“As we trust joy we find courage to celebrate.”

In this episode, licensed marriage and family therapist, writer, and speaker, Nicole Zasowski shares from her latest book, What If It’s Wonderful?: Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate.

Through seasons of disappointment and despair, Nicole reminds us that staying connected to the hope of Christ is possible! Through her own season of transition, multiple miscarriages and crippling anxiety, the Lord brought her to a deep place of inimacy as she learned to look for joy even in the middle of pain.

Nicole shares insights into how our brain works and how embracing joy and celebration can increase our happiness and well-being. As we keep Jesus at the center of our affection, God turns our fear, self-protection, doubt and even our cynicism into a new hopeful approach to life – no longer expecting the worst but opening our hearts to possibility…after all, “what if it’s wonderful?”

Important Takeaways from Show

Believing for the wonderful interrupts the catastrophic thinking there is within all of us
The brain adapts to delight and joy more rapidly but fixates on negativity
There is a difference between feelings being real and feelings being true – when we trust the truth, we don’t react to how we feel
It takes courage to celebrate all seasons of life, we must choose celebration before we have a reason to
We miss out on our God-given life when we spend our time preparing for the worst
Disappointment comes when we desire more joy from a gift than it was meant to give
Only one person belongs in the center of our affection- Jesus
Knowing Him is enough to make us dream about what it could look like
When all our hope is in the Lord, we are safe to dream God-sized dreams and pray God-sized prayers
The practice of savoring helps us celebrate the ordinary
The practice of thanksgiving: expressing the joy that we feel doubles the joy we experience
Joy trusts God’s promises in the midst of celebration and suffering
Cultivate a beautiful life with God right where you are, and in that will cultivate a life of celebration and joy
God wants to give us the desires of our hearts if we delight ourselves with Him

“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”- the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Links from Show

NEW BOOK: What If It’s Wonderful?: Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate

Guided Journal Questions

[Disclosure: I make a small commission from affiliate links used in this post.]

Connect with Nicole Zasowski

Website | Instagram

Connect with Joanna

Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter

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