{my new front porch. lots of simple moments of joy found here.}
It’s been a stressful few months around here. We put our house on the market in late February. We fixed a gazillion things with the house. Lots of money spent, lots of hours spent. We got an offer. We found the house of our dreams. We got contracts on both homes. Easter Sunday, the sellers of the home we loved decided not to sell. Heartbreak. Freak out about finding another home before closing on current house. Look at more houses than I ever.wanted.to.look at. Make offer on another house that we would remodel with 4th bedroom. The next morning, a 4 bedroom house that looked great came on the market. We went that day and made an offer. Packing up our home of nearly 12 years. Boxing up memories of all my babies and kindergarten and painting and learning to read and all the memories – good and bad – from that home. Move into new home. Paint 3 kids bedrooms. Find another gazillion things that need fixing. Stress. More stress. Ants. Water leak. Broken toilet seats. Towel racks that fall off wall.
{If you’re super curious about our journey over the last few months, I have posted pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #crabtreemove2015 so I can print a book of memories at some point!)
But, God.
Wow. I didn’t mention the parenting and schooling issues we also faced and are still facing. I’m overwhelmed thinking about all the stress.
My thoughts have been all over the place. Asking God for wisdom yet trying not to dwell on the hard things. I want joy in the midst of it all and I’m asking God to do that in me. I’m not good at finding joy…but I’m working on it. The joy of the LORD is my strength…not my circumstances, not my kids behavior, not the too-many-things on my plate, not my home or my new white couches. LOL!
The Lord is my joy. He is my hope. Yet finding joy sometimes means looking for the little gifts FROM GOD that are all around us. He is the giver. Sometimes I focus so much on the big decision or the big issue we are facing that I lose sight of the warm coffee in my mug, the laughter of my children, conversations on the front porch, the food on my table and the people that enter this home. God is my joy — and He is the giver of the little joys. Help my heart to be reminded.
Lord, remind my heart. You are my joy.
{my newly painted hutch. more details on the chalk paint here.}
{yes, I got white couches. more to come later on these.}
{finding joy in Ober Gatlinburg with my kids.}
Leave a Reply