After I posted “The Gift of Joy” last week, I started thinking more about the things that bring me joy, and I realized that having joy in our lives is one very important ingredient to having more peace in our lives. I knew when I did my first post that I would write about things that bring me joy again, but now I realize that it should be a bigger series than I had originally planned. So, for the next several weeks I will be using my Thursday post to reveal more things that bring me joy. This will allow all of you to get to know me a little better, and I hope that it will help you to start thinking about the things that bring you joy more often, which will inevitably bring more peace to all of our lives.

When I decided to make this a series, I starting thinking about some of the things that bring me joy, and I found myself putting them in order of importance. I started thinking that some of the things that bring me joy are not as important as other things. While that is true, I also realized that even the simplest things in life can bring us joy, and while they may be simple, they can have a significant impact on our lives and bring us joy when we need it the most.

This week I have decided to list five celebrities who bring me joy. I know that many of us admire celebrities. We all enjoy watching or listening to certain people, and sometimes we feel a connection with them even though we have never actually met them. The five celebrities I chose all happened to be women. I can remember the very first time I became aware of each of these women, and there was an instant spark when I first saw them. Many of these women overcame challenges in their own lives. Some struggled with poverty, others with injuries that could have ruined their careers, and some with unfair stereotypes. Whatever the challenge that each of these women faced, they faced them with courage knowing that there was a plan for them to do something extraordinary with their lives. All of us, just like these five women, have obstacles in our lives, but when we put our trust in God and allow Him to guide us, we can overcome all the obstacles in our path. God can make a way where there seems to be no way, and when we follow Him we will become all that we are meant to be.

All five of these women make the world a more beautiful place through a variety of avenues. They have made the world more pleasing through song, acting, decorating, and most of all humor. They have made us laugh and cry. They have inspired us to make our world more beautiful, and they have shown us that we all have God-given gifts that we can use to improve the lives of the people with whom we come into contact. That is something else that none of us should forget. God has given each of us unique gifts and talents, and we should do our best to use those gifts to make the world a better place. No gift is too small or too insignificant to make a difference in someone’s life. It is our job to allow God to use us and our gifts to bless the lives of the people we come into contact with.

I hope you will enjoy the second installment of “The Gift of Joy”, and I hope that you will continue to look for and acknowledge the things that bring you joy. As I said in my previous post, God has placed things in our lives to bring us joy. Living on this earth can be difficult at times, but there is still so much joy to be had. Living a life full of joy will lead to more peace and PEACE MATTERS.

~Dan~

Joanna Gaines

Dolly Parton

Doris Day

Kelly Ripa

Reba McEntire