Braving Mamahood

Joy is tough . Joy is a choice . Joy does not come easily . To all of you who don't know, my middle name happens to be Joy. Until a few years ago, Joy was just my middle name and not a decided lifestyle. See, a common misconception people have when they meet me is that I've lived a joyful life free of major hardships. The reality is that I've lived a life filled with greater hardships than most people face in a lifetime, but out of that I've tapped into a deeper flow of God's goodness and joy.  I'm joyful, not because I have never struggled, but because I've struggled greatly and come out seeing God's work in the midst of it all.  While preparing for this blog I was researching the different meanings of the word "joy", and let me tell you - there are about a million different definitions ( a semi-accurate estimation ). Here are some of my favorite definitions: 1.) Joy : The expression or manifestation of such feeling ...

As I was running today I was listening to this past weekend's message from my church ( Elevation Church ). The current sermon series is about facing the things that are in your life that stir up fear in you. As I was listening I was slapped in the face a few times ( not literally, that would be quite embarrassing as I ran ), so today's blog is inspired by this message. I have anxiety - it's something I struggle with and I even take medication for it. The anxiety is born out of a gift that God put inside of me to be cautious, aware of potential danger, and to recognize situations that are potentially harmful, but the enemy likes to use it against me as a form of unhealthy anxiety. With anxiety comes a big batch of fear. Fear is not a bad thing , being afraid of the things that you fear is what harms you. In the Bible it talks about fear about a million times and it talks about fearing the Lord but not being afraid. We should be fearful, but not afraid. We should reco...

(I wrote this blog for my friend, Anna's, blog - enjoy! Oh, and check out her super neat blog Alittlebitofanna  too!) My Dad has always meant the world to me. He has been the best example of my Heavenly Father on earth. It is no surprise that I deeply valued the words that he has spoken to me, even from a very young age. My Dad used to tell me all the time , “Anna, you are THE BIG!” To some people that may seem like my Dad was telling me I had a weight problem or that those words are silly and meaningless, but to me those words became inscribed in how I viewed myself. My dad was not saying I was an overweight child (I was a bean pole), he was telling me that I was a big enough person to conquer anything I put my mind to. He also always called me “ Tall Anna” , which made me believe for the longest time that I was taller than the average girl…which took me years to realize wasn’t true ( and by years I mean recently ). My reasoning behind telling you this story is to show yo...