Joyfull Living

 Becoming a woman after God's own heart - isn't that a wonderful aspiration for the New Year? This has actually been a driving point for my life for many years. There is no 'attaining point' in this aspiration, but it is a journey filled with hope, times of discouragement and feelings of falling short, moments when life seems overwhelming, but there is always the vision that continually beckons.  When the opportunity to join a study on the book " A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George arose, I jumped on it! This book has been a source of inspiration in my life for many years. It truly shaped in my heart God's pattern for women and their roles as God's daughters, wives, mothers, friends etc. Is is a practical compass guided by God's Word to equip women to become all God created them to be.  Continuing with my January focus of Read, Write, Meditate, I'm challenging myself to read this book, keep a handwritten journal and post her...

 Don't you love it when things fit together to bring a little inspiration? Today was one of those days! A devotional this morning was titled "And Then Some" , bringing out that there is greatness in everyone, but it needs to be cultivated. The difference between the great and the mediocre, the powerful and the week, the remembered and the forgotten is to give it all you've got - and then some. The difference between average people and top people can be explained in those three words " And Then Some".   The top people did what was expected of them ... And Then Some. They were thoughtful to others, kind and considerate ... And Then Some. They met their obligations and responsibilities fairly and squarely ... And Then Some. They were good friends to the people in their lives ... And Then Some. They could be counted on in an emergency ... And Then Some. Three little words that can transform our society.  And Then Some.  Christians are called to be 'extra mi...

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that som...

  I love jumping into new things! Something will capture my attention and I dive in, often without looking deeply into it or evaluating whether it will be useful for me. New things inspire me, new months, seasons, books etc.  An email came in from one of my favorite authors - Time Warp Wife . A ladies study was going on about "The 7 Virtues of a Proverbs 31 Woman." I immediately bought the book and joined the study! It didn't matter that I would already by 3 lessons behind, I saw it, liked it and joined in! Once the book arrived, I knew it would be better to slow down and start at the beginning. I set the book aside, but still receive the weekly emails. . Whatever week the study is on(!), the topic is  Resilience.  This is the ability to adapt to difficult or stressful situations, emerging stronger on the other side. A virtuous woman might not have the ability to solve her problems, but she has faith in the One Who does. She knows that every broken piece of her lif...

 Romans 5:3-5  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;  and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. This verse is part of my weekly Sunday School lesson. I'll be the first to admit in the past I have 'cherry-picked' this verse. Meaning I have taken the good parts and pondered them, and discarded the parts I don't like so much!  Perseverance, character; and character, hope : This is a golden chain of Christian growth and maturity. One virtue builds upon another as we grow in the pattern of Jesus.  Most every Christian wants to develop character and have more hope. These qualities spring out of perseverance, which comes through tribulation. We may wish to have better character and more hope without starting with tribulation, but that isn’t God’s pattern and plan. Three th...

 "Overflow might look messy when gas is spewing out of a tank, but when God fills us to overflowing, it's beautiful, because we're no longer rationing our energy for ourselves and everyone who needs us. We have plenty to give when we are overflowing." This was from my devotion as I began a new week and the topic was refilling, trust and being still. God wants us to be beyond full, not hovering right above empty, but refilling our souls is a process that requires us to be still and trust.  What was significant about this new week is that I was on forced rest. A scratchy throat, slight cough and then a positive test result had me settled safely at home for the next few days. My first response was "I don't have time for this", but maturity has taught me, when you can't fight against something, lean in, listen and learn what God is trying to say.  So the week began, at home with a stretched out devotion time and words that filled my heart with a desire f...

May 31 - I knew I had not posted here on the blog for a while, but when I logged on, it was a shock to see January was the last post - that is 6 months ago!  A lot has happened in the first part of 2022, but there are several posts that were began but never shared. Although late, am going to share of few things on my heart from early 2022. January 2022 As we enter the first week of the New Year, it has been a challenge for many in my community. We have experienced a broad range of events that had us volleying on the emotional spectrum from joy to grief.  In seven days, we attended 3 funerals and 1 wedding. 2 of the funerals were honoring young persons lives. Death is never easy to understand or prepare for, but a tragic and sudden loss can bring such an emotional shock. Both funerals of the young people were true celebrations of a young life, well lived. In the midst of sorrow, hope was found that they were Christians and now living in heaven. Peace and comfort flowed from th...

 The New Year often brings aspirations of a healthier version of ourselves. We look closely at our nutrition habits and exercise habits and note some changes that need to be made. Goals may be set and some effort begin to get us on track.  As those habits become rooted in us, results will start to show. This can be a time where we begin to coast a bit, to just do what is necessary to maintain. But strength in any area doesn't come through coasting, it comes as we push through the hard areas. "Strength doesn't come from what you CAN do, it comes from doing what you thought you COULD NEVER do."   Just as our physical muscles need to be stretched and strengthened, our spiritual muscles need it even more. This is the time of year we often dream and envision godly characteristics we long to see in our lives. Christ has provided all we need to succeed in godly living, but the action choices are ours to make.  Choices bring results. Think of an athlete in intense training. ...

 When the ' Elf on a Shelf" became popular, my boys were too old to appreciate the fun having an elf appear in the home in a variety of places and poses! I still have "Elfie", but he stays in one place the entire Christmas season! A recent devotion I read talked about putting "Self on a Shelf" . There isn't anything wrong with having traditions and doing fun things, even things that necessarily don't have a spiritual aspect, but I don't want to spend so much time on trivial things at Christmas that I miss really showing the love of Jesus through my life.  Selfless living should be the focus of what Christmas is about for us as Christians. Not living for ourselves but for the Christ who came to be born, live, and die for us. Self shouldn't have any part in us as Christians. If we are really going to celebrate Jesus and why He came we are going to have to follow His example. He ministered. He served. He was humble. He put Self on a Shelf. We...

 I was the first person to arrive at the early morning group fitness class. The trainer greeted me with a smile and comment "you smell good" and asked what I had on. She probably didn't realize that was one of the greatest compliments I could receive! Scent is my love language! Growing up, due to my mother's severe allergies, we lived truly unscented lives. We used unscented soap, shampoo, laundry soap etc. Anything with the slightest amount of fragrance gave her a severe headache.  When I got married and began keeping my own home, scent truly exploded! I deliberately look for the strongest scented personal and home products. There are scented plugs in the walls, candles, wax melts and diffusers always providing home fragrance. My laundry is clean and freshened with scent boosters.  What was funny about the comment from my trainer, was that I didn't have any scent on. The fragrance simply lingered from my clothes and self.  My scent fascination is biblical!!  I ...

Years ago, when our home was filled with 3 sons growing up, there were lots of harsh words being slung around. As a young Christian mom, my desire was to train them in godliness and this verse was used alot in that training: A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 It was a desperate attempt to keep the peace between the boys. I'm not sure they ever got the gist of learning to answer softly, but there was a lot of harsh words that stirred up anger! Today is Day 1 of The Power of Words - October Daily Bible Reading . This is the focus verse for today.  Years later, this verse is an important one to learn and allow its truth to settle into our conversations.  Did you know that your words can affect how others view Jesus?   It’s not just your relationship with that person you’re in contact with that’s at stake when you choose harsh words that cut and divide and cause pain. If you’re a daughter of Jesus, if your life is sur...

Today is Friday and I am participating in Five Minute Friday which is a writing exercise based on a particular word prompt. Today's word is RESCUE. Here in the south, the word "rescue" is mostly used in reference to an ambulance. " We need to call rescue " is the way we communicate how to get an ambulance and some help. When I was a young girl, I had a deep but unwarranted fear of ambulances. Looking back, it was probably based on the sound of the siren. My parents told me I could hear an ambulance siren and come running to them asking "is it coming here? " before they even heard the first wail of the siren. I was terrified the ambulance would arrive at our house. This fear continued through my childhood and early adult years. As a young bride in my 20's I was hanging clothes on the clothesline one day and heard a siren. This was very unusual as we lived in a rural area. Closer and closer the sound came and I began to panic. Seeing red lights and t...

 Today's word prompt for Five Minute Friday i s DESPERATE. This brought to mind an example from years ago. When our boys were younger, they were involved in 4H clubs and one of their projects was to raise a pig to show in the county fair. The purpose of this project was to learn responsibility in caring for the pig through meeting its daily needs such as food, water and shelter. One of our boys was doing some work on the pen which housed the pig and unhooked the automatic waterer. This water system was perfect, as the it connected to a source of continual flowing water and when thirsty, the pig went to the spigot and the pressure of its mouth opened the flow of water.  On this day, once the work was completed on the pen, my son forgot to reconnect the hose to the automatic waterer. Later in the day, my husband went to look at the pig. You could tell the signs of the pigs desire then desperation for water. It began to push much harder on the spigot, trying to get water, then ...

  This summer, I participated in a fitness challenge for 8 weeks. The challenge encouraged our group to make small, lifelong and healthier choices. One of the healthy habits to establish was adequate water intake. This was an area I thought I did ok in, but for optimal health, you should drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Through the weeks I intentionally kept my water intake close to my goal.  Then, one night I woke up with some pain and discomfort. Unable to sleep, I went to Google for information about my symptoms. It indicated a UTI - urinary tract infection. This occurs when bacteria finds it way in the bladder or urinary tract and multiplies. A remedy was to drink water to flush the bacteria out before it travels and does more damage to the body. At 2:00 AM, I began drinking water, attempting to flush the bacteria out and made an online appointment to see a doctor first thing in the morning. As daylight came, I kept up with the water intake. The discom...

 Over at Five Minute Friday - which is a fun writing exercise, the weekly word to write about is ACCOUNTABILITY.  This is one of those words depending on your personality that you may view as either safe or intrusive. Accountability is an action that requires us to share, trust deeply and step into some action of transparency. It may mean exposing our weaknesses, confessing our faults and asking for help to become better. The end result, if we align ourselves wisely, brings us to a better place. I have always loved fitness and exercise. Evening walks were a source of relaxation when I was younger. Once pregnancy and babies arrived, exercise helped me lose the baby weight. But, I was always a 'fitness loner', staying home and exercising with videos or a routine. I thought my routine was great for so many years, but the routines were not challenging, done with the same intensity, simply being something to check off my daily schedule. They helped maintain a level of health, but ...

  Happy Friday! In our area this has been a week full of much needed rain but along with that came days on end of clouds and humidity. Typical southern summer weather. But since the rain was so desperately needed, each day as I faced clouds and grayness, I was determined to be thankful for the rain, but after days of not seeing the sunshine, I was ready to see the sun!  This morning the sun broke out and as I stepped outside for a morning run, the air was beautiful, drier and brighter and it made for a beautiful start for the day. The change in weather was so evident and it changed my outlook and attitude.  Today's Five Minute Friday is on the topic of QUIET. In our world today it can be hard to find a place of quiet. But like the sunshine and fresh air I experienced this morning, quiet can enter our hearts and make all the difference in our lives.  Quiet can be a place of sacredness where rest can fill our bodies, peace can fill our hearts and clarity can come in...

 SLOW - is the word prompt for a writing link up I enjoy over at Five Minute Friday. The word SLOW   ranks near the bottom of the priority list in my life. I enjoy living out action words like - productive, high energy, quick, busy, active, words that allow and encourage me to do something. I am one who enjoys 'doing', a quick re-acter, often drawn to serve others quickly, not wanting them to wait for me. I answer emails and texts quickly, can be easily interrupted and thrive on seeing how many activities I can put into a day ...or hour!! My season of life has slowed down as our children have grown and are now living independent lives and do not need me to do the things for them as in the past. My mornings are not spent preparing breakfast, packing lunches and rushing children out the door. Everything in this season of life is slower.  After a time of transition and attempting to fill in those slow times, I've learned the value of slow. It provides something greater tha...

Today I am joining Five Minute Friday to share some thoughts on the word RECOVER. The definition of recover is to return to a normal state of health, mind or strength or to find or regain possession of something.  Recover is a term that can be used in a variety of situations. We can recover from illness, physical exertion, from a traumatic event, from substance abuse. Recover can be a word of hope as the focus shifts from where we currently are to a future place of returning back to normal.  But to recover indicates there is a process involved. Being an avid fitness participant, I love the benefits of working my body to push its physical limits, then feeling the rush of adrenaline that comes with recovery. Beyond the feeling of accomplishment in physical recovery, there are great benefits in the recovery process. After the pain of a strenuous workout, an active recovery - which means continuing in a less strenuous movement such as walking is often considered more beneficial t...

Happy Friday! Today I am participating in "Five Minute Friday" an opportunity to write thoughts about a given work prompt. Today's word is "Broken".   Broken —what a sad word. When I hear the word broken, in my mind a picture comes of something fragile that was once beautiful but now lays shattered in pieces on the floor. When something is 'broken', it is easily discarded, or no longer useful to us. Broken applies to more than items that take a fall or become damaged, it is a heartbreaking word when applied to relationships, attitudes or people.  But for every broken thing, a cry comes out—fix it. Put it back together, take the pieces and bind them up. From plates on the floor to hearts in anguish, if someone could just come and put the pieces back together again.  If we were never broken, we would never know the wholeness of God. That’s the beauty of brokenness. When our hearts are broken, when we’ve just made a mess of things, that is the space when Go...

  A sweet childhood memory I have is being in my maternal grandmothers old house. It was really an old shack on the outside, but inside it was full of love that spoke to all the senses. Snuggles with Grandma and her homemade quilts, smells of a meal always cooking, sights of old treasures she would happily tell stories about, love totally surrounded you when you were there. A sound I always associate with Grandma's house is the sound of an old fashioned pressure cooker. As a child, we lived in the big city, but would make the hours long trip to the country to visit Grandma. In the south, boiled peanuts were a staple for my grandparents and a true treat for my parents and I.  During our summer visits, Grandma would boil peanuts in her old pressure cooker. She would fill the pot full of peanuts, water and salt and let them cook for hours. After a while the pressure cooker would begin to make noises! A gentle rocking of the pressure regulator would begin.  I now understand t...