Where has the Wonder Gone?

If I could file a missing report for lost sentiments, I’m sure I would have filed several for wonder over the years. I first noticed wonder was missing when I woke up on a Christmas morning, before everyone else (as always), and I didn’t feel the “Christmas spirit” as I descended down the stairs, in full gaze of our decorated tree surrounded by boxes and bags. In other words, walking downstairs on Christmas Day usually had a similar warmth to the Grinch’s heart growing two sizes or when Josh Groban’s “Believe” starts playing in “The Polar Express”, but instead, it was just a silent walk downstairs, in the house I grew up in, with my heart at normal size.

Three Ways to Restore Your Wonder

When was the last time you were overcome by the WONDER of God? What was that moment like? Did tears well up in your eyes? Did you cry, laugh or maybe even dance? Did you break out in praise or did you silently thank God for who He is? Was that moment recent or a distant memory? It can be tempting to become wrapped up in our daily lives and miss the wonder of God. We get anxious and stressed, overwhelmed and overscheduled. We barely have time to think, let alone notice God in our midst.

Series Introduction: Wonder

When I was a young girl, I wondered about a lot of things. Who I would be when I grew older. What I would do for work. Where I would live. What car I would drive at 16-years-old. My first kiss. My first love. My first heartbreak. In my 8-year-old brain, my future self seemed so out of reach, it didn’t scare me to imagine my life. After all, I still had so much time to figure out who I was meant to be. So, when I’d wonder about my future, it felt like a daydream—like magic. As I have, in fact, grown older, the magic has undoubtedly faded with time.

Sharing the Joy in Your Heart

Don't take joy for granted, but keep growing your relationship with God and you will have more and more joy throughout your life. Of course, following God doesn't mean you're going to live the perfect life. You're still going to go through tough times and hard struggles, but at least you're not doing it alone. Share your joy and blessings with others, because you don't know how much that could change their day.

Contented Joy

I didn't begin to understand the joy that can be found in contentment until life got real. Dealing with the stress of taking care of a home and family, raising a gorgeous boy with special needs, and reaching a clinical level of anxiety, all had a way of changing my perspective. Living in my real, grown-up life, I yearn for contentment. I still have goals. I'm still striving to live the life God has prepared for me, but my greatest accomplishment is feeling the blessing of every second.

Nikki CharnstromDecember 10, 2018christmas, holiday, joyful, joy, finding joy, christian blog, christianity, scripture, mom life, content, new blog, blog for women, advice, life, encouragementComment

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Joyous During the Holidays

Tis the season! The holidays are here which means everyone is struggling with something. Whether it’s the shopping, the cooking, the travel or even just a pesky cousin, everybody feels pressure around the holidays. And as impossible as it may seem, you can find some joy… even in the moments that seem most trying. At the end of the day, holiday celebrations are just that: a celebration. It’s the end of yet another year—remember this time of year gives you the opportunity to relax and get a little space from your everyday routine.

Series Introduction: Joy

I’ll be blunt and say I don’t agree with the dictionary definition of the word “joy.” In my opinion, they’ve missed the mark and lost out on the true meaning of a word with the power to impact and change lives. The dictionary definition reads, “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure.” Two things, joy is not an emotion nor is it the reaction of something. At surface level, if you were to simply accept “joy” as another form of “happiness” then this definition would fit the bill. I’d like to dig deeper and challenge this vaguely cliché understanding of joy, so you can use this word to its full potential.

Current Blog series: Purpose