Taking the Joy Dare.

A quote that has been swimming around my head for awhile now is this: "Comparison is the thief of joy." I have seen portrayed on pins found on Pinterest, and I recently heard it in an Ada Bible Church sermon by Jeff Manion. What takes away the feeling of contentment, peace, hope, and JOY deep down in our souls? Comparison. At least that is what I have experienced....whenever I log on to Facebook, it seems another of my 'friends' is engaged, having a baby, loving life as a mom, or professing their love to their significant other. All of these things are GOOD - don't get me wrong, but the problem sets in when I start to think all of those things as better than whatever I am experiencing at the time. Shame. I experience the grace and goodness of God on such a regular basis - I just need to stop and notice it! Over Christmas vacation my wonderful sister encouraged me to check out a new blog, which I immediately did (another blog to read? YES. Advice from my older sis? Yes.) The blog is called "A Holy Experience," and the lady talks about how she experimented this past year with what she calls The Joy Dare. The author says that "Joy is a function of gratitude — and gratitude is a function of perspective. So take these prompts to help you see and change perspective — give thanks — and live all His joy!" Basically, the Joy Dare means choosing to see at least 3 gifts each day within the context of our every day lives. Way back in the day (think: middle school/high school), I kept a gratitude journal, and I know of many others in my life that have done the same. Not a bad habit to begin the new year! Since my last blog post, I went to *snowy* and *COLD* Minnesota to visit my family a the lake house. Each visit I make to MN, I experience a bit of a culture shock. There are only 4 (ish) cars on the highway, people have SUPER intense MN accents, and this time around, there were ICE HOUSES on the frozen lake behind my parents' house. Yep, people in MN like to hang out in the freezing cold and catch fish. I mostly stayed indoors during my 10 day vacation in MN...apparently living in CA for 7 years has made me a bit of a wimp when it comes to the cold (I went "sledding" with Joel, Lora, and Beto once for about 15 minutes.) Luckilly my mom had recorded lots of episodes of Ellen for me to catch up on. Man, I love that show. The best part of being home was hanging out in a very FULL house for a few days while all my siblings and their kiddos were home. 5 kiddos under the age of 6!? Meal times were eventful, to say the least. It was precious watching the three older kiddos sit on the stools at the counter eating their meals. I will post some pictures once my dad sends them my way. I am posting a few pictures my dad took of the winter wonderland we experienced in MN. Pictures can hardly do this place justice, but it's all I have got right now:

Just for fun, here are the neices and nephews in order (I will post pictures of them later): Sasha - almost 6 yrs old Lexi - 3.5 yrs old Charlie - 3.5 yrs old Beto - 16 months Grady 1 year I LOVE THEM ALL SO SO MUCH! 5 more days of Christmas break bliss...a couple of coffee dates, game nights, and a little get-away to the California *snow* with some friends. ENJOYING EVERY LAST MINUTE! So if I had to declare a New Year's Resolution (which I never do...I am not so great at keeping resolutions), I suppose it would be something like, "Choose JOY in all circumstances." Here's to a year of contentment and joy! :)