Thursday, June 21, 2012

I Suck The Joy Right Out Of Everything

I suck the Joy right out of everything. I do. It's just that way with me.  I have even adopted the motto, "It's not about having fun....It's about making memories." I have got some lucky kids, huh?  People laugh when I say that, and I am not sure if it's because they're impressed that I am actually admitting something they already know and the awkwardness of the moment causes them to giggle or because they think I am kidding....but I'm not. I am so Type-A that I tend to take any fun/adventure/Joy out of most situations that stray from our normal schedule.  My poor husband, he asks me regularly where my self-destruct button is and he is only half kidding.  He challenges me. He stretches me. He invites me into the craziness of life with a smile and an amazing sense of adventure & humor. He is a much better teacher than I am a student.  With him as a dad, my kids really ARE lucky :)

Ok, back to my point. Joy-Sucking....This really is one area of my life that I am daily challenged in. I am not content to live a life void of Joy, I am just not very good at living one (yet).  I have tried different ways to counter act this in the past and I have found that living a life of actively Giving Thanks is the most effective way for me to do just that.  I do well with this for a while and then I settle back into routine and old (bad) habits creep back in. I forget to thank God daily and profess His goodness throughout my day and my Joy slowly fades away.  In January I started the Joy Dare with Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience and have failed miserably in keeping up with it, mostly because I do not log into my blog everyday to update it. I am taking that tab down today and doing some serious revamping. (I will post more about that tomorrow.)

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthymeditate on these things." ~ Philippians 4:8

I was challenged in a new way yesterday as I read through Lil Blue Boo's website. You remember the one I told you about the other day...the one with all the amazing tutorials?  Well, I sat down to scour her site for inspiration and that is EXACTLY what I found, but not just the crafty kind.  I opened her main page and saw this stunning picture of a woman that looked a lot like Ashley H. (The owner/editor/designer for Lil Blue Boo) with a shaved head and a headline that read The Cancer Chronicles. I was immediately intrigued and my first thought was, "How cool, she shaved her head in support of someone with cancer."  I decided to click on the first post only to find myself completely enthralled with the telling of her story and her battle with a rare form of cancer. 

I read through 11 months of blog posts in a day. I was amazed and inspired.  I laughed a lot, too which is odd to say when you are talking about reading the story of someone's battle with cancer, but it's true. My husband came home from work and I was glued to the computer, laughing out loud every so often and he finally said, "What are you doing?", I reply, "Oh just reading this blog about a woman that has cancer." *Silence* I know he thought I had lost it then, but I read out loud to him for a few minutes and he understood.  Yes, Ashley H. has cancer.  She has cancer and a GREAT sense of humor.....and a sweet family, a thriving business, tons of talent, looks uh-MAZ-ing without hair, has an incredible and undeniable faith in Christ and His plan for her life, awesome friends, and JOY.  In fact, her motto is "Choose Joy" (Way better than mine...poor kids! Lol.) 

Please remember to pray for her as her body heals from the ravages of cancer & chemo.  Pray for her family and business to thrive in every way. Pray that the cancer will never return and that God will bless them with more children whether by adoption or surrogacy.  Consider supporting her by visiting her Shop or Facebook page, and please-please-PLEASE do yourself a favor and read through The Cancer Chronicles. You will be blessed and challenged.  I feel renewed today and empowered to make the choice to count my blessings & Choose Joy. To choose it and share it and live it.  So, thanks Ashley for sharing your story.  I kinda wish we were neighbors, I'd bring you a donut....or 12 :)

This Post is linked up at:
  








1 comment:

  1. I think you are joyful to be around! Even in hard times, you bring a glow and a fully-living-for-God presence. You don't suck any joy out of our times together - if anything, I think you bring it. Even if you don't feel like you are a live-in-the-moment person, that doesn't mean you aren't adventurous- just who you are. People call me boring, and I've accepted that I am fine with boring. In my eyes, you have three darling kids, a logger (which it takes a special woman to be married to a logger =) ) and a huge plate of activities and to-do's. It is good to challenge yourself, but also remember not to be so hard on yourself. People admire you, your family loves you and God thinks you are perfect just the way you are.

    ReplyDelete