We went to Breckenridge with some friends and saw these beautiful blue trees. Yes, they’re real. It’s a project by artist Konstantin Dimopoulos to help us remember to protect our trees from deforestation. The colorant they used is water soluble and washes off in time.

The neon yellow leaves against bright blue trunks and branches made me smile. It reminded me that we must protect what is important to us—the things that bring us joy. Satan wants to steal your joy and destroy your life, and there are some tried and true methods he uses. We can take some steps to protect ourselves from joy-stealers.  Here are a few:

1. Complaining puts a stopper in happiness. Joy starts to flow and we feel a lightness, then the enemy brings up something negative. If we allow him to steal our focus, our joy dissipates.
2. Self-pity is another trap. It has us focused on ourselves and what we don’t have instead of on the good things we do have. It feels good in the moment, but it sucks the joy right out of us. A pity party can take only a few minutes to indulge, and days to recover .
3. Judgment is another joy-stealer. It might feel good in the moment, but it brings us and others down. When the moment is over, remorse sets in. We feel worse than before.

So what is the answer? Gratitude. Thank God for every good thing, and appreciate the others in your life. Say out loud the things you’re grateful for, and soon the list grows. Pushing the negative thoughts out, and purposefully searching for the good, knocks the stuffing out of the evil one’s plans.