Surrendering to Joy

      Hey all - I apologize for the delay in posting; so many factors are behind it that I won't even mention most of them. However, my biggest block seemed to be coming up with something to write about. Then, completely out of the blue, I got hit with a metaphor that is unbelievably perfect! It goes along so well with everything God's been showing me recently, as well as with my last post. May it never be said that the Lord doesn't provide for us!      So, last Spring, as the school year was winding down, I was put in charge of a new project we had in our class. We received a small gardening kit, with three different types of seeds, as well as three different colors of "NASA space gel" to use instead of dirt. (This actually ended up being my project specifically, as preschoolers aren't exactly old enough for a project like this one. It was quite interesting just trying to keep them from shaking the poor things!) About a week or so after ...

     Evening everyone -      I heard an unbelievably beautiful song on the radio yesterday. It is called "Forgiven" by Crowder*, and several lines really stuck out to me. My favorite line from this song? "I could've been six feet under; I could've been lost forever"      It struck me that I could use that line as a starting point for a new blog post; it relates SO well to my life. There have been plenty of times the past couple of months where I have cried out in pure thankfulness to God for saving me from myself. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone is lead astray at some point in their lives. I am hoping that this particular post will be at least a slight source of encouragement to anyone that currently feels as though they are lost or alone in darkness. I cannot emphasize this enough: you. Are. Never. Alone. EVER.      I've walked through a lot of darkness the past few years....

     Hello, all -      I'm not someone to post directly about political nonsense on social media, or get involved in those petty arguments in comment threads. I may share certain articles, or "react" to the ones that I agree with on Facebook. But I do not go out of my way to try and convince other people that I am right and they are wrong; it is not in my nature to try and change people's minds. If someone asks questions about what I believe, or why I think a certain way, I am more than happy to try and explain myself. I can have discussions with people who want to listen, and with those that can hear differing opinions from their own and not lose their minds. I'm sure most, if not all of you know what I'm talking about. HOWEVER, today I've decided to put some facts and opinions out there about a very touchy subject; I do not know how people will react to this post. Quite frankly though, I don't really care if people react the wrong wa...

     I have never been bothered by being alone. In fact, I actually seek out alone time every chance I get. Not that I really mind being around people; it's just exhausting for someone with my personality when we hang out with others for too long. However, I would like to point out that "loneliness" and "alone time" are not the same thing. I might like being alone when I'm shopping, reading, watching TV, etc. but I still suffer from stretches of severe loneliness.      Any of this sound familiar to anyone? Some days you just feel very stuck, like you're in a rut. Sometimes this can last for multiple days, weeks, or even months and years. Thankfully, the Lord has been unbelievably kind to me the past few months, so my "rut of loneliness" days are few and far between. Today, however, ended up being pretty bad, at least as far as loneliness goes. Objectively, I shouldn't really be feeling this way today; I got up early and went to the gym, cl...

     Ah, joy. Defined by the internet as "great pleasure, or happiness," this particular word has posed issues for me in the past; mainly, all the times I thought I had it within my grasp, only to realize soon after that I was wrong. Over and over this happened, until I finally opened my eyes to the cycle I was in, and eventually set out to discover and define Joy for myself. What exactly is it? How do I find it? Most importantly, is it constant? I will not pretend to be an expert on the subject; this is, after all, simply part of the journey God has me on. I am still learning and growing, and there are definitely others out there that have studied it more than I. However, if nothing else, the past few years have shown me more Joy then at any other point in my life. The past few years have also been some of the most sorrowful, painful, and difficult years of my life. It all goes together though, joy, and sorrow, and pain, and difficulties; hand-in-hand-in-h...