The Joy Challenge: Day 9: A Yellow Balloon and Red Pumps

What kind of title is that you may be asking yourself? After I dropped my children off at preschool, I saw a yellow balloon floating down the street as if it had somewhere to be…where could this balloon be going on such a day as this…
If I were really great, or even the least bit good, I could write a story to go with this but I am not… this little balloon just brought a smile to my face because it was as if I could see it through the eyes of my children and thinking of the questions they may be asking about this yellow balloon.
I thought this was the one thing that I was going to write about but my friend, Elizabeth and I went shopping for a pair of boots! Yes boots, you notice I did not write a cute pair of brown boots at the top…no I wrote about a pair of red pumps! Well I could have also written about those cute brown boots and the cook black boots and yes the oh so chic purple pumps! Yes, I bought 4 pair of shoes tonight! This is not like me at all but it was buy one get one ½ off! I know, I know…I am saving my honey money right=)
Well my honey is coming home tomorrow and I went with the intentions of buying a pair of brown boots to go with my outfit but I am wearing a red shirt so the red pumps would look great! I think the red pumps would be great with anything! I don't normally have a shoe fetish but tonight was sooooo much fun! I am sure you know what is going to bring me Joy tomorrow before I ever write about it ;)

The Joy Challenge: Day 8: playing 20 questions with my husband

I got to talk to my honey on the phone Wednesday night and it was wonderful. We talk for almost 2 hours until I started getting very sleepy from some medicine I took earlier. I feel like during this deployment that we have found that first love again, I know we have only been married for 4 years but we were like high school kids last night and it was so much fun just getting to know him all over again. And we only have 2 more days to have to endure being apart! The great thing about Friday is not only is he coming home but he is coming home for good! He will never have to deploy again!

What were the 20 questions you ask, well, that is not the important thing about today's joy it was the joy in playing it and rekindling a love and fire! I know not what you wanted to read but those 20 questions may make you and me blush ;)

good night to all…remember God is good and he has a big plan for each of us!

The Joy Challenge: Day 7: Hope

Today was a great day! We are that much closer to seeing daddy and I am reminded by God that He is still in charge and that he will never leave me! I dropped my sweet peas off to preschool, ran errands, signed up for Curves, ate lunch with a friend at Lovin' Spoonful Café downtown and had a wonderful time….worked out for the first time in about a week (this felt great!) Off to pick up my sweet peas from preschool and run more errands.

The first being to the local Best Buy to see if I could get a plug in charger for computer (by the way that is why I didn't post these for the last couple of days, no laptop life). We I was excited to find out that I could return my other one and get a full credit YEAH! Something simple like that what is can do for your joy for the day. Well it gets better.

We go to our next stop, Sam's Club, to get the staples of our home: dog food, diapers, toilet paper and cheese. I know what a combo. Well we were completely out of 3 of the 4. The cheese was just a bonus. The shopping was not the best part but the walk to the car….We saw a rainbow and not just any rainbow but a double rainbow….It was beautiful and to see the excitement on my children's faces was priceless. In Genesis 9: 8-13, a rainbow was a sign from God that he will never send a flood to destroy all of life again. This gives us hope that even though we as a nation probably deserve this fate but God loves us and HE ultimately loved Noah to make such a promise to last eternally…

The Joy Challenge: Day 6: Knowing my limits

If you are anything like me, then you tend to take on too much and then just blow up at everything and everyone around you because you are the one that has taken on too much! Well I am learning to read my body and what emotions I am feeling and realizing when it is time to say no, time to go home, time to go into my room and just shut the door….

Tuesday will be two weeks ago that I had sinus surgery and today I was feeling a lot of sinus pressure and on top of that had not 1 but 2 needed children…they both seemed to be fighting for my attention and this just make my heart hurt because I can't give them that attention that each of them is desiring. We went to dance and gymnastics on this beautiful, windy morning. We made it through the morning of getting dressed and having breakfast….but them once we got to class and I took Sydney to her dance class she didn't want to stay and I had to be in class with Noah so what is a mother to do when she is the only one (daddy a million miles away but not for long=)). I did what only a good mother does…yep I put her in the class stayed with her a few minutes so she could gain her confidence and then slowly eased my way out so Noah and I could go to gymnastics.

Well about 5 minutes into her class here she comes running to me like she has just lost her best friend. Before she shows up Noah is acting like he normally does, a boy, not listening, not doing what he is suppose to do….but magically when his twin sister shows up he wants to do it because she is doing the stretches….oh the bond they have. But I have to explain to her that this is Noah's class and she can't do the activities. That is hard for a 3 year old to really comprehend. I convince her to go back to her class and of course stay with her a few minutes and shoe her it is fun. She is comfortable and I slowly ease out again.

By the end of class we have some sort of meltdown of 3 year olds, mommy's head is pounding and this is where I feel the presence of God saying this is one of those times for me to know my limits and call it a day before I do or say something I regret. So we packed up and went home, fixed a great lunch and all went down for a nap! The Lord is teaching me so much through my children and I am grateful for each lesson that I am learning.

The Joy Challenge: Day 5: Bible Study

I am realizing more and more that God is calling me to work with women in a women's ministry. I really enjoy leading a Bible study with other ladies and finding out more about their lives, their struggles, their strengths and their weaknesses. We all need other Godly women in our lives to help hold us accountable. I am not sure how God plans on using me to fulfill his plan but "here I am send me!"

Can't believe I just said that but it is true…God wants us to be obedient to him and his calling and if we are obedient then he will bless the ministry as well as our own lives. What an awesome God we serve. More on this tomorrow…my battery is dying but I am becoming more aware of what is truly bringing me joy and I am thankful that all my senses are aware of this journey that I am on to deliberately seek out daily joy!

The Joy Challenge: Day 4: Sweet Friends

God brings people in your life everyday and there will be a day when your paths will no longer cross but until that day comes we must appreciate those special people in our lives and try to figure out what God would have us learn from them, teach them, appreciate about them…

Have you ever had that special friend in your life that just knows the right things to say at just the right time…they know what you need before you even ask…they drop everything to help you when you are in need…they know your deepest secrets and can actually keep them…they are there when you need a shoulder to cry on…lend an ear to listen to you and not give advice, just let you vent…they give you a hug…

I have a sweet friend who came into my life last year and we have become best friends…Elizabeth you are such sweet dear friend and I am truly going to miss you when we move but God has great things in store for both of us and we will be running that Christian way farm soon! This dear friend will watch my children when I need to go to work, run errands, or just get some much needed rest….well on Saturday she was like my knight in shining armor coming to my rescue…she helped me get my house ready for my open house, then watched the kids while I had the open house. I know this doesn't sound like much but when we all woke from our naps I had the worst headache so she took my children to her house for a Bonfire and dinner, brought them back home and got them in the pj's , teeth brushed and glass of milk so they were ready for bed…she even pulled down my sheets so I could just climb into bed…God knew I needed her that day…

I pray that each of you reading this has someone like this in your life…we , as women, need a "girlfriend"…someone we can confide in, share our struggles with, laugh with, cry with, be ourselves and jus have fun… if you don't have someone like this I pray that god will bring a sweet friend in your life soon so you can enjoy life with a "girlfriend". Thank you Elizabeth for being such an inspiration to me as a friend, wife and mother.

The Joy Challenge: Day 3 ~ Coffee

I know what you are probably thinking, Coffee, are you kidding me, that brings you joy. I have not always been a coffee drinker and if I did drink it, it was with lots of cream and sugar….

I took this picture right before our training class today…which was on 4 traits of highly successful people…

Well not a lot has changed since my first taste of coffee but I just love the thought of pouring a cup, wrapping my hands around a nice and toasted mug and just taking a deep breath and letting the aroma of the coffee fill every ounce of space in my nose….she is crazy…I know….Coffee actually the smell of it takes on a whole new meaning or rather appreciation for me since my sinus surgery on the 2^nd of this month…. My sense of smell is heighten and I can actually breathe, yeah

I am one of those that like to bring my own coffee mug from home with me to work or someone's house because I just absolutely love my mugs….we got them from pier 1 when we got married and they are so me! As I am typing I am trying to think about God in this big scheme of coffee and this is where I wish I were a writer and the words could just flow from my mouth with such grace but they don't…but who is to say I can't work on it…I am trying to do better about finding Joy in my daily routine, trying to set goals for 2010 in my real estate career (for Hattiesburg, MS when we get down there) and working on being a better wife and mother by taking a awesome Bible study by Beth Moore, "It's tough Being a Woman".

The Joy Challenge: Day 2: Fall and all the Colors of Fall

Today I found myself thinking differently, feeling different, acting different….Could this Joy challenge really be working and could I actually be loving life again? Granted my children were going to preschool today, we got up early, already had their backpacks ready the night before, has all their clothes out and ready on their changing table, gave baths, got their favorite morning beverage ready – "hot milk" , breakfast ready and this was all before 8:00 am. Well to those of you who don't know me that is a big feat for me because I am known for being late!!!!

This is one of my favorite times of the year because of the changing leaves, the crisp air in the mornings, the smell of hot chocolate, wearing sweaters and scarves, cuddling under a blanket outside beside a bonfire, the crinkling of the leaves as you walk on them and the laughter from little ones when you throw leaves up in the air and when you get to jump in a big pile of leaves….what could be more fun than that and what could bring you more JOY?

God knew what he was doing when he made the different types of trees…He loves color just as much as we do and He knew in these cold months that color and sun do wonders for our spirits!

What is your favorite tree? I think my favorite tree has to be the maple because of how vibrant the colors of the leaves can get from bright red, to orange and yellow….what a site to see here in the hills of Tennessee. If you have never been up through Chattanooga, TN during the months of September, October and the first part of November then you need to get in your car and drive because the colors on the horizon will just take your breath away!

God gives us a beautiful canvas to look at each and every day but we must stop and "be still and know that I am God"…We are in such a hurried world that we don't take the time to see what God has provided for us even in our own backyard. A lot of times I take the simple things in life for granted and need to be reminded to slow down and look around me because I am blessed beyond words.

CONTEST: I’ve GOT it and Now I’m “re” gifting it to YOU

CONTEST: I’ve GOT it and Now I’m “re” gifting it to YOU

fun contest! have a great JOYFUL day!

The Joy Challenge: Day 1~ Waking up in God’s Glory

I am in the midst of struggling with anger so I decided to take this challenge of deliberately finding Joy…so for the next 40 days I am in search of finding Joy…..

For the first time in a while I woke up with a joyful heart and was actually excited about what the day had in store….

While reading Heart To Heart With Holley, http://blog.dayspring.com/, I came across her last day of the 40 day challenge of finding Joy and my Lord knew exactly what I needed to see last night while looking through my favorite blogs.

It has been such a challenge for me to find that joy that I so desperately long for in the midst of all that is going on in my life.

God still reigns on the throne and He still is in charge of every detail of my life but I need to let Him be in charge and take over the reins….

For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

    Psalm 30:5

My Joy did come in the morning just as this scripture says and my faithful Father knew what I needed!