This weekend reminded me that joy is not the absence of pain. It’s trusting God with it. So, if your life feels frozen right now, if the waves have stopped and everything feels heavy, trust him. Trust that God is at work beneath the surface, even when you can’t see it. The road to joy may have detours and pain, but through it all, trust that you will find your joy.
William is riding his bike across the country to raise awareness of head injuries. William and I have talked a few times, and I have had time to reflect. More than food, and a warm place to sleep, or bike parts, and a new sleeping bag, William is making me aware of something deeper. What I’d really like is for William to see that compassion still exists in our country. That there are people willing to listen, to see him for who he is, and to offer more than a porch for the night.
If “finished” means being faithful with what we’re given, then maybe the joy isn’t in being done, but in saying yes to what we’re called to do.
When Barbara Tucker invited me to be a guest on her podcast, Dialogues with Creators, I thought I’d be talking about traveling in my motorhome, my quest to ride my bike in all fifty states, and writing my book Finding Joy in the West. But as the conversation unfolded, something unexpected happened: I heard my own story in a new way. I realized again that I was finding joy in the journey.
Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery. A memoir from David Clark, known as Superman.
Jesus said, in Luke 18 to “always pray and not give up.” Listen to Andy Andrews who says, “persist without exception.” And to Jon Acuff who wrote in his book Finish, “Quit trying to make it perfect. The opposite of perfect is not failure, it’s finished.”
Because we are in the middle of January, it’s time to take a second look at our goals. Let’s take the time now to reassess, to look at our habits, our schedules, and our process. Mid-January is a good time to question whether our goals are still important to us. (That’s what we did last […]
Happy New Year! Welcome to the time of year when 46.5% of North Americans set goals. It’s a good time to reset. Did you know you are twice as likely to achieve your goals if you write them down? And you are 76.4% more likely to achieve your goals if you tell a friend or […]
What a JOY! We met in February at the Georgia Writers Museum Writers Retreat in Eatonton, Georgia. As a former teacher and college professor and second-year presenter, Beverly spoke to the group with enthusiasm, poise, and confidence. I hung on her every word. At the end of her presentation, I was inspired to finish my […]