It’s how I sign every single email I send.  And honestly, some days it’s more true than others.  But oh how I pray for joy in my work and in my life.  It can be so easy in this industry to fall into the comparison trap and friends, trust me, comparison is the ultimate thief of joy.  Comparison leads to discontentment and bitterness.  Joy, however, is the overflow of gratitude.  And I, for one, have a LOT for which to be thankful.

Our season of life is fairly slow right now as we navigate and settle into a brand new city.  At times it has felt frustratingly slow but mostly it has been so good for us.  We’re kind of enjoying not knowing everyone or everything. Not rushing to meetings 4 nights a week.  In the slowness, we are postured to learn this new culture.  And in the slowness, I am being refreshed.  Don’t get me wrong, we will enter back into the fullness of life and community soon, but I am grateful today for the joy that comes with space.  I feel able to breathe life and creativity into my work and thoughts.  I have been running more, praying more, and feeling my creativity restored.

So it’s a little slow over here on the blog as I continue to allow space for this gratitude to settle into my heart.  But times like these are SO important, so that in the chaos, in the crazy, joy is already present.  “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”  Psalm 28:7