Welcome to our new blog! What do you think? It was designed by THE amazing Betsy, our good friend from AZ. Without her, our blogs would be pretty boring.
Maybe you're wondering why a new blog; maybe you're not. Or maybe you found us by accident and don't know what the heck I am talking about. For those of you in the latter group, this is where we were before.
Capturing JOY! We all need joy in our lives. Not happiness--JOY. Don't get me wrong, I love the feeling happiness brings, but happiness is usually based on our circumstances. JOY, though, is something deep down. It's something that no one can take away from us, no matter what we go through. It's something that only God can give us. And it's a choice to keep it or lose it. You've heard the scripture: the JOY of the Lord is my strength. There is so much truth to this.
Before we left for China, we received a lot of words of wisdom. The greatest word, however, was from our friend Mollie, who had brought her own son home from there just a year earlier. With all seriousness in her tone, she looked me straight in my eyes and said, "Rachel, don't lose your joy in this journey." I took that to heart. I also shared it with B, and we committed not to lose our joy while in China and beyond. The nineteen days in China found me with more joy than I knew how to handle; but after coming home and settling in, I found it was a battle to find again. Fast forward eleven months later. A new journey is beginning, and I realize more than ever that I do not want to lose my joy again.
It isn't quite time to post all the wonderful details about this new journey, but I promise it will be very soon. In the meantime, I hope you'll bookmark us and check back often for updates. Also, please "like" us down there at the bottom, so others can find us, too. We don't want to take another journey without you all walking with us.
Thanks in advance for your prayers and support.
Blessings,
Brian and Rachel
