Full of Joy

Nothing more I could want... Merry Christmas to all!

One final thought before I head into my Christmas and New Years sabbatical. (Haha! Are you as amused as me I gave my own self a sabbatical from my own writing?!) Recently God led Chuck and I to give financially to this campaign at our church. We were asked to commit monthly for three years. I can't say I've been excited about this, but we're moving forward in obedience and faith. Ever since we gave our pledge, God has not only provided, but surprised us with Sweet Things. When we were traveling over Thanksgiving, we really wanted to eat at one of our favorite spots in VA- Potbelly's! I saved up some grocery money so we could treat ourselves. Instead, God provided when friends of ours treated us to lunch at Potbelly's, and I was able to use that money later for needed groceries! Then this week, we found out Basye's insurance covers the cost of something we have to spend a lot of money on every month. It took a gazillion phone calls, and several stops at ph...

The first thing Keith did was ask me a question, “Do you feel like you’re in a dry place or wilderness, maybe not fulfilled?” Tears sprang to my eyes instantly over the words not fulfilled . All manner of thoughts raced through my mind. I’m a mother to two children who I agonized over. I am blessed! All I ever wanted to do with my life was get married and have babies, but now that I’m here I don’t think mothering is what I thought it would be. What was I actually wanting? I feel guilty for being bored, tired, exhausted, and uninterested in mothering at times. Was my life meant to be about diapers, potty training, breaking up fights (constantly!!!!), cleaning up sticky tables, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and mastering the art oh-so-UNsuccessfully of raising my children to be respectful and obedient? My quick tears verified the guilt drenched truth- I don’t feel fulfilled. Or maybe more accurately, I don’t feel as if I’m fulfilling my calling well. I was thankful Kei...

A couple weeks ago, I was leaving Fusion (the High School ministry where I volunteer) and felt a prompting in my spirit to ask a certain person for “a word”. It was the strangest feeling. This idea felt heavy. I knew the guy the Holy Spirit had put on my heart- he regularly speaks at Fusion, his wife had been my teen small group co-leader for two years, and I had been on a mission trip with one of his daughters. Still, I didn’t really know him. I felt fidgety. I was about to leave the building when Keith rounded the corner. If there were ever a time for the phrase Here goes nothing, that was it. I mustered up the courage to walk up to Keith at the same time a group of students approached him. "Blast. Maybe this was my out. Maybe I had heard wrong", I thought. I decided to put my name tag away in the designated box to kill some time. The group continued to talk. “I’m outta here”, was all I could think. I headed towards the exit again when I realized Keith and his daughte...

Please welcome my friend, and one of the fabulous leaders from my writing group, Beth Fowler! Her story fascinates me, and I know you will be blessed by reading it. She is writing in response to my question, "Who is Jesus to you?" as part of the Who is Jesus series.   *** Who was Jesus to me? He was a storybook character like Santa Claus and Prince Charming. I went to Sunday school and endured goofy flannel-board stories narrated by ladies that seemed very old to me. At age 12, I quit going to Sunday school and church. My parents didn’t question why. Faith was never discussed in our house. You went to school on weekdays, the YMCA on Saturday and church on Sunday. Now my Sundays were free! Decades passed. M y life looked perfect. In reality, many mornings I woke up angry, but didn’t know why. Time slogged by as I guzzled alcohol, studied Buddhism, attended Avatar (not the movie, but a thought system), consumed legal and illegal drugs, used sarcasm...

(In honor of one of Jase's favorite shows these days!)

After my awful nights sleep at the camp with my girlfriends, Chuck picked me up. As we were driving to my parent’s house, where our kids were staying, I was starving. I needed to eat. We saw an exit approaching where I knew one of my best friend’s lived. I asked Chuck if I should even bother calling since it was so last minute. He encouraged me to just try, and we got off the highway. Katie picked up right away. We exchanged small talk for a couple seconds and then I asked her where she was. When I told her my location, she exclaimed, “Are you serious?!” Turns out, she was about to drive right by the Burger King where we had parked. She then told me to look over at the stop light, and I saw her car! She had her oldest son with her, and her Mom, who I hadn’t seen in quite a long time. We all got out of our cars and joyfully embraced each other. It was a sweet reunion. The first thing Mrs. Dimler (Katie’s Mom) shared was how God had miraculously provided for her and her husband with a...

Thanks so much for checking in, you regular Tuesday readers! The blog post for today, Burger King and a Divine Appointment- Part 2 , is ready and waiting in a Word Document. Unfortunately, Word is acting up, so I need to wait for my Technical Assistant to help me. Will work to get the post up ASAP! Thanks for your patience!

I definitely believe in miracles. I believe in divine appointments. I believe Jesus heals. Stories of this type of power show up in the Bible over and over, but I’ve also got stories of my own. My own two children are examples of miracles and healing. But, today I want to share about a very recent divine appointment . Let me start by sharing the backstory. For about a year now, I’ve been struggling with a physical issue. I’ve been to the ER over this particular issue, have seen a couple different doctors, and even had tests done. Everything “serious” had been ruled out, but no one could tell me why I was having this constant pain. At certain points I was able to shrug it off, and deal with the pain. But most of the time, I was under constant attack with anxiety. What was causing the pain? What if it’s serious, but the doctors missed something? What should I do about it? I’d wake up in the night worried about it. I’d be getting the kids dressed, feel a sharp pain, and start to w...

OK friends, this Give Away ended up being so good for my heart. Ah! I was feeling pretty down about blogging over the weekend, and headed to the grocery store. What better way to cheer a person up than to grocery shop, right?! Yuck. Anyway, when I was done I checked my email and saw a bunch of comments for the Give Away. It just got me so excited to read what you all had to share. I loved it! And now I have some renewed direction and fresh ideas for writing in 2017. Thank you- thank you- thank you for reading, commenting, and being apart of the Full of Joy adventure! I am really happy to announce the winner of the Dunkin Donuts gift card. We are in the full swing of the holiday spirit around here (Thank goodness Halloween is finally over. The last thing I need in my life is a holiday wrapped around fear, gore, horror, skulls, and creepiness. My thighs don't need the chocolate either.), so I had a little elf help me with the drawing. Congra...

Today marks 1 year since the official re-launch of the blog. (You can check out that initial post here .) Even though I've been blogging for years, this past year has been the most significant. Writing weekly has helped to grow me as a writer, but something else happened unexpectedly. I grew closer to Jesus. He gave me a vision for this thing, and He has been faithful to pour into me. The more I write, the more I hear from Him, and the closer we become. I'm so thankful for Jesus. I'm thankful for you readers! I'm thankful for my beautiful friends who have stepped up with me this past year as guest bloggers, and poured their hearts out. Sooooo.....in honor of this milestone, I am hosting a GIVE AWAY! Even though Starbucks is my true love, frugality won the battle, and I have chose Dunkin Donuts as the prize! (With a Starbucks gift card, you can get like 1 1/2 drinks. With Dunkin you can get like 10!) ***To enter to win a Dunkin Donuts gift card, please...

Thank you for checking in, you Tuesday regulars! Stay tuned- on Thursday there will be a special post, and a little celebration! See you then! 

Recently I was sharing with my man that my upcoming guest bloggers will be writing in answer to the question, "Who is Jesus to you?" He jumped on it right away, and volunteered to write the very first guest post on the topic. I am over-joyed to welcome my incredible husband on the blog today. Thank you Babe for supporting my gifts, and helping me thrive in Jesus, even when things might feel scary. I'm your number 1 fan. I love you mucho. (said with an accent) Jesus, you're my superhero!   That’s the name of a song, by Hillsong Kids , that was stuck in my head this morning. Works perfectly for the title of my post. J     Who is Jesus to me? Abigail often teases me because I add an accent to ethnic names. Having grown up in Germany, I commonly roll the r , which comes up in many languages. I love Jesus’ Hebrew name – Yeshua HaMashiach . (Try pronouncing the ch as if something got stuck in the back of your throat.) Ab once thought...

Over the next several months, when I host a guest on here, they will be writing in response to the question, “ Who is Jesus to you ?” Thought it would be fitting if I share my own heart’s answer.    Would it be too cliché to say Jesus is everything to me? If I whittle it down to my deepest core, I am living because of Jesus. His Father God gave me breath- created my mind, soul, emotions and body, and His Son brought me life . I was destined to live a life riddled with selfishness, anger, betrayal, bitterness, immorality, fear, anxiety, and worry. But Jesus took it all, and paid the price through His death on the cross- for me. For my freedom. (For you, too!) What astounds me is His Victory over death. Not even death can defeat my Jesus! Right now, in my daily world, Jesus is Victor. Most of the time that means He is victor over the fears and anxieties that plague my mind. I’m afraid of physical diseases on a regular basis. I’m afraid an illness is going to take the life o...

This week, I have the fun opportunity to share some of my blogging experience with the writer's group I'm apart of called, "The Write Space." If you live in the area, please contact me and I will share more details about when, where, what time, etc. It would be a privilege to serve anyone who would like to come! I'm honored to have been invited to do this. The leadership of TWS has asked me to share several aspects of what my blog journey has been like. These are the questions I will be answering, as well as any others that may come up. ~What was the blog about for the first 9 years, and what is it about now (in the last year)? ~How does blogging get you closer to God? ~What is frustrating about blogging? ~How do people react to posts? ~What have I learned about myself? God? People? through blogging. If interested, please come on out! Thankful for this group.

Thank you to those of you who have prayed for me as I’ve transitioned to a new Mom’s group. I am grateful for the outpouring of support on this decision, especially from my M2M girls. Two weeks ago today , I was incredibly nervous, as predicted, to drive across the neighborhood and walk into a house full of complete strangers. Many people have asked me why I was so nervous. I guess I only know my own personality, so it’s hard for me to fathom why anyone wouldn’t understand the nerves? Being shy by nature, but friendly by nurture (thank you Mom and Dad!), I think those who meet me (but don’t truly know me well) are surprised at my social anxieties. Simply put, I was nervous because this was a huge change, an unknown situation, with unknown people, with unknown outcomes, and I was dragging my kids right along with me. The night before I went to the new group, I didn’t sleep well. I tossed and turned. The next morning I got even more anxious and took those emotions out on Chuck....

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I am so pleased to introduce you to my friend, Jill. We served teenagers together for three year at our church in Northern Virginia. Not only that, but Jill and I also share a passion for Jesus and writing about Jesus. ( Check out her blog here .) Recently she posted a picture on Instagram about how she fit her entire wardrobe into a suitcase. I was impressed, and a little convicted. Please give her a warm welcome as she shares her heart with us today. (You might also want to grab a hot cup of coffee with pumpkin creamer, like I did when I read it! Oh the joys of Fall!)       Some may call my way of life, “minimalism,” but I just call it   being faithful with little.     IT ALL STARTED when I moved to my fifth apartment   in five years . I was moving from a town house with two roommates into a basement apartment of a family friend, in a house that was already completely furn...

You guys, this book is ADORABLE! It's perfect for both of my children (son- just turned 3, daughter- 1 1/2). Not only is it suitable for them because it's a board book (Can I just send a shout out to whoever invented board books?!), but the content is beautiful. As I've shared before in book reviews, having a book that shares the values of the Bible, and the love of Jesus in words that speak directly to toddlers is thrilling as a Mother. "How Big Is Love?" expresses what love is in such a cute, catchy, and understandable way to kids. I especially appreciate the author, Amy Parker, taking a page in the story to praise Fathers- their strength, and their love. My son would say his favorite part of the book is looking for the cricket on every page, thanks to the Illustrator, Breezy Brookshire. It's a fun way to keep him involved, while the message of God's love subconsciously flows through his mind, into his heart. I give this book five stars!

Raise your hand if you've ever felt The Spirit nudging your heart towards something, but you were really hoping you wouldn't have to do it. I'm glad I can't look around and physically see you right now because I may very well be the only one with my hand up. Trust me, both of my hands are raised. For the last two and a half school years, I've been involved in a group called, "Mom to Mom" through my church. My particular small group is amazing. I have loved every leader I've had, and I love all the other girls at our table. We have grown together, cried out to God together, laughed together, cried together, partied together, had babies together, lost babies together, played with our kids together, and had some amazing breakfasts together. I had just signed up my kids for the child care a couple weeks ago, all ready to start the new year with my group. God had other ideas. Recently, I heard about a group of Moms/preschool kids in my new ...

You became my Honey Bun almost right away, but somewhere along the line that got chopped all the way down to "Bon" or "Bonni". Because your older two siblings are in Heaven, you are my actual first born son. The first born son has had a valuable role in a family all the way back to the Bible times. God has created you uniquely special, and He has great plans to use you for His Kingdom. Your name, Jase means "Healer". Not only has God used you to heal my heart after the loss of your siblings, but He will continue to use you to bring healing to those around you. Be tender with the hearts of people, my dear son. My daring boy. When you put your mind to something, there is NO stopping you. Your mind is filled with adventurous thoughts at every moment of the day, it seems. You want nothing more than to be outside, playing at the park, swimming at Becca's, riding your bike, or playing with the hose out back. Your energy never ceases. You love t...

It's nearly impossible to predict how and when Jesus will completely and abundantly refresh my soul. I feel as if my soul needs refreshing on a daily basis. But there comes a point in time where to the depth of me I am completely dry and worn weary. Mothering plus ministry life has a tendency to overwhelm me to the point of crazy, if I'm not careful.   Jesus watches over me so tenderly and knows exactly what I need, when I need it. Last weekend, I had the honor of attending a wedding shower in Northern VA (our home before we moved to PA) and decided to visit with some other friends while I was down there for a quick 30 hour trip. Every friend I visited with, every hug I received, every gift that was given, every conversation, every smile, every laugh, and every moment of prayer filled my heart until it was practically bursting with joy. Jesus is in His people.      My dear friend, Denise and I met years ago through a Bible study. We ended up doing several B...

I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. This past Tuesday was the first Tuesday I haven't posted since the re-launch in November. I am disappointed in myself. Certainly if anyone raced to my blog last Tuesday they lived to see another day, even though I hadn't posted. Yet, somehow this flaw for the first time in 10 months really BOTHERS me. I am bummed. It has helped me to realize I have too much going on. I've been taking a serious look at things and have decided I need to cut some stuff out- even good stuff. The Spirit has been leading me to stillness. To quiet. To rest. To listen. It's been an incredible discipline, one I am more and more drawn to. I know He will lead me to the things I need to sift out. But for today, I apologize for not being faithful to my Tuesday post. The kids and I went peach picking with some friends yesterday, so thought I would hold you over with some pictures. I'll meet you back here on Tuesday. Lots of love to all. ...