joy - part whatever

I have found that there are moments in my life where it becomes far too easy for me to become overwhelmed by all that I am learning about and being challenged with… I often see these as “dark” moments, or unconquerable hurdles, when in reality, they’re just life lessons. The past couple of months could be described as challenging both spiritually and emotionally… Nothing catastrophic, and in light of all that is going on in the world, what I have been staring down could even be categorized as insignificant. None the less, I have had a lot of things going on in my head and heart – all of which I know are going to stretch me, and help me grow to become more of the person I’m meant to be. But, as I mentioned earlier, it is extremely easy for me to become overwhelmed by all of these things, and even take on the “woe is me” type attitude. It is not my desire to be in that place… It is not my desire to be obsessed and worrisome about situations I have no control over, and situations that will ultimately mold me. However, as someone who struggles with anxiety, I often have to make the conscious choice to focus my head and heart on other things…

And so, I am doing just that today…

There are those of you who followed my Rain of Wonder blog who know that every so often I posted a “joys” list. While I realize that those items and the items I list here today are not the source of real joy, they are indeed things that bring joy to my heart. Therefore, I’ve decided that today, in all of its sunshiny brilliancy, should be a “joys” day.

So, I present to you my “joys” list…

Joy – Part Whatever

1. Seeing childrens books come alive (hooray for Where The Wild Things Are)
2. Friends who send me encouraging verses from the bible
3. Little kids who push leaves down the sidewalk with shovels bigger than they are
4. Spontaneous singing session at work
5. Long drives down back roads with good tunes filling my ears
6. Adults who read children’s books to their adult friends (Ms. Wilhelms!)
7. My grammie… She was a spunky little lady, and I will miss her dearly.
8. Stellar home movies made by the O’Boyle sisters
9. Receiving music suggestions (can’t get enough of Wake Up by Arcade Fire)
10. Night walks while listening to the leaves whirl about which leads to…
11. Playing in leaves!
12. Talking about creative endeavors with creative people
13. Friends who make me laugh so hard I cry (Sara C and William!)
14. Telephone Pictionary (or whatever it’s called) – great game!
15. Pictures my friends post of their lives in Sudan and Uganda
16. Coming home to a huge stack of “slightly defected” childrens books!
17. Starting a new journal
18. Hearing people tell stories going on around them and in their lives
19. Random “dance parties”
20. Coloring in fantastically designed coloring books
21. Crazy imaginations
22. Red Onitsuka Tigers… and the adventures they induce
23. People who are passionate… and who inspire me
24. The Joneses – for all their creativity and “praise God” moments
25. Creating “life goals” and seeing them come to fruition


These are just a few of the things I’ve experienced over the past few weeks that have brought absolute joy to my heart… Things that even in my darkest moments - where I feel as though there’s nothing worth celebrating - make my heart joyous.

The list could go on and on… As I mentioned, I’ve created numerous lists like this… And speaking of lists, writing #25 has encouraged me to revisit the “life goals” I’ve created over the years, and redraft a new list… Some of them have already happened, some of them I find somewhat ridiculous now, and some of them will be transferred over to my new list. So be on the lookout for that…

But for now, I just wanted to share with you the things that bring me joy.

May I be a person that even in what appears to be a dark hour, claims the joyous and celebratory moments in life.