Be Still and Know

I have a white plate on a stand in my kitchen. I write scripture verses there for me and my family to see. The verse I have written there right now is Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God...". I have been thinking of this verse quite a bit lately. As a busy mom of three, there is not much "stillness" in my home. When the kids are all trying to talk to me at once and the phone is ringing and someone is knocking on the door, I can quickly become overwhelmed. At those times, I can turn to my white plate and remind myself of Him.

There are times in our lives when we almost feel as if we can't breathe because the "stuff" we're dealing with is suffocating. It may be the business of a household or something more. I have a dear friend that is dealing with the emotions that come when a loved-one is battling cancer. I know others dealing with financial troubles and job loss. A couple ladies in my Bible-study group have lost parents. Another friend has a child with a severe brain injury. How awesome for each of us to know that in those times when we feel overwhelmed, we have a God who is always there no matter what we're going through, and we're all going to go through something in this life.

If you're reading this, take a moment for yourself right now to just be still and know. Know that you have a God who loves you. Find Him in that moment of stillness.

Time Warp Mini-Van

I love girls' nights out! I am blessed to live in a neighborhood with wonderful friends. We have been nicknamed the "desperate housewives" by a few outsiders. Ironically, I'm the only one of the bunch who doesn't have a career (outside of the home) and I wouldn't describe one of us as desperate! Each one of us brings something different to the dinner table when we go out and it always makes for an evening of fun and laughter. For me, as a stay-at-home mom, I especially enjoy this time because it is so nice to talk with other adults and get away from the craziness of my home.

Last night we went out to celebrate one of our birthdays! The baby of the group just turned 35. If she wasn't so much fun we'd probably kick her out since the rest of us are all in our 40's! We thought we'd try a new restaurant in our area instead of the "chain" we usuallly go to. Unfortunately, we didn't have a good dining experience, but we made the best of it & had a great time anyway.

Imagine five women driving home in a mini-van dancing and singing to awesome club-music from the 1980's! We time-warped back to a time when our worries were few and our hair was big! The music was loud and we were singing along, remembering the words to songs we haven't heard in twenty years. So, for that 15 minute drive home we were five "girls" laughing and yelling over the music to hear one another talk. None of us wanted to go home just yet, so we drove around for a whole five minutes longer. One by one we were dropped back at our homes with smiles on our faces. I'm already looking forward to our next night out!

Oh Great, Another Blog!

Oh Great, Another Blog!

Ok, so I'm just another stay-at-home-mom who has decided to start her own blog. A blog I'm pretty confident no one is ever going to read, but I'm doing it anyway. Why, you may be asking yourself? Well, let me try to explain why I'm doing this. Please keep in mind I'm not only explaining it to you, my pretend reader, but also to myself.

Did I mention I stay at home with my kiddos? Although, this is an admirable & rewarding position in life, I do feel as though I have lost my sense of "self". I know there are many SAHM's out there that can relate to this. This blog is a way I can get my thoughts down, while discovering a little about myself in the process. I used to love to write. I majored in English Literature in college. I wrote short stories when I was ten years old. I even wrote a "soap opera" in junior high. The cast was made up of the other kids I rode the bus with and we would read it outloud each morning on the bus. That was a very long time ago, however.

I am now a 40 year old mom who drives a minivan & lives in jeans & t-shirts. Don't get me wrong, I love it! I wouldn't have it any other way. This little blog is just a means for me to use my brain a little by stringing words together to make sentences that I hope will make sense to me and my imaginary readers. The name of my blog is "A Joyful Heart" because it really does describe where I am right now in this thing called life. Notice, I didn't say a "happy" heart. I'm not happy everyday. There are days where I want to run away screaming. Joy is something different.

So, I'm not the popular, perky television news anchor I dreamed of being in my younger days. I'm ok with that. I find joy in the everyday little things in life, like dirty dishes, hugs & LOTS of laundry!

Joyfully,
Lori