Have you had to look a little harder for joy over the past few months of pandemic? Do you find the coronavirus and the news to all be a little discouraging? Feeling down and being in a place of seeking joy has happened to me many times over the years, not because I am totally Sadness all the time because I am not. It is just that hard times call for digging a little deeper, and we are definitely in difficult […]
» Read moreJohn David asks me one question every single day. “Mom, are you so happy? I just want you be happy, Mom.” If I cry, he can’t take it. “No, Mom! I just want you be happy!” If I get stressed and start rushing around, “Mom, I just want you be happy!” If he’s in trouble for something, well, if John David gets in trouble for something he does that thing that little kids do that will melt your heart. He […]
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I have been focusing my Bible reading on joy this past month. See, I have every reason to have joy, but I also have just enough daily life aggravations to sometimes forget to experience joy. And that left me wondering, “People are always saying to choose joy. How do you do that? Is it a choice?” Sometimes it is a choice, and you can focus your mind in such a way, and pray, and be doing right things so that […]
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Happy Mother’s Day! What better to share on this treasured day than some adorable seal mom and pup pairs from my favorite spot in the world, Point Lobos State Park. This particular beach is not a seal hang-out for most of the year. However, when it comes time to birth babies, late winter/early spring, this tiny beach, completely surrounded by rock cliffs, becomes a true seal nursery. This is NOT a zoo. This is the real world, animal style. […]
» Read moreSpring is one of those things you can’t help but notice. That’s the way it is with beauty. It is inspirational. When beauty surrounds you, you can’t help but feel better. It’s funny how on my sick days I often feel too miserable to want to do chores, but I’m rarely feeling bad enough to not want to go out for a walk in the sunshine. It’s positively healing, isn’t it? I think that when you are surrounded by small, […]
» Read moreWhat is she talking about, “the fear of sitting down??” Well, if you have it, then you know, and if you don’t, I’m sure you have your own problems. Ha! No, I just mean that I found this video that explains well what we are doing for my hip pain. (I do live in fear of sitting. Sitting hurts.) I still have to do one more MRI to check for inflammation in my SI joint, but for now, we’re going […]
» Read more“You can change your life by changing your thoughts.” —Denise Cunningham I’m still benefitting from my retreat. In fact, look at me. It’s been a week, and I’m STILL talking about it. This thought-changing lesson is one that God is really drilling into my brain lately. First, it came up in the book I’ve been reading, Unglued, by Lysa Terkeurst. Then Denise brought it up at the retreat. The importance of our thought life cannot be overstated. It will change […]
» Read moreThis is beauty to me: my sweet ten-year-old in his new arm cast. I’m not saying that I’m happy my son broke his arm, but you have to admire his all-in-spirit. It reminds me of that quote from Finding Nemo: Dori tells Marlin, the helicopter dad, “Well, you don’t want nothing to EVER happen to him, because then nothing would EVER happen to him.” Never underestimate the power of beauty. Beauty! “Joy is a net of love by which you […]
» Read moreI’m so happy to tell you that our flight was a smashing success. JD is now a veteran flyer. He took his very first turn on an ipad on this trip. It kept him occupied for all of like ten minutes. Yes, he insisted on riding the airplane barefoot. He is a boy after my own heart. I will never fully understand you shoe people. 😉 But that’s okay. You can wear your shoes, and we can wiggle our toes […]
» Read moreWe look super happy in this photo, didn’t we? We were sort of happy, but we were stressed. Alan has enough school and family work to fill his plate, but he does well. I’ve already said a thousand times that the first year of home schooling has been a huge challenge for me. I was surviving, really. There was more stress than joy in my days. I was living frustrated. I ran into a mom that I sort of know at […]
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