Yesterday in his powerful Sunday service talk, Ananta mentioned a number of things we can do to stay fresh and engaged on the spiritual path.
One suggestion was to sing the chant, “Ever-New Joy,” but instead of the title he exhorted us to, “Sing joy, joy, joy!”
“Ever-New Joy” is one of my all-time favorite chants, but what popped into my mind in that moment was a song from my childhood. I remembered it like this:
I’ve got God’s joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart, down in my heart.
I’ve got God’s joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart today!
I hadn’t thought of that song in probably fifty years, so of course I had to look it up. Turns out the correct lyrics are:
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart, down in my heart.
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart to stay!
The lyrics go on to express how happy I am that I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart; and I’ve got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart as well.
All in all, it’s a happy song and I’ve enjoyed getting reacquainted with it.
What I didn’t enjoy so much was the search for a video of the song to share. Oh my goodness!
All the videos are geared for children — not surprisingly, since it’s a children’s song — but they were so overproduced, over-the-top and just plain silly as to be unwatchable.
There were animated ones, and awkwardly acted ones, and heavy, agitated drumbeat ones. Unfortunately, they didn’t feel joyful to me, just forced.
But I finally found one that’s sweet (I think), so I hope you enjoy it.