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Simply Bloom Co.

Where Passion & Purpose Collide

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Cupcake Face

We recently met “new” neighbors who moved into this town at roughly the same time as we did.  Turns out…we adore them and are tickled pink to have such a fabulous family living just down the road from us!   The fact that the lovely mama makes killer cupcakes could further solidify our relationship. {knuckle bumps} Here’s to the cupcake… Read More

Friendship, The Kiddos

Baby Smooches

I’m home.  The retreat was fabulous {or at least I thought it was…and I didn’t put anyone to sleep}. Our 1st annual church harvest party was a blast…we broke in our new fire pit, took 17 people on a hayride behind my hubby’s sexy tractor, taste tested 8 different pots of chili, sipped hot cider with entirely too much whipped… Read More

Complete nonsense, Friendship, Motherhood, Photography

Swinging September Sun

As the temperature drops and the playful hours of the day get shorter, these little ones simply kick off their shoes and throw off their sweaters at the slightest hint of warmth and soak up every last minute of outdoor play. And do these babies know how to swing! {Bean, Bug, and their beloved cousin, ”Pumpkin”} Notice their African flavored… Read More

Family, Friendship

Blog Hopping {Hostess Gift Edition}

  Miranda Walker {from Narrating Life} invited me to participate in her blog hop.  It’s my first.  So I hopped right in. And here we go! The theme is…drum roll, please…hostess gift ideas! Due to my love affair with fresh herbs, I chose a potted fennel plant as my gift {partly because it’s what my big sister just gave me… Read More

Crafts and Activities, Friendship, Garden

Inner Fulfillment: Ek-Spek-Tey-Shuhn

Revisit a previous post of mine {one of my favorite 25, in fact} right here at Inner Fulfillment today! “A Godly woman is one who possesses inner peace and tranquility: she doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone. Neither does she depend on recognition from others. Hers is an inner contentment and satisfaction based not on accomplishments, position, or authority;… Read More

Friendship, Guest Post, Keepin' it Real

My Girls

To say I am surrounded by some of the most amazing women in the world, would be an understatement. Since becoming a mom, my girlfriends have become even more precious to my heart.  They have moved from simply being a blessing and delight in my life to being an enormous part of daily survival.   My heart swells at the… Read More

Friendship

How I Know God Loves Me, Reason# 3,257

Because I have ridiculously wonderful friends who love on me so thoroughly and extravagantly {and who are wildly fluent at speaking my love language}, and who – just this afternoon, over a playdate at McDonalds – celebrated my upcoming citizenship transition. Gorgeously aromatic blooms, in red, white and blue…handmade red and blue bracelets…an American flag…and a handmade card reading: “Welcome… Read More

Friendship

A Cider Mill Morning

We spent Saturday morning with a few of our favorite people, soaking up the sunshine at Uncle John’s Cider Mill. Where better to spend these final few days of gorgeous late-Summer-early-Autumn weather than here, sipping cider and eating donuts, playing, having a wagon ride and picking up pumpkins {not to mention my new, sweet little niece}? When I told Cricket… Read More

Friendship, The Kiddos, Travels

The Wild, The Wacky, The Wonderful

…we got to experience it all at the Saginaw Zoo. Well, not all.  But you know, we worked through our disappointment {over no lions, or tigers, or bears…oh my}. What we did score out of the deal was a delicious morning of adventure with our new friends, a yummy picnic lunch, and 4 {relatively} well-behaved toddlers enjoying the gloriously warm,… Read More

Friendship, Motherhood, The Kiddos, Travels

Fall{ing} 4 Friendship

I love watching my daughter’s friendships blossom.  The older they get, the more it seems they appreciate those sweet bonds that have formed with other little people their age.  And the more sweetly and intimately they connect.  And – sweet relief – the less they pout, shriek and hoard. It seems they truly start to love each other, miss each… Read More

Friendship, The Kiddos

Toes & Giggles

    We had friends over yesterday and loved every minute of it! Their delightful daughter confirmed something I’ve suspected for some time now. I think 3 is my favorite age yet! Yes, the sassiness has the ability to drive me absolutely batty, and the drama makes me want stick my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and sing… Read More

Friendship, The Kiddos

Girlfriends

Never before have the friends in my life been as dear to me as they are now. Friends have always been fun.  Vital, if you wish. But today, as a young woman fumbling my way through this crazy season of motherhood, the connectedness I share with the precious girlfriends in my life is such a source of delight to me… Read More

Friendship

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 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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