Joyfull Living

'Christmas' day has now past. In our home, we are blessed to have a few days off from work and are using that time to do a few household projects, rest and simply catch up from the busy Christmas season. In December, we were blessed to open our hearts and home to several 'families' that we cherish in our lives.  Open homes begin with open hearts and true hospitality comes from a heart that welcomes and makes the guest feel like part of the family.  Church Deacon Family - we serve in the church alongside these precious people. Work Family - What a blessing when your co-workers feel like family! Simply Family - The people God placed us with - a true gift. The time spent together was wonderful, the food fabulous, the gifts have been opened and now a New Year is right around the corner. As we count our blessings and ride the nostalgic wave of Christmas  a question to ponder could be “What difference will Christmas make today and for the next 363 days?...

If your Christmas shopping isn't completed yet, you are running out of time!  But you are not alone, this weekend will find me scurrying around to finalize my shopping as well. I did get a good jump on shopping for the Christmas season. Knowing that there were many activities that would need 'small gifts', I found some items in a local chain store that would be perfect. The gifts I was looking for needed to be similar, so after finding a few perfect things, I cleared the shelf....and unashamedly went around town to the other stores of this chain to purchase more of these items.  Although shopping is not something I love to do, there was a feeling of great accomplishment when these packages were ready! Now it is days before Christmas and after a few gift items for Christmas morning, our family will be all set. In the stress of searching for the perfect gift, sometimes I ask myself why go to all this trouble? But, a gift is a representation of love, appreciation an...

Happy December!  There is something so inspiring about a new month.  The fall months arrived with their glory, cooler weather and warm feelings of gratitude. Now we are embracing December!   Early December is the time to set the tone for the holidays. If we enter in the season frantic, that hectic pace will keep us in a spirit of panic, stress and quickly rob our holiday joy.  But, if our attention is turned to focus on the true spirit of Christmas, our hearts tend to be more joyful, caring, giving and loving.  Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year. There is an attitude (if you look for it) in others that binds our hearts together as we behold the wonder of the season.  This month I began a Christmas devotional "The First Songs of Christmas" . It is a 30 day advent devotional that focuses on meditations from Luke 1 and 2.  Some of the readings are just too good not to share.   Luke 1:43 is the accoun...

Hello November!  Welcome cooler weather, cute and cozy sweaters, autumn scented candles, open windows, fall baking and pumpkin everything! I LOVE fall! The beginning of November is an exciting time as the beauty of fall is here but the rush and stress of the holidays are still at a distance.  Of course we know that November means that Thanksgiving is close! It usually means gathering with friends and family to enjoy a meal and fellowship together.  It sounds so cozy and wonderful doesn't it?  But, in real life, families may be a bit more complicated!  Sometimes spending hours on end with family turns cozy into confined. Relaxed gatherings become stressful as conversation lulls and we begin to wonder, what are we going to do now? Age differences, various seasons of life and just a general difference in perspective can cause communication barriers.  How do we prepare for those awkward Thanksgiving home moments?  It can begin with you! The...

During a morning run last week, the radio program I was listening to continually gave warnings about a coming storm.  Hurricane Michael was expected to hit that day. The announcer shared "everyone in our listening area will be affected". It is a fact that every surrounding county is under either a hurricane or tropical storm warning. There WILL be rain and wind for all, but some may face catastrophic conditions. Just days ago, Hurricane Michael was a forming group of clouds and rain that quickly grew into a catastrophic weather system. In 24 hours, it will be completely gone from our area leaving only the aftermath behind.  Although our immediate area was spared from extreme damage, our neighbors in the panhandle of Florida are facing devastation that will take much time to rebuild from. Storms are a fact of life, it is not a matter of if, it is more of a 'when' they will roll through. They are a certainty and they will come. They can develop suddenly or come with...

September is one of my favorite months of the year. It is my birthday month and usually marks the beginning of fall.  With the intense heat down here in the south, fall may not bring cool weather, but it assures us that fall and cooler weather are coming!   This year, summer has held on and on. The temperature lows are still in the 70's with hot and humid weeks on end of 90+ high temps. But, I know fall, cooler weather and pumpkin everything is coming soon. But the month of September did bring much joy in other areas.  My sweet hubby and I both have September birthdays, just one day a part. We celebrated with a birthday dinner and were surprised by our oldest son who lives away, but came for the weekend to celebrate with us.  Plus this year, I hit the big 5 0.  And it wasn't too bad!! I thought turning 50 would be a good time to experiment with a new hobby and decided to look into and try chalk painting. My project was taking a few wood t...

Today is September 11, which is a very emotional day for our country. This is a day where as a country, we pause and remember the horrific day our country was attacked. We remember the devastation, the loss of life, mourning and grief of so many families.  The pictures of the attacks still play in our minds when we remember this day, along with our feelings of helplessness and unbelief.  On this anniversary of 9/11, the theme rings out "We will never forget".  This day is forever etched in the heart of America.  We are bound together by our memories and the strength shown through the selfless acts of unity.  In our family, September 11 is also a day we will never forget. It was a Sunday and as a family we went to church, enjoyed the afternoon together and then went in different directions for the evening. Our middle son Josh went to a get together at a friends house. My husband went to church services at our home church while I went to participate i...