Welcome to Day 32 of my 100 day writing project! I so enjoy looking for joy in the little things each day and I pray that you are taking the time to find Joy in your days as well. We are commanded to give thanks in all things. That means in the good AND the Bad! and you will see that on day 11- with the 3 Hard Euaristeos )hard gratitude- thankfulness)
Day 10- 3 Gifts moving
The kids and hubby are always on the move
Clouds- the sky is always changing
The seasons- Never Changing
Day 11- 3 Hard eucharisteo
Remembering 9/11
waiting
not knowing what insect- builds faith and trust
Day 12- 3 Gifts in His Word
Hebrews 10:24- purpose statement for the blog
Joshua 1:9 The verse to begin my blog series
James 1:2-4 A great reminder of endurance
Day 13- A gift scented, scrawled, and started
scented- Candles
scrawled- notes to self in my writing notebook
started-New Journey– a new journal, , a new found excitement and passion for writing
Day 14- 3 gifts drawn
all of Child #3’s artwork
Hubby’s sketch of the Dawn Treader
little drawings on the sides of my Journal pages
Day 15- 3 Gifts paired
Hubby and I
SHOES!! It’s awful when you are missing one of every pair!
wireless headphones to my phone. So I can listen and work at age same time!
Day 16- 3 gifts shared
gluten free Oreos with my gluten free partner in crime!
A cup of English Toffee Iced tea from our favorite drive through Coffee Shop!
Laughter over a TV show I loved as a kid- The Belly laughs were intense tonight!
I’m so glad you came by for the Joy Dare this week and I’m praying You all have a fabulous week full of gratitude and Joy!
And how about You what have you found joy in this week?
For more Joy Dare posts click here and for more Choosing Courage Posts click here.
To Check out The Joy Dare and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp click here.
I love to write. I always have. But you already knew that. BUT I struggle to write a purpose statement. The point of a purpose statement is that it’s short Concise and easy to remember. But if you have been around here for very long you know that concise isn’t on the of the words that describes how I write.
Well back one month ago as I began this writing journey, I began to consider writing a purpose statement for my blog. I could tell you what the purpose of my blog was but it would not be concise.
It rolled around in my head and I have thought many times how to articulate it. bu nothing ever seemed good enough,
A lesson in every little thing
Back in December when I was living every waking second and some of the not quite awake but not quite asleep moments, praying that God will get me through that moment.
Whether it was moments of pain ( That was the majority of the moments) or laying in the ER waiting for the next procedure You can only count the tiles on the ceiling to many times. I quickly learned that God really did care about every little thing. It was a hard lesson. But by the end of December I was taking every little thing to HIM. I wasn’t fretting about the details anymore.
But How Quickly I Forget
Fast forward to now and I am just hanging out pondering all these details – trying to do all the things myself and then when God shows up I sit mouth gaping at the pastor when he answers a question he didn’t even know was asked.
I mean seriously the WHOLE month of DECEMBER I spent learning this lesson…and I just forgot the lesson.
So about that purpose!
There I was listening- taking notes and BAM
Hebrews 10:24 NLT
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
That’s exactly what I try to achieve her and on Social media. I want people to grow in their walk with God! I want people to grow in their love and good works!
I cannot tell you the number of times I have read the book of Hebrews and never really noticed that verse.. And yet there it is.
Baby Steps
Over the next few weeks and months there will be some changes here on the blog. She will be getting a facelift. BUT what’s more important is that the bones of this blog are sturdy. And that starts with a rock solid purpose Statement. It is what will be what keeps me on track and not lose sight of what I need to be writing about!
I can have a pretty blog but at the end of the day if I have no purpose or lose sight of my purpose I will not have joy in what I am doing! And right now I am loving what I am doing!
Thank you so much for joining me on this growth journey. That is what this project is….It’s pushing me to grow beyond my comfort zone. And it’s helping me to see just what God wants me to write about.
Thank you for being patient with me as I wobble with each baby step on this journey. If you are new here and you are asking what on earth is this girl talking about? Then you can check out this blog post here and if you have missed any of the blog posts you can check them out here.
Wowsers….I cannot believe that we are at our week 4 update! Day 30 to be exact! It’s the longest blogging streak I have ever had and even though I had a glitch with the blogI still wrote the posts and all I had do was copy and paste them into the post template!
Hello Fears Update
HA! I finally finished reading chapter 3. Things have slowed down quite a bit and I am finally settling into a routine. And I finally feeling like I am accomplishing something!
I will be sharing the journaling parts of this chapter and the rest that I accomplish on Friday this week so stay tuned.
I want tyou to remember that I have not yet reviewed this book and just because I am blogging my way through this book I have not yet recommended it. I will write my review when I am finished with the book!
If you are interested you can Check out Michelle Poler’s Youtube channel here
Family Update
We are well into the soccer season and we have already had two gamed Child #1 and Child #2 are having a lot of fun learning and improving their skills. We are also into our third week of homeschooling and the kids have done great! Even with some of the extra things we have going on. I have been growing leaps and bounds in so many areas and I got the results f my 1 month iron infusion results back. I’m normal…..WELL…….Nevermind! and hubby, well there are some amazing things happening for our family and we are excited to see where God is leading us.
Blogging Update
I am so excited to share some upcoming ideas with you tomorrow. I have had some aha moments this week specifically in church on Sunday. I am constantly amazed just how much God knows us! I shouldn’t be. But then moments happen like Sunday that leave me sitting staring at the pastor (a friend of ours for over 20 years) with my mouth hanging open. I know he didn’t know what has been on my mind. I mean I didn’t even tell my hubby- they have been just ideas swirling around in my head- I haven’t even uttered them in prayer yet. And wow- now I have answers. Stay tuned tomorrow for those details!
What have I learned by Choosing Courage
Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned this week is a mistake or maybe it’s better described as a trap I have fallen into. That trap was something that came to light on Sunday- but I am not talking about that tomorrow . I am going to share that part of Sunday right now.
When I took on this writing project I made a promise to you my readers and to myself that I was going to be Honest where I am at.
So let me be honest
This aha moments started a few weeks ago when I filled out a questionnaire for Pastor’s wives for a potential pastor position for hubby and one of the questions had to do with devotions and Bible study. Now I am a firm believer that you need to have both but sometimes we get confused… we let ourselves get lost in the process of Bible study……We almost have tunnel vision as we seek out the tiny details. It’s not like the Bible becoming a textbook per see- it’s like playing hide n seek with details. We need to study God’s word and we need to understand it and that is very helpful but it can become less personal.
Our pastor on Sunday reminded the congregation of the challenge he brought to them at the beginning of the year (we didn’t attend that church at the time. So we didn’t hear it. He challenged them to be immersed in as much God’s words possible. And I generally do that but something happened …actually a bunch of things happened…..
I Lost my Passion
I lost my passion because of damaging words…words that assumed they knew my heart….knew me. They assumed they could determine my motive because of what I wrote. Sadly as those words flew from their fingertips and their mouths I built a wall….around my heart. but it wasn’t the people…it was God’s word . Because That is where my passion came from. That is what motivated my writing. And when I stopped soaking in the word, my passion crumbled and my words now felt forced.
That list I have of blog post ideas- they were all born out of reading God’s word but as it sat on those planner pages the passion tricked out of them….and as I have tried to revisit them, I cannot pull back that passion out of them.
So what now?
So last night I talked to my friend who is the beginning of my prayer team and shared with her all the things. And so I know where these posts originated from- mostly the epistles- so everyday I am going to read some of them- immersing myself in God’s word again- fueling my passion. I did it last night before bed. I am reading James. Out of verses 3 blog posts were worked on. 1 already existed (on that post list) and 2 more new ones! And the excitement returned. AND there’s no fear.
Don’t wprry I am not giving up on my Bible study either My friend and I decided that I should focus on the study on the weekends. So Philippians will be in baby steps and let the immersion commence.
Thank you so much for doing me for the week 4 update of my Choosing Courage – 100 day writing project. If you want to check out the rest of the posts here
Wow It’s time for Happy Homemaker Monday again. I totally forgot to post it to the link last week. (oops). And today is day 29 of my Choosing Courage 100 day writing project. I cannot believe we have hit almost a 1/3 of the way through the project. I hope everyone has had a fabulous week!
Breakfast time….what is on the plate this morning::::
I pretty much had coffee for breakfast this morning-
Looking around the house::::
Some basic chores need to be done. Hubby got a punch of the ditch dug around the front of the house so he can repair some of the foundation of the house. I have been able to catch on a bunch f chores around the house and I have morello go. But I am getting there.
On today’s to do list::::
Blogging everyday this week
I need to clean the top of our stairs where my sewing cabinet is
downsizing my clothes.
downsize and re-organize my craft room
deep clean kitchen
Currently reading::::
Hello Fears
Get Out of Your Head
My Bible
Hudson Taylor (biography with the kids for morning basket)
S.H.A.P.E.
On the TV this week::::
nothing really
The weather outside is::::
Mid 70’s. with a few days here and there in the 60’s Very normal for September in upstate NY
On the menu this week::::
Monday – Bbq Chicken, Potato Salad and Corn
Tuesday – Hamburgs (on the grill) chills and baked beans
Wednesday – Tater Tot casserole
Thursday – Loaded Baked potatoes
Friday – Meatball Subs
Saturday – Pigs in a Blanket (cabbage rolls)
Sunday – Masjed Potato Sundaes
If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::::
Reading, Exercise, art
New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::::
None
One of my simple pleasures::::
Warm Apple Cider
Favorite photo from the camera::::
Praying for::::
♥♥ Lots of friends and family who either have COVID or knows someone who does. One person in particular is not doing so well but is making strides in the right direction ♥♥ Our Search Process ♥♥Friends and family who are struggling
Bible Verse, Devotional that is resonating with me at the moment::::
Hebrews 10:24 NLT
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
This verse hit me hard on Sunday during the message on Sunday. To find out why come back on Wednesday! When I’m going to be talking about the role this verse is playing here on my blog!
I had a great plan last week- exercise then art. BUT schedules just didn’t allow for that. The kids have figured the rhythm out for school. I on the other hand have not found my rhythm. And I am still trying to find a healthy balance for everything. So I only exercised once the treadmill this week…but when I was done I didn’t have time to art.
So I took today
When we got home from church I took a couple of hours to do some art. Its not finished some of the cells are 1/2 done. ONE IS IN THE UGLY STAGE for sure- it didn’t go as planned either. I am hoping I can save it but it might be over for it. Actually I am not sure any of them are “finished for sure.
And one cell hasn’t been touched at all.
It’s been a while since I have done some artwork so I was struggling with art block but as I get back into practice this will get better.
The bottom middle picture is something I am trying to learn. Water is difficult and I want to learn how to paint it. It also didn’t turn out as I had planned either
So the plan for next week- I don’t have one…lol Actually I just want to keep working on these. I think I want to break out those new prismacolor colored pencils I mentioned a while ago.
If you are interested in seeing where I started with this last week you can click here.
And thank you for joining me for day 28 of my Choosing Courage a 100 day writing project. To check out the rest of the posts in the project you can click here
How about you…. did your week go as planned? Let me know in the comments below and also what are you working on in your play time?
