So I Thought, Count It All Joy

Early yesterday morning I made a trip to Walgreens to print pictures I had taken of new members to post on our church bulletin board today.  Before heading to Walgreens, I uploaded the pictures onto my computer and then transferred them to a flash drive (or so I thought).  My goal was to print the pictures, hit two grocery stores, head back home to bake cookies for my son stationed in Kuwait, and get them in the mail before the post office closed.
 When I got to Walgreens, no one else was using the photo printer, Great, I thought, especially since one of the printers was "out of order."  I can print my pictures and be outta here in 5 minutes!  Soooooo, why were the pictures not on my flash drive?  I had doublechecked to be sure they were loaded (or so I thought).  As I left Walgreens, I was annoyed.  I could feel myself getting upset about the time I had wasted.  As I headed to the grocery store to purchase items necessary for the cookies I was planning to bake, I could feel a mini depression coming on.  This snag in my plans was threatening to mess up my entire day (or so I thought).  I began arguing with myself, telling myself to not let this little bump in the road get me down.  But it wasn't working; before I knew it, all kinds of negative thoughts began swirling in my head.

There's a song I play in the car when I feel my spirit crashing.  I use the CD repeat button to hear the song over and over until it permeates my mind and being.  It calms me, soothes me, reminds me of His Word in James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  Negative thoughts were certainly trying my patience.  So I turned to my old standby.  It worked.  I went to both grocery stores, baked the cookies with my daughter (and granddaughter playing in the background), baked a pound cake for a bereaved family, took the cookies to the post office (I was their last customer), swung by Penneys to purchase some clothes for my granddaughter, and went to the Military Support Group meeting!  Satan didn't win this battle!  When I woke up this morning, my standby song was playing in my head.  Perhaps hearing "Count It All Joy" by Tarralyn Ramsey might help you too.

If you type in the words Count It All Joy on youtube.com, I guarantee you'll find songs that will lift your spirit, such as The Winans singing "The evil one will come and will try to take away your gladness, even when it seems that He's won, We ought to claim the victory.  Give praises in everything and in everything count it all joy, even when it seems to hard to.  No, He'll never give you more than you can handle.  Meanwhile, you can meditate on the lyrics to Tarralyn Ramsey's song:

Verse 1 When you're going through, and you don't know what to do,
When the fire gets too high, don't draw nigh.
Hold your head up high and be of good cheer.
All you need to know, you're deliverance is here.

CHORUS count it all joy, count it all joy,

Verse 2 I know you sit and ask yourself so many times,
why does it seem like I am losing my mind.
As I sit and reminisce on all that I've been through,
I'm realizing its not about me but about You
(repeat chorus)

Remember, count it ALL joy!