During his address to a joint session of Congress, President Trump honored Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William ‘Ryan’ Owens who was killed in a raid on Yemen on Jan. 25. At that moment, every person in the House chamber, democrat and republican, stood, looked over to Carryn and began applauding. And, the spontaneous applause continued for over two minutes. Something remarkable was going on in those minutes!
What emotion was Carryn experiencing during that time? Probably many. But, I want to suggest that at her core, the predominant emotion was deep joy. Let me explain. In the last year, I’ve learned a definition of joy that has captured me. “Joy is what my brain experiences when I’m with someone who is glad to be with me.” I believe that, in the video below, we are witnessing over 500 national leaders saying, “We are glad to be with you even (or, maybe, especially) in your great sadness. We value and honor you and the sacrifice that you and your husband have made.” And, what we see on her face, whether she could have named it or not, was deep joy.
This quality of joy is at the heart of the vision of the LK10 Community. We are joining God to see a “revolution of joy” take place around the world. The epicenters of this revolution are high joy families and groups (sometimes called house churches, etc.) Places where people communicate that they are glad to be with us regardless of what we are feeling. And, the starting place for people who want to join this revolution is our basic six week course called Church 101. Interested? Go here for more information and to sign up.
Now, watch this short video of Carryn. (Click on the photo.) See if you think this qualifies as a picture of deep joy. Pay attention to what you feel as you watch this (joy is contagious!).