Revisiting Joy Dare

I've decided to recommit to finishing my Joy Dare...counting one thousand gifts.  Being thankful sets you on a whole different course and I've missed my moments this past year.  It's important to remember to Whom we are thankful for all the blessings, big and small, in our lives.  It all started when my MIL gave me the book, One Thousand Gifts.  After reading this gift, I felt a shift in my life.  It came at a really dark time, but counting my gifts brought a beautiful light.

 

JOY DARE

 

282.  Diamonds
283.  Cozy PJs
284.  Christmas lights

285.  Reconnecting with family
286.  Gift of pearls
287.  Ornaments on a tree

288.  Yarn slipping through my fingers
289.  Kitties eyes peaking from inside the Christmas tree

290.  Rare snuggles from Frosty
291.  Marshmallow santas
292.  Chinese dinner
293.  The gift of a Savior born long ago

294.  The joy of Christmas
295.  The joy felt in giving something special
296.  New blue walls
297.  Handmade soft afghans

298.  Time with my kids
299.  A chance to still be "mom"
300.  Scent of Christmas cookies baking

301. The beginning of a new adventure
302.  Sunshine streaming through a window
303.  Sapphie hiding in a basket

 

 



It's Her Birthday

Nineteen years plus 9 months ago today, my life was forever changed when God saw fit to gift me a beautiful baby girl.  Before I knew of her existence...

He knew her...
He weaved her together...
He placed in her a compassionate heart...
He gave her beauty and grace...
He painted the midnight sky in her eyes...
He placed sunshine in her smile...
He knew the plans He had for her.

 

On this day, I fell in love with a child placed in my arms.  She stole my heart.  This girl brought joy into a room like no other.  Everyone who really knows her, sees it...singing and dancing her way through life, looking above the negative, seeing the good in others, touching the lives of those less fortunate. 

On this day, may she realize how blessed she is and how much she has blessed others and how much she is loved.  May she see her true path in life and know the peace that surpasses all understanding and experience joy unspeakable.  You will ALWAYS be my Baby Girl! 

Happy Birthday, Beki!

Cultivating Joy

I discovered that happiness and joy are not the same thing.  How are they different?  Happiness is the physical reaction to events surrounding us, a state of well-being, whereas joy is the inner emotion, spiritual effect that is accompanied by truth and peace.  We can have joy and not feel happy.  For a long time, I did not understand this.  I thought my joy was a reflection of my happiness and that if I didn't feel happy then how could I be joyous. 

I had a fabulous weekend visiting my two girls.  This joy-thing seems to be following me wherever I go.  While we were shopping, I glanced over at a stack of watches and the one that caught my eye was jeweled with the word, guess...JOY!  Then, I attended my daughter's church for the first time and, would you believe, they are teaching on how to have joy unspeakable.  It's amazing to me the timing.  I made a conscious choice to seek out this joy a few months ago after reading Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. 

There are a number of ways that we can have this unspeakable joy.  One of these ways, I found out this weekend, is that we cultivate joy in the waiting.  God planted the seed of joy in us...it's a fruit and we have to cultivate it. 

I find myself in a time of waiting and I didn't even realize that that was exactly what I was doing.  I've been cultivating joy and have discovered that no matter how bad I feel, I can be joyous! 

When times are hard, we look to God.  When we look to Him, we find hope.  He is our JOY.  While some may say this just isn't true...they have not experienced true joy.  They have not experienced what faith and confidence in Christ can give them.  I know that through hard life, I am not alone...

 

...there is One that walks beside me always.

MY JOY DARE

  

3 Gifts Opened Up
167.  Eyes to see all the blessings
168.  God's word
169.  A heart open to love God and others

170.  A bright day to enjoy outdoors
171.  All the bright colors at the gardens
172.  Petals blowing in the wind
 

173.  Trickling water
174.  A mom's day
 

 

175.  A mad daddy goose and a momma on her nest

 

 

176.  Beautiful pathways

177.  A message that speaks to exactly where you are at

 

3 Gifts Reflecting
178.  Geese on water
179.  Spring trees around a water's edge
180.  A daughter's happy smile
 

184.  Kitty head butts
185.  Unexpected call from a long-distance friend
 

3 Gifts Fragile
181.  A mother's heart
182.  Our very lives are fragile...each breathe a gift
183. New dreams
 

 

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.          Galations 5:22-23



Spring Arrives

Here it is finally...the sun close enough to warm the earth, to make the days longer.  We are in our Spring and it's wonderful.  The trees are opening and the flowers are popping their little heads through the ground, reaching for the warmth. 

Every day I, too, reach for the warmth, grow a little stronger as He fills me with peace and joy.  I know it is a gift, each day.  I'm learning to appreciate the little things.  My eyes are opening to all the mercies as I count each gift.  I wonder what this season will bring...

new beginnings,
new possibilites,
new dreams. 

MY JOY DARE

 

140.  Two lives entwined in marriage

141.  Redemption

142.  Resurrection

 

3 Gifts of God's Promises

143.  His saving grace

144.  To be with us always

145.  That Christ would rise in order to redeem us all

 

146.  Gift heard-Easter message

147.  Gift held-my husband's hand

148.  Gift hoped for-Easter with the sun shining

149.  Custard-filled donuts

 

3 Gifts White

150.  Frosty boy

151.  Puffy white clouds

152.  Pages in a book

 

153.  Smell of flowers in the air

154.  An incredibly large hawk that landed in the trees behind our house

 

 

155.  A new branding style that may work for all my business endeavors

156.  Daffodils



 

157.  New businss

158.  Time to relax

 

3 Gifts Waited For

159.  A new Desktop computer

160.  Springtime

161.  Warm weather

 

162.  My husband walking through the door every evening

163.  Phone calls from my girls

 

3 Gifts Blooming

164.  Our new lilac bush

165.  Tulips are just beginning to bloom

 

 

166. Crabapple trees

Lingering

This is the day that the Lord has made...I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Snow is falling...

beautiful, full snowflakes coming down, turning my little part of the world white.  I open the door, the wind blows swirling balls of cold cotton against my face, down my neck.  I'm pouting, it's supposed to be Spring, it's supposed to be

           changing,
           renewing,
           awakening. 

As much as I want it to change, Winter is hanging on for all it's worth...1 then 2 then 6 inches and more.

Are you in a season you wish would change, that you'd get a fresh start, a new tomorrow?  Life doesn't always take the path we'd like it to go,

             sometimes we have to sit awhile in the present season,
             sometimes it lasts longer than we thought or hoped.

God has a purpose, a plan, a reason for this lingering.  But, know we do not linger alone. God speaks to our hearts, "I am with you always."  He's prepared the day and no matter how it turns out, we can be content.  We can sit around pouting or...

           We can have JOY unspeakable!

We can rest assured that in our patience, the season will come to an end...it always does.  Time continues on, it heals.  Our Winters become Springs. 

So, we wait, we learn, we count our gifts....we count it all JOY.

MY JOY DARE

 

82.  Coconut cream Easter eggs

83.  Home

 

3 Gifts Green

84.  Easter tree

85.  My beautiful new family room

86.  Springtime

 

3 Gifts wore

87.  Diamond cross necklace from my mom

88.  My wedding rings

89.  My pandora bracelet for all the memories of those who love me

 

Gifts Hard to Give Thanks For

90.  Rainy days

91.  Thankful my girls are happy where they are even if that

means being far away

 

3 Gifts Found

92.  A new church

93.  A bed frame to match our furniture

94.  Reasons found everyday to be joyful

 

 

3 Gifts in the Kitchen

95.  Coffee maker

96.  Good food

97.  Dishwasher!

 

Gifts Loud

98.  Daughter's voice as she sings her favorite songs

99.  Piano music

 

3 Gifts Carved

100.  A glass bowl repurposed

101.  Diamonds

102.  New furniture for the family room

 

3 Gifts Read

103.  A very special letter from a friend

104.  Book, "One Thousand Gifts"

105.  A FB announcement for a free book - "Choose Joy"

 

 



JOY

I've finished the book, One Thousand Gifts, and I've learned so much about...

truly living life to the fullest,

God's love for us,

our relationship with Him.

We can have joy in our life even when things seem impossible, even on days when it's hard to breathe, when pain, emotional or physical, suffocates us.  It's about living IN Christ, seeing God's face in everything, the good and the bad.  NOTHING happens that does not work for our good.  Give thanks in all things...isn't that what we are told to do?  Being thankful draws us closer to Him, to His heart.  In turn, we heal, by turning the bad into good, by seeing the good in the bad, by seeing the good.  That's why I pick up my camera, focus on the beauty around me.  I write it down, I capture it in pictures...all the good God has provided, all the blessings.  I'm counting the graces, one by one...a thousand gifts from our Maker.  Each a reminder of His love.  Gratitude is our JOY.  And isn't that what we all want, to live fully in Joy.





I've chosen the word JOY to be my word for the year...a reminder to see the good.


        You turned my wailing into dancing;
           you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with 
                  JOY.                           Psalm 30:11 NIV

 26.  Ice crystals sparkling in a field.

27.  Blue birds playing on river's edge.

28.  Gift made for newborn.

29.  To hear my daughter's voice, happy and excited.

30.  For the smallest of prayers answered.

31.  Softly falling snow sparkling in moon light.

32.  Sunny day drives.

 33.  Eagles spotted in a field, perched in trees.

34.  Baby boys who make you smile.

 35.  A hug that says I know, I understand.

36.  Baby giggles.

 37.  Time with my mom.

38.  Painted skies.