This blog is an exploration of the JOY that we can find in everyday life. I hope to use it as a gratitude journal, a way that I can focus myself into discovering God's presence in all areas of my life and my world. I hope that it will inspire others to search and discover the JOY in their own lives, so that we all might live happier, fuller, richer lives. For a more detailed description, click on the "Origin of Unspeakable Joy" link below.
Today's Unspeakable JOY is simple. It's basil growing in my garden. About 5-7 years ago, I fell in love with homemade bruschetta. For years, I've made it with either the basil from my mom's garden, or I've bought it at the grocery store. It's sooo expensive for such a small amount...it makes the bruschetta a very expensive thing to make!
Well, this year, I am living in this wonderful house that has a garden area with raised boxes for veggies. John helped me to plant the basil....and by "helped," I mean he did it for me. Ha! Now, I have the JOY of being able to go out and pick basil anytime I want! It's wonderful! So simple...and yet...so powerfully JOYFUL! Thank you, God! I am very grateful for this little thing in my life that brings me such incredible JOY!
I just couldn't decide which topic to choose for my first Unspeakable JOY blog post. I have so many amazing things and people in my life. I've had so many awesome experiences. Last month, I was in Puerto Vallarta with the love of my life, John, for 8 days/7 nights. I have the most beautiful children on the face of the Earth. Allie is 13 1/2 and Cameron is 3 1/2. I feel so grateful to have them both. I got to present about Google Chrome Extensions at an educational technology conference at Navy Pier in Chicago last week.
It was during that conference that my first topic arrived in my life! The conference was 2 days, a Tuesday and a Wednesday, and I was presenting on the second day. On Tuesday night, I came home, eager to tweak my presentation to make it better, and instead, I was shocked to discover kittens in my basement!
My daughter, Allie, had come home, and she was excitedly searching the house for her 2 cats, Izzy and Pickles. Pickles is a cat who had adopted our family last fall and then disappeared for a while in the spring. We kind of figured she'd gone and found a new home. But! She came back. That night, when Allie happened upon Pickles, she found her in a square, fabric lined, empty basket on a shelf in our basement storage room. She couldn't see inside because the basket was up high on a shelf, but she heard mewing and hissing. Pickles (a.k.a. "Momma Kitty") was hissing because she was protecting her two mewing babies who had been born just hours before.
We didn't even really know she was pregnant. I think we all suspected it could happen, but finding them there that night was quite a surprise!
The unspeakable joy in this situation is, for me, the incredible natural power of nature. Clearly this is a God Design, right? I didn't know what to do. I am anything but a farm girl. I don't know how to take care of baby animals. I'm squeamish to say the least and a huge animal lover. If anything had been wrong with the kittens, I would have melted down. (I was in therapy when Allie's hamster died several years back.)
But...the amazing thing was...I didn't have to do anything. Besides taking care of Pickles by making sure she has kitten food (high in calories) and water, she is doing it all. For the last week, I kept asking Allie about stuff that would occur to me. Her answer was usually, "You don't want to know, Mom." My musings were about squeamish things, and when she'd finally share the answer with me, it just made me realize more how awesome God is! This amazing cat who is only about a year old herself had babies alone in a basket without help, knows instinctively how to care for them, and is just doing phenomenally! I'm so thrilled!
Each day, as I watch them grow, I am struck with awe. It is a beautiful miracle to watch. They are so sweet, and they are doing so well...with very little help from me!
In 2011, one of my best friends, a person that I love very much, introduced me to Chris Tomlin's rendition of "Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)." It immediately became one of my favorite songs. In fact, I listen to it all year long. It is so fun to host a party in July and have a friend ask me, "Is this Christmas music?" Ha!
I loved the concept of "unspeakable joy." His chorus lyrics are "Joy...unspeakable joy....an overflowing well, no tongue can tell. Joy...unspeakable joy...rises in my soul...never lets me go." To me, the idea of having something so incredibly overwhelmingly joyful, something that you cannot even begin to talk about in words is incredibly powerful. I think, when that happens, we, as humans, are getting closer to God. In my opinion, when mere human language isn't enough to express the feeling of hearts bursting with happiness, we've allowed God into our hearts and can feel the energy and power coursing through our veins.
As my life progresses into happier and happier days, I've started using the words Unspeakable Joy. Over the last couple of years, as I've talked, emailed, posted happy life events on social media, etc., it has become my thing...a byline of sorts...a byline to my life. I have begun to look for joy in every place that I can.
In an effort to be more deliberate in my intentions, to look for the JOY in the world, I thought I'd start this blog. I hope that it will be a gratitude journal of sorts. I see people on Facebook posting things that they are grateful for every day in the month of November, and while I've never participated in that, I've always loved the idea. In fact, I love it so much that I want to take it to the next level. I want to deliberately look for things to be grateful for every day of my life.
Some days, it is harder than others. Some days, I feel disconnected from God, from my Source, from all that is. And, on those days, JOY seems to hide. So, that's when I'm really going to try to change my focus and become deliberate in my intention to stay connected and feel as good as I can in every moment. I believe, with every fiber of my being, that feeling joyful and grateful means we are connected to God. When we are angry, sad, scared, or not taking the time to appreciate the joys in our lives, we are failing to see the world through God's eyes, and we are missing out!
It's hard to flip the switch when it feels like the world is full of unhappiness. But! I am going to try! I am going to reach for a better feeling place, ask God to help me discover and encounter the world with the same unconditional love. It won't be easy all the time, but I believe I can do it! That's when it is so necessary...to stop focusing on the negative...and start putting energy into being positive and grateful!
I plan to share big things, little things, and everything in between that brings me joy. I would love to have the time to do it daily. But...to be realistic, I will start with a goal of posting a couple of times per week. I hope that my posts inspire others to discover the happiness, love, and joys in their own lives.
There will be simple joys...all the way up to the big Unspeakable JOYs in this blog. May it bring you joy and inspiration.
