I would like to invite you on an intimate journey! I break open my life and heart to you in this book while bringing hope and encouragement to ANYsituation that you find yourself in.
Joseph’s Joy: Living With Unstoppable Hope will be available May 4th on Amazon.com
You can get one of the first copies at the Joseph’s Joy Book Release Partyat Abita Roasting Cafe in Madisonville, LA on Friday, May 1st from 6pm-10pm in the rear courtyard. Come celebrate with us with complimentary coffee and cake! I look forward to seeing you there!
Well guys…it’s almost here! Jon and I have a date for the release of Joseph’s Joy:Living With Unstoppable Hope. Drum role please. May 4, 2015. I exhale with a sigh of relief while my heart simultaneously explodes with joy.
I began writing Joseph’s Joy in the months following Joseph’s death just over three years ago. My intention for writing about the events that took place throughout the course of Joseph’s battle was simply to share about the goodness of God to us – even in the midst of this tragedy. God never left us. He was so near and good. My primary motivation was that I wanted Joseph’s younger brother, Josiah, to know the truth about what happened since he was only three years old when Joseph passed away. The boys were the best of friends and only fourteen months apart. I wanted to be able…
Well guys…it’s almost here! Jon and I have a date for the release of Joseph’s Joy:Living With Unstoppable Hope. Drum role please. May 4, 2015. I exhale with a sigh of relief while my heart simultaneously explodes with joy.
I began writing Joseph’s Joy in the months following Joseph’s death just over three years ago. My intention for writing about the events that took place throughout the course of Joseph’s battle was simply to share about the goodness of God to us – even in the midst of this tragedy. God never left us. He was so near and good. My primary motivation was that I wanted Joseph’s younger brother, Josiah, to know the truth about what happened since he was only three years old when Joseph passed away. The boys were the best of friends and only fourteen months apart. I wanted to be able to explain things to him later. Not wanting to forget the details myself, I also wanted Josiah to know about all of the miracles we encountered along the way. So…I started writing one tearful sentence at at time.
As I recalled everything that happened and put words to our experiences, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart, “This is not just for you.” Intrinsically I knew that our story was meant to be shared. As a complete novice in writing a book, I transformed my journal writings into chapter titles. One chapter at a time our story came to life! A real-life story that bringsunstoppable hope. God truly directed my every word and I am humbled at the powerful message of this book – which has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with how loving God is.
I would like to personally invite you on an intimate journey!
We will be selling Joseph’s Joy: Living With Unstoppable Hope on Amazon.com in kindle and paperback versions in May. ALL proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit our non-profit charity also called, Joseph’sJoy, where we provide hope and financial help to children battling life-threatening illnesses. (Please like our fb page if you have not already.)
How many of you know that you are supposed to write your story? Please share with me.
It’s been a while since I last blogged. In my last bold post, I confidently declared my blissful expectations of Summer 2014. {Check out my comical last post, My Tribute to Summer.} Boldly, I confessed how I was going to live in the moment and have a memorable summer with my family. Well… my life, my plans, my summer got interrupted. My lofty plans for the best summer yet were rudely interrupted by a minor but messy house fire! The A/C thermostat randomly caught on fire. After the first day of Vacation Bible School, the boys and I returned home to a house filled with black smoke. The fire department even got to pay us a visit. The fire caused some damage to the floor and walls immediately surrounding the fire – however, the smoke permeated the entire house. The burning plastic thermostat was immediately underneath the A/C intake and smoke went throughout every square inch of the house. Every inch of fabric in our home – including our clothing, furniture, and drapes – had to be confiscated to the dry cleaners for eight weeks. Every single item in our home also had to be sanitized and wiped down. We ended up not being able to properly live in our house for eight weeks during the clean-up and renovation. The A/C and ducts were replaced, all the walls and baseboards completely repainted, and over a thousand square feet of wood floors were ripped out and replaced – all the while, a busy, one-year old was getting into everything. My plan was to have a blast of a summer while the reality quickly became navigating insurance companies, contractors, and being displaced from our home. All this craziness left me edgy… well, a little mean at times!
Has your life recently been interrupted?
Oh, I forgot to mention that we had just moved into the house at the end of March 2014. We bought a house that sat empty for a year then quickly renovated it ourselves before moving in. (So we had just painted it a few months prior before repainting it again.) Are you feeling my pain now?We gratefully got the house back together just days before Josiah started kindergarten. Whew!
Making the most of not being able to go home – Fun in Poplarville, MS
Since August, the time lost was redeemed as we changed the name of our non-profit from Hope 4 Joseph to Joseph’s Joy along with launching the new updated website. We finished creating the bylaws and articles for Joseph’s Joy along with officially obtaining our 501 (c)(3) status. YAY! In addition to all of this, we completed our book which is called, Joseph’s Joy: Living with Unstoppable Hope. (My next blog will have more information.)
So… where did 2014 go? It flew by! It has not been an easy year, but it has definitely been a productive one! Once again, it has been confirmed that God truly does work out all things for my good, even when it does not feel good. I decided to make the most of my failed summer and enjoy it anyway. Living in the moment, was a skill that I tried to exercise. Only living one day at a time helped me from being overwhelmed by it all.
Have you ever felt frustrated when plans did not go your way, then later looked back to see that it was a blessing in disguise?
Every time I mop my new wood floors, I think of just how great a blessing it turned out to be.
May you ponder this verse today:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Summer officially begins on June 21st, but down here in the deep south the stickiness of summer has long begun.
School is over and the days are long.
Whether you are a mom at home with energetic toddlers, kids, and teenagers or a mom juggling a work schedule while planning childcare and activities, summer time can be taxing.
Even though homework stops and racing after school activities slow, summers are just HOT!
Here is my tribute to summer time this year from a mom who longs that the eldest of her trio of boys were here to share it with.
Live this summer with your kids like it is the last.
Slow down. Make memories and messes.
Gaze at the clouds.
Help someone else’s load be lighter.
Get dirty.
Let’s not be uptight.
Can we laugh? I mean really laugh hard. Fake it if you need to. But also give yourself freedom to cry.
After all moms, what will they remember?
They will remember your teeth gleaming with a smile on your unmade-up face.
They will remember if you were happy. So…let’s be happy!
This is the only summer from fourth to fifth grade, or two years to three years, or maybe one last high school summer.
Make memories in the messy moments.
This is my aspiration and tribute to the summer of 2014
the unstoppable life 