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Re: light at the end of the tunnel

Joy Bennett — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:49:15 -0000

Oh how I get what you're saying right now. I've lost count of the times we've lived at our Children's Hospital, riding the roller coaster of progress and setbacks, struggling to balance the needs of the children at home with the child at the hospital with our spouse, and fighting (or not fighting, when we were just too tired to any longer) to be content with the place God has us in the moment. Your family is in our prayers continually. We shouldn't be, but we are awed and amazed at the turnaround in Stellan over the past week. Hang in there. God has sustained you this far and He won't let you go.

Re: doors and windows

Joy Bennett — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:57:17 -0000

I've been staring at a closed door for a few years. Last fall, we began to see some activity. I tried to walk through one door this spring, but God's plan lay in another direction. Sadly, walking through this door has apparently caused several misunderstandings and thus damaged some relationships. The whole situation, especially the part about being stuck for a few years, threatens to damage even my relationship with God. I don't know what going to happen, but I'm thankful to not be stuck anymore.

Joy from Joy in the Journey

Re: Church Music Giveaway!!!

Joy Bennett — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:04:07 -0000

What a hilarious story! I remember reading that blog and thinking "wouldn't it be funny if David Crowder actually read this?" I hope you get to meet him someday.

Oh yeah. I'd love this CD. Thank you for the contest!

Re: bold blogging

Joy Bennett — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:08:00 -0000

"I don't need to defend myself when my motives are pure. And neither do you. If you are living with integrity, your life with be evidence of that. And, even if other people refuse to see that, or are blinded to it, be not bothered."

Boy did I need to read this today. It's been a tough year and dealing with false accusations and misunderstandings, and being unable to defend ourselves because the matters were private and not ours to share... that has been difficult and painful. Thank you so much for obeying and sharing. I have been striving for real authentic living, but I'm going take you up on your challenge to be deliberately bolder.

Hugs and encouragement from a fellow heart mom!

Re: fear

Joy Bennett — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:11:59 -0000

What a heart-grippingly accurate description of fear. My oldest passed away last year after 8 1/2 years of living in fear (she had 4 open-heart surgeries, seizures, and lots of illnesses sending her to the hospital). My youngest (I have two healthy ones in the middle) also has a heart condition (he's had 2 open-heart surgeries and may be heading to the cath lab in the next few months). I too struggle to shake off the fear of something going wrong with him or the other two. I know it isn't healthy to live this way, that it's my failure to trust God with everything, even the worst, but it's such a battle. When I find myself battling it here, I'll pray for you too!

Re: Jeepers Bleepers!

Joy Bennett — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:39:35 -0000

Hahaha! This made me smile, because THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS TO ME!!!! Thank you!

Re: A Holy Day and a blog anniversary (they're not the same thing)

Joy Bennett — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:21:01 -0000

I started Joy In This Journey under a different name (Joy's Little Soapbox, which I quickly changed to Joy in the Journey -- didn't like the rant sound of soapbox!) in August, 2005. I've always been a writer, but I'd just had my third child and with a special needs child as well, I hadn't written much in years. I was craving a place to just ramble, but keeping a private journal wasn't cutting it. Turns out blogging has been a great option for me, even though my content has wandered all over the place. Now it's much more about my spiritual journey and grief in the lost of my firstborn (the child with special needs).

Re: Cooking with grace and loving laundry . . . or something like that.

Joy Bennett — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:12:35 -0000

Love that song! They know what they're talking about... and that means I love them. :)

My favorite cookbook is my own compilation of recipes I've found that our family likes. It's in a three-ring binder, but most of the pages are just stuck in there... cuz I'm organized like that. :)

Re: Cooking with grace and loving laundry . . . or something like that.

Joy Bennett — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:13:07 -0000

I am now a fan of Point of Grace... officially (though I've been a fan since their first album!).

Re: Cooking with grace and loving laundry . . . or something like that.

Joy Bennett — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:13:23 -0000

And I'm now a fan of you! (But I've been a subscriber for awhile)

Re: Ultimate Blog Party!

Joy Bennett — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:48:48 -0000

Hi Robyn! Thanks for visiting my blog and saying hi!

Re: Ultimate Blog Party!

Joy Bennett — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:49:15 -0000

Following on Twitter (I'm assuming you want a comment for each entry? If not, sorry to spam your comments section! :) )

Re: Ultimate Blog Party!

Joy Bennett — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:49:25 -0000

Also a fan on Facebook. :)

Re: Ultimate Blog Party!

Joy Bennett — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:49:49 -0000

Aaaaand I'm adding you to my RSS feed! I'd love me some Amazon money... I love books!

Re: Ultimate Blog Party!

Joy Bennett — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:49:14 -0000

Hi Robyn! Your blog is so cute! Did graphically designing do it for you? I'm in her queue for a makeover late summer and I'm so excited!

Thanks for stopping by my blog last week and I'm sorry it took me so long to return the visit. We all got sick and my husband was out of town for a few days, so I am just now caught up enough to visit everyone!

If you haven't done your giveaway yet, I'd love an amazon gift card -- books are my favorite purchase EVER. I always have a wishlist a mile long. :)

Re: Really Good Weekend

Joy Bennett — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:59:15 -0000

Hi Julie! We had as really nice weekend too. We visited family, fitted my little girl in her flower girl dress for a wedding in June, and attended a fundraising concert for a fund we started in memory of our daughter. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to have a break from cooking. :)

Re: {My First Review} French Press Coffee Maker

Joy Bennett — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:52:33 -0000

Yum! I LOVE french-pressed coffee but don't have a press yet! We have a great little coffee shop near my house that sells the best Highlander Grogg beans. I have no idea what brand they are, but I love that they are a mom-and-pop shop.

How have I felt pressed? A better question would probably be how have I not felt pressed. The past 2 years have been extremely high-pressure. The church we were helping to lead fell apart, our daughter died, and everything in our lives changed. I couldn't be honest about how badly I was doing, either -- pressure to keep up appearances. But my faith had major weak spots and I realized eventually that I couldn't just repair those spots... I needed to take it all apart and put it back together better. This has been tough on my marriage, but by God's grace we're holding together.

We're in a much healthier church now and I'm slowly putting the pieces of my faith back together. Slowly, despite pressure to hurry it up and be "better" already. Despite pressure of knowing that people actually do know the truth about me right now and wondering what they think and if they are judging me...

Re: Pressed but not Crushed

Joy Bennett — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:41:50 -0000

Oh! The pressed comments go here! :) I'm copying from the other comment I left.

How have I felt pressed? A better question would probably be how have I *not* felt pressed. The past 2 years have been extremely high-pressure. The church we were helping to lead fell apart, our daughter died, and everything in our lives changed. I couldn't be honest about how badly I was doing, either -- pressure to keep up appearances. But my faith had major weak spots and I realized eventually that I couldn't just repair those spots... I needed to take it all apart and put it back together better. This has been tough on my marriage, but by God's grace we're holding together.

Re: In which mega churches aren’t sustainable – for the pastor

Joy Bennett — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:04:58 -0000

Sarah, I couldn't agree more. Though after being the wife of an elder in a small church for five years, I have to say that any form of ministry is extremely difficult on both the leader and his/her family. We had less than 100 regular attenders, so when I try to imagine what we went through times 50 or 100, I want to clap my hands over my ears and run screaming into a wilderness.

Our experience has given us great compassion, patience, and empathy for the leaders of our church now. I feel a huge responsibility to be an encourager and minister to them -- watching kids so the husband and wife can get out by themselves, being a backup whatever (nursery worker, host home, singer, etc.) so when they need a week off for whatever reason, they have someone to ask.

But I have long wondered if we're going about this completely wrong. As you said, we have these resource-hog models of church that run people into the ground. I join you in calling for a simpler way.

Re: In which we celebrate 9 years of being the Bodacious Besseys

Joy Bennett — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:25:32 -0000

I love the roses! White flowers always seem to disappear into the white dress, IMHO.

Happy anniversary, and may you celebrate many many more together.

Re: In which mega churches aren’t sustainable – for the pastor

Joy Bennett — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:34:49 -0000

Interesting thoughts -- positional/hierarchical vs relational. We are in a church with a "plurality" of elders rather than the CEO model, but I confess to being uneasy even with that. It's still just four men (at the moment) carrying this tremendous responsibility for the spiritual health of the congregation. The older I get the more I think that the small group model of church is the way to go... meet in homes, study together, pray together, support each other through life's ups and downs...

Re: You Capture: YELLOW

Joy Bennett — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:14:16 -0000

What a fun project! I love this idea. And your yellow is so cheery -- we've had a dreary rainy week too.

Re: Introducing Charlotte

Joy Bennett — Thu, 20 May 2010 08:59:45 -0000

Congratulations!!! Praise God for the safe arrival of beautiful Charlotte! We will continue to pray for your recovery.

Re: In which sometimes I want

Joy Bennett — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:01:34 -0000

Sometimes I want to sell our house and move into our inner city to live among the people who are most needy and actually be close enough to help.

Sometimes I want to move out of the U.S. altogether so we can broaden and deepen our perspective on life.

Sometimes I want to quit my job and focus solely on our family, our church, and finding ways to live on less so we can give more.

Other times I want to pull the kids out of school and keep them safe at home with me.
Or buy that big house with the swimming pool and the gourmet kitchen.
Or splurge on a vacation to Europe with just my hubby, no kids.
Or get plastic surgery to fix all the parts of my body that are droopy and saggy from four pregnancies.
Or drink until I forget.
Or write without heed to anyone else's needs or wants around me.

And clearly there is much to put to death in my Self. And much to feed and nurture.

Re: In which sometimes I want

Joy Bennett — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:03:02 -0000

Hah! That Judy Blume thing never worked for me! :)