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Excuses, Updates and an ATW Guest Post

Contrary to what a lack of posts for almost a week may depict, I’m alive and semi-well.  Emphasis on semi.

Our wee babes and I are all fighting colds, a sinus infection and an ear infection {nicely distributed between the three of us}.  Life is peachy! 

Speaking of peaches…our little tree is dropping gorgeous, juicy peaches daily and I’ve been freezing, drying and baking the heck out of them.  ‘Tis glorious, indeed.  Who knew tree-ripened, free peaches tasted this much better?!  Recipes to come.

I’ve been designing my heine off…hallelujah!  Sadly, it remains the same size.  Don’t laugh.  I’m thrilled to say I adore my clients and am blessed beyond belief to get to do what I love, in my pajamas, with wads of tissue stuck up my nostrils, in the wee hours of the morning, while trying to meet deadlines…and still be considered semi-professional.  Emphasis, once again, on the semi.

Our sweet Bean decided this week that preschool is not in face as cool as she had originally thought, and threatened to run all the way home while I was trying to pry her scissor-gripped legs from my body.  She cried.  And then I balled all the way home.  She was, however, all smiles when I picked her up both days she attended.  Here’s to hoping next week is better.  Oh please!

My precious man heads out on Monday morning for a week away in the boonies with his dad and two brothers.  I’m tickled pink navy blue for him.  Or army green.  Which ever seems more manly.  While we’ll miss him ridiculously much here at home, knowing he’s really connecting – for the first time ever – with the men in his family, over ATVs, camping and hiking, delights me no end! 

I, after all, got an entire day to myself this week…meeting up with my younger sister, drooling over the gorgeousness that is Hobby Lobby, having lunch with an old friend, bargain shopping and spending time in a book store, and wrapping up my fantabulous day with two of my favorite women in the whole world.  It was a delicious day, to say the least!

I got home to discover this delightful post by a sweet blogger friend I met while speaking at a woman’s event recently.  She’s delirious, by the way.  I’m really not that funny.  Or cute.  But I was barefoot.

Speaking of speaking {how’s that for a segue?}…this week I was invited to speak at two different women’s events coming up soon!  I’m thrilled!  One of them…drum roll, please…about sex!  I’m serious!  Well, marital intimacy, to be exact.  But dude, I’m so excited!  {and yes, I’m still working on my juicy, va va voom, Song of Solomon post.  This conference may squeeze it out of me sooner than expected.  So keep your peepers open!}.

On another completely irrelevant note, I finally tracked down a book series my granny read to my mom when she was younger, and that my mom read to my sisters and I as kids.  It’s our all time favorite children’s book: The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.  It arrived on Thursday, and in spite of my tragic lack-of-pictures discovery, and the 7+ age recommendation on the back, my precious 4 year old and I are well onto chapter 13.  Oh, the memories!  What a delight to share this with her.

I have so many fabulous recipes to share with you…and no time to play with photos and type up recipes.  Peach muffins, zucchini coins, meatballs & spaghetti (inspired by Bean’s rediscovery of our Lady and The Tramp book}, honey oat bread and more.  Soon, my hungry friends! 

So besides wiping snotty noses, designing in my jammies, cooking up a storm and reading magical stories {okay, and crying all the way home from the preschool}…this week is a blur.  A benadryl induced blur.  Thank you, God, for benedryl.  What would a snot-nosed mother do without benedryl?  I mean, seriously.

I digress.

My At The Well guest post this week features a photo I took of 10 month old lion cubs in South Africa, 5 years ago.  I can’t help but smile when I look at it.  So I had to share it with you!

With that being said…you’ll find the deep stuff right over here…At The Well!

ATW September 1

Over and out.

Related posts:

  1. ATW Guest Post & Conference
  2. At The Well: Guest Post
  3. At The Well: Guest Post {2 Ears, 1 Mouth}
  4. At The Well, Guest Post {Filled With His Glory}
«
»

Complete nonsense, Daily Life, Family, Guest Post, Photography, Quotes and Scriptures

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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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As Christmas draws near, may your heart find space As Christmas draws near, may your heart find space for rest, for healing, for hope, and for the quiet ways God is making you new.

If you’re tired, be gentle with yourself.
If you’re hopeful, savor it.
And if you’re somewhere in between,
welcome to being human.
Grace meets us in all of it.
For months, I’ve been sitting with a gentle nudge For months, I’ve been sitting with a gentle nudge I couldn’t ignore.
A pull toward sharing again, but differently. Softer. Slower.
From a place shaped by grief, held by God, and steadied by healing.

And now, after years off the public stage… it’s almost time.

A new project is coming.
A conversation, really - about the hard and holy parts of being human.
About faith that’s wrestled with, not polished.
About becoming whole in the places that once felt broken.

I’m both excited and cautious, stepping back into this space with open hands, trusting the One who invited me here.

In one week, I get to share what’s been stirring.
I hope you’ll join me.
In the grace-laced words of Aundi Kolber, may we " In the grace-laced words of Aundi Kolber,
may we "try softer" this time around, 
and into the coming year.
All is grace.
As we move through this season of thanksgiving and As we move through this season of thanksgiving and inch toward the end of the year, I’ve been reflecting on what this year has held — the heartbreak and the healing, the grit and the grace, the parts we survived and the parts that surprised us. And a few things rise to the top.

I’m grateful for life — for the young one we lost too soon and the impact he made, and for my favorite one who got to stay. For the ICU team who cared for my hubby after his stroke and surgery. For his life, his healing, and the restoration we’ve witnessed.

I’m grateful for seasons — for the reminder that it won’t always be this way. Hard seasons don’t last forever, and goodness still finds its way into the cracks.

I’m grateful for friendship — for the people God has enveloped us in. For community that feels like home. For the redemptive conversations and the healing that happens around a table with people who know you and love you still. And fresh sourdough.

I’m grateful for movement — early Thursday walks with my best friend, returning to the gym after five months away… achy, winded, and 15 pounds heavier, but still showing up. For a body that’s in transition, but resilient.

I’m grateful for my kids — for our daughter’s graduation one month after the stroke and the miracle of that day. For our son, now taller than all of us, with a tender heart shaped by brutal loss. And for our bonus boy who has loved our girl well for years—and loves us, too.

And I’m grateful for the Word — for the way it’s carried, challenged, and steadied us. And for The Chosen and House of David for breathing fresh life and color into Scripture again.

There’s more, always.
But today… this is enough.

Gratitude for what was.
Hope for what’s ahead.
Grace for the in-between.
After a long stretch of quiet, I can feel a new se After a long stretch of quiet,
I can feel a new season taking shape.

It’s subtle… a little tender… and honestly, a bit terrifying.
But it also feels like grace. Slow and steady, patient and unassuming.

The last few years have held both ache and healing, unraveling and rebuilding. God has been faithful in the dark corners, gentle in the grief, and persistent in inviting me back to life in ways I didn’t expect.

I don’t have all the answers.
In fact, I’m not even sure I have most of them.
But I do know this...
Something is coming.
Something rooted.
Something honest.
Something that has been growing quietly beneath the surface.

I’ve missed this space.
I’m easing back in, one brave, grateful step at a time.

Stay close. More soon.
Grace + gratitude 🌱
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 the 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!!
Follow @SimplyBloomJoy

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