emails and dishes and yard work. If we wait for joy until something big happens, we'll spend most of our lives waiting. But Scripture tells us joy is a choice, a strength, an ability that comes from God, not from our calendar.

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And that choice often starts with something small. Maybe thanking God for the smell of rain on dry ground. Or smiling at the barista who remembers your order next time you go in.

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Or watching a child's unfiltered laughter. When we practice noticing God's gifts, no matter how small, we train our hearts to live in His joy, even when life feels routine. Lord, thank you for the little things, those small gifts you scatter throughout my everyday life.

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Help me notice them. Help me name them and remember the joy that comes from you, not from my circumstances. Teach me to choose joy, even on the most ordinary of days, even on Tuesday. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Thanks for joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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Remember, joy grows in the ordinary when you notice God's small gifts. Come back next time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth.

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Until then, God bless and have a great day.