JOY RIDE

Hi, welcome to the third and last post for January 2025! Smiles, I didn’t miss the dates!☺️ I know we still have one more Tuesday to go before we say bye to January, but I believe we agreed at the beginning of the year that the 4th Tuesday (for months with 4 Tuesdays) will be for catching up on the previous posts we might have missed during the month. Remember the 2025 schedule I informed you about when the “New Year, New Me?” post was released? The catch-up reminder scheduled for the 4th Tuesday takes effect from the 28th of January, 2025, which is next week Tuesday.

Allow me to emphasize on this a bit more. I’ll be releasing a post, but it will be more of a review of the previous posts for the month (including “New Year, New Me?’ which was released on the 31st of December, 2024) rather than a new release. It will be your cue to read the posts for the month if you missed any of them, and also to revisit or catch a summary of what you have learnt through the posts if you have read them previously. When I said we were in for a beautiful ride together at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t joking😁.

Speaking of rides, we’re about to have one together again today! But before that, I hope you have been fine, and the past week was remarkable for you. In case you have some things you’re still trying to figure out as the year keeps unfolding, cheer up, you’re not alone.

Remember, it’s a year that you’ve not spent before, but you have a flex that you shouldn’t lose your guard about; Someone has gone ahead of you into the year and is even at the end waiting for you. He didn’t just go ahead, He’s also holding you right by the hand and walking you through the journey daily! You have all the help you need, so keep living every day as an overcomer.

Today, we will be checking out an interesting topic, interesting because if you check out the original meaning of ‘Joy Ride’, you will discover it’s more of a carefree or reckless adventure. Actually, that got me wondering why something so meaningful at first listen or mention could have such a funny meaning, but I have decided to channel these words into something we can hold on to for the rest of our lives, as you would see if you read the post to the end.

Can I start with this? ‘Joy Ride’ as a ‘reckless or carefree adventure’ does not necessarily need to carry a negative undertone in your mind, depending on how you choose to see it, or the meaning you give to it. Rather than doing away with it altogether, take a cue from the above meaning and channel it into living a ‘care-free life’, meaning a life that knows the appropriate place to channel their concerns or worries, and a life of ‘reckless abandon’, which refers to a life that has laid all their concerns and burdens on the ONLY ONE who’s got the shoulders to bear the load- GOD. Do you see now how you can bring out the positive version? Let’s get more into it!

As the days go by, we soon come to realize that we are surrounded by different news; the good and the bad. While we often believe that people get sad just because of negative events going on, which is true, sometimes, the thought or news of a happy event equally gets people concerned. Take for instance, you hear about the news of someone securing a job or a visa, getting married, having a baby, bagging a degree, landing a deal, etc. While you’re happy for them and celebrating their win, this thought of worry or a tinge of bitterness just rears its ugly head. How do you deal with that?

How do you knock that feeling or thought out? Do you just immediately give in and allow your thoughts to carry you to where you don’t know, or do you tell that feeling to go right back to its dead state and remain dead since you’re a new being? How do you process your worries and the feeling of being left behind? You can start to evaluate yourself as you keep reading.

Of course, the discussion of keeping your joy intact might sound like an everyday sermon, but it is also worth reminding ourselves about daily as there are different cares and issues that are equally fighting for and with our joy, trying to make sure they win the fight at the expense of our sound minds. So, what should be your response henceforth when you get exciting news, and a “What’s getting you excited? Is it your win?” kind of thought pops out of nowhere?

As I mentioned earlier, you can start by sending that ugly narration back to where it belongs-the grave. It’s a long-buried nature, and it should stay dead! Counter it with the right words that affirm your victory and the right state of your mind, words coming from the deep-seated knowledge of the new being that you are, words coming from the reservoir stored up through your study, mediation, and understanding of the scriptures, and words coming from the sound identity of Whose you are.

My second point will be telling you to take charge of your thoughts. Yes, you can decide on what you want to be thinking about, and constantly renew your commitment to those things. You have the ability to “fix your mind on things that are true, honourable, authentic, right, just, pure, lovely and loveable, kind, admirable, excellent, of good report, compelling, virtuous, worthy of praise and reverence, the beautiful, and not the ugly” (Philippians 4:8, a mix of different versions). You can imagine the best of people and situations, not the worst!

Don’t be at the mercy of thoughts that should not come close to you, allowing them to gradually creep in and just take over your mind completely. Once you sense them trying to find a way in, lock your gates! Constantly fill your mind with thoughts of the positive things. When your mind is idle, strange thoughts can try to sneak in. but when your mind is already occupied with the right thoughts, the opposite does not stand a chance.

Still on this topic, you have to make a joy-decision! Bear in mind that this decision is not a one-time thing, it has to be a conscious, deliberate, everyday choice. Renew your mind by confessing that you are a joyous being until it becomes your reality. Remember, your words are powerful, and they carry weight. As you make the decision, you are sowing seeds that will germinate and bear fertile fruits.

Another important key is to intentionally surround yourself with the right systems. By this, I mean listening to the right songs that will have you humming out loud or screaming in your mind all day long. Victoria, how do you intend to shoot up your joy level when depressing music has been on repeat since morning?

I promise I’m not judging you, just trying to call your attention to something you might not have considered. In case you’re a Victoria, don’t take it personally, but take it seriously. Thankfully, it’s also my name, so I’m sure you won’t be offended. I would have loved to input a Yoruba name to make it sound more serious, but I believe you already got the message.

Also, you can help your ability to make positive confessions and thoughts by setting structures that make it easy for you to do them. How does having your confessions or a verse that reminds you that you are a joy being as your screensaver, or setting alarms that remind you to make your confession sound? Nice, right? Then, let’s get right to it! If this sounds like your clue, don’t procrastinate on it oo! Please, go and get it done now!

What this does for you is to keep the right things consistently before your eyes and ultimately in your mind. You can even engage your sticky notes by writing your affirmations on them and placing them at specific spots in the house if you’re a stay-at-home or work-from-home person. That way, you get to see them in every space you step into within the house, read them aloud, and also meditate on them as you go about carrying out your activities for the day.

As part of your positive response to joyful news and to keep up the positive spirit and mindset, support the person in any way that you can. Let them know you share in their joy, and rejoice with them wholeheartedly! Show up for them in any way you can, or in any way they might need you to. Let your pocket and purse show the support, as well as your physical and emotional presence.

The tables will soon turn, and you will have people lining up to return the favour. But before then, be a carrier of goodwill and express it. Don’t just do it because you are expecting to reap the favour, even though you will, but let your foremost reason be inspired by the love being that you are.

This might be something that you have not been paying attention to, but I want you to start doing so as from today; give no pride or head-rub moment to the enemy and his agents. It should not be on your case that they will be giving reports and at the end, whoever is in charge will get a “well done, keep it up!” No, not in your case! They can keep trying, but let your positive responses to situations be the reason for their frustrations.

What you want might not be a reality yet, but acknowledge and appreciate the things that are working in your life. There are so many things that are going on for you just fine, one of which is the breath in your nostrils. If you reflect, you will realize that you have a lot to be grateful for. Spend the days before your big win counting your blessings as you wait for the one you desire to be added to your list of blessings and answered prayers.

A lot of times, we get bothered because we fail to recognize that we are not competing with any other person as we journey through life. I once wrote a blog post titled “Your Race and Your Pace” which is in 2 parts. Both are available for reading on the blog, you can just make use of the search button at the top right-hand corner of this page once you’re done reading today’s post. Your competition is with you and becoming the better version of yourself, so run your race as it has been designed.

To run your race as ordered, you have to recognize your seasons and unique timing. Embrace your unique journey. The closest or most similar of individuals are identical twins, yet they are most times very different from each other despite the resemblance in looks. They do not also have the exact template based on their journey, so why bother yourself with someone else’s that is entirely different from yours? Be inspired by their progress rate, but don’t make it a source of negative energy for yourself.

Still, on this unique season of yours, find out the mind and purpose of the Father for you so that you can keep your mind fixed on the right things and make the best out of the season. One of the things that causes regret is realizing that one has wasted time on the wrong things or things that will not count at the end of the day when the matter is eventually settled.

Have you ever asked yourself “Why did I even worry about this in the first place?” after getting an answer, that is exactly what I’m talking about. There are times you would get to realize at the end of the wait that you were only being protected or being trained for the greatness ahead. Before then, try to understand what the purpose of your waiting is. And even if it seems you can’t seem to figure it out, trust the process and be assured that you are not waiting in vain.

This leads me to my next point; trust in God and the journey He’s taking you through. It might be hard, but you can count on His help and His strength to help you renew your trust in Him. Don’t stop talking to Him all through the process, bearing in mind that not once has He forgotten you. You are right in His mind, and you are always in His thoughts. Let that reality stir up trust in you.

Soon, the pieces of the puzzle would come together, and you would find out why there had to be some moments of pausing. You know you have a Father who sees far ahead than you, right? He won’t see a ditch ahead and just ask you to go in blindly when He’s not a wicked Father. He would rather make you pause and make sure the coast is clear before you proceed. See your wait as God’s way of preserving and protecting you, and be grateful for it!

Let’s conclude with this; your chief source of encouragement should be God. However, He has also extended help to you by placing you in the midst of a ‘joy company’, people who can strengthen your resolve to stay joyful, people with whom you can celebrate one another and celebrate with others. Make sure you keep up the positive energy with your joy company, rather than joining hands to throw shades of bitterness. You can do better, and much more with your company. Let your joy rub off on others!

Huh, this is my stop for today, and I’ll be signing out at this point. Were you able to read to the end? Wow, you deserve all the flowers and accolades! Thank you for joining me on this ‘joy ride’ today and every other week. I pray you never lose your joy, and you keep up with maintaining the systems that can keep hope intact. Remember to drop a comment if this has blessed you in any way, and also catch up on the “Your Race and Your Pace” post I mentioned earlier. See you at next week’s catch-up reminder/review!✍️