joy, joy, joy!

I created a "Joy Jar" about a year ago. It's just a clear mason jar with little strips of paper that I've written things down upon to remember events or things that have brought me joy. I started it when I really needed a reminder of God's goodness and all that He provides and gives out of His abundant grace and mercy. Today, I decided that I'm going to pull out 5, at random, and write about them here. So, here goes:

1) "Receiving fun, encouraging, thoughtful and sweet text msgs"--I think I wrote this one on New Year's Day after getting some great text messages from friends who said they were thankful that they got to know me better over the year. I, too, am so thankful for them!

2) "Learning about quinceaneras"--During Hispanice Awareness Month (October), I went to hear the author Julia Alvarez speak about her latest book which talks about the quinceanera tradition in this country. For those of you that may not know what this is, it's kind of like the sweet 16 birthday but in Latin America they celebrate it on the 15th birthday. It's a HUGE deal in Latino culture and the families spend pretty much the same amount on this party as they would for a wedding. It was so cool to hear this Latina author speak and learn more about the tradition.

3) "Going to the Kimball Art Museum"--This was a fabulous day! There was an exhibit of portraits by various artists and I got to see the works of people like Picasso and Frida Khalo. Also, it was a gorgeous day and I went outside to this park beside the museum and sat and prayed and reflected for a while.

4) "Going to the library to check out books and dvds"--Okay, so I'm a huge nerd! But I love the library! It is only a mile away from my apartment and I go there about once a week. They have a pretty good dvd collection and I can usually find something I haven't seen before. And since I don't have cable, it helps keep me entertained.

5) And lastly..."Hearing Ann Patchett"--Again, another author. I took a creative writing class last fall and for one of the class meetings, we went to hear her speak about her latest book. She was so well spoken and witty, I loved it!

I picked these out at random but they bring back good memories. I think I will do this about once a week to remind myself of how rich and full my life really is:)