Honoring Gratitude

It’s been a long year. I’ve lost two of my favorite people, battled annoying physical issues and been blindsided by multiple challenges. These circumstances often left me ungrateful even though God wove in wonderful and unforgettable moments amid the woeful and wearisome. The year has simply left me tired and unsure of what’s next. But …

Read More

Choose Joy!

Choices.

We make literally hundreds to thousands of choices daily, many of which impact our future. We may not even be aware of their effect in the moment. But choices are powerful. One of mine, in particular, has had a lasting impact not only in my life but many others.

I chose joy.

A cloak of grief and sadness covered my life. I lost both Mom and Grandma within weeks of each other and it sent me reeling. After a year or so of navigating the heartache, I longed to be free of sadness. My life was ahead of me with a young family who I needed and needed me. So, I chose joy.

At the time, I didn’t recognize it as joy as much as choosing to let go of negative. I was tired of grief and regret and craved happier. I chose to purposefully seek positive.

When younger, my glass skewed half-empty with negative go-to reactions and worry as the norm. But in my twenties, I had shifted to being more positive. It was a willful choice, but soon I was seeing the world as half full.

Then in a blink, the two most influential women in my life were gone.

It was a deep, bruising blow and revived my negative nature.

To read the rest of my post and what I happened when I chose joy, click to see it on my friend Alisa Nicaud’s Flourishing Today blog!

Linking with the #Salt&Light ladies and Brenda at #ChasingCommunity 

Read More

Share with your friends:

God is in the Stuffing

One bite and tears welled in my eyes. It wasn’t hers but it was the best I could do. As tears streamed down, memories flooded back. Not just the taste of Mom’s Thanksgiving stuffing, but of God’s never ending presence.  Amid illness, loss, and Mom’s stuffing, one thing was constant: God. We buried both Mom …

Read More

Obedience in Bubbles

Not many people enjoy chores. I’m one of them. Cooking and baking, yes, but the cleanup, not so much. A number of years ago, however, cleaning the kitchen had a profound impact on my life. Grieving losses in my life, I found cleaning the kitchen utterly joyless. I relished the cleanliness but had no desire …

Read More

Everyday Acts of Remembrance

The smell of her sweater, the sound of his laugh, her phrase we routinely use are memories that evoke a loved one lost. It can be a whiff of perfume, taste of a familiar comfort food or the sight of someone who for an instant looks like the one we’ve lost.  These sensory memories induce memories …

Read More