Rejoice

This morning one of the verses I read was Psalm 118:34, "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Ever had days you just don't feel like rejoicing? It may be that you had a truly horrible day. It may be that you just feel like nothing is going your way. OR maybe there's no reason for it. Like today... I woke up too early and Caleb got up too early and I was so tired. I didn't get to do my quiet time in the morning like I wanted to. It was dark and gloomy outside and all I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed... I definitely didn't feel like rejoicing. The Psalmist says, "Will rejoice and be glad..." which means that it is a choice. We can choose to rejoice. We won't always be happy... happiness deals with our circumstances. We can rejoice, because we can develop a joyful attitude through the Spirit within us. Even as I tried to keep this in mind, I was still grouchy and short. I still quarreled at Caleb. I still am too tired and can't believe he's still going almost 18 hours later. Even though I had blueberry pancakes and visited a Christian bookstore and watched a movie and laughed with Caleb, even though I got to hang out with my Mom later on this evening and take a bubble bath and finish a Janet Evanovich novel... I've still been a grouch. Sometimes even when we choose something, it is difficult to make it manifest. I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day, even though my plans are cleaning house and working on Stats. Maybe the sun will shine and I can sneak in some time by the pool. Maybe I can sleep a little late, or at least get in my quiet time in the morning. Or maybe not. I do know that God's mercies are new every morning... and I'm counting on that.