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Psoriases, Puke & Pretty Girls {and Other Bedtime Stories}

Mercy, it’s been a wild week.  Wild and fabulous.

Dish: My hubby and I recorded a little video interview of ourselves for something ridiculously cool that we’re applying for.  It was fun.  And awkward.  And sweet.  I’d tell you about it, but then I’d have to kill you.

Deadly: I poisoned my entire family the day before Easter.  Just doing my part to drive home the magnitude of the Easter theme.  Note to self: to not serve week old roasted squash even if it looks/smells/tastes perfectly fine.  Three of us hurled our guts up – mostly across the beautifully green grass outside – and the other 3 simply slept it off.  It was pitiful.  And I was banned from the kitchen for an entire day.  Sweet!

Date: My hubby and I got to escape for a night away to our favorite little Inn on the west side of the State.  And because we’re boring consistent, we pretty much did our “usual”…we hit up a whole food store, purchased something unusual {this time it was a soy/rice/almond milk maker}, ate at our favorite little Lebanese bistro, rummaged through the racks at Goodwill in search of some killer deals, and plopped our heinies down in the comfy seats of the local theatre.  Among other delightfully fantastic things that married couples do when they get to go away – alone – together for an entire day.  Ahem. 

Dermatologist: Before we ran away together, we stopped by the dermatologist to get the results of my biopsy.  Apparently, since turning 30 – along with a tattoo and a waistline – I have acquired psoriases.  While I’m not thrilled about this, I am so thankful it’s not anything more drastic.  All the more reason to eat coconut oil by the spoonful.

Dinner: We just finished cleaning up after a most delicious dinner {Bobotie, in case you were wondering} with some of the college gals from my mom’s bible study.  My hubby and I had visited the group a couple of times to answer {candidly, of course} some questions about relationships, sex and working through ‘baggage’, and just fell in love with them.  They’re truly lovely – inside and out!

Alma Girls (2 of 1)

Delivery: I was invited to speak to 170+ gals at a women’s event tomorrow morning.  At this point, my topic is ‘Cultivating True Joy Amidst the Storms of Life’.  But God has a whole 10 hours to completely reconfigure my plans, so who knows what I’ll talk about.  Excited!  I love to talk {but you’d never guess that, would you?}

Deadlines: I’ve been busy, busy designing 6 foot banners and logos and wedding invitations and movie tickets, and dreaming of the day I can actually have set ‘office hours’.  Only 16 years to go, folks.  Hang in there.

Dreaming: it would seem Spring is in full swing around here and plans for our vegetable garden are brewing.  To grow potatoes {again}…or not to?  This is the question.  Mad amounts of butternut, acorn, zucchini and summer squash, but of course!  Corn, not so much.  Tomatoes and herbs and peppers galore!  Amen.  Planning and dreaming.  And thankful to have little loin-fruit another year older for weeding assistance.  Score.

Doting: I will leave you with these precious pics I stumbled upon yesterday…would you just look at those eyes!

Aiden as baby (1 of 1)

Bug was just a few months old and still requiring 6 doses of beta blockers daily to keep his little heart in check.  He’s a little rockstar and has been med-free for over 15 months.  Whoot whoot.

My babies (1 of 1)

And sweet Bean, who daily delights the socks off my very feet, is still as edible as ever!

Little Bean (1 of 1)

Done: Ciao bella!

Related posts:

  1. My Girls
  2. Our Girls Ghana Wild
  3. A Rambling Post About Nothing Much
  4. Excuses, Updates and an ATW Guest Post
«
»

Complete nonsense, Daily Life

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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What if grace has been waiting for you where perfe What if grace has been waiting for you
where perfection never could take you?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, we wrap up our exploration of the 9 Enneagram types, and how each one engages grief, with Type One: The Reformer.

We'll explore the gift of integrity, the burden of the inner critic, and the freedom that comes when we stop striving to earn what God has already given.

The Enneagram may reveal the stories we've believed to survive.
But only grace tells us who we've been all along.

🎧 Episode 038 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
From the front, our little apple tree is living he From the front, our little apple tree is living her best life: laden with fruit and bursting with life.

But that’s only half the story.

Take a walk around the backside and you’ll see something entirely different: a large branch, nearly a third of the tree, black and barren. Clearly diseased. Clearly dead. Clearly in need of pruning.

And yet, every time I walk past it on our evening loop around the campground behind our house, it catches me off guard. I forget it’s even there.

Maybe because I prefer to look at the fruitful side.

And isn’t that a little like us?

We’re pretty comfortable displaying the beautiful parts: the wins, the answered prayers, the accomplishments, the parts of life that look healthy and fruitful.

The broken parts? The grief. The struggling relationships. The things we’ve neglected. The places where we’re tired or hurting or simply not okay?

Those we tend to tuck around the backside, hoping no one notices.

But here’s the thing: what we hide still needs tending.

We don’t have to be ashamed of the barren branches. We don’t have to pretend they aren’t there. And we certainly don’t have to wait until everything looks beautiful before we allow ourselves to be honest.

Maybe growth does look like good fruit.

And maybe sometimes it looks like finally walking around back, taking an honest look, and saying, That needs to go.

Pruning isn’t failure.
It’s making room for what’s still alive.

And if you’ve got a few dead branches of your own right now, take heart. You are not the barren branch. You are the whole tree. 🌿

#SimplyBloomCo
If you are a Nine, my prayer is that you would nev If you are a Nine, my prayer is that you would never lose your gift of bringing calm, compassion, and steadiness into a fractured world.

Those are beautiful reflections of the heart of Christ.

But may you also discover that your voice is not an interruption, your needs are not an inconvenience, and your presence is not optional. May you become the kind of peacemaker who tells the truth with love, receives love without shrinking, and lives fully awake to the life God has entrusted to you.

May you know, deep in your soul, that you don't have to disappear to belong.
What if the peace you've been protecting has come What if the peace you've been protecting
has come at the cost of your own presence?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, we're exploring Enneagram Nine: The Peacemaker.

Nines have an incredible gift for helping others feel safe, seen, and understood.
But somewhere along the way, many learned that staying connected meant staying quiet.

What if healing isn't about becoming louder?
What if it's about believing your voice already belongs in the room?

🎧 Episode 037 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Permission Granted. In case you needed someone t Permission Granted. 

In case you needed someone to tell you: yes, you should absolutely make the impromptu stop at the roadside farm stand and buy the $5 bouquet of flowers.

No, you do not need a reason.

No, you do not need to be buying them for someone else (although that is a perfectly lovely thing to do, too).

Buy them for yourself.
Put them in your kitchen.
Smile every time you walk past them. 🌸

And support your local flower growers and farm stands while you’re at it.

That is all.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled scrolling.
If you are an Eight, my prayer is that you would n If you are an Eight, my prayer is that you would
never lose your fierce love for justice, your courage,
or your willingness to protect those who cannot protect themselves. 

Those are holy gifts.

But may you also discover the freedom of being protected yourself.
May you find people with whom you no longer need armor. And may you know, deep in your bones, that the God who fights for you is inviting you to rest...
not because you're weak, but because you were never meant to carry every battle alone.
The year we moved into this house, a peach tree sp The year we moved into this house, a peach tree spoiled us thoroughly. It produced more peaches than we knew what to do with—cobbler, galette, crumble, smoothies, fruit leathers, and basket loads given away.

Our expectations for peach season were high.

Turns out, that tree was throwing itself a retirement party.
It died the following year.

We’ve since planted two more. The one that has always been unproductive surprised us this summer with these gorgeous, generous peaches. The healthy, established tree that usually produces? One. Single. Peach.

Fruit-bearing is an interesting thing.
Unpredictable. Relatively unmanageable.
Sometimes delicious and sometimes disappointing.

And maybe that’s why I love the reminder it offers:
performance isn’t always a good indicator
of what’s happening beneath the surface.

Take heart, dear one.

Some seasons, you’ll crush the to-do list,
accomplish the goals and have plenty to show for yourself.

Other seasons, you’ll simply keep showing up.
Quietly. Consistently. Faithfully.

And that is enough, too. 🌱
What if your greatest strength was never meant to What if your greatest strength
was never meant to become a hiding place?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, we're continuing in our Summer Enneagram Series by exploring the Type Eight: The Challenger.

Many Eights learned early that strength was safer than vulnerability.
But what if healing isn't about becoming less strong?

What if it's about discovering that courage
and tenderness were never meant to compete?

God isn't asking you to lay down your strength.
He's inviting you to lay down the armor you no longer need.

🎧 Episode 036 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
If you identify with the Enneagram 7, my prayer fo If you identify with the Enneagram 7, my prayer
for you is that you would never lose your capacity
for wonder, laughter, creativity, and hope.

Those are sacred gifts.

But may you also discover the freedom of staying present
when life feels heavy. May you trust that joy does not disappear
when sorrow arrives. May you find that God is not only present
in the moments of celebration, but also in the quiet,
painful places you once tried to avoid.

The One who created your joy can also hold your grief.

You are loved.
Follow @SimplyBloomJoy

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