We can all be Candace

The links in this post may be affiliate links.  That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission.  It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.

Unless you live under a rock, you've seen Candace Payne's video. As I write this, it's at over 100 million views on Facebook, and it's been up for less than 48 hours.
If you haven't seen it, take a couple of minutes to watch it now, and you're welcome in advance.

For obvious reasons, the video took off like wildfire. It's got all the best stuff. A beloved Star Wars character, a stranger on the internet, an incredible, infectious laugh, and a world that's desperate for something good in the midst of so much hate and anger.

I have seen this feed shared at least 100 times in my own feed, and the most remarkable thing about that? The recurring theme to all of the comments.

• I love this woman. I want to be her friend.
• We should invite her to book club!
• I love her, I want to hang out with her!
• She's the best, I wish she was my friend!
• I want to drink wine and watch Star Wars with her!

There's only so much Candace to go around, but you guys, this is the cool thing.

YOU CAN BE CANDACE IN YOUR OWN LIFE. Chewbacca mask optional.

She gives you the instructions herself, in the beginning of the video:

This is part of my birthday joy, I'm still rejoicing in my birthday.

She's rejoicing. She isn't just buying crap for herself because she feels like it, she isn't trying to go viral on the internet, she isn't even saying “it's my birthday and I bought myself a gift.”

She is REJOICING.

It was always one of my favorite words in church. Regular plain old joy just isn't enough in some cases, you need to add a RE and make it a verb. REJOICE.

When is the last time you truly rejoiced in something in your life? When the last time something made you laugh as hard as this Chewbacca mask made Candace laugh? What's keeping you from that joy? You don't have to be silly on the internet to rejoice. It can happen at home.  This is how hard Jamie and I were laughing at the nacho chimichanga situation recently. This kind of laughter is important.

So I have a challenge for you. What can you do to bring a little of Candace-style rejoicing into your life today?