Why not read a book simply on joy?

The answer is an easy one.

In this world where we find ourselves living,

having joy often feels both crazy and out of reach.

That's why the title of this book includes the word defiant.

Defiant means to stand against the tide.

It means to go against the flow, even when the flow is composed of a strong current of despair and difficulty

To have joy in the midst of sorrow or the current news feed can seem impossible

And all on our own it is impossible. But just as the angel Gabriel said after making his outlandish proclamation to marry that she, a

virgin, would give birth to the Savior of the world, nothing will be impossible

with God. Joy is meant to be ours, a joy that is defiant in the face of this broken world.

Our hearts are to echo the heartbeat of our joyous God.

Now, this isn't about skipping around in the garden singing,

I'm so happy in Jesus every day this is about being present to

whatever may be coming our way and in the midst of both the goodness and the

grief knowing joy.

Believing that sorrow and loss do not have the final word

takes defiance.

It requires a strength of spirit that must be nurtured. It means engaging our lives fully, but interpreting

them by the highlight of heaven. Denying the truth of reality is not the answer, being fully

present to it is. The invitation from God to rejoice, again I say rejoice comes to us in the middle of our

lowest lows as well as our highest highs.

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