This is the (Joy)Cap where I share a weekly reflection or lesson and a roundup of links, recommendations, and everything that’s bringing me joy, inviting you to do the same. Think of this as a weekly coffee date with my close friends. ☕️💕🫶🏾 Join me on a weekly joy hunt and start receiving the (Joy)Cap by subscribing today! ✨
Happy Friday, friends!
It’s been a whirlwind of the last two weeks. If you saw the chat I sent out last week, you know that we’re in the thick of moving week, closing out a meaningful chapter after living eight years in Atlanta.
Growing up, I always dreamed of living here. My family visited often, road-tripping from small-town Ohio to spend summers with my mom’s siblings. I remember being enthralled by all the bright lights, fast-paced cars, and endless food and shopping options. It was a much faster pace than what I was used to as a small-town Ohio girl, but I loved it and knew someday I’d make this city my home.
When it came time to choose a college, there was only one option: Spelman College — a historically black all women’s college right in the heart of Atlanta. I had already envisioned myself donning my blue and white and diving into Atlanta’s heart, so much so that I had my senior pictures taken in my Spelman gear. But God has a funny way of redirecting us. I ended up at Howard University in DC, and Atlanta faded into the background. Yet, my roots stayed tied to Georgia.
Years later, when my now-husband moved to Atlanta, I knew we’d need to be closer if our long-distance love was going to grow. Two years later, I packed up my apartment in Greensboro, NC, and headed for Atlanta, where we’ve built a life together, getting married, starting a family, and building a community. Six years in, three kids later, we’re ready for a new adventure.
The other day, I was leaving Trader Joe’s with the kids, driving through a neighborhood near our first apartment. As we rode through the fall foilage and the windy roads, the memories came flooding back— my first initial move here, our engagement, marriage, business risks and opportunities, the friendships, the community — the life we built here. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a beautiful gift I’m so grateful to have experienced. In that moment, I experienced deep gratitude, realizing that the life we built here was the very one I had imagined years ago.
That’s how gratitude works sometimes. Rather than experiencing gratitude in the moment or on the front end, we experience gratitude on the back end, when everything is over, coming to an end. In those moments, hindsight is always 20/20. But I wonder how my experience would’ve been if I had been privy to those blessings in those moments, right then and there, seeing the good and cultivating gratitude in every season.
As our family closes out this chapter and turns to the next page, I want to live more awake to the blessings that make up our beautiful life. I want to be more aware of God’s goodness and mercy that is made new and fresh every day. That is why the Get After Grateful Gratitude Challenge couldn’t come at a better time.
Every day in November, I will be sharing a mini reflection/ devotion along with an action step in our community chat. The goal of this challenge is for us to make it our business to get after grateful by stirring up joy and cultivating contentment in all things and seasons. Rather than gratitude being an afterthought, let’s make it a daily practice and moment-by-moment experience.
The challenge is open to both free and paid subscribers, but you must download the app or create a Substack account to participate in the chat. Join us for Day 1 in the chat as we get after grateful this season.
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For more on cultivating gratitude, here’s a post from last year that includes links to previous blogs I’ve written, as well as recommended books and a free Lifestyle Guide for download on cultivating gratitude and contentment.
Fall movie day. The kids and I had a fall movie day last Saturday. I made the TikTok layered fall brownies, and the kids and I watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" that was streaming for free on Apple TV +. It was such a cozy and fun time.
Securing our next home. For the last month, we've been packing in faith, hoping to find a house in our new city that meets our needs. We were happy to receive the news that we got the house last week, and we move this upcoming week.
Final Trader Joe’s Run. The nearest Trader Joe’s is about an hour and 15 minutes from our new city, so I had to do a final Trader Joe’s run before we left to stock up on my favorite seasonings (21 Seasoning Salute and EveryDay).
Currently Reading 📚
As we prepare to move this week and I work on some upcoming projects, my reading has been all over the place. I have started and stopped some books, trying to finish up as many library holds as possible before we leave. Here’s what I read over the past few weeks:
In my attempts to get through the library books I checked out, I started Common Grounds by Allie Samberts, but I wasn’t able to finish it in time, so I was thankful when I discovered that it was available through Kindle Unlimited.
Fall I Want by Lyra Parish also caught my eye on Kindle Unlimited. It started off strong, but I’m about 65% finished and am losing interest with every chapter. I will report back on whether I finish it.
I’m always sharing my thoughts in real time on Fable and Instagram. For ratings and reviews, check out my Goodreads.
Currently Listening 🎧
I really enjoyed listening to this conversation between Hunter Beless and Jill Atogwe on discontentment. In this episode, Jill shares her journey of what it was like feeling “othered” as a minority in the midst of the majority and how God can use our deficiencies to remedy our discontentment.
I would love to hear from you! What brought you joy this week? Leave a comment, or send me a direct message!
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