#thesesweetdays

So, to state the obvious, the name of my blog is these sweet days.

The answer to why I named it that comes from a quote that my dear friend Michelle shared with us a while back:

This quote is written speaking more particularly to the years of raising children. There are hard days, days that feel like the end will never come and you will continue to spiral down in a tornado of dishes, laundry, fussy children, and un-checked to-do lists; but, but, those days will end and truly, before you blink an eye, your fussy toddlers will be the 18 year olds that you are driving to college and you will be wondering where the time went. So a quote like this is such a beautiful reminder to cherish the days, the hard and exceptionally long days included, to find the beauty in them, and to hold tight to the joy in them, for they will be gone far too quickly.

I think, though, that this quote is just an overall excellent life quote. Life is hard. We are sinful people who hurt others and feel hurt ourselves. We experience pain, sadness, death, heartache, sickness, losing jobs, having tight finances, physical and mental disabilities, etc; but, we don’t have to live in this defeated, miserable, depressed state because, if we have Jesus, we have hope that this life is not the end, and thus, there’s an even greater joy to hold tight to in those long hard days and the reality that “the years are few” is the absolute truth.

So I take this quote to an even deeper extent and amidst tear-filled days, or drained days, or hurtful days, or days when the carpet gets stained, traffic is bad, dinner is a disaster and you just can’t seem to make anything happen, to remember that “these momentary light afflictions……,” and push aside the heartache or discouragement or frustration to fight for the joy.

This blog was born in a season where I was struggling with deep discontent in life. I was discouraged in different aspects of our life situation and, honestly, had such a miserable attitude. So I started this blog to be a documented journey of my desire to treasure every day and every season, to relish the different parts of life, to fight for joy, and to give glory to God for His grace and work in my heart. So these sweet days was born.

I share all this with you because I have an idea. I have taken part in hashtag projects that different bloggers and friends have started on Instagram and I’ve loved it! I’ve learned about people, been inspired by people, and been deeply encouraged. In light of that, I’ve decided to start a hashtag project: #thesesweetdays. My goal in starting this is to inspire all of us to fight for joy, to look for sweetness, to laugh at ourselves, to embrace our circumstances, to document the different ways we find encouragement throughout the day, and to be grateful. Let’s take to heart that quote, “the days are long, but the years are few,” and not wish away the day we are living in, but rather, face it head-on with coffee, passion, gusto, and hearts restful in the fact that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

I’d love if you joined me, friends, to document your sweet days! #thesesweetdays