The Weekly (Joy)Cap
Week of July 5th- July 12th (24') | Holding Onto Hope, Quiet(ish) Evenings, & Ice Cream Chokeholds
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!
I want to say we finally made it to another weekend, but all these days blend pretty much blend together for me. This week I had my nose down prepping for a potential new career opportunity. An opportunity that would be a huge blessing to our family, but nothing is set in stone. It’s simply an opportunity. A door that will either be opened or closed. And I realized, as I prepared, that I have a hard time approaching these kinds of doors.
Growing up, I’ve always been an optimist — always believing and hoping for the best. But I would be lying if I said that life, in all its disappointments, hasn’t left me a little jaded over the years. As Proverbs 13:12 says, “ Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” I wouldn’t say that my heart is sick, but it is definitely guarded.
I was thinking about this today as I was finishing up The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into too much detail, but in the end, one of the characters was warning another character of a potential outcome to help them avoid getting hurt. Although the other character was aware of the potential risk and unfavorable outcome, they resolved to hope anyway, “I’m still going to hope. Hope is never a bad thing.”
And they are right. Hope is never a bad thing, but it is a risky thing. While we can hope, we can’t guarantee that we will receive what we hope for. We can reframe outcomes, but we can’t avoid them. And while I know that hope isn’t an outcome, it’s a Person, it doesn’t take away from the fact that hope can sometimes be hard to hold onto.
Here are a few things I’ve been doing to make holding it easier:
Praying for peace regardless of the outcome. I can’t control the outcome, but I can control my heart’s posture.
Rehearsing scripture and reminding myself of God’s faithfulness. Because my mind needs to be reminded of the Truth.
Doing my best to focus on one day at a time. I love this quote that I recently read by Suzanne Woods Fisher in her book The Sweet Life, “Living one day at a time brings a wonderful freedom. Most people live in the past or the future.” I know that by staying present, I can experience that freedom each day.
I would love to know, how do you remain hopeful during uncertain or hard times?
What Brought Me Joy ✨
Quiet(ish) evenings. At the beginning of the week, the littles all went back to their respective rooms, so the naptime and nighttime ragers have officially come to an end. They went to sleep and this mama finally got some uninterrupted peace and quiet 🙌🏾.
Talenti Ice Cream. I don’t know what it is, but Talenti ice cream has had me in a chokehold lately, specifically the Cookies and Cream Layers, and Double Cookie Crunch flavors. They are perfection. 🤌🏾
Water play with the kids outside. With the Georgia heat being full on, I have not been wanting to go outside. But the other morning it was overcast and cloudy outside, so I took the kids outside with a big mig under the bed storage bin and filled it with water, foam alphabet letters and numbers, and measuring cups. The activity bought me 45 minutes of reading time, while I watched the kids play.
Currently Reading 📚
Last week I forgot to mention that I’m going through the Fruitful devotional. I’ve been doing the bible plan, and this has been a nice companion to have and is based on the fruits of the Spirit.
I love Mary Kay Andrews, but I had to DNF this one at 7%. It was the language for me, and I didn’t really care for the storyline.
I also read Love & Other Words this week, and I have to say that this is the top romance I’ve read this year. I loved the bookish elements of this story and watching Macy’s Elliot relationship bloom and deepen over the years.
I love these short cozy murder mysteries as palette cleansers between books.
I also read The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh and started Summer on Sag Harbor and Sweet Magnolias Stealing Home for my two buddy reads on Fable.
I’m always sharing my thoughts in real-time on Fable and Instagram. For ratings and reviews, check out my Goodreads.
I would love to hear from you! What brought you joy this week? Share with us in the group chat, leave a comment, or send me a direct message!
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Love the water table idea! Anything that buys some reading time sounds good, haha. Have you tried making "oobleck"? It's just cornstarch and water and my kids love it!
I remind myself that God can see all things about every situation, and he will always do what is best for me. I know when we get to heaven and all things are revealed we will be surprised what God has protected us from physically, mentally, and spiritually.