I am in the midst of edits and rewrites refining and tweaking a manuscript. It has always been my dream to publish and a few weeks ago I signed my first book contract. For some of you this isn’t news, I’ve already shared on facebook, but I’ve been waiting to share it here on #JoyHopeLive. There has been a good amount of grief in our home and until now it just hasn’t felt right. I needed to feel the pain of our loss before I could fully rejoice in tomorrow.

Late Sunday night I hit print and my husband and I stole a few moments alone. Here as of late there have not been many moments to ourselves. Our lives have been busy, like most, full of church, work, gymnastics, and homeschooling. As the printer worked it’s way through 22k+ words, kids content in front of minecraft tutorials, we stole a sunset with storm clouds rolling in over the mountains.

This past week I’ve spent the majority of my time writing. I did however have the joy of meeting up with a few teens for coffee and talk. We talked about the church, about faith, and about their place. We are making it a weekly time together. I am so excited to learn from these young adults. I grew up in the church. They have not. These are teens who have been rejected and unwelcome. My desire is to simply listen, to show them they are loved, and hopefully together find a way to bridge the gap.

Featured Post from Last Weeks LinkUp

Kameron & Erin Towes linked up with us last week. They shared 5 Ways to Find Contentment in Waiting.

Waiting on God’s timing can be frustrating at times. They’ve laid out some great steps to stay focused, content, and joyful during the wait. As a military spouse, like many of you, I am not unfamiliar with the frustrations of waiting. This post was a great reminder to trust in God’s timing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Be sure to bookmark it to have on hand for the next time you feel anxious about the wait.

I will be featuring one link from the previous week that I felt captured the essence of finding joy in the everyday. I will also be sharing a a little bit of how I’ve been finding the joy in the past week. I hope you will join us for this midweek share of joy. Grab the button and the #JoyHopeLive. Comment on the ones you love and share at least two posts from other bloggers. Tag me on Facebook or via twitter @HopeNGriffin with your week’s #JoyHopeLive. I can’t wait to read them!

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