100 joys

hello friends. it's time again for another 100 joys post. i know i said that it would be on fridays, but yesterday got away from me, so here we are this morning. but with lots of joys from the week.

___________________________________

(11) metrobus. metrobus does not always give me joy. in fact, most of the time it makes me feel stressed out and under pressure to make it to the bus on time in order to save x amount on transportation for the month. however, on wednesday, metrobus gave me joy. first of all, i left on time in the morning, which meant i wasn't running to make sure i caught the bus. secondly, the first bus pulled up and it was PACKED, but another completely empty bus pulled up right behind it (and ended up passing the packed bus) a seat and getting to dcck a little early--what more could you ask for? lastly, on our way to small group in the freezing cold weather, a bus (that we hardly ever see) was actually at the bus stop to take us the mile to small group from the metro so we didn't have to walk. so, on wednesday, metrobus was the hero. way to go, metrobus.

(12) our nativity advent calendar. last year we got this advent calendar that creates the nativity by adding one shepherd/animal/angel/wiseman every day from december 1 until baby Jesus arrives on the 25th. every day luke will giggle (or chuckle, if that is more "manly" but really it's giggle) as he puts a shepherd/animal/angel/wiseman in the manger. this week, mary had a cow. our kids are going to be weird (but oh, so entertaining, and probably a little bit cute, too).

(13) the park. i like walking home from the metro because we walk through this park and it makes me feel like i'm on the prairie or something. this week, though, was the first REALLY cold week, and the wind can whip right through your clothes to your bones (just like on the prairie?).

(14) the view from our bedroom window. i was also struck (again) this week by how much i really like looking out our bedroom window. this picture doesn't capture it at all (because of the funky stuff going on with the light/camera lens/window), but you can see houses and steeples and radio towers and schools for a long way. but none of them are high enough to block the sky. it's quite striking, especially when the sun hits the roofs in the right way.

(15) talking to my sisters. this week i finally caught up with my sister katie. twice! i really love them and miss them a lot, so the times i get to talk to them bring me much joy.

(16) light. especially of the christmas nature. but just in general. i really love how Christ is referred to as the "Light of the World" and i have been thinking of that reference a lot lately. we also sing this song during common prayer called "walk in the light" and i really enjoy singing that, as well.

(17) trees covered in christmas lights. like these ones near the friendship heights metro station. i think they are really cool looking in a pretty, but tacky sort of way. and i like it.

(18) colorful winter hats. especially this guy's hat, which was incredibly colorful on a metro filled with business people in blacks and grays. the best part was that he was dressed entirely in black business as well. except for the hat.

(19) the judiciary square station manager box. i may be cheating a little bit here, because i think thus far (at least) 3 of my total 29 joys of december have been christmas lights. but i told you that christmas lights always bring me joy when i see them. they are so festive, and again, i like light and they tend to remind me that Jesus is light. so, cheating or not, i will probably have christmas lights as several of my 100 joys.

(20) little kids all bundled up. especially these little boys, who sometimes come get breakfast from us at first helping. they are the most adorable, polite and sweet little boys i have ever met. and they bring joy to my heart whenever i see them.

(21) ms. d.e. i can't post her name or her face (hence the blurred out part) because i didn't get permission. but ms. d.e. has reached out to me in ways i can't describe during my time with first helping, and every time i see her she makes me smile. (it was really cold the day we took this picture...and it's just the beginning. it might be a long winter for the first helping team this year...)

(22) volunteers. i really like being a permanent volunteer at dc central kitchen because it means i get to meet other volunteers. and we get some really amazing volunteers. like these two ladies who regularly came this semester and who had to leave us last week. this was their farewell lunch.

(23) international justice mission (and meeting gary haugen). a couple from our church sponsored luke and i to go to the ijm benefit dinner on thursday night. apparently some people from our church are super connected because we actually sat at the table with founder and president gary haugen. international justice mission is an organization that works around the world to get people out of human trafficking, provide them with case management services, and work with local officials to make sure that laws are in place and are being enforced. and it's working! a recent outside study in cebu, philippines showed that ijm has helped reduce the number of trafficked girls in cebu by 79%. and they were voted the #1 organization making a difference in the world by us news and world report. it brings me great joy to see christians take the Bible literally and take up the cause of the oppressed, and make a difference that the world notices. i think it would be cool to work with them.

(24) dressing up. another good thing about going to the dinner on thursday was having a reason to dress up. i really enjoy dressing up, especially in the winter. i like bundling up, in general, but donning a brightly colored dress coat really makes me happy (i don't really know why...).

(25) our God of justice and mercy. reading the old testament prophets and about Jesus' life this advent, thus far, has been really good for me in reminding me what advent is all about. verses like micah 6:8 bring me a lot of joy because i have no idea what it looks like to act justly and love mercy, and in our world this actually seems to be an oxymoron. but, the key is that God does both perfectly, and so if we walk humbly with Him, He will show us how. oh micah, your verses on hope, light, justice and mercy will never cease to amaze me.

(26) snow! friday we had our first snow. and it was sparse, and it was just flurries, but it was fantastic. snow will always bring me joy. even when we have a bijillion feet of it and we're getting more (like last year! bring on the snowmageddon!) i tried to take a picture outside, but the snow was too fine, so it looked better from a distance.

(27) running in the snow. i was running when the snow started, and it really brought me joy to run in the snow. especially when i ran by a school where a bunch of kids (maybe 1st graders?) were coming out for recess and a big cheer went up through the crowd. one little girl ran and jumped up on a platform and started spinning, face to the sky, arms outstretched. another group of maybe 6 kids ran to the yard and started jumping up and down, cheering with mouths wide open trying to catch the flakes. unfortunately i did not have my camera with me to capture the moments, but i think if i did i might have ended up in jail. however, i think getting to experience joy through children a blessing. you can't really see the flakes on my running tights, so i drew arrows to them. you can't really see the arrows either, unless you click on the picture to enlarge it.

(28) taking off my shoes. however much i enjoy running, i also enjoy finishing a run, coming home, kicking off my shoes and stretching. it helps me re-center and relax. i also really, really like my running shoes. so, even if it's cheating, running will be the center of two of my joys this week. because it does bring me joy.

(29) downloading pictures. i was not going to post about my new computer. and i still feel like i'm not really. however, when i plugged my camera into this computer for the first time, and it actually downloaded my pictures instead of draining the camera battery and freezing, i got pretty darn excited.

_________________________________

so there you have it. i find it interesting how looking for joys has helped me thus far. i feel like i have better days when i am looking for joy rather than ignoring the small things that bring me joy and focusing on the things that make me sad or depressed. and i've only gotten through 29, and only on the 11th day of december! though, i have noticed that many of my joys are things revolving around christmas. i may need to do this project again in january or february, when there are not so many christmas lights, events, etc. for now, though, it is helping. a joyful heart is good medicine. who knew?