How would you describe joy? Do you ever get an overwhelming feeling of happiness? That’s joy. But joy and happiness are different. Happiness can be taken away when disappointment enters the picture. Joy is a choice; an attitude that you choose to have no matter the circumstance.
Sometimes it is hard to find joy in the hard times. Sometimes it is hard to find joy when things aren’t going our way. Joy is a choice!
Discussion
Read the story of Jesus’ resurrection with your child. At first, Jesus friends and family were very sad about what happened to Jesus. It’s okay to be sad. Jesus tells us in the bible that we will have trouble, but that He has already overcome the world (John 16:33). Since He has overcome the world, we can find Hope in Him and try to replace the sadness with joy.
Continue reading the story. The angel tells Mary and the women at the tomb that Jesus is not dead anymore! Oh, how their hearts must have leapt for joy!!
Ask your child:
- Why were the women so sad? What happen to Jesus that made them so sad?
- What did the angel tell the women about Jesus? Was he in the tomb?
- How do you think the women felt, especially Mary, when they found out Jesus was alive?
Talk about how happy and joyful Mary must have felt. It must have been amazing to witness someone overcome death, especially someone whom they loved so much! Talk about how the disciples reacted when Jesus came to them. At first they were scared, but once they realized it really was Jesus, their hearts were so full with happiness: joy!
Scripture
Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy! Psalm 47:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation. Psalm 95:1
Activity
For this activity, you will need:
- Christian music
- Some awesome dance moves! (It’s okay if you are dance challenged like me. Your children won’t care!)
One of the things that brings me joy is worshiping our Lord, especially with my little boy! I love music and so does my son. Read the scriptures for today. Talk about how we can express our joy to the Lord through music.
Turn on some worship music and have a dance party!! Clap to the Lord! Sing to the Lord! You will probably find yourself and your kids laughing and playing and being silly. It will be a fun! That really happy feeling is joy! You will definitely bring joy to your child if you have a dance party with them 😉
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