JoaS

Feelings are so finicky. Have you ever felt yourself wearing down and you begin to neglect your quiet time or your evening walk or your morning prayer time because there's just so much to do and you've run out of energy? Next thing you know you're losing your cool in traffic or exploding on a friend or loved one because they can't read minds and didn't know to watch their step in the mine field that has become you? Have you ever let that happen? Because I have. And it stinks. I can recall with perfect clarity the first time I let it happen and was consciously aware I was doing it. I was treating someone I loved with contempt and gruffness that they certainly did not deserve. I could feel myself doing it, I watched myself do it, and I thought the whole time "Emily, what are you doing?" I knew immediately that it was misdirected and I felt terrible. Emotions can be so strong. Mine often overwhelm me. This is something we diligently attempt to guide in th...

I have been receiving lessons in humility lately. I guess to be a "sanctuary"--pure and holy, tried and true--it stands to reason you'd have to be humble, too. When we first found out we were having a baby girl, my reaction was soft, gushy, heart melting--followed immediately by the realization that I am so flawed and so young and so unwise and inexperienced--how in the world can I do this well?? A girl is going to have to overcome so many of the trials and hardships with which I was faced, and I didn't handle them all well! I had to fight the fear. I started praying. I had to immerse myself in truth to shut out the (horribly loud) lies. I reached out to a mom I follow on social media (the one millennial activity I do well) and I asked for any tips she could give a first time mom. Her response, delivered with such tenderness and sincerity, was that God has hand chosen me to mother this little one here on earth. He seems to think I'm the best suited for this pa...

One of my favorite songs on the radio today is God Only Knows by For King and Country. God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows how it's killing you But there's a kind of love that God only knows God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows the real you There's a kind of love that God only knows They have a way of writing that just speaks straight to my soul. Their word choice could not more accurately represent those feelings I can't quite put into words if they had interviewed me, personally, before sitting down to compose. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I can be a little more authentic about my experience these past 12 weeks. First, a little background on Michael and I: we're both recovering people pleasers. We're both pretty laid back and don't like to let things bother us. We don't like to confront others, we don...

I try to post once a month, consistently, more if I have something worth sharing. This is the first post for April because IT'S A BIG ONE! And I couldn't share before. But now I can, so here you go: On top of learning the meaning of "sanctuary" this year--untainted and reliable--I've also been made a literal sanctuary--a place of refuge or safety. 2019 is officially the year we become a family of four! Margaret Elizabeth Hardee is scheduled to arrive in November 2019, and for obvious reasons this has eclipsed the vast majority of my thoughts, energy, and time. I literally could not think of anything else to blog about because our little gummy bear has pretty much eclipsed our lives already but it was all pretty hush hush until now. The beginning was the most difficult, but things are sort of settling now. My food aversions are STRONG. And ever changing. It's very difficult on a tight grocery budget, but will be very worth it in the long run. I...

Originally published February 25, 2013: I was having a conversation with someone the other day and it taught me something important about love. It's something God has been trying to teach me for a long time. My husband and I chatted about it more on a car trip back from spending some time with my family, and that conversation and opportunity to talk through it with someone who knows the love of Christ and demonstrates it with me daily really drove the point home. (We also talked about this in my bible study, it was the sermon on Sunday, and my brother just sent me a link to some profound thoughts from another woman on the subject. Coincidence? I think not. God's serious about this one, guys.) So here's what I'm learning: have you ever been in a disagreement with someone and they try to win you to their side by putting yours down?  It may be that it's the other way around. Does it work? Truly? Or is it more likely that the most promising end we can expect ...

Some of you may know that back in the day I had a blog called Emily Posting. It's still there, you can still peruse it, if you dare. I thought I might share some of those early musings here, in case there is any tidbit worth revisiting. Turns out, there might be just a few. This post was originally published March 20, 2013: I would argue that the best tip Michael and I got to start our marriage off on the right track (besides reading tons of Dave Ramsey's work and chatting about our future goals) was to listen to Senior Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church in Texas speak on Song of Solomon.  Michael and I downloaded and listened to the series on our honeymoon, actually, and I can say with all confidence that it made our honeymoon a success.  Anyone looking to get married, already married, or who happens to know and interact with other people should definitely hear this guy speak. Obviously we two honeymooners were intently focused on nuggets of wisdom Nelson ...

Not to be a downer or anything, but bad things happen. If you're reading this, I assume you're an adult with a computer who reads blogs and articles about real life, so chances are good you already know this tidbit. You may even understand it better than I do, myself. I grew up in a very loving home, with a nice family, a great dog, I got along with my brother, and I saw all the Disney movies. I have wonderful memories of fun family vacations. I had plenty of friends and I always did well in school. I didn't have to try hard and I thought I was very fortunate. Un fortunately, you don't get a lot of opportunity to develop a mature character when you don't have to try hard, right? Smooth seas and whatnot. I feel like I was catapulted straight from adolescence into adulthood. I had a great college experience and my parents were terribly supportive and I was comfortable. Then I got engaged. I talked about moving to a different state, to a big city. I had to find...