Welcome to my very first blog post. I cannot believe that this is published and live! I can finally call myself an official “Blogger”. I am so excited to have you here, you all do not even know what it has taken to get this page you are reading up, working and available for you to consume!! I had a dream of starting a blog years ago and just never executed on it. I made many excuses of not having enough time or that I just did not know how to start a blog. A lot of it was being scared to be transparent and vulnerable. I truly had no idea about this platform and what it would entail, I was challenged with trying to make it perfect! I finally came to terms and accepted what I truly feel was planted in my heart by God and decided to just launch the dang thing. It’s not perfect, but it is done and here! So here you have it, my very first post that I know I will cringe at reading years from now and tell myself how horrible of a writer I was!! However, I do know this, I would rather cringe at who I once was, rather than cringing at who I could have become!
Joyful Order was a name I came up with years ago for my Blog. When I quit a job that I was at for 9 years, that had completely stripped away my joy and self-image, God gave me this name because it was going to be the start of a new season for me. I needed to restore Joy back into my heart and Order back into my home. I had worked at a job that I allowed to define me and consume my identity. I was in a well-respected position of leadership, yet I felt no self-worth. I was depressed, stressed, and just wanted to crawl under a rock and tell everyone to leave me alone. These years were rough, however through it all God kept showing me how Joy and Order needed to be restored in my life. Hence came the name Joyful Order!!
According to Google the definition of Joy is: “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.”The definition of Order is: “the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.” In 2013 I was a hot mess, that was depleted of Joy and was completely out of sync in my relationship with God, my husband and my boys. God spoke so clearly to me, that it was time for a new season in my life and time to restore my relationships, and the greatest of the relationships I needed to restore was the relationship I had with myself. Therefore, Joy and Order needed to come back into my life and it was at a time I so desperately needed it.
These past few years I have been on a journey with God in figuring out who I am, what my purpose is and finding self-worth. Joy has been found, relationships restored, and order back in place. I have fallen in love with myself and appreciate the person God made me to be! I have learned it’s ok to show yourself self-love, to make time for the little things, to have a heart of gratitude and most importantly I have learned to find joy even in the chaos.
Writing is a form of therapy for me. It is a passion I have always had stored in my heart and it is something God wanted me to begin to share with others. I have years and years of journals that are filled with memories, heartfelt prayers, words of wisdom, encouragement, hurt and some dark places. My very first journal was dated way back to 1990 (I might have just dated myself). Journals, scrapbooks, pictures, notebooks have all been ways that God has allowed me to write down my journey, not knowing one day I might be sharing them all with many. In a journal from 2013 is where God first gave me the idea to start a Blog. So, let’s just say this Blog has been a long time coming.
I welcome you to my Blog, but really to be a part of my journey. I might not fully know what I am doing here in this space. Heck I’ll be honest, I have no clue what I am doing here in this space! All I know is God called me here to share my thoughts, my heart and give encouragement to whoever needs it. I have always had a heart and passion to write, as I dream to be a published author one day. So, what better way to practice my writing skills, than here in this space to share with you. During it, I hope to grow as a writer, encourage you, motivate you and maybe make you laugh every now and then! I hope that through my journey and challenges, I might be able to bring JOY and ORDER back into YOUR everyday life. Welcome to Your Joyful Order!!
