Joyfull Living

  Happy Friday! In our area this has been a week full of much needed rain but along with that came days on end of clouds and humidity. Typical southern summer weather. But since the rain was so desperately needed, each day as I faced clouds and grayness, I was determined to be thankful for the rain, but after days of not seeing the sunshine, I was ready to see the sun!  This morning the sun broke out and as I stepped outside for a morning run, the air was beautiful, drier and brighter and it made for a beautiful start for the day. The change in weather was so evident and it changed my outlook and attitude.  Today's Five Minute Friday is on the topic of QUIET. In our world today it can be hard to find a place of quiet. But like the sunshine and fresh air I experienced this morning, quiet can enter our hearts and make all the difference in our lives.  Quiet can be a place of sacredness where rest can fill our bodies, peace can fill our hearts and clarity can come in...

 Happy Friday! I'm joining in a writing link up over at Five Minute Friday. The word for this week is  DISAGREE. At first, this sounds like an ugly word to me, I much prefer kind, soothing words such as peace, harmony, love and kindness. But the fact is, we all will face disagreements sometimes. Disagreement is not always bad, it usually begins with a difference in opinion with another person. There actually can be some opportunities to grow when we find ourselves facing a different perspective. As we face disagreements, it gives us a peek into the heart of another person. The heart of a person is the seat of thoughts, emotions and reasoning.   Opinions begin in the heart as do our responses. Often the immediate thoughts that occur when one has a differing opinion can be harsh and condemning. When someone is not thinking as we do, we label them different and probably wrong!!  But listening and seeking to understand doesn't necessarily mean we will change our min...

 Hello June and Welcome Summer! As the summer season begins, our lives begin to embrace fun, relaxed activities such as swimming, cook outs and lots of outside time. June also holds some dates that are very emotional for our family - ones that represent the passing of one life and embracing of a new life. This June will find sweet hubby and I celebrating 32 years of marriage!  What a divine gift of God that came in His perfect timing. In the same year, 8 days before the wedding, my father was tragically killed. Our family gathered for a funeral and a wedding in the same week. Life can be like that, holding pain and joy in the same hand, but always being balanced with the gift of God's grace. As a Christian, I believe pain and grief comes from the result of living in an evil world. God does not cause the events that bring pain, but through the process of grief, we can find hope, wholeness and healing. And our stories from the other side of grief can be used to walk with others ...

 SLOW - is the word prompt for a writing link up I enjoy over at Five Minute Friday. The word SLOW   ranks near the bottom of the priority list in my life. I enjoy living out action words like - productive, high energy, quick, busy, active, words that allow and encourage me to do something. I am one who enjoys 'doing', a quick re-acter, often drawn to serve others quickly, not wanting them to wait for me. I answer emails and texts quickly, can be easily interrupted and thrive on seeing how many activities I can put into a day ...or hour!! My season of life has slowed down as our children have grown and are now living independent lives and do not need me to do the things for them as in the past. My mornings are not spent preparing breakfast, packing lunches and rushing children out the door. Everything in this season of life is slower.  After a time of transition and attempting to fill in those slow times, I've learned the value of slow. It provides something greater tha...

Today I am joining Five Minute Friday to share some thoughts on the word RECOVER. The definition of recover is to return to a normal state of health, mind or strength or to find or regain possession of something.  Recover is a term that can be used in a variety of situations. We can recover from illness, physical exertion, from a traumatic event, from substance abuse. Recover can be a word of hope as the focus shifts from where we currently are to a future place of returning back to normal.  But to recover indicates there is a process involved. Being an avid fitness participant, I love the benefits of working my body to push its physical limits, then feeling the rush of adrenaline that comes with recovery. Beyond the feeling of accomplishment in physical recovery, there are great benefits in the recovery process. After the pain of a strenuous workout, an active recovery - which means continuing in a less strenuous movement such as walking is often considered more beneficial t...

This weekend is Mother's Day and you have probably noticed an abundance of beautiful items that grace the entrance to the stores we visit. Cards, mugs, flowers, beautiful signs, all gifts that express to moms the special role they play in our lives.  Today's Five Minute Friday writing prompt is "She".   A very simple, yet appropriate topic for this Friday! Christians moms during this time of the year often reflect on the biblical passage of Proverbs 31. In its context, it is a mother writing to her son - a king - about the virtues of a wife that he should be seeking for. Every mother with sons has that same desire, for him to find a wife filled with virtue and honor.  As the Bible often does, it reflects a question or pondering that reflects back to ourselves. In the Proverbs 31 passage, we tend to examine our life based on these qualities and may find we come up lacking! This is not the description of an unattainable, perfect woman, but qualities that all women shou...

Happy Friday! Today I am participating in "Five Minute Friday" an opportunity to write thoughts about a given work prompt. Today's word is "Broken".   Broken —what a sad word. When I hear the word broken, in my mind a picture comes of something fragile that was once beautiful but now lays shattered in pieces on the floor. When something is 'broken', it is easily discarded, or no longer useful to us. Broken applies to more than items that take a fall or become damaged, it is a heartbreaking word when applied to relationships, attitudes or people.  But for every broken thing, a cry comes out—fix it. Put it back together, take the pieces and bind them up. From plates on the floor to hearts in anguish, if someone could just come and put the pieces back together again.  If we were never broken, we would never know the wholeness of God. That’s the beauty of brokenness. When our hearts are broken, when we’ve just made a mess of things, that is the space when Go...