Joy Is…Focusing on the Right Things

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“You are a living magnet. What you attract in your life is harmony with your dominant thoughts.” – Brian Tracy

My dad used to say that if he was working on a sermon about parenting, he was a better parent that week. Same went for forgiveness, faith, bearing witness, friendship, marriage, and on and on. I’m sure it surprises no one that what we focus on has a powerful effect in our lives.

But dang, it can be so hard to stay attuned to the good news. Which is one of the reasons that I found writer, poet, artist, and blogger, Dave Williams’ recent project Joy is ______ so compelling. Over the last five weeks, he opened his blog up to anyone who wanted to fill in the blank and give a description.

Vicki and I were delighted to participate in that project and then extend that note by being able to podcast with Dave about it on Episode 105: Joy Is…with Dave Williams.

Dave tells us how he was inspired by the spirit of his Aunt Diane. Celebrating her infectious personality after she passed away last summer was one of the motivations behind this project.

Another was the idea to strengthen the delight muscle. A suggestion in The Book of Delights by Ross Gay prompted Dave to want to cultivate the same upward spiral.

And Dave was also inspired by Teri Polen’s Bad Moon Rising blogging project that brings the WordPress community together.

In the end, Dave found and shared so much joy in this community project. He’s compiled a Joy Is _____ table of contents that we know will inspire you.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we talk about what joy is and how to celebrate that as a community!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 105: Joy Is…with Dave Williams

Episode 105 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Dave’s Blog: https://davewilliamswriter.wordpress.com/

Dave’s “Joy is…” Index of posts: https://davewilliamswriter.wordpress.com/2025/02/27/index-of-posts-in-the-joy-project/

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay on Amazon

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)

51 thoughts on “Joy Is…Focusing on the Right Things”

  1. Perhaps I should Iisten to Mr. Williams.I have the sense that the more the world bears the assaults and insults of our leaders, the more that some observers write about joy.

    Somewhere, I suspect, there is a dissertation to be written about how the US and England, in the darkest hours of WWII, kept their morale up. In listening to FDR and Churchill’s speeches, they rarely if ever used the word joy, to the best of my knowledge.

    Perhaps the brave Ukrainians can offer some guidance on a future podcast.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Dr. Stein, if you listen to the episode, I hope you enjoy it. I’ve found that, by making more of an effort to notice joys in the world, my gratitude has deepened. It’s been healthier for me than yelling at the news.

      You raise a great question in what people did during WWII to help their morale. I’m trying to remember conversations I’ve had with family members of their experiences during that time, and they emphasized the importance of being with family, and of letters to loved ones.

      Also, your comment reminded me of a project that I worked on many years ago. I designed the layout of the book “World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion” by Lisa Spahr. The Wikipedia article does a better job of describing it than I can: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_Radio_Heroes

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      1. Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Dave. I think this is a complicated issue with few recent analogues to refer to . The Spahr Wikipedia article is a winner and I am grateful to you for directing me to it.

        Those letters seemed to take the form of encouragement. I am sure finding out that one’s loved one was safe doubtless offered both momentary relief and some much needed joy.

        I am lucky to have the almost complete set of letters my father sent to my mother from Europe during WWII. My dad wrote univerally encouraging missives, but it was a united country rather than our internally divided one, making application of WWII experience to this one difficult. Moreover, the types of roles required by life in the 1940s and internal division in 2025 are different. Buying War Bonds was encouraged. Sending letters to the U.S. forces overseas was rather different from contacting one’s congressmen and women.

        Now, it least from my conversations with others, I get the sense that some who fear the fall of democracy are paralyzed, others have no idea what to do, and many of us have begun to take on an active role that requires some amount of information that helps us know what to do and where to do it.

        That you have found a way to bring joy to others is altogether laudable. I hope that it enables individuals to feel good enough to realize that this is likely the easiest and most necessary moment to play a role in saving the democracy, and that it will take an all hands on deck approach.

        As for myself, I don’t watch much TV, so it is easy to avoid yelling at the screen! Neither am I inclined to get into too many arguments, as I’m sure you are also not inclined to do. Nor have I found myself yelling at the NY Times, but even reading that wears one down.

        I’m no expert on what would be best save the democracy. Surely joy is needed, surely encouragement of the kind that Churchill and Roosevelt provided over the radio (and you can find many of their speeches on youtube), and absolutely we need people to do their part, contact our representatives (if possible by phone or visiting their offices), attend marches, donating to the good guys, etc. Good luck to you and those you love in a moment unlike anything this country has experienced since Charles Lindbergh and others took an “America First” role and the side of the Nazi Germany before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Dr. Stein, apologies for the long delay in getting back to you. I really appreciate your thoughtful comment. And I think it’s fantastic that you have the letters that your father sent your mother during WWII. That’s a family treasure.

        As for the current times, I hope you find many peaceful and joyful moments away from the news. 🌞🙏

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  6. I have fond memories of my grandmother taking us to the Seaside Heights boardwalk in New Jersey and also playing games with us. It made her happy to see us happy…and I will forever be thankful for those times.

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  9. My gratitude journal is a record-of-joy, I think. And like Ross Gray explained in his Book of Delights, the more we look for joy, delights, or God’s blessings, the more we see. The practice really does cause a positive impact upon our spirit! (I think God planned it that way!!) P.S. I didn’t remember that you were a PK, Wynne. My husband was a pastor; we raised three PK’s!

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  10. Love the positivity of your post and your podcast with Dave. I have to laugh too thinking of your dad’s wisdom. I wrote about falling on my butt this week . . . what does that say about what I’ve been focusing on. On second thought, let’s not go there. Ha, ha. Love it Wynne.

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  11. You’re wiring doesn’t change when you’re noticing something…what a delightful interview with Dave ladies! I so love your positive vibes throughout this podcast! 😁🍸🦋💐🥰 Oh happy, happy, joy, joy! 💖

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  12. Love your dad’s observations about focus. 💞 This was a really good podcast. As I’ve been researching ‘happiness’, I’ve been finding more of it around me.

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  14. Love the quote – “You are a living magnet. What you attract in your life is harmony with your dominant thoughts.” – Brian Tracy. It is so very true. Loved the podcast full of the random moments of joy!

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  15. The delight muscle sounds intriguing and I look forward to tuning into this episode win.

    Focusing on the right things, at a time when are they are so many things that are not right, is a wise way of getting through these times.

    Thanks for helping spread that Joy to the rest of us when it’s needed most!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I had a fantastic time talking with you and Vicki. Thank you very much for having me on your podcast, and for also spreading joy through your blog (after all, joy’s in the title!) with your wisdom and wonderful photos of your family. 🌞🙏

    Liked by 1 person

  18. “You are a living magnet. What you attract in your life is harmony with your dominant thoughts.” – Brian Tracy

    I have observed that when we focus thoughts on something then we suddenly see it around us, whereas before we were blind to it. It isn’t so much as manifesting as it is being open, much like if we want to buy a red Volkswagen then that’s what we see everywhere on the roads!

    Joy is one of those things, when we choose to see small joys, then it becomes easier to see around us.

    Certainly we need to see and focus more on joy at this time!

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