when life is hard.

This last week has been hard. My dad was diagnosed with four brain bleeds and a traumatic brain injury after his fall about a month ago. That fall left my dad paralyzed from the belly-button down. The funny thing is, I feel like I can handle my dad's paralysis. What I'm struggling to handle is how everyone else is coping with the accident and all the surrounding information. If I'm being completely honest, it feels like Satan is tearing our family apart one little lie at a time. He is so good at what he does. What I'm thankful for though is that my God is bigger. One of the verses that God laid on my heart today was- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths". Many times this verse has come off as cliché however today, that verse took on new meaning. Thankful too, that I have a God that I can trust. I do not need to worry or be afraid because He will be right there with me, through it all.

letting go.

Over the last few days, there has been a small movement inside of me. This movement is the Holy Spirit and He is asking me- is it yours or is it Mine?

Over the last few years, I have held so tightly to many dreams and many selfish ambitions: a new house, a baby, a successful career, more money, and so much more. Through all of these desires, I see my desperate need for Christ and how worldly I truly am. Yet, I still struggle to open my hands and to lay it all down. In one moment, I give all of my dreams to God and in the next moment, I'm picking them right back up! I'm praying this week for not my own will to be done, but God's will to be done.

I'm going to leave you with an excerpt from the book I just read this week- the book is called All In by Mark Batterson:

"What are you holding on to? Or maybe I should ask, What are you not willing to let go of? If you aren't willing to let go, then you don't control whatever it is that you are holding on to. It controls you. And if you don't throw it down, your staff will forever remain a staff".

My desire is to use my time, my money, my talent, and my desires for kingdom causes. I refuse to remain unchanged.

 

why daily joi?

So, you maybe wondering- why Daily Joi?

I have said for a few years now that I was going to name my first little girl Daily Joi so that I would always be reminded to have daily joy. To me, it meant that I should try daily to find joy in the little things in life. Why the spelling? Because everyone spells Joy with a 'y' and I can't be like everyone else! Unfortunately, my last name is now Bailey and my husband refuses to name our little girl Daily Bailey{we don't even have kids yet!} so I had to use it somehow.

So,  you may be asking- what will I find on this blog?

I'm not quite sure! What I do know is-You'll hear about my joys {which are many}, my heartaches {which are few}, ideas that I'm passionate about, and lots more. In fact, I'm sure I'll span MANY topics {so beware}. I am passionately curious!