Surprised by Joy

http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Joy-Shape-Early-Life/dp/0156870118
(C.S. Lewis book)

It's been forever since I posted and it's time to get back to the blog!

Have you been where I've been lately? You know the church is true, you attend church every week, you still pray daily and spend time in the scripture most every day, but you're not really seeking, just going through the motions and you feel kinda empty inside.

I'm just coming out on the other side of one of those. It lasted too long, I'm ashamed to say.

The biggest emotion on this side? Surprise at the joy I've been missing out on. Why didn't I do what it takes to feel this sooner?

I have known and believed all my life that "men are that they might have joy" (2 Ne 2:25), that God gives us joy as we obey . I've felt it, experienced it, as I've tried to keep the commandments, sought to come to know my Savior and become more like him. And yet, I'm still continually surprised by the  depth of joy that comes through simple obedience.

I want to be lazy, to do things just for me (and things for me aren't wrong in moderation). But when I get up and serve (my family, sisters that I visit teach, anyone who crosses my path), there is this joy that fills my soul in ways nothing else does and it surprises me... every...time!

The past few weeks I've made decisions to consciously serve, daily. You think you don't have time, but I've had just as much free time as ever and the difference in how I've felt is just monumental.

It's a beautiful thing!

(Sarah, can you tell you inspired this post?)

I'm Back and my first ever Giveaway!

There's simply no way to catch up a blog that's been neglected for months, so I'm jumping in right where I am.

This summer I bought a Kindle version of the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp a Christian blogger whom I adore.

This book has a hold on me that won't let go and I hope it never does. She's a non-denominational Christian and yet, from the first pages, she had me smack dab in the temple. I saw myself in her brutal honesty and as I read I determined that I'll no longer live my life an amateur.

So I bought a hard copy to read again with colored pencil in hand. And I bought a journal to write down my own one thousand gifts and I'm haltingly filling it up. It's all starts and stops and forward three steps and back two, but there's so much beauty and joy in this journey.

I'm giving away a copy of this beautiful book, my very first giveaway. Only one entry per person. No facebook liking, following me on twitter or posting on your own blog on this one. To enter, just leave a comment listing three things you're thankful for--gifts from God. They don't need to be profound or astounding. For example, here are the first three gifts Ann Voskamp wrote down (pg 45):
1. Morning shadows across the old floors
2. Jam piled high on the toast
3. Cry of blue jay from high in the spruce

Your list can be simple things, like Ann's, or bigger things. Whatever, it's your list.

That's it. The winner will be announced one week from today (unless I forget and take a day or two longer). If I can figure out how to work one of those random online things, I'll do it that way. If not, I'll write your names on paper and have my seven-year-old draw a name out of a hat.

So leave your comments and let the giveaway begin.

Wow, it feels good to blog again!! (Thanks for the gentle push, Amanda!)

Wedding!!!

The wedding was wonderful!!!! There's nothing like watching your daughter kneel across the altar from a worthy young man and make covenants that will last forever.

She's head-over-heels in love and he just wants to make her happy (and is succeeding magnificently). It's adorable!

After honeymooning in Nauvoo, they're spending the week with us! So fun to have the newlyweds here for Christmas and New Years!!!

Here's my favorite wedding pic:

My Man

I love this woman's blog.

Her latest post got me thinking about the guy I've chosen

and the good things he brings into my life.

Here's just one of my favs.

When life crashes down for a moment (her camping trip, for example, but whatever the current stress in the family may be), he makes us laugh, or gives us chocolate, or both.

I tend to yell.

His way is better.

He's my hero.

Thankful

I came back from a run this morning, tired, stiff, stinky, and cold. Lot's to do today and so I jumped in the shower.

As I washed away the grime, I took a moment to savor. The hot water relaxing my tired muscles, the smell of my Refreshing Tangerine shampoo (Suave. I'm very high end), the water enveloping me in warmth and chasing away the chill.

There...is...nothing...like...a...hot...shower. Nothing. And I realized how rare a thing I was experiencing. Showers are so commonplace for us that we don't give them a thought. For most of man's history, however, turning a knob and standing under hot running water was not only an impossibility, it was simply unimaginable. Even today, there are millions of people who will never know the joy of of standing under a steady spray of warm water.

And so, in this month of gratitude, I am grateful for my shower. Amongst the hard water deposits and clutter of bottles, it's a beautiful thing.