Joyful Journeys by Rev. Teresa Stuefloten, M.Div. 8/2/2026

Good morning! This is Rev. Teresa. I am speaking this morning about Joyful Journeys. I just returned on Wednesday evening from a week-long family vacation in the Kaanapali area of Maui, Hawaii. Our group included my daughters, sons-in-law, young adult grandchildren and the grandchildren’s boyfriend and girlfriends. We were a group of 12. Everything began well, getting to the airport at 4am. The TSA line was not too long, and we got to the gate early enough to get a little something to eat. I got to check my bag for free because the flight was full and they needed to clear overhead space, so I didn’t have to lift my heavy bag overhead. My younger daughter got upgraded to first class due to having the airline’s credit card and lorded the luxury service she was getting to those of us back in coach. We had a crying baby a few rows ahead of us, and it was a 5-hour flight, but nothing could dampen our joy. We were going to the paradise of Hawaii!

When we arrived in Hawaii the first car rental went smoothly and part of the group went off to Costco to get some supplies for the week. My son-in-law stayed with me to wait for part of our group that was coming from Sacramento on a slightly later flight. We had a very long line at the second car rental place because there was only one agent and a line to the front door. But we were in Hawaii and feeling joyful despite the wait.

After a little lunch we set off for Kaanapali to check in at the condos we had rented for the week. This is when what I initially deemed a problem arose. The condos had been advertised as "6 bedrooms for 14!’ And they were supposedly right next to one another. When the front desk person pulled out our reservation, she announced their locations with a smile. They were completely on opposite sides of the condo complex, as far apart as they could possibly be!

I called the guy who had been corresponding with me from supposedly the management company. He argued with me that the condos were next to one another. I said “I’m at the front desk! The person who works here says they are on opposite sides of the complex. She works here; I think she knows!” He continued to argue with me, “They’re right next to each other. You’re gonna love it!” He even had the audacity to say, “I upgraded you at my expense!” I ended my conversation with him and the front desk clerk told me they had never heard of this guy. He had rented the units from two management companies that the condo complex regularly works with. Now it was making sense. He had sent me information on one condo and every time I asked about the information on the second condo, he said it would be sent in 24-48 hours. He had taken my money and had only rented one unit. He kept the money and waited until the last minute to rent the second unit. This guy was pulling a scam, renting units from legitimate management companies and advertising them on VRBO at a profit to himself!

At this point I had a choice to make. I could let go of the problems and deal with them after the vacation, allowing myself and my family to have a joyful vacation together in paradise. Or I could hold on to my anger and irritation that I had been conned out of some money and ruin my joy. I chose joy! I said I would deal with it after the vacation, but I was going to let go of it for now. And that is what I did. Our condo overlooked the ocean and the view was beautiful!

Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Our blessings come from the Divine. As we recognize that we are blessed, we see that life is joyful. Things don’t have to look like we imagined them to be or wanted them to be in order for life to be joyful. We can allow for something better to come forth.

In the case of my family vacation, the something better came in the form of the young adult grandchildren deciding that they all wanted to share one condo, and the parents and I would share the other condo. They had a wonderful time together, bonding as cousins and getting to know the boyfriend and girlfriends better. They went to the beach swimming together, out to get food together, and in the pool and hot tub together in the evening. The parents got peace and quiet, and no knowledge of any partying.

Now that I am home, I am dealing with the legitimate management companies that manage the two units and gaining the information I need to get the scamming guy banned from VRBO so he cannot scam other people. The legitimate companies do not want to deal with him now that they know. He advertised the units as 3 bedrooms, when they are actually 2 bedrooms plus a loft, and my youngest grandson had to sleep on the couch, so there were not beds for 14. The legitimate companies do not like him misrepresenting the units they manage, so my diligence will help others. And doing it now does not detract from the joy of the vacation experience. We can let go of something challenging in the moment and pick it up later at the appropriate time.

A quote from The Mindful Walk A sanctuary of ancient Buddhist wisdom. One mindful step, one deep breath, one story at a time, says, “You do not need to wait for the difficult times to end before you allow yourself to feel joy. It can be found in small, everyday moments, right in the middle of the mess. Joy is not a prize for surviving pain; it is the very tool that carries us through it.” (Facebook)

A quote from the Bible, James 1:2, says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”

It’s about finding joy in life no matter what is happening. This Earth life is a sacred journey. It is a journey of our soul. We decided to come to Earth and be born in a human body for a time. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a relatively short time. Even if you live to be 100, it’s a short time in the realm of eternity.

Sometimes we think we cannot be joyful because we have decided that things are not as we think we want them to be.

A quote from the wise sage Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Our notions about happiness entrap us. We forget that they are just ideas. Our idea of happiness can prevent us from actually being happy. We fail to see the opportunity for joy that is right in front of us when we are caught in a belief that happiness should take a particular form.”

If I had arrived on vacation to the exact situation, I was under the impression I had reserved and paid for, then my expectation would be that I will feel completely joyful upon arrival. But, who knows, something else could have happened. It is not a guarantee that outer conditions will produce joy. We need to be able to tap into the joy of the soul no matter what the outer conditions are.

Paramahansa Yogananda said, “Joy expresses itself under certain conditions, but it is not created by those conditions. Thus, when someone receives a thousand dollars and exclaims, ‘Oh, how happy I am!’ the condition of having received a thousand dollars has merely served as a pickax, releasing a fountain of joy from the hidden reservoir of bliss within. So, in human experience, certain events are usually required to bring forth joy, but the joy itself is the perennial native state of the soul.”

Our connection with our soul is our connection with inner joy. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” When we are regularly connecting with Spirit by going within in meditation and prayer, we are connecting with the true source of our joy. It is not found externally, the source of joy is within. Joy is inherent to the soul. This means no matter what is happening in the outer world, we can connect with joy. This is particularly important in our world now that outer conditions can feel unpredictable and sometimes disturbing. We can always go within to the assurance of the joy of the soul.

What kind of a person do you want to be known as? Would you like to be known as a person who is happy and joyful, an upbeat person? My late husband, Rev. Mark Stuefloten, definitely wanted to be known as an upbeat person, and he worked at having a positive attitude toward life. He was telling jokes and trying to lighten life when he was a child.

I recently watched a documentary about the comedian, Martin Short, on Netflix, titled, “Life is Short.” Martin Short came from a family where people were funny, and he, too, was telling jokes from the time he was a child. His mind is always thinking of funny things, upbeat, humorous things, the kinds of things that let us relax and let out a belly laugh. And he creates hilariously funny characters. A quote from a friend about Martin Short in the documentary is, “Marty operates at the speed of joy!” What a gift to operate at the speed of joy! That sounds to me like living from the soul!

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” It’s good to be joyful! It’s healthy to be joyful! It’s spiritual to be joyful! It’s a blessing to be joyful!

What if every day could be a joyful journey? What if you set the intention each morning, “This is going to be my joyful day.” What if you looked for reasons to feel joyful every day? What could you feel joyful about? I love seeing the birds and the squirrels eating the wild bird seed I put out for them each day. One morning a squirrel was hanging upside down on the hanging bird feeder to eat the seeds! I laughed at that sight! And I laugh at the big bluejays who hop, hop, hop on my patio to grab a peanut and fly off with their treasure! I feel joyful at the sight of a beautiful flower in my garden, especially the lovely peony flower I grew for the very first time this year. Joy does not have to be big things. Joy can be simple pleasures.

Isaiah 55:12 says, “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

Can we go out in joy each day, expecting to find the joy in each day? The way to start the day with the intention of joy is to start with meditation. Going within to the silence of the soul each morning begins the day with the intention of experiencing joy. God is joy, ever new joy! Every meditation is a new joy, the joy of the soul. 1 Chronicles 16:27 says, “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.” God’s dwelling place is right within your own heart and your own soul.

Paramahansa Yogananda said of God, “God is Sat-Chit-Ananda, ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. We, as soul, are individualized Sat-Chit-Ananda. “From Joy we have come, in Joy we live and have our being, and in that sacred Joy we will one day melt again.” [Taittiriya Upanishad 3-6-1.]

Yogananda continues, “So do not seek fulfillment through material mediums, or through desires born of such contact. Seek the unconditioned, indestructible pure Bliss within yourself, and you will have found the ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Joy-God. Unlike material pleasures, this joy is not an abstract quality of mind; it is the conscious, self-born, self-expressing quality of Spirit. Seek it and be comforted forever.”

“Let no one tell you that anything else is better than God's joy. All (people) seek happiness, but do they find it? Meditation, long and deep, is the way to attain true joy. Nothing else can compare to meditation.”

“When you sit in the silence of deep meditation, joy bubbles up from within, roused by no outer stimulus. The joy of meditation is overwhelming.”  yogananda.org (end of quote)

Thich Nhat Hanh said of meditation, “In Buddhism, we speak of touching Nirvana with our own body. In Christianity you can also touch the Kingdom of God with your own body, right here and now. It is much safer than placing our hope in the future. If we cling to the idea of hope in the future, we might not notice the peace and joy that are available in the present moment. The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.” (End of quote)

Being in the present moment is a key to experiencing joy. Another quote from Thich Nhat Hanh says, “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”

“Each minute we spend worrying about the future and regretting the past is a minute we miss in our appointment with life - a missed opportunity to engage life and to see that each moment gives us the chance to change for the better, to experience peace and joy.”

“We will be more successful in all of our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we’ll also have a lot more joy in living.”  (End of quote) (azquotes.com)

If you are not already a meditator, I highly recommend starting a meditation practice. Beginning can be as simple as taking a few minutes to close your eyes, focusing on your breath, feeling the coolness of the in-breath and the warmth of the out-breath, allowing your breath to slow, and just sitting in the silence. God is in the silence. Feel the sense that you are communing with God in the silence. Ask God to commune with you.

John 16:24, quoting Christ Jesus, says, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.” And John 15:11, “I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Every new joy each day is present in meditation. Seek it within, so that, as Jesus said, your joy may be full.

In Divine Science joy is one of the inherencies, “Inseparable attributes which express the nature of God: wisdom, love, knowledge, understanding, power, life and joy.” (Divine Science, It’s Principle and Practice) So when we seek joy, we seek God; when we experience joy, we experience God; and when we share joy, we share God.

We can share our joy with others by maintaining a positive attitude and a joyful presence. Thich Nhat Hanh said of sharing joy with others, “The source of love is deep in us, and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy… The way you speak to others can offer them joy, happiness, self-confidence, hope, trust and enlightenment. Mindful speaking is a deep practice… Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.”

So, make it a practice to intend to feel joy in each and every day. Set your morning intention that “This will be my joyful day!” Start your day with a few moments of joy in meditation. Look for reasons to feel joy in the ordinary everyday moments, a bird, a flower, the taste of your morning coffee, the joy of a quiet moment to breathe and feel the joy of being alive! And look for opportunities to bring joy to others with a kind word, a treat to share, a hug, a smile, a compliment; be on the lookout for opportunities to bring joy. This is the way to make your whole life a joyful journey, in the big moments and the quiet, ordinary everyday moments.

Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

And so, it is!