The Weekly (Joy)Cap

Week of March 8th-15th (24') | Experimenting, Trusting, & Charting My Path

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! ✨

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic as I prepared for multiple speaking engagements while juggling mom life. Last week I shared, “I just had to make it to March 12th,” and I’m happy to report that I made it! 🥳

This past Tuesday, I had the amazing opportunity to keynote an International Women’s Day event for EY’s Atlanta Women’s Professional Network. All the preparation for this event had to be done in the margins — the early mornings, naptimes, evenings, and little 10-15 minute bursts here and there.

On top of my other work obligations, that kept me from showing up in this space as much as I typically do in the past few weeks. I look forward to resuming my regular writing schedule over the next few weeks. I am also working on a few Substack projects that I am excited to share about soon.

Lately, I’ve been in a season of experimenting and trusting. My head has been swirling with so many ideas and dreams that the Lord has given me that I am doing my best to discern, process, and steward during this season. I often wonder and pray, “Lord, is this the season for this? What do you want me to do? Show me the next step.”

And in these moments, I am reminded of a note I recently shared here.

While I can continue to pray for clarity, the best thing I can do is walk with the Lord blindly. The truth is we’re not always going to know the next step in the Lord’s plan. I think that’s the defining characteristic of this faith walk — believing without seeing, trusting without fully knowing, taking a step forward when we don’t know the way.

Every day I’m getting more comfortable with the truth that I don’t have it all figured out, and the reality that I’m not going to have it all figured out. And the beautiful thing is… I don’t have to. Thank God that he has already gone before me and paved my path. Because of that, I can keep showing up — trying, experimenting, trusting, and sometimes failing, knowing that every day, he gives more grace and is more than able to lead and guide me to his divine, designated destination.

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What Brought Me Joy ✨

1. Some much-needed me-time at Barnes & Noble 📚. Last Friday, after I shared last week’s (Joy)Cap, I went to run some errands in preparation for my speaking engagement as well as to grab some things for the house. Typically I just go straight into the errands, but this time I ventured to Barnes & Noble, bought an iced chai tea latte, and just sat and read for 20 minutes before running around. It was nice to just sit and be for a few minutes before the chaos resumed.

   

   A few snaps from my quick trip to Barnes & Noble

2. The engagement and insights people took away from my presentation 🩵. As a stay-at-home mom, there aren’t as many opportunities in this season that I get to share and speak in the way that I did this week. It felt great to get out of the house and pour into women and encourage them as they grow in their careers. I also enjoyed getting dressed up! I bought the suit pictured in the note above over two years ago before becoming pregnant with the twins in anticipation I would have the opportunity to wear it and speak someday. I’m sure that this time I wore it won’t be my last.

3. Yesterday’s afternoon walk with the kids ☀️. Yesterday was another one of those days — long, chaotic, and overstimulating 😵‍💫. We all needed a reset, so I decided to pile the twins into the stroller and take the kids on a short afternoon stroll, and I’m so glad I did. The weather was gorgeous. Now that spring is approaching and my achilles can tolerate standing longer, I plan on taking more (hopefully daily) walks.

   

4. Finally overcoming our potty woes 😩🙌🏾. Without going into details, I shared that we were having some potty struggles with my oldest. Well this week, we have finally overcome them! 🙌🏾 If you’re having a hard time potty training your kiddo, I would highly recommend reading Oh Crap! Potty Training¹ by Jamie Glowacki. I wish I had read this before potty training my son. I decided to pick it up on recommendation from one of my favorite YouTubers, and it has helped us correct some of the struggles we were having with him. I also used this method to potty train my daughter, which has been successful this go around.

   

Currently Reading 📚

While at Barnes & Noble, I finally started reading This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. However, just as quickly as I started, I had to stop due to my water bottle spilling on my (library) copy in my bag 😭🤦🏾‍♀️. Thank God it’s not ruined. While I wait for it to flatten back to its shape, I’ve been reading Sophie Kinsella’s My Not So Perfect Life. I also started Purposefooled by Kelly Needham, to which I have many (good) thoughts. Will be sharing more once I finish.

Currently Listening 🎧

So much goodness in this conversation with Sara Hagerty. If last month’s posts and discussions on weaknesses and limitations resonated with you, then you’ll definitely want to tune into this podcast episode. In the episode, Sara “points us to the beauty and peace God provides in the midst of our life circumstances--and the deep spiritual growth we can experience through the limitations that we once thought held us back.”

I also appreciated this podcast episode by Risen Motherhood. In this episode, Emily and Laura share about the benefits of practicing creativity as mothers as we image our Creator, God. Even if you don’t consider yourself “creative,” Emily and Laura share the many ways motherhood evokes creativity along with practical ways you can make space to create.

Fave Substack Read of the Week 💻

I really enjoyed listening to/watching this episode of the In This Season podcast with

Chanel Riggle

and

Heidi Fiedler

. In this episode, both ladies discuss the power of both digital and in-person communities and the role that creativity plays in motherhood. I wish I had listened to this conversation earlier in my motherhood journey, as both ladies give you the grace and permission to grieve and let go of your old standards and expectations.

Exploring Digital and In-Person Connections

I would love to hear from you! What brought you joy this week? Share with us in the group chat or send me a direct message!

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