Full of Joy

It’s not my story; It’s your story, Father, so help me tell it well… Hello blog world. I hope you all are doing well. I am writing to you from Bloomington, Minnesota—the place I have called home now for 11 years. Abigail approached me about 3 months ago to write a post, and I have had several ideas swirling around in my head, but nothing was making its way in coherent form on paper. This weekend, God solidified in me what I hope will be an encouragement to you. My husband, Jamie, and I work with college students at Normandale Community College, and this weekend was the winter retreat. In the first session together my friend Ben shared his testimony. Ben came to follow Jesus as a teenager, and at least from my perspective, he was given a very special gift. Ben shared with us that while he didn’t have full understanding of who or what he was deciding to follow, he did feel a deep conviction that God was good, God was real, and God loved him. These convictions have stayed with h...

Gretchen is in the white sweater across the table from me! My dear friend, Gretchen, will be the guest writer for tomorrow. I've been anticipating her post for several months, and couldn't be more honored to share her thoughts on here. Gretchen is a woman who loves Jesus with a loyal passion, loves her family with unrivaled dedication, and loves her community with open arms and a serious commitment. I should know. I was part of her church family for over three years in my Minnesota days. And much longer than that if you go back to our days living in Pennsylvania together when she and her husband, Jamie, were my leaders in the college student program at our church. Gretchen has walked with me during the darkest years of my life. And she has cheered me on from afar during the most prosperous years. She has invested in me, and helped shape the Truth I believe about Jesus today. Fun fact: My Mom got to be at the hospital the night Gretchen's second daughter was born, a...

My precious sweetheart. My baby girl. Happy FIRST birthday to you. This past weekend I did my usual Walmart run, very well aware I didn't need to buy you formula anymore. I was so excited to be able to save money by switching to milk I didn't stop to think about it too much. But as I was walking the baby aisle, it occurred to me how there is a sadness in my heart at you moving on from formula. You are leaving infancy and heading into the toddler world. You are already loving life as a toddler. You started walking at ten months old. Our adventure girl! Climbing on any furniture you can reach, crawling behind any furniture you can fit behind, and standing on any arm of a couch you can get yourself onto sets your Mama's heart racing. You are fearless, child. When I think of how to describe you, "pure sweetness" is what always comes to mind. You are absolute sugar. Your laugh sends joy to my soul. Your smile melts my heart into a thousand pieces. You've...

If you haven’t yet seen War Room, I won’t spoil the plot for you. You can get it at Red Box right now, and it’s definitely worth the $1 + tax. =) I do highly recommend it. The message of the movie has sunk into my heart in a powerful way. As a visual learner, I was greatly moved to see how a Battle Plan for prayer is always effective. That’s the thing about prayer. It doesn’t just sometimes work, or once in a while work, it ALWAYS works. Chuck and I stayed up late watching the movie, “Interstellar” during our holiday vacation. The movie wasn’t supposed to be a scary one, but it had me on edge by the time it was over. It messed with my mind, and that caused me to be anxious. Afterwards we went to change the baby’s diapers, but Basye had already soaked through. By the time we got her helmet off, took off her wet clothes, got her a dry diaper and fresh PJ’s, she was totally out of sorts and wailing. I began rocking her while Chuck prepared a bottle. As she finally began to r...

Hi All! Thank you SO MUCH for your comments! Every comment I read brings great joy- it's like a little gift each time. It was wonderful reading about the ways God has crafted each and every one of your hearts in such unique ways. Keep those comments coming- there are more give aways to come soon! Also, thank you for the kind birthday greetings! What a fun week it has been. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel Chevalley ! Your box will be on it's way very soon! =)

I've been SO excited for this post ever since the launch of the new direction Jesus has given me for Full or Joy! Jesus is a giver. He loves to give, and give abundantly. If you've ever heard of "The Five Love Languages" , Gifts, hands down, mean the absolute most to me. For example, right before I moved away from MN about eight years ago, a friend gave me a soft, fitted T-shirt. It was such a sweet gift from someone I had just started to get to know. I still wear that T-shirt to this day. At this moment I am drinking out of a coffee mug with a cool silicone lid that a teen gave me when I was her small group leader well over five years ago. The hot coffee doesn't just warm my hands, the mug warms my heart far greater. Recently, a baby-sitter of Jase's watched him for a whole morning. They baked cookies, made crafts, and played together. For Christmas, she gave Chuck and I the best gift in the world. A hand-print of Jase's made into an ornament of b...