The interior of the dome of the Duomo in Florence, Italy [cathedral] joy. I have been privileged to see more than a few cathedrals. I studied abroad in Spain during college and passed by a stunning cathedral nearly each day at the city center and had the opportunity to visit many on our weekend trips around Spain and sometimes beyond. One of the classes I took was art history and we would wander the streets of Granada each week learning about the styles of architecture and art that emerged at...
1 day ago • 3 min read
[Target] joy. Sometimes life gives you the best news in the middle of Target. Life keeps moving despite the challenging times and the best of times. I received some really awesome news this past week while standing in my local Target store - Cooper's tumor pathology (our son undergoing Cancer treatment for Osteosarcoma) came back as responding really well to chemo (95% great to be exact!). I cried. happy tears! I called Gary to celebrate from the car. People kept moving along around me and...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
[tidy] joy. It feels a bit like spring today (at least where I live - it was nearly 60 degrees). That may have contributed to my thoughts about simple ideas that may spur on a bit of early spring cleaning, or at least a little less cluttered angst. There is joy in having great systems and less “extra” - sometimes that means literal things and often it’s simply too much noise or items in your calender or to do list. Either way, it’s clutter that is hindering you from living the life you love...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
[practice] joy. January is the month that I have to work hardest to feel joy. I think it has always been this way...the typically post-holiday lull, very little daylight hours, and don't forget the cold (I do live in a place that the wind likes to hurt my face in January). However, it has been accentuated since 2010 when Mattea passed away in late January of that year. The abundance of December can often accentuate the dimness of January. Don't worry, this isn't a "Debbie Downer" of a post...
2 months ago • 5 min read
[merry] joy. Merry Christmas! Regardless of how you celebrate this Christmas season, I would love to share my heartfelt gratitude to you for all that you do to support Mattea's Joy. So many of you have shown up this year for us by doing everything from liking and sharing social media posts to donating your time, talent, and treasure. It all means so much. There is power when many people show up with what they have to give. I have extra gratitude this Christmas for the birth of Jesus Christ....
4 months ago • 2 min read
[present] joy. I really love words. I think they hold more power and opportunity than we often give them merit for - we can affect others and the world around us with words...for both good and bad. Have you ever pondered the thought that the word present is used to describe both "a gift" and "a time occurring now". I know in our family we definitely talk about presents a bit more than usual around the holiday season and I find it kind of cool that it is the same word we use for being where we...
4 months ago • 1 min read
[giving] joy. give joy. feel joy. is our motto. When you give joy to others, it's an almost guarantee that you'll feel it come back to you. Sometimes it comes in ways you don't expect, but I have found it's nearly a guarantee. If you're looking for a fun way to share joy in small ways this season, check out the Kindness Randomizer for ideas. I LOVE it! One of the best parts of inviting more community into our headquarters to serve with us this past year is that more individuals have had the...
4 months ago • 1 min read
[community] joy. "Joy is the evidence of participating in connection.” - Ross Gay I love this definition of joy! Joy is in community - connecting with others, especially when life is hard. It is reflexive to want to cocoon when life is hard - wrap up in a warm blanket and shut out the world (which is ok to do sometimes). However, joy is not found there. Joy comes when you welcome others into the laughter or the tears in your life (even when you don't feel like you want to). Our 13 yo son,...
4 months ago • 1 min read
[opposite] joy. Recent joy.workshop attendees diving into how the concept of the Opposite Signal Strategy can affect their lives. One of my FAVORITE concepts that I have learned around joy is the concept of post-traumatic growth - It's different from resilience, which is the ability to return to how you were before the trauma. PTG is about new growth that can change how you think, live, and function. I believe it is part of what helps us to become what we were create to be. It may seem...
5 months ago • 1 min read
[why] Discover joy? A few years ago I felt a nudge to expand my work around joy. Gary and I started Mattea's Joy in 2010 and have served families with hospitalized kiddos with the intent that they would be reminded that joy can be found when life doesn't go as planned. I realized that so many people in my midst were craving that same reminder. In some ways, I went on my own "joy hunt" - not to figure out how to find joy in my life...I am super thankful that I had honed some of those practices...
5 months ago • 2 min read