Surrendering to Joy

     Hello all -      So, this post isn't one that I actually planned on writing. In fact, I'm currently in the middle of writing a DIFFERENT post; however, I felt very convicted last night in my spirit to write a Mother's Day/thankfulness post!      Two nights ago I sent a text to someone because I was starting to get the overwhelming feeling of being stuck "in a rut," as it were. This happens from time to time, and I have to admit I don't cope with it very well. I usually send some panicky texts, overthink to the point that I lose hours of sleep, and live in a mildly depressed state for a few days. I always find my way back out, of course! I am so thankful to God for never leaving my side. There are so many times I would have been utterly consumed by poisonous thoughts about my life, if not for the words of love and encouragement I read in my Bible.      So anyway, the past few weeks have been extremely tense for me. I ha...

     Hello all, and happy almost Spring Break to everyone! One more week of work for me and then it's nine whole days away from work. Then there's only seven weeks after that until the end of school, although I am definitely not counting it down...      So, today has been super weird. I joined a new gym last week, so today I went to cancel the membership for my old gym. It's something I can totally sense I've been putting off on purpose. Change is good! I will be the first one to tell you all that; however, that doesn't make things any less strange or discomfiting when they DO change. And as I was walking into the gym, it hit me that three years ago at the end of last month was when I first joined. Which is fine, I wasn't heavily attached to the gym itself. I am attached to the memories from three years ago that I associate with that gym, though.       Three years ago, I was working at Starbucks, fighting through a darkness that seemed to...

     Hello all, and happy Sunday -      Today, my head hurt; from the moment I woke up, the throbbing was unbelievable. Sunday morning, I'm trying to get myself ready, and gather the items I needed for the skit my class was performing today. Ohio Valley allergies are no joke, y'all; I could FEEL things moving around my sinuses! And on a Sunday morning, too. I hate when things don't go well before I head out to church. Arriving flustered or irritated just makes me even more flustered and irritated, because I feel like I'm somehow failing by showing up on Sunday in a bad mood. As if I have forgotten that I'm only human, and bad moods are to be expected! As if I didn't know that it was really a scheme by the enemy to keep me from going to church, worshipping the Lord, and praying with other believers. To be frank, if my class didn't have their skit today, I probably WOULDN'T have gone to church. Which is saying something about how badly my head was hurtin...

     Happy new year, and happy snowy weekend to everyone! Hopefully everyone had a good holiday season, and is running into this new year at top speed, ready to conquer anything! As for me, I am excited to see what this new year will bring; at present though, I am just waiting for winter to pass, and the cold to be gone.      Now, I love the snow. Snow and I get along very well, and always have! I just wish there was some magical way to have the snow without the crazy cold temperatures. This winter has made me officially realize that I was not meant for scraping ice off my car and piling unbelievable layers upon my person. No way, y'all; I was meant to live where the sun shines almost continuously, and the temperature never drops below thirty-five degrees. I love Fall, and I love early Spring; it is the in-between waiting period I dislike. Even the beauty of snow can only temporarily delay the impatience that inevitably rushes forth during Winter, and rule...

     Hello, everyone!      I know, I know, it's been forever and a day since I've written anything. Life has been rather crazy; I moved, I've been sick off and on, and the charging port on my laptop broke. Add the holidays on top of that, as well as working full time, and it's no wonder I haven't been able to get a new post out sooner! I sincerely apologize; this was in no way my intention. Actually, when I first started this blog, I intended to write at least one new post a month, if not more than that. I shall try and do better, although I will definitely be the first to admit that not only am I human, but also rather scatterbrained and absentminded these days. Pray for me and my poor brain, y'all! I'll stop with my excuses now...      So, I've had quite a few ideas the past few weeks that I was SURE I wanted to write about. In fact, I would plan each post out in my head, and then a few days later be taken with an idea that was EVEN bet...

     Hi friends -      Let me start by apologizing for not posting anything in the past month! Boy, life really took hold of me for awhile. I can honestly say that I have NEVER been this tired, physically or emotionally. I've been getting hit with a lot, mostly from work, and I am so sorry to say that I let this tiredness take over my life. However, I promise I am trying to fight back! In fact, I have been thinking over this post for a few weeks now; hopefully all my points come across as clear and concise as I intend them to be!      It's finally Fall, y'all! My most favorite season is upon us, although it seems to have taken quite awhile for the cooler weather to make an appearance. I can usually find at least two things that I love about each season; Fall, however, always fills me with delight, and a real sense of calm begins to pervade my spirit. Also, I could totally be biased; my birthday, after all, is next month! So...

    "I call it Joy , which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and from Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Apart from that, and considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we want. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is." -C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy.             Hey there, friends -        If you had asked me even just a couple of years ago where I thought my life would be at this point in time, nothing I would have answered with would be anywhere close to how things actually tu...