Full of Joy

Hey All! I am SO happy to introduce you to a new guest blogger- Taylor Sharp! I know Taylor from our church's youth group. She has such a heart for Jesus, and people. It's a JOY to have her share with us today! “Humble yourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 In September of 2014, I was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a basketball to the back of the  head in gym class. (Haha! Pathetic right?!) At the time, I was told the concussion was minor, and in a few weeks I would be as good as new. After several days off from school, three dropped classes, quitting my seven year commitment to the swim team, physical therapy, turning my back on God, two years of headache medicine, and much more, I can now say this concussion was anything but minor. It changed my entire life. Because of the way my brain reacted to the injury, I experienced more anxiety than ev...

7 years ago, I met Chuck during the month of November, we started exclusively dating in December, and he proposed in February. The National Christmas Tree in DC, our first date. He surprised me over Christmas, visiting me at my parent’s house in North Eastern Pennsylvania. That was only one week after we had started dating! He also invited me to go on a trip to Virginia Beach with him and some of his siblings for New Years. After the Christmas festivities were over, we hopped in our separate cars and drove five hours down to Northern Virginia where we were both living at the time. We went to our houses, and packed our bags in record speed for the New Years trip. Chuck picked me up somewhere around 10pm, and we drove several more hours together down to VA Beach. When we arrived, we parked the car at the house where the family was staying, and headed straight to the dark, night time beach. We walked a short distance just to step onto the sand and feel the (freezing...

Not long ago, I heard a story on GMA about a, “Mommy Blogger” who had earned up to $1,500 per post. She ended up quitting because she felt she had to portray a perfect image of her husband and kids at all times. I wouldn’t last long either if I had to pretend to be something I’m not. I’m a woman who is anxious, fearful, stressed out, angry, bitter, overwhelmed, impatient, quick to speak, slow to listen, slow to forgive, and easily irritated. I knit pick at my husband, yell at my toddlers, don’t read my Bible every day, spout off about people, worry incessantly when I’m afraid I’ve upset someone and I’m hateful, vengeful, manipulative, critical, and cranky. Like really cranky. There is no good in me, but I am living   a joyful life because of one reason. Jesus saved my soul. He died a gruesome death on the cross. He shed his pure and precious blood which paid the price I should have to pay. Yet, I do not have to pay- Jesus paid it ALL. I owe absolutely nothing. I deserve to die....

Walking into a room of people is not something I enjoy, especially when I’m alone. To combat my nervousness, when I had money during my single years, I would almost always stop for a coffee or bring my own tumbler from home. I liked having something to hold onto, and something to sip, which made me feel like I was doing something. Now that I’m married with a family, we don’t tend to spend much money on luxuries like coffee (other than our own morning brew, of course). I’ve had to learn to enter a room full of people all by myself. Last year, at this exact time, I found myself in that scenario. There was a big event going on in Fusion (the high school youth group we work with at our church), and I brought the kids with me. They were 1 and 5 months old at the time. Basye had JUST gotten her helmet, so it was the first public place I had taken her.   Her first scan. All results were sent to Boston Children's Hospital. (The helmets are technically called The Boston Band.) ...