What do you do when your day just sucks? I’ll tell you what I want to do…NOTHING! I count the moments till I can be home with my husband and zone out on the couch with the current binge-watch of choice, and then sink deep into a sleep that will quicken the dawn of a new day – one that brings a fresh start and a pile of joy.

But that defeatist attitude doesn’t sound like one a daughter of the King who has the spirit of the victorious living God inside her should have – right?! So I tried something recently that shot me out of the crappy day funk.

The BEST DAY EVER CHALLENGE.

Joy99 FM is a radio station that I have the privilege to be on from 10am – 2pm Monday – Friday. The station is committed to encouraging lives and bringing JOY to west Michigan and beyond. They offer weekly challenges to the listeners to make it the Best Day Ever. The challenges include,

• Tell your boss something nice about a co-worker
• Pay for the person behind you in line
• Tape a prepaid gas card to a pump
• Tell your kids the story of their birth and then eat dessert to celebrate

The list goes on. In fact, there are 52 challenges – one for each week of the year. It may seem a bit obvious but the Best Day Ever serves a duel purpose, to do something nice for someone else to make their day better, and to shift your focus outward – towards the action of love, and help make your day the Best Day Ever.

That’s the trick! When your day feels like a tidal wave and you’re drowning in the chaos and pressure, turn the tide! Make it the Best Day Ever by intentionally choosing to shift the focus outward.

I have been in a season full of particularly difficult days. They aren’t bad, just complex and full of challenges. I feel like I am in a period of product testing….as a Joy Bringer who teaches all about joy as a consistent and powerful lifestyle, I better be able to defend it in all times! And I can.

The tools work, and you can be sure I’ve been using every one of them. Gratitude, forgiveness, flexibility, and rest are my go-tos…but I’ve added another one! The Best Day Ever challenge.

There is an assumption that we should always be looking to do something that blesses someone else, especially if you claim the title, Christian. Love is verb, and action word, right? Yes, but while that’s true, it isn’t our natural response. Life gets in the way. We narrow our focus and zoom in on what’s immediately in front of us, and unfortunately we loose sight of the real goal – to love God and love others as ourselves.

Live to serve others. Live with love as a priority. Live as one who is loved.

YES! But if that is the goal, we need to make some intentional choices in our days to live it out. I want to challenge you to intentionally place the Best Day Ever challenge (or something like it) into your week. If you’re anything like me I have a lot of great intentions to do things, but if it doesn’t make it onto my weekly to-do list, it wont get done.

Here is a link to the Joy99 Best Day Ever challenge calendar if you want to check it out. Use this one or create your own with your family! Imagine the ripple effect!

Make it the Best Day Ever!

Joyfully,

Season