Putting Others Before Yourself

In my first post, I briefly talked about the JOY principle—Jesus first, Others second, You third—and since tomorrow is Random Acts of Kindness Day, I thought this would be a great time to write about putting others before yourself. In passages from the Bible and from what I have learned through living out my faith, I believe the Lord would like me to treat others with respect and go out of my way to make them feel special. I have been taught to treat others better than myself.

On Random Acts of Kindness Day, we can show our love for others by making a special gift (baking cookies for example), opening doors, offering to pay for a cup of coffee or assisting the elderly. It’s important to remember that the intention is more important than the grandeur of the action. For more random acts of kindness ideas, visit the national random acts of kindness website.

Finding Balance

Tonight during my yoga practice I had a hard time keeping my balance on one of the sequences. It was a series in which you put basically all of your body weight on one leg and try to move smoothly through the cycle. Of course the instructor seemed to have no problem moving through and making it look easy, but I had to keep in mind that I hadn’t practiced yoga in quite a few weeks.

During my time on the mat, I contemplated how moments in yoga can relate to obstacles or success in life. I think this is one of the reasons I love incorporating yoga in my workout routine. When I couldn’t keep my balance, I thought about how it’s a constant challenge to find balance in our lives—dividing time between work, family, friends, obligations, hobbies, etc. can be a job all in itself! There is never enough time in the day to get everything accomplished, so we must prioritize.

However, in other poses, like crow pose—where you stack your knees on the back of your arms—I feel empowered and strong. It makes me feel capable and ready to take on the world! We all have strengths and weaknesses, and I see this in both yoga and everyday life.

No matter the thoughts or feelings I go through during my practice, I always end it feeling refreshed and invigorated. It can help keep clear one’s mind and be ready for the day ahead or be a perfect end to the day.

And, just for fun, here is a photo of our puppy, Roxy, who wanted to join in the practice tonight!

Reconnecting with God

Throughout my life there have been times I have leaned against God for wisdom, support and guidance, and other times where I have instead tried to handle any problems I have on my own. I think this is human nature, and you have to make a conscious effort to turn to God in both good times and the bad. For me, I have found it most difficult to lean on Him when I’m going through a struggle. Instead of praying about it, I have this idea that “I got myself into this, I will find myself a way out.” In the past year I have felt like I needed to rekindle that relationship with God and making the effort to turn to Him every day in prayer.

For Lent this year, Adam and I decided to start having devotion and Bible study time every evening. It was great to read a passage in the Bible, reflect on it and think of ways to apply it to our own lives. We still try to have this time each day dedicated to doing this, but with how busy our lives can get sometime it’s hard to be sure we do this every day. However, it was during the time of Lent that I realized how much I need to set time aside and at least dedicate 15 minutes a day to Him. It got me thinking about other ways I could continue to work on my relationship with God and serve Him.

While I was in high school, I taught CCD classes to the 4-year-olds with my mom at our church. I really loved working with children and I couldn’t think of a better way to share my faith than passing it on to the next generation. I wanted to get back into teaching religious classes to children as I felt that was what I was called to do.

Adam and I attended a new church a few months ago, Queen of the Rosary, and I found in their bulletin they needed religious education teachers for the upcoming year. I truly felt this was what God was calling me to do, so I reached out to the Religious Education Director at the church and now Adam and I are set to begin teaching the 4^th grade level starting in just a few weeks. I am so thrilled for this new opportunity to share our faith and work with children and look forward to what it will bring to our lives. I expect to have some challenges along the road but that it will be incredibly rewarding to pass on our faith, something that is so dear to our hearts.

I plan to share some of our trials and triumphs through this blog and welcome any ideas, suggestions or advice any other religious education leaders can provide!

Welcome to JOYful Heart!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I guess the best way to start out this new endeavor is to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a 20-something year old, married and living in the suburbs of Chicago. I completed a degree in Journalism in 2006, worked for a daily newspaper for a few years, and then got my job as an editor for an association management company where I currently work. I also got married two years ago to my best friend, Adam, and love married life!

So, what is “JOYful Heart,” you ask? It is a way of life and a way that I strive to live my life. The definition of joy is “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” In my heart, my deepest desire is to live my life according to the Lord and do right by Him. I know that by living a life for Christ you will achieve all those things listed: well-being, success and good fortune and true joy.

During my college years, I worked as a camp counselor one summer at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston, Indiana. At “Camp T” they teach you what living a life of JOY means: Jesus first, Others second and Yourself third. Only by having your priorities in this order can you find true joy and live a happy and fulfilling life. I whole-heartedly believe in this. There have been times when I haven’t leaned on the Lord for guidance and wisdom and have believed I could handle things on my own, but when I have given my worries or concerns up to Him I have felt sense of peace and clarity.

I will be using this blog to share my experiences trying to live according to the JOY principle and hope to encourage others to explore a relationship with God. God Bless!