Full of Joy

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....