What is Joy?

Joy: a choice. Many people do not see it that way. Instead, joy is often seen as a temporary perk that happens as a result of luck, well-aligned circumstances, or events happening a few times a year. Perhaps you see joy as your cup of coffee; only present in your life when you participate in the material of your preference. According to this popular outlook, Joy is a fickle, fleeting thing that depends on circumstances you cannot always control. 

This kind of outlook produces primarily two kinds of responses from us. Either give up, and expect the worst. Only enjoy "Joy" when it decides to show up at your door on a sunny day. The other is to hunt it down by controlling the circumstances, leash in the joy, force it to happen. Make that cup of coffee, or maybe two when the "Joy" hasn't quite kicked into the bloodstream. Do that HIIT workout, or yoga, or pilates, eat a paleo diet, make sure you buy a dog, take instagram pictures with said dog, eat at the new restaurants, do all the "happy", healthy, good things. Now, to recognize a sad day, or to do good things for your health and pleasure is not wrong or bad at all, but if joy really is dependent on our current circumstances or control, we have surrendered to a sad state for the rest of our lives on earth. We have surrendered to default sadness and disappointment, or fight a vain fight with this default. This is because change gets the better of us. It will come and screw things up.

Thankfully, there is another, better way, to look at joy. Joy is not dependent on circumstances, it is not that fickle. Joy is rather really accessible, and actually long-lasting. This is because Joy is a choice. An intentional state of mind, heart, and soul oriented towards God. Joy supersedes the circumstances that be. Joy is a choice to being faithful in your place, whether hard or easy, and a choice to do it with a good attitude. Joy is a choice to being content, whether you have plenty or are lacking. Joy is a choice to be grateful, no matter how this day looks for you. Ultimately, Joy is the choice to have hope and believe in the faithfulness and love of God, no matter what. Joy should be our default. It is in our power to be joyful. Joy, or the lack of, is not what controls you. Rather, we have that control for ourselves. We can default to Joy. And this is all because we have an unchangeable God in the midst of so many changing seasons in our lives. God is faithful and always will be. Accepting this reality is the foundation of our Joy. It is the reason we can choose to be Joyful. 

Understanding Joy from this perspective is freeing and empowering. It is our drive and our mission to spread Joy, as a choice. Our products obviously are funny and cute, and happy. But none of these products will actually produce any long-lasting joy. Nothing external, not even our amazing greeting cards, can produce in you the right decision to orient your life towards God. Instead we hope that our cards direct you in that direction. We hope you choose your default attitude to be one of Joy. Because it is a choice. One you can make.