Yet more Joy!

When queried about what brought them joy, many, if not most, of my friends responded that their husbands  or family brought them joy....one of my husband's relatives said this picture of the two of us....although, if it hadn't been for my recent battles with cancer (and my not so recent battles....) maybe he wouldn't have said this....never the less, it is an illustration for the point.

However, not everyone is lucky enough to have families which bring them joy....even so, we can certainly find joy in having friends.

My friend Chris had some very wise words to share..."waking up in the morning.  Every day has the potential to bring Joy in the most unexpected way.  Today, seeing my grandson's smiling face in the video chat on Facebook.  Yesterday: laughing with the women so important to my life."

Those women that Chris referenced is a group of us brought together by chance, through a common love of quilting.  We get together weekly to sew, and gab...and share lunch together.  We meet at the business office of one of our members, and we always have a good time.  Sometimes we even get some sewing done.

So, here's hoping you find some joy in waking up tomorrow....you never know what wonders will unfold if you look for them.

Even More Joy!

So, I'm continuing with things that bring joy.  In my Facebook query, as you may have gathered from my two previous joy posts. 


 Iris Karp who is a delightful person as well as being the Queen of Mistyfuse named several of my favorites.  Iris wrote:   I don't always know.  But it is usually something simple, something small.  Maybe meeting a challenge or a problem solving, learning something, following through on almost anything; helping something to make something happen for someone else.  Many of my joyful moments center around cooking---it might be coming up with a new recipe or pulling together dinner from scratch and almost out of the air in under 20 minutes that['s good enough to be a "company" dinner.  Learning something that challenges me--could be anything from a new-to-me technique in an Adobe Creative Suite all the way to reading legal cases and learning how it all works.  Oh. . . and putting together perfectly...furniture from Ikea."


For those of you who know me "for real" will also know how much I love to laugh.  So, in the spirit of sharing, here's a rendition of Jingle Bells which made me laugh out loud as well as several of my FB friends.  This is my ex-next door neighbor and a friend with thanks to Michael Buble.

More Joy.....

More posts on things to bring you joy....This season can be so fraught with landmines....stresses from work, money (or lack of it), expectations which fall far shorter than what we had envisioned....family which can stress you or family which is far away...funny, it can be that they are either too close or too far...


However, I do think that there are a lot of things to focus on and be grateful for....sometimes if we focus on the little things, the things that bring us joy can help alleviate the stress and even if we aren't stressed or sad, they can bring a smile to your face.  So...my gift brought to you with the help of my friends started yesterday....and I'll continue to put in some until I run out or the year does.....Katie, my niece, listed Christmas lights on houses as bringing her joy, so I thought that this was a good image for this post...lights in darkness....


I'm blessed to have many friends who are able to say that their families bring them joy, as well as their husbands.  Sometimes, these were relationships which didn't work out so well the first time around....


Mollie wrote:  Singing and playing the flute at an orphanage, seeing a Japanese tsunami survivor smile after 8 months, simple things like sitting with my cats early in the morning when no one else is awake..feeling a cool breeze brush my face, the warm sun,breathing, just realizing what a gift every day is and treating it that way friends--real ones, and  most importantly the sweetness of knowing I'm loved by God.  Whew. . . joy is the life experience beyond myself! 


Well said.....


Barb noted some sweet ones:  snow on Christmas eve, children's laughter, a Christmas pagent presented by children....

Bringing you Joy

A while ago, my niece put up a query on Facebook.  "Tell me what you love."  She got 52 responses, most of which made me smile.

The end of the year is always busy.  All of the various holidays to be celebrated as well as the panic when you realize that the end of the year is nigh and there all these things you meant to do and never did.  I've been trying to weed out things....and frankly, after listing tons on eBay, etc., I'm just not in the mood to type.

So, I thought I would share with you things which bring Joy, and you can comment and tell me what brings you joy.  In the hustle bustle of the season, the bleakness of this time for many, I think we need to focus on joy, if only for just a few moments.  So, while I intend to get to that review I've been planning  of  Lesley Riley's Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur and Wendy Cotterilll's Lutradur and the New Fibers: Creating Mixed-Media Art with the New Spunbonded Materials  (which I have been thinking about since I purchased the book in January), I'm going to take a break and over the next couple of days, interspersed with the usual things I put here, I'm going  to share some of these joyful things.


To start with, Janean, one of my wonderful friends I have had since junior high said her joys are helping others and realizing what amazing friends, family and students she has.  She's right. While as we go through life, those friends may change, as we ourselves change, there are always those who are truly remarkable and even if that person has touch you for only a little while, thinking back can always bring you joy....and then there's the joy of reconnecting, which the internet is making all the more possible.


Katie, my neice,  shared this:  Common grace, a perfectly-turned phrase.  The way my bunny tips his head up for a scratch on the nose.  When my friends get tood news.  Cooking dinner with people I love. Travel plans.  Maps.  The scent of a house with the windows open. Good conversation.  Dogfish 90 Minute IPA. Christmas lights.  Winter light.  That there is something worth being joyful about every single day. 


So, leave a comment with your own joys...and I'll bring you more for tomorrow.