The Joy Sisters

Organize Our inspiration comes from many places.  For me, as a mother, a huge river of help, support, inspiration, friendship and every good mother thing I can think up has flowed from one of my Besties.  She is full of Light, Ideas, Birthday Mud Camo Parties, LOVE and Fun.  I call her my Ethel and like Lucy and Ethel...we get a lot of fun and harebrained ideas.  So I am grateful when I reached out to her a few days ago about doing a JOY Sister post, she agreed, maybe somewhat reluctantly, but she agreed.   When we got a little time together over Christmas break I asked her what her One Little Word was for 2018.  (we have shared and encouraged each other in our one little word for years).  She paused... hesitated, and then said she wasn't sure she was picking a word.  That was immediately followed with a rush of words flowing from her mouth that she almost couldn't stop, but I got the feeling, didn't want to...

Reflections...  Lake Alice, September 20, 2016 Joshua Day! LOOKING FORWARD: Today I started the day with a lot of reflection.  I shared with you in my last post about Visions, Goals and Plans.  I am great at making them.  I can make lists like nobody's business.  I can check things off and sustain goals.  But I am NO juggler.  At least in the past I haven't been and sustaining more than one plan, or goal, or vision at a time often derails me.  That is why this year the word BALANCE is so important to me.  I desire to keep a few balls in the air metaphorically.  We are three weeks into the new year. This is the point most people GIVE UP!  The gyms start to go back to their regular and consistent clientele.  Diets go out the window.  Life falls.  We fail.  We beat ourselves up.  We often gain ten more pounds.  I have been there.  I have done that.  I am looking to change that cycle. ...

My sister Christine and I were talking about motivation yesterday and the lack of it as neither of us had written a follow up to her goal setting post. She pointed out the statistic that most New Years Resolutions are abandoned by mid January. In doing a bit of research, I discovered that only a very small percentage of the 40% of Americans that actually make NY resolutions actually achieve their goals....just 8% (Forbes)!!! Obviously we keep making resolutions, setting goals, focusing our intentions on a  OLW  because we want to get better. We have a desire to improve and be more than what we currently are. That is certainly not a bad thing. But when we give up on our goals, I think we feel worse than we did before we began. I know I am not the only one with an all or nothing mindset. It is why so many of us not only gain back weight that we lose, but often add additional pounds. When we miss the mark, we assume failure and often go in the opposite direction with gusto. W...

I am a visual person.  And though we all learn in different ways, I think for all of us, seeing something helps us process, and understand.  I have always found it interesting that when a person loses one of their senses, or is born without something like sight, their body often compensates with other senses.  When we engage our senses in our daily life we can achieve more.  This principle was applied to a wonderful phonics system (my sister HH Shared with me) which I used for my kids when they were younger.  The program had them repeat the sounds of letters with their mouth, see with their eyes as I wrote them, write with their hands, and hear instruction with their ears.  In a month my son's writing ability improved drastically from chicken scratch to beautiful lettering. So I want to take you on a quick little journey and I will need you help and cooperation if YOU are going to be able to VISUALIZE the end field: Imagine for a minute with me. ...

Hello! It's Heather here. I'm bringing up the rear with our OLW posts and I am thrilled to share my word with you. First, a little history about me and my One Little Words.  Some years my One Little Word has come easier than other years.  My first year participating in OLW was 2008. That year my heart was hurting and I was working on moving through some anger and ugliness. The word FORGIVE pretty much chose me and it served me well that year and in the years since, as I have learned a lot about forgiveness and forgiving......and apologizing.  Some years, I haven't done much with my word, other years I have created artwork (SHINE), purchased jewelry (BALANCE), and let it guide everyday decisions (DO).  My past words have been: 2008-FORGIVE 2009- PEACE 2010-CREATE 2011-BALANCE 2012-FAITHFUL 2013-CULTIVATE 2014-FOCUS 2015-SHINE 2016-DO 2017-CONSECRATE   2018- This year, there are a lot of changes in my home & ...

I started thinking about my OLW for this year a couple weeks ago. Usually picking out my word is a strenuous process. And usually I forget what it is by about May or June. I knew I wanted this year to be different. I’m very music oriented. I can’t sing or play an instrument but there is usually a song playing in my head. I wasn’t surprised when my usual 80’s internal soundtrack switched to a hymn from church. I’ve been instructed by the Lord through music often. But when it got louder when I thought about my OLW,  I knew I’d better pay attention. If you google LDS hymn number 131 More Holiness Give Me you can sing along. My word for 2018 is MORE. And I’ll be focusing each month on a specific MORE.  January will be MORE fitness.  February is MORE self care.  March will be MORE obedience.  I’ve got all 12 months assigned a focus point. Over the next week or so I’ll write some more specifics for each month. For January I’ll be joining a diet...

My name is Christine and you can learn a little more about me and the other JOYsisters by checking out our December posts on Instagram @thejoysisters.  But today we are talking OLW .  In 2011 I had been hearing about this One little Word trend and for some time some of my sisters and friends were participating. But I didn't know much. I decided to jump in, feet first and pick my own word for 2012. GRATITUDE. And my lofty goal was to write 365 letters Of gratitude. I missed the mark. I only wrote about 150. But as I got to the end of that year, I gave myself GRACE and props!  150 letters of gratitude to loved ones, while homeschooling and raising 5 kids!  That was pretty awesome!  And so I continued to pick O.L.W.s OLW has become a part of me over the past 6 years. Having a word to FOCUS on has helped me grow, given me something to work on and brought clarity to my life. I value the connections that happen throughout the year with my word. Both c...

I went back and gathered all my OneLittleWords and this is officially my 8th year of having a one word mantra instead of a New Years Resolution.  One little word of the year: 2018: intentional 2017: ignite 2016: grace 2015: release 2014: accept 2013: flow 2012: enrich 2011: power 2010: clean When I choose a word for the year, I do a lot of personal reflection. I ask myself: what areas do I want to see growth and improvement in for the next year? What is holding me back from being my best self? I pray to God for his guidance and take time to quiet my busy inner dialogue to hear His wisdom. Once a word comes to me, I try it out, sort of like trying on a new sweater. How does it feel? Does this word serve me? How can I apply it? Sometimes I go through several words before finding the right fit.  “Intentional” is the word which best fits the direction I want to go in 2018. I want to be intentional in how I in...

Back in 2006 Ali Edwards started choosing a word that represented an intention for her year...she called it her One Little Word. I remember Ali doing a scrapbook page about her OLW in 2007 or 2008 in a scrapbooking magazine that I read and I decided to follow along. My word that first year (2008) was FORGIVE. I remember holding that word close and doing a lot with it that year. In years since I have chosen the words PEACE, CREATE, BALANCE, FAITHFUL, CULTIVATE, FOCUS, SHINE, DO, CONSECRATE and this year my word is THRIVE. At some point all of the JOYsisters joined in and now each of us chooses a word to serve as a mantra or guide for our year. Some of us still make resolutions, goals and plans that our word accompanies and helps us along. We will start out this new year by sharing each of our words with you and a little bit of the story behind them.  First we will hear from JOYsister Salena. Maybe her OLW story will resonate with you. ~hh OLW-One Little Word One little...

Hello! Welcome to theJOYsisters! For the last five days we have introduced ourselves on Instagram. We are so excited to get started on this adventure and we are so happy that you are here to join in our journey. We don't know exactly where we are headed, but we are heeding the call and forging along.  Each of us have chosen a One Little Word   for 2018 and we will be sharing our past experience with OLW each day for the next five days. Please follow along with us and let us know if you've chosen a word to guide your 2018. Again....welcome! We are so JOYful that you are here!