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SOZO

SOZO | Embracing the Hard + Holy Road to Wholeness

“Some books challenge us and leave us feeling down or numb. Not SOZO. Joy McMillan doesn’t hold anything back, but her words are filled with understanding and grace. The book challenged me without the chafing. This would be a wonderful read for anybody that needs to be shaken out of numbness or apathy but isn’t interested in getting smacked in the face with the same old tired motivational phrases or jargons…”

Mike Leiter, Worship Leader at New Life Vineyard


What if the health of your mind, body and emotions mattered as much to you as they do to their Creator? What if Jesus came to offer us more than fire insurance? What if the life you’ve longed for were available – outside of your comfort zone? What if freedom and peace and joy were already paid for? What if you were invited on a pilgrimage of sorts – one that would slowly mend and restore your whole being as you learned to walk in honest relationship with God and others? What if the pit you’ve been in isn’t a tomb… but a womb for growth and healing? 

What if you were made for more?

SOZO is an invitation to take off the mask and come out of hiding. To bravely tell the truth about your pain, your fear, your doubts and your dreams, so you can see your life through the lens of freedom and grace. It is a call to own your story, reclaim your identity, practice self-compassion, and live as the beloved. It is an embrace of both the hard work and the holy call to wholeness.


“In her third book, Joy uses her talent with words to invite you
on a journey towards wholeness, healing and growth. Through her authentic story-telling and the passionate heart she has for seeing women’s lives changed, Sozo is a call to action. With empathy, understanding and grace, Joy encourages readers to embrace the imperfect, to recognise every part which makes us whole, and to step confidently into the relationship with God we are designed for. I cannot recommend this book enough! My copy will be a dog-eared, highlighted and scribbled-in treasure on my bookshelf (or, quite possibly, never leave the side of my bed!).”

Heidi Short, Editor & Instructor at University of Cape Town

If you’re tired of keeping up appearances, are emotionally and physically weary and in need of practical tools for change, and find yourself starving for authentic spirituality, then this book is for you. You are in good company here, sweet messy friend.

After 15 years of going through the motions, writing and speaking about wounds she’d never actually given God space to heal, Joy hit a wall. In what she refers to as ‘the glorious unraveling’, the loose threads of her ragged façade were pulled and she came undone. Raw and vulnerable, this book is a love letter from the trenches, where Joy sat with the Father and examined the scatted contents of her heart, and where she continues to navigate the hard and holy road home…body, spirit and soul.

Purchase SOZO on Amazon or in the SB Shop

 photo Joy.jpg

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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I am regularly overwhelmed by the kindness of God I am regularly overwhelmed by the 
kindness of God in the small + simple.

Things like twinkle lights + Christmas jazz,
scraping out the peanut butter fudge pot
all by myself while sitting on the counter,
and walking around the corner to find my
loin fruit snuggled up together over tea.

They may fight like cats + dogs at times,
but their bond is deep and true and sweet.
Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛 Written at Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛

Written at the intersection 
of faith and psychology, 
this book is yet another 
soul-nourishing,
heart-healing, 
boundary-fortifying 
gift from Alison Cook
(if you’ve had a heart-to-heart
with me in the past two years,
you know how much I loved 
‘Boundaries for the Soul’). 

As an enneagram 2 who was raised 
in the church, this book was a timely
and liberating read. Pure balm for the 
weary, recovering-people-pleaser soul. 

I am beyond grateful for the wisdom, 
compassion + experience that Alison 
brings to all she shares (and it was
such an honor to be on her launch 
team for this beautiful new book).

Need a survival guide for your growth
and healing journey? Here you go! ✌🏼

#thebestofyou #thebestofyoubook #womenoffaith #healthyboundaries #healthyyou #healingjourney
Find yourself a tribe of people who will, togethe Find yourself a tribe of people who will, 
together, spend a beautiful Saturday
morning pulling this workout off:

• 20 mile run
• 340 tire flips
• 2,000 air squats
• 1,000 pull ups
• 1,500 box jumps
• 2,200 pull ups
• 600 devil press
• 3,300 sit ups

Brutal. Amazing. 
Exhausted.
So grateful for these two - their friendship, enco So grateful for these two - their friendship,
encouragement and wise counsel over the
past decade of being our pastoral couple
has been such a gift to our family 💛

Congrats on your retirement, dear friends!!
“Over the years, I have come to realize that t “Over the years, 
I have come to realize that 
the greatest trap in our life is not 
success, popularity, or power, 
but self-rejection.”
 :: Henri Nouwen

Somewhere along the journey of 
life, we start to believe the lie that - 
despite being made in the very image 
of a good and beautiful God - who we 
are is inherently bad and broken, and 
we learn to cover that deep sense 
of inadequacy (and the shame that 
accompanies it) with performance.

Because our visceral 
human response to 
‘bad + broken’ is 
‘reject + conceal’.

We think it’s the rejection of others
that cuts us to the core, but the truth
is…most of us walk around wounded 
by a constant and unrelenting sense 
of self-rejection and self-loathing.

Want to know why we feverishly seek 
out the approval and validation of others?
Why we desperately want others to like us?

Because we’re out of touch with our
inherent value and worth, and we’re
not sure that we even like ourselves.

We resent our weakness,
and abandon ourselves.

/ / /

But this good + beautiful God of ours…
He is drawn to our weakness like a
moth to a flame, swooping in to
bring strength and grace.

Paul writes in Corinthians 12:9 that 
he learned to delight in his weakness 
because it was when he was week that
“His strength is perfected in me”. 

Or, as the Passion Translation so 
stunningly puts it, “my weakness 
becomes a portal to God’s power”.

Precious ones, we can shun our tender
still-in-process places, pretend to have 
it all together, and hustle for our worth…
OR we can drop the masks, offer kindness 
and curiosity to our hurting, broken parts,
and learn to live fully seen and known.

But we can’t have both.

And yes, it’s scary.

Today may we choose
…grace over perfectionism
…curiosity over shame
…acceptance over rejection
…gentleness over judgement
…wholeness over pretense

You are loved.
And they’re off! Alathea is in 10th grade and A And they’re off!

Alathea is in 10th grade and
Aiden is heading into 8th grade.

Here’s to a year full of grace,
discovery, friendship + growth 🙌🏼
"Faith isn't the ability to believe long + far i "Faith isn't the ability 
to believe long + far 
into the misty future. 
It's simply taking God 
at His Word + taking 
the next step."

:: Joni Eareckson Tada
Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep We fly out late Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep

We fly out late tomorrow evening so today
has been a lazy day of laundry, laying in the
sun, a petshop visit (where Aiden fell in love 
with a cute rat + I discovered zebra finches), 
an impromptu stop for bubble tea + stuffed crepes [oh my word, were these delicious!!],
shopping [I found the best, comfiest - Joe
would argue ‘ugliest’ - romper at the thrift
store that I can’t wait to wear on our long
journey home], and Aiden is currently off
doing his thing: fishing right from the pier.
Our view from the lodge last night ✨ Our view from the lodge last night ✨
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