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Where Passion & Purpose Collide

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June Vacay Flashback #1

I just came across these photos I never got round to sharing {gasp}.  Enjoy!    We spent a night in Niagara Falls on our way out to Martha’s Vineyard (early June) and discovered a couple of things…   Cricket really likes to drink water out of wine glasses {go figure}… …while Bug enjoys climbing inside things.  Everything.  Especially if it… Read More

Family, Travels

The Man {before My Man}

I’ll just put it out there: my husband had some pretty big shoes to fill. Before he came along, I wasn’t sure I’d ever meet anyone quite like the man my mom had met 35+ years ago {who promptly asked her to marry him 4 days later}.  Sure, there are plenty of great guys out there {I’m related to a… Read More

Faith, Family

My Sisters are Special…

And I don’t just mean special.  I mean…“special” {wink, wink, nudge, nudge}.        Cricket joined in the craziness… Sisters. They make me laugh.  A lot. And that’s just one of the many things I adore about my {deliciously zany} family. {My beautiful “little” sisters}

Family

And She’s Done it Again

Alternately entitled: “Monsters: A Photo Documentary About {re}Love” or something.   Once upon a time, there lived a little green monster.  A lonely, little green monster. This little dude was lovingly created in August 2009 by a most brilliant girl – a {re}lover of all things junk, a re-purposer of worn-out t-shirts destined for landfills, a jewelry-making guru with the… Read More

Crafts and Activities, Family

Our Wild Day at the Zoo

If nothing else was gleaned from our ridiculously exhausting, overly priced, underly enjoyed {is ‘underly’ a word?} day at the Detroit zoo…it was what NOT to do next time.  And that the little local zoo – with it’s cheaper rates and shorter drive – is where we’re heading next time we get spontaneous and think…gosh, wouldn’t it be fun to… Read More

Family, Keepin' it Real, Travels

Snakes and Snails, and Lego Raptor Tails

Little boys are somewhat foreign territory to me.  Okay, fine…totally foreign territory. I must confess I was just a little terrified when I found out we were having a boy.  I just don’t know how to do boy stuff.  And I must say, I’m quite comfortable with the lack of flaunted bodily functions, daily need for superglue, and pain infliction. … Read More

Family, Motherhood, The Kiddos

3 Years of Cricket Love

2 years ago we gathered to celebrate your life.  Your first year of life. What a glorious day of reflection. Your sweet spirited, delightfully fun, {painfully} strong-willed sassy self was turning 1 and we couldn’t believe how time had flown. And then… before we knew it, you were turning 2…and falling in love with a boy. We made you half… Read More

Family, The Kiddos

In Honor of the “Dad Life”

Created by Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Let this baby buffer a while…and enjoy! My hubby and I sure did!

Family

Sugar and Spice and all things…Oxytocin?

You’ve heard it.  We all have. Boys and girls are drastically different in their wiring. As mommies, we see it daily. But something I didn’t realize until today {when I popped open my November 2009 Parents magazine – yes, I’m way behind – for a much anticipated moment of mommy-is-on-the-loo-leave-me-alone-for-just-2-minutes reading} is this: Little girls tend to produce more oxytocin,… Read More

Family, The Kiddos

Sending Messages

We like declaring things to the world…without saying a word. “Hear” it? “My husband rocks”, ”daddy rocks {mommy’s right}” and “mommy rocks {daddy’s right}”! My hubby, who took the photo, proudly dons his “my wife rocks” shirt quite regularly.  Which, of course, I adore about him.  Well…it’s one of many things, but you know…that’s another post for another day. These… Read More

Designs, Family

3/4 of the {Sister} Crew

I heart my sisters. No.  I adore them. I’m often without words at the realization that I get to share my life with 3 of my closest friends.  And I didn’t even have to choose them! They’re fabulous… and beautiful… and talented… and funny… and loving… and honest… and creative… and faithful… and adventurous… and silly… and brilliant… and unique…… Read More

Family

An Open Letter to my Mother

  Sweet momma, Where do I begin? I’ve been trying to write your birthday card for weeks now, but my pen just hovers above the paper. It seems attempting to express my heart toward you is as easy as trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant. The other hiccup was the fact that it was a… Read More

Family

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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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