For those who frequent my blog, you know that one of my passions is CHOOSING JOY.

I love to celebrate the simple things, and stimulate the senses. It is by taking your everyday rituals, and turning them into something meaningful, that your house becomes a true haven – a sanctuary.
It’s about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and that extraordinary is often so simple.

I often get asked,”What is your dream?”
I honestly reply, “I am living it.”

Is it hard to believe that a college educated woman could be living her dream by being at home with her five children?
I think people that have met me through speaking engagements, music or work from home avenues assume that I am short changing myself.
I didn’t plan on posting about any of this today, but I just had to share an example of how God’s faithfulness continues to speak to my dream.

This confirmation happened today through a simple act of the ordinary ministering to my lonely soul in extraordinary ways.
Every morning I drag myself to the coffee urn and freshly grind my Starbucks roast. This morning, to my horror (and horror it it surely was), I remembered that it was empty…not a bean to be found. This has never happened.
(I buy the 2 lb. pack from Starbucks and it’s always in supply.)
What is a girl to do without her morning coffee?
For those of you that are coffee drinkers, you are relating….I knew I was gearing up for a coffee headache.
To those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, you may be thinking “addiction.

The morning continued and an hour later, one of my teenage sons came to me with this unbelievable site. It was full before….oops.

He had no idea that I didn’t have my Starbucks this morning, but he saw a little bit of cold coffee (don’t even make a snide remark here or it will ruin the moment:), knew that that was exactly how I made our “coffee smoothies,” and decided to make one for me…unannounced, unasked for, and completely unexpected.

For those of you who have teens, or remember those teenage years, the simple act of my son making his own special Frappuccino on a dreary, rainy morning for his little, old, not- so- happy mommy….made my day!

I know that you can understand.
He made something that was so simple become a balm to sooth my soul.

I choose joy in the journey, and am so thankful that I have a Lord who continues to bless and affirm this adventure even when the road is really rocky, the climb is woefully windy, and the descent is delightfully daring.
It’s times likes this when the Lord chooses to speak to me.
He affirms that the consistency and work is worth it.
He assures me that the times when I want to pull out my hair is not in vain (like a few times when I was just trying to type this).
He knows this, and allowed the ordinary actsof my teen age son become an extraordinary affirmation for his weary mother.

Come join me, let’s snuggle on the sofa over this coffee, and share life.
It’s really, really yummy.
Who needs a Starbucks barista when you have a blessing of a boy…I mean young man?


And since I now have a time limit on the computer, just like my kids, I am confessing to my eldest that I did go past the 15 minute limit and the timer did go off. I shut it off….OK. Your mother is admitting it, and you’re right – 15 minutes is too short to get anything done, but 30 minutes is just right (without any editing, of course:)