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!