Living for Joy Challenge

October 7th, 2011 admin

Joy. What is joy really?  Do you have it?  Are you joyful?  Do you experience joy on a daily basis?  This post is part of a challenge from the ModernAlternativeMama.com to encourage me and you to step out and live the joyful life that we are called to as believers in Christ.

I have been through many difficult season in my life.  And, even though there are difficult times occasionally in my life now, I do not believe that this is one of them.  I am thankful for my husband finally to find a job where he is around people (praise the Lord!)  But, it amazes me daily how I still find things to complain about on a regular basis.  How does that happen?  I really don’t know.  I continue to remind my self just how much I should be thankful.

I may not like the house we are renting, but we have a roof over our heads.

I may not like living way out in the country, but it is beautiful out here.

I have a hard time finding babysitters to watch my kids, it is expensive, and we have no family nearby.  But, we have beautiful, healthy children and friends have donated their time to watch our children from time to time.

I’ve realized that honestly half the things that I complain about don’t matter.  I know, they matter to me.  But, really in the grand scheme of life, they don’t matter.  They really aren’t that important.  I have blessings beyond measure.  From time to time I just need a little reality check, a little perspective change.  Something to help me realize that my life has been blessed by God over and over and over and over and over.  Even the things that have been difficult in my life are often a blessing in disguise.

For example, my husband and I are on a very tight budget.  We pretty much budget down to the dollar and don’t have much room to fudge.  Some months is down right stressful.  Things come up and sometimes it would be nice to have a little extra room to breathe.  But, we do have an emergency budget in place (Thanks to Dave Ramsey), and we are trying to take strides to have more room to breathe and give.  But, I truly believe with my whole heart that if we didn’t have this challenge in our path we wouldn’t understand the value of the money that we have in our pockets.  Because of the financial strain we have become more conscious of the money we do spend and better stewards of what we do have.  I do hope that is something that we will never ever lose, even if someday God blesses us in such an over abundance that we can give more than we spend.  Plus, it has helped me grown vastly in the knowledge of owning my own business and discover my writing passion once again in writing my own blog.  It has made me value so many more things than just appreciating money, but appreciating life at the same time.  I believe that I can fully live up to what God has called me to do because I have taken steps of faith to work from home and make even a small income as a stay at home mom.  It is very important to me to stay at home with my kids and through this experience I have grown.  I have grown as a blogger, a homemaker, a mother, a writer, and a business women.  Even though I’m failing at some of these things all the time, I am learning all the time.  And, I know that these tools are what makes someone a success at working from home.

I am so thankful that I can stand up and say I am blessed! It makes a difference when you see life’s struggles through a much different lens.  A lens that will highlight all the ways that God has intervened and hand his hand on my life.

Tell me, what are some ways that you are living for joy today?  What is something that can stand up and say this has been difficult for me, but I AM BLESSED?